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Bangor Metro >  April 2006 >  Team United

How, in a year up to its global eyeballs in natural disasters, did the United Way of Eastern Maine raise $2.6 million? The magic word was teamwork. Even their celebration event itself had the team thing going. Their January indoor tailgate party, held at Darling’s Ford, was MC’ed by media personality Ric Tyler—who ran the show in a ref uniform. The 2005 campaign chairman, Bob Foster, president of R.H. Foster Energy, had the privilege of announcing the final score: Over 14,000 donors at more than 400 workplaces gave to the United Way.

The hundreds of businesses and thousands of people who choose to give year after year is impressive all by itself, but this event also celebrated those who went over the top. Here are a few of the 14,000/400 who kicked one over the goal post:

Rudman & Winchell won Campaign Chair’s Award for a small company with a particularly outstanding campaign; the Bangor law firm doubled its campaign over last year, primarily through Leaders’ Circle ($1,000 plus) gifts. For a medium-sized company, Bangor Hydro took the honors for an outstanding campaign. And in the large company category, General Electric was given the Campaign Chair’s Award for significantly increasing its campaign for an amazing six years in a row.

Bangor Savings Bank was given the Community Impact Award for its generous commitment to supporting community impact initiatives. The Best New Campaign went to L.L. Bean, and the Campaign Leader Award, given annually to the largest campaign, was presented to Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, which raised over $200,000.

The United Way of Eastern Maine’s 2005 campaign set a record of 90 new Leaders’ Circle donors, thanks, in part, to Don Mitchell, vice president at Means Investment Company. He took home the Irene Gray Outstanding Campaign Volunteer Award for his work in expanding this year’s Leaders’ Circle.

 The final award of the evening, Pillar of the Community, given only once to an organization demonstrating a long-standing commitment to the community, was presented to R.H. Foster Energy.

Funds from this year’s United Way campaign will benefit programs at
60 partner nonprofits throughout Hancock, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Waldo, and Washington Counties. As their press kit points out, of each dollar donated to the United Way, 86 cents goes directly back into supporting the community.

In honor of the team theme, a football autographed by Tom Brady was auctioned off during the event; Jeff O’Sullivan of UBS Financial Services tossed bids back and forth before he made the winning “catch”— a donation of $605. Thanks to enthusiastic givers like him, the United Way of Eastern Maine will, through its partner agencies, score countless victories for the community throughout 2006.