United Way has new advisory board with a nationally recognized leader

Submitted Photo Margo Sullivan, President of the Unite Way of Cherokee and Clay Counties Board of Directors, presents retired Atlanta United Way CEO Mark O'Connell with a certificate recognizing him as the first person to be elected to the local United Way's newly-developed Advisory Board. O'Connell was the featured speaker at the United Way's Third Annual Volunteer Recognition Event held recently to honor volunteers of non-profit human service agencies in Cherokee and Clay Counties.

Mark O'Connell, recently retired as the President/ CEO of the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, has been elected as the first member of the newly-formed Advisory Board of the United way of Cherokee and Clay Counties. Margo Sullivan, President of the local United Way's Board of Directors explained that "the regular Board is made uup of community volunteers and leaders from Cherokee and Clay Counties whose responsibility is to raise funds, identify local human service needs, and distrubute funds to local non-profit agencies providing vital services in our counties. The new Advisory Board will be made up of people who have had considerable United Way experience and can help move our United Way into further directions in order to help us achieve more results for the agencies we help to fund."

O'Connell, who has a vacation home in Clay County, was a United Way executive for 37 years - 18 of them in Atlanta. "Now that I'm retired, I hope to be spending much more time in this beautiful area," said O'Connell.

With O'Connell at the helm, Atlanta's United Way pioneered the "Community Impact" approach that is being adopted by Unite wAys across the country. The community impact approach focuses on major issues, bringing together community leader and citizens to identify and plan how to address the root causes of problems such as homelessness.

Financial World magazine honored the United Way of Metropolitan atlanta as one of the "Best Run Charities in America", and Mark O'Connell is considered one of the outstanding non-profit leaders in the country. In his retirement, he has a special grant to develop a national leadership program.

He also was the first United wAy CEO to support the creation of 2-1-1, a special telephone number to provide quick information and referrals to health and human service organizations. The service is available to more than 200 million Americans in 41 states. Karen Borchers, executive director of the United Way of Cherokee and Clay counties said that it is hoped that Western North Carolina may have the service soon, through the efforts of the United Way of North Carolina. The United Way of Cherokee and Clay Counties distributed $24,550 in 2007 to nine local non-profit human service agencies in Cherokee County and five in Clay County. Current United Way partner agencies are: Andrews Home-Delivered Meals; Boy Scouts; Cherokee County 4-H; Cherokee County Food Band; Cherokee County Rescue Squad; Cherokee County Sharing Center; Clay County Food Pantry; Clay County Senior Center; Compassionate Friends; Family Resources; Girl Scouts; H.A.V.E.N. Children's Advocacy Center; Hayesville Hands of Hope; Hurlburt- Johnson Friendship House; Power Partners; REACH of Cherokee County; REACH of Clay County; Special Olympics

of Cherokee County; Special

Olympics of Clay County; and Sentinel Ad 1-3-08:Layout 1 12/Western Carolina Pacesetters. All of the money raised by the United Way stays in Cherokee and Clay Counties and is used locally to help people in our home communities. Donors can specify whether they want their

contributions to be used to help

people in Cherokee County, 12/20/07 2:37 PM Page 1

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