A major transition during the annual United Way of the Flint Hills Campaign did little to affect support for the agency as noted during the annual campaign celebration Thursday.
According to United Way Executive Director Daphne Mertens this year’s campaign reached $372,000 in donations and when you factor in grant awards the total comes to just under $500,000. The total is just above last year’s amount of $435,100.
Making the total even more impressive is that it was attained as a major change in leadership took place with Mertens replacing longtime Chief Executive Officer Mickey Edwards who was named the new Executive Director of SOS earlier this year. Mertens says she had some concerns with stepping into the role in the middle of the campaign.
That being said, Mertens tells KVOE News the work of United Way staff and volunteers quickly put her at ease.
Drive Chair Lynn Cunningham says Thursday was not only a time to celebrate the past year of fundraising but also to acknowledge their various partners and the entire community that helped them to reach their nearly half-a-million dollar total.
In addition to unveiling this year’s campaign total, Mertens also announced their annual campaign award winners. The awards recipients were as follows:
*Community Impact Award: Newman Regional Health’s Women’s Life Center
*Honorary Mention: Crosswinds Counseling and Wellness
*Spirit Award: Kansas Gas Service
Also during the celebration, KVOE reporter and on-air personality Tagan Trahoon was chosen as the 2024-2025 drive chair.
Trahoon has been working with the station since 2017 as a news anchor and reporter as well as a sports play-by-play and color commentator. He has also taken on several community roles, including serving on the Empower House and SOS boards and co-directing Spartan Boxing Club. With the campaign drive shifting from a nine-month campaign to all year, Trahoon says he plans to listen to past drive chairs, work to get the word out about the United Way and be authentic with his approach.