How do YOU Live United?

Live United is much more than a slogan - it is a way of life. It is an action - it is what we do. It is not just wearing the shirt - it is living it!

We are looking for individuals who are willing to be recorded on video to tell their story in 2 minutes or less. Personal, authentic video clips of how real people, right here in Wells County, Live United.

Do you volunteer? Do you work with a United Way agency? Do you donate to United Way?

Let us record you and post it on our blog - we want to know how YOU Live United.

Contact the United Way office at 260-824-5589 or comment on this blog and we will make arrangements with you to set up the taping.

Career Expo

Wells County Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a Career Expo on November 5 for high school students. What an awesome opportunity for our students to learn about various careers and opportunities. And what a great opportunity for our local businesses to meet high schoolers.

Again, we are blessed with wonderful things here in Wells County - and this is just one more of those things.

If you are a business, please consider participating. You can contact the Chamber for more information.

If you are a high school student, go to the Career Expo and soak up all the information and knowledge that will be there.

Campaign Staff Expanded

United Way of Wells County has added a staff person and restructured existing staff. We are very fortunate to have Michael Fox join our staff as the new Resource Coordinator. Michael has been with us for one week and is busy learning the ropes and catching on quickly. He will be responsible for working with the campaign volunteers in running United Way campaigns in the workplace, among other things.

Michael comes to United Way with a background in sales - he has a B.S. in Business Administration with a marketing concentration from IU.

Please welcome Michael to Bluffton and United Way.

In addition, Karen Dauterman will be working exclusively with the Faith Fund, Santa's Workshop and related activities. Karen has been with the United Way of Wells County for 2 years and has great empathy when working with clients, as well as a wealth of knowledge on the services and programs available to help low-income families and individuals.

Marsha Werling is a volunteer who comes into the office once or twice a week to help with some general clerical duties and the Imagination Library.

And last, but not least, Maddie Merkel is a student intern from Bluffton High School. Maddie will be in the office performing light clerical duties the first semester.

Please join me in welcoming everyone to United Way of Wells County. We now have a fully staffed office and I expect great things to happen.

News Flash - The Whims Update

I know I have been encouraging everyone to attend the Battle of the Bands to support a local band this Thursday night. And I'm still going to encourage you.

However, they will not be playing at 9 pm - instead they have been given the final time slot on Thursday night - 11:30 pm. I know that it will be hard for a lot of you to come out at that hour and still get to work the next day (me included). Consider going to Columbia Street West at 9 pm anyway, pay the cover charge ($5), get your ballot and vote for The Whims. You will at least be getting your vote in and that is 50% of the scoring.

We still need a lot of people to come at 11:30 to hear The Whims and to support them and clap and encourage them. This is a great band and they are from Wells County - we need to do what we can to support and encourage local groups.

Hope to see you Thursday night at Columbia Street West at 11:30 pm

Battle of the Bands semi-finals

We know The Whims will be playing in the Battle of the Bands semi-finals. Now, we have learned that they will again be playing at 9:00 pm - great time so we don't have to stay out all night to support them.

Mark your calendar and plan to come out and listen to this great group - Will and Heather and Trent and Jena play some great music - music that you can actually listen to and understand. It isn't every day that a local group gets this kind of recognition - but they can't keep moving forward without our help.

Thursday, August 13 at 9:00 pm - Columbia Street West - $5 cover charge - you will get a ballot to vote for your favorite band - and I'm sure you will be convinced that the best band will once again be The Whims.

Battle of the Bands - quarter-finals - The Whims

Didn't make it to see The Whims perform last night? That is really a shame - they Rocked Columbia Street West! This was only their second public performance ever, if you can believe that!

They are setting the world on fire with their awesome sound - these kids have it together and are great musically too! After listening to a couple of the other bands last night, there was no doubt in my mind that they would be advancing - and they are! They have officially advanced to the Semi-finals of the Battle of the Bands this year. As soon as I have particulars on when, I will post that so we can get an even larger local group there to support them.

Will Gerber, keyboardist, was happy to show off his new keytar - sounded awesome! Check out the video.

Great Job - THE WHIMS!!!!!

WCLA

The deadline is almost here for the Wells County Leadership Academy - have you applied yet? Still not convinced that this is worth your time and money? Let me give you a few more reasons.

In addition to the community trainers that are on the slate for this year, we have some special presentations that will be made. Two of those are:

Kirk Nevins, retired VP of Sales at Franklin Electric. Kirk will be delivering his riveting "Listening" presentation. Come and learn from the master on how to advance yourself and your career through better-developed listening skills.

Roger Frick, President of Indiana Association of United Ways. Roger will give a presentation on how non-profits operate and what is expected from non-profit board members. Roger draws upon his vast career of working with many non-profits.

These "bonus" presentations will help the WCLA participants become better leaders in our community.

For additional information and an application click here. Hope to see your application soon - deadline is July 31.