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Mr. Jim Harlan speaks at the UWGK 2015 Annual Meeting
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"Do you believe...in change?"
This month's feature article is excerpted from Mr. Jim Harlan's keynote speech at the UWGK 2015 Annual Meeting. Mr. Harlan's inspirational words feel especially appropriate as the seasons change and we move into a fresh, new Spring.
Are you embracing change or just hoping for a good outcome? Well, I am here to tell you that "hope is not a strategy".
Change starts with you.
Yes, we all must honor the past, but unless we embrace the future, the past will not be sufficient to meet the needs of today or certainly our dreams of tomorrow
Change begins with knowing where you are not fooling yourself.
It starts with an unbiased look at reality. Now in my case, I have no problem with change or reality. You see I have not changed since high school. I wear the same size socks I wore as a senior in high school. When I get up in the morning and look in the mirror, I am the best looking guy that I have seen all day. Of course I am the only guy I have seen all day. I have no basis for comparison. It's only when I look out the window and see the competition that I realize I am not as young as I used to be. That comparison defines my starting point.
So what is the UWGK's starting point? The UWGK stands on a legacy of mobilizing the caring power of our community to effectively address local health and human services needs, Through the 30 partner agencies, 44 focused programs, community initiatives, and hundreds of volunteers, lives have been changed forever by helping to provide shelter for families, improving reading skills, reducing drop-out rates, assisting the elderly, counseling troubled teens, providing emergency assistance and simply giving folks a chance at a better life.
The next step of change is to "know where you are going so you won't end up someplace else". From my perspective the UWGK is focused on driving and inspiring community toward long term and lasting change by focusing on three basic building blocks that impact lives across our communities: education, income and health.
If you ask people, what do you wish most for themselves and their families? Simply put it is --
- A faith that sustains
- A safe and secure home
- A good education for their children
- Good health, and
- Most of all, love
To accomplish these goals for many in our community, the UWGK will have to be laser focused on doing things that have material impacts on lots of lives and that means doing things that have a real chance of failing. My encouragement to you today is to not take on the easy fixes; but instead to take on the hard jobs; the ones that get at root cause and deliver sustainable results.
Mark Twain once said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did."
Finally, a necessary step in successfully embracing the future is to believe. I spent almost 40 years at Eastman trying to convince people with data, models and spreadsheets to make this change or take that road. It took many years before I realized that I needed to convince folks not just in their heads but also in their hearts if an idea or project was going to be truly successful. They needed to believe the case for change, the case for need. And once they did, they did amazing things; they moved mountains and were wildly successful.
We are fortunate to live in a community that has a strong belief in giving and volunteering. Beginning in 1922 as a fundraising project of the Kingsport Businessmen's Club, transitioning in 1934 to the Kingsport Area Community Chest, and finally affiliating with the United Way of America and becoming the United Way of Greater Kingsport in 1988, our community has been about the business of improving health and human services in our own backyard for over 94 years. That is almost as long as Kingsport has been a city; Kingsport will celebrate its centennial in 2017.
I would like to thank everyone here today for your servant hearts. Thanks for giving the best of your talents and time in making a difference in people's lives. Thanks for honoring the legacy. But most of all, thanks for embracing the future.
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UWGK 2015 Annual Meeting
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| Cari Parker and Mayor John Clark |
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United Way of Greater Kingsport held its 2015 Annual meeting on Wednesday, February 17, 2016 with approximately 110 people in attendance. The keynote speaker for the event was Jim Harlan, influential community leader and former Eastman executive. His speech, "Do You Believe...in Change?" served to highlight the impact UWGK and its volunteers have had in affecting lasting change in the community, and served as a call to action to continue improving lives.
Three volunteers who have truly embraced the UWGK vision of "A Better Life for All" were recognized at the meeting with the prestigious "UWGK Live United" award: Tom Segelhorst and Jim and Mary Jones. 2015 UWGK Board President, Cari Parker, recognized these volunteers for their years of service to the United Way and the Greater Kingsport community.
Volunteers who served on the 2015 UWGK Board of Directors, as well as on committees and councils that drove and supported the organization's community impact work, were also recognized. A motion to affirm the 2016 UWGK Board of Directors slate was raised and approved, and the new Board of Directors was introduced.
Mayor John Clark was on hand to present Cari Parker with a commendation from the City of Kingsport on behalf of the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman for her leadership and vision as the 2015 UWGK Board President. After receiving the commendation, Parker turned her gavel over to 2016 UWGK Board President, Craig Denison, who officially adjourned the meeting.
To view more photos from the UWGK 2015 Annual Meeting, check out our Flickr album here.
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UWGK Conducts 2016 Citizens' Review Process
From February 24 - March 8, 2016, the UWGK conducted its 2016 Citizen's Review Process. This process involves community members in the biennial process of evaluating 44 UWGK Member Agency programs in order to make funding recommendations to the UWGK Community Investment Committee.
Volunteers were split into 7 panels, with each panel focusing on programs within one of UWGK's 4 impact areas: Helping Children and Youth Succeed, Promoting Self-Sufficiency, Ensuring Health, Safety, and Stability, and Supporting Aging with Choices. After a 2-hour training session, volunteers reviewed documents from each program they were to evaluate, including overviews of the programs, financials from the organizations, programmatic outcomes and quality indicators, and other educational materials. Volunteers then went out on site visits to agencies, meeting their leadership, boards, and oftentimes, the people they served in the community. These site visits were followed by deliberation meetings to reach a consensus on recommendation on funding.
"The Citizens' Review Process helps the UWGK maintain and grow the trust between donors, UWGK, and our member agencies, and offers donors and volunteers to have a way of actively engaging with the programs their pledges support," said Becca Sutphen, UWGK Community Impact Director. "We appreciate and thank the volunteers who are willing to give their time to benefit agencies, other donors, and recipients of service in our community. We also are thankful to our member agencies, who go the extra mile to provide valuable insight and information to these volunteers about the programs they run."
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Save the Date:
United Way of Greater Kingsport Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast
Tuesday, April 12
8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Picadilly Cafeteria
2101 Fort Henry Dr., Kingsport, TN
RSVP to Brenda Overbey by March 31
Community Volunteer Fair
Thursday, April 21
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Toy F. Reid Employee Center
*more information to come!*
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March is National Reading Awareness Month!
Your pledge helps UWGK provide reading support to our community's K-3rd graders.
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United Way of Greater Kingsport appreciates the support of retirees in our community who
Give. Advocate. Volunteer.
We've made it easy for you to stay connected with our work, learn about volunteer opportunities, and continue improving lives.
Visit our retiree portal at:
Know other retirees who might be interested in staying connected with United Way? Please share this link!
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Visit 2-1-1 Contact Concern of Northeast TN's
new website for free information about health and human services!
Visit
KATS website for information pm curb-to-curb transportation
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UWGK and United WE READ lead charge in working toward early grade literacy
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| United WE READ Manager, Emily Merritt, with children for Read Across America Day |
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United WE READ has been busy making connections all over Kingsport, Sullivan County, and the state of Tennessee! With events like World Book Day, Read Across America Day, and World Read Aloud Day all in the past month, early spring is a great time to promote reading and literacy!
Our materials and program were recently featured in the expo portion of TN Governor Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam's
Read to Be Ready launch with the TN Department of Education. Much like United WE READ's messaging, the Read to be Ready initiative recognizes that over half of Tennessee's 3rd (and 4th) graders are reading below proficiency level. United WE READ has led the charge in the fight for early grade literacy and still promotes its vision to see ALL area 3rd graders reading at a proficient level or above by 2020. We are excited to be a partner with Read to be Ready and promote this important message across the state.
From the Read to Be Ready website: "We not only want to teach our children to read - we want to develop them into the thinkers, problem-solvers, lifelong learners, and future leaders of Tennessee. And it will take
all of us to get there."
www.tn.gov/readtobeready
Locally, schools across Sullivan County participated in many Read Across America activities in honor of Dr. Seuss's 112th birthday. UWGK employees read to K5 and 1st grade students at Miller Perry Elementary school, and United WE READ Manager, Emily Merritt, read Dr. Seuss's
Because a Little Bug Went Kachoo! to 300+ students at Kennedy Elementary School, promoting early grade reading and the book's positive message that a little act can make a big difference.
Think that's all?
United WE READ and the United Way of Greater Kingsport are proud to announce a Community Partnership Grant to be awarded to Rock Springs Elementary School. After suffering a sprinkler system malfunction on February 8th, the library at Rock Springs Elementary school incurred a nearly $20,000 loss in books. The United Way of Greater Kingsport Board of Directors approved a Community Partnership Grant in the amount of $10,000 to be allocated to the Rock Springs Elementary School to be used for library books. As part of this grant agreement, the Sullivan South Community Chest will match an additional $2,500, bringing the total donation from both organizations to $12,500.
Representatives from United WE READ's Leadership Team, staff, and United Way of Greater Kingpsort's Board of Directors will present the award to Rock Springs at the March 8th PTA meeting at 6:30 PM.
Make sure to check out
www.UnitedWEREAD.org, follow @UnitedWEREADkpt on Twitter for up-to-date photos of local activities, and and check out United WE READ on Pinterest to access the many parent, caregiver, and summer resources available to promote reading at home, year-round!
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