The United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley hosted its Building a Better Community breakfast on Monday, November 20th. They honored Jamie Bordas, a longtime United Way supporter, with the award.
Jamie Bordas has supported the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley and their partner agencies for many years. Staci Stephen, Executive Director of the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley, said, “We were excited to honor Mr. Bordas this year as our Building a Better Community award winner. You can’t listen to the radio, watch TV, or drive down interstate without hearing or seeing his name. He is a tremendous supporter of the United Way and the entire community. When we sat down to discuss who the honoree would be this year, his name just kept popping up. He is instrumental in the progress of the Ohio Valley, and we wanted to be able to show him how much he is appreciated.”
Volunteer of the Year
Other awards included Volunteer of the Year, given to Bella Rine, Miley Rine, and Chris Thomas for generously donating their time to the United Way. Bella and Miley have always helped out… well, partially because their mom was the director, and they had no choice, but this year, they wanted to help when they didn’t have to. Both girls volunteered for our Lace Up for Kids events and brought all of their friends. They helped hand out shoes throughout six counties. They came early and organized shoes, they would gather the shoes when the families would come in… and they did this all in exchange for some occasional pizza, soda or donuts. By the last two counties, they were running Lace Up for Kids independently without the help of staff, which was an enormous help to us. We will always have a place for them.
Chris Thomas is a realtor, and he made the mistake of telling us, “Hey, anytime you need volunteers, give me a call.” And we have definitely taken him up on that. I think every event since then I have sent him a text and asked if he wanted to help. Chris was a lifesaver at our Red White and Brew event. He showed up with even more volunteers and worked a very hectic and busy tent, and as we were starting to clean up, I turned around, and there he was again. He stayed late and helped us load up everything. Mayor Wood and the Moundsville Arts and Culture Commission are generous enough to allow the United Way to bartend at their Jefferson Fridays, and all the tips go to the United Way. Sure enough, Chris reached out and said he would be there. He has been a huge help, and we can’t thank him enough.
G. Odgen Nutting Community Service Award
Sharon Kesselring of the American Red Cross of the Ohio River Valley was given the inaugural G. Ogden Nutting Community Service Award, named after the late publisher of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register and avid donor and supporter of the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley. Mr. Nutting once said that he felt if a community had a strong United Way, it would succeed… because the United Way is the backbone of the community. Not only was he generous in his giving, but he was also generous with his words. Anytime someone from the United Way was out in the community speaking or giving presentations, Ogden was always in the audience and always taking time at the end of the presentation to speak up and say what a valuable asset the United Way is to our community. Since he was such a true champion for the United Way and the community, we wanted to honor his legacy of giving with a new award. The George Ogden Nutting Community Service Award. In addition to receiving the award, we are happy to announce that for at least the next five years, the recipient of the George Ogden Nutting Community Service Award will also receive $5,000 towards their agency from the Nutting family in memory of George Ogden Nutting. The winner of the award this year was someone who has gone above and beyond for her agency, the Red Cross, for the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley, and for her community. She makes the joke when you ask her where she is from that when she sleeps, she sleeps with her husband in Parkersburg because she is always on the go and always helping someone. She attends every agency meeting, volunteers for every fundraising event, and most of the time works double shifts. Anytime we send out an email asking for volunteers, she is one of the first ones to respond. She is always helping. Whether your house just burned to the ground, or you are giving blood, or there was a flood or natural disaster, she is there, and although we don’t rank as high as a natural disaster, Sharon is always there to help make our community a better place, and I think Ogden would agree with us that this award is well deserved.
Top Employee Campaigns and Corporate Giving
Awards were given to the top corporate donors to the United Way’s 2022-2023 campaign “Raised Here. Stays Here.” Employee campaigns are a way for companies to encourage their employees to participate in their own philanthropic giving. The employers with the most money raised were honored. Silver Champion – WesBanco; Gold Champion – Westlake Chemical; Platinum Champion – Covestro
The Corporate Champions are the largest donors to the United Way: Silver Corporate Champion – Joe’s Tire; Gold Corporate Champion – Covestro; Platinum Corporate Champion – Williams.
If you are interested in getting involved with the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley, reach out to executive director Staci Stephen, at [email protected] or 304-232-4625