United Way of the Ozarks

 

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320 North Jefferson
Springfield, MO 65806
Phone: 417.863.7700
Fax: 417.863.9102

Copyright © 2012 United Way of the Ozarks.
All rights reserved.

Our Mission

The mission of the United Way of the Ozarks is to increase understanding of human needs and to mobilize resources to meet these needs.

We care for one another through:

Our History

United Way of the Ozarks enjoys a rich heritage that can trace its origins to 1930, when a special committee of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce "perfected a plan for a Community Chest." On October 13, 1930, a new corporation, the Springfield Community Chest, Inc., elected a board of directors consisting of 28 members.

The first board chairman was J. M. Quinn. The first campaign was lead by Rev. W. H. Mansfield to benefit 17 organizations. Its purpose was to minimize "the impact of conflicting charitable requests upon Springfield."

By 1952, the campaign was known as the Community Chest - Red Cross Campaign. Later campaigns were known as the United Appeal and the United Fund.

In 1962, a permanent organization, "United Fund", was formed with a newly elected board of directors representing both donors and member agencies.

The change to "United Way of the Ozarks" in 1979 reflected the regional emphasis and responsibilities of the organization.

In 1994, a unique partnership was formed between Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and United Way of the Ozarks. The board of directors of both organizations agreed to support a combined capital campaign which would provide the first building owned by United Way and enable the Chamber of Commerce to build a new building.

The campaign was a success and a new structure, named the "John Q. Hammons Enterprise Center", was built for the Chamber of Commerce. The previous Chamber building was titled to United Way debt free, including furniture and fixtures.

On June 12, 1996, the building at 320 North Jefferson Avenue was dedicated as the "Clarence R. Wheeler Center" in appreciation to the principal donor and committed to the mission and work of providing a better quality of life for this and future generations in the Ozarks.

By 1996, United Way of the Ozarks had more than 400 campaign volunteers and 27 member agencies serving 23 counties in southwest Missouri.

The 2008 campaign raised $3,443,698 for member agencies. 98% of the total goal was raised while facing a very unsettled economic climate during the fall campaign.

March 2009 - BKD's Southern Missouri Foundation announces at the March 3 annual meeting that they are gifting to the 23 United Way partner agencies, $105,000 to bring agency allocation funding to the original 2008 level.

Professional Staff

Jennifer Kennally
President/CEO
Ext. 223
jkennally@uwozarks.com

Cindy Howell
Vice President - Resource Development & Marketing
Ext. 229
chowell@uwozarks.com

Sheri Lupton
Sr. Vice President/Chief Operating Officer
Ext. 225
slupton@uwozarks.com

Becky Morgan
Coordinator of Community Investment
Ext 240
bmorgan@uwozarks.com

 

Autumn Porter
Tri Lakes United Way Coordinator
aporter@uwozarks.com

Megan Blevins
Resource Development Specialist
Ext. 230
mblevins@uwozarks.com

 

Rennie Diekemper
AFL-CIO Community Service Liaison
Ext. 227
rdiekemper@uwozarks.comm

Susan Boyd
Director of Administration
Ext. 222
sboyd@uwozarks.com

LaTrisia Beeman
Accounts Payable Financial Assistant
Ext. 232
lbeeman@uwozarks.com

Adele Alton
Staff Accountant
Ext. 242
aalton@uwozarks.com

Shellie Jones
Director of Resource Development
Ext. 224
Sjones@uwozarks.com

 

Board of Directors

Gary Garwitz
BKD LLP

Chairman

Linda Ramey-Greiwe
News-Leader

Vice Chairman

Raylene Appleby
PJC Insurance

Secretary

Jan Baumgartner
Springfield First Community Bank

Treasurer

Raylene Appleby
PJC Insurance

Secretary

Brian McDonough
KY3

Associate Campaign Chair

Paul Williams
Springfield Police Chief

Campaign Chair

Greg Beck
O'Reilly Auto Parts

Community Investment Chair

Greg Burris
City of Springfield

Immediate Past Chairman

Dick Wilson
IBEW #753

Union Representative

 

Jim Arnott
Greene County Sheriff

Roseann Bentley
Associate Greene County Commissioner

Kenny Boggs
Teamsters Local 245

Virginia Fry
Husch Blackwell

Keith Boatright
SRC Holdings Corp.

John Hursh
Cox Health

David Cook
The Bank of Missouri

Dr. Nancy O’Reilly
O’Reilly Health & Wellness Consultation Svcs.

Matt Gifford
Springfield Cardinals

Julie Jones
Mercy Health

Francine Pratt

Dr. Norm Ridder
Springfield Public Schools

Rodney Shepard
Arvest Bank

Clif Smart
Missouri State University

Wade Stinson
City Utilities