9 New Members Join United Way's Board Annual Meeting 2005 2nd Annual Celebrating Community Caring 2-1-1 Statewide Launch 9 New Members Join United Way's Board Nine new board members joined the Board of Trustees of the United Way of Hunterdon County at the organization's annual meeting at the Holiday Inn Select in Clinton.  Dr. Boris Ivovich presented the nominations report and introduced the following nine new members to the Board for the United Way of Hunterdon County. They are: Stephen J. Croghan Mr. Stephen J. Croghan is a self-employed, Senior Financial Advisor with a franchise of American Express Financial. He lives with his wife, Patricia, in High Bridge, NJ. Steve is a member of the North Hunterdon Rotary Club and is involved in coaching soccer, basketball and baseball in High Bridge and Clinton youth sports organizations. Simi K. Dhillon Ms. Simi H. Dhillon is the Branch Manager of Commerce Bank in Clinton, NJ. She and her husband, Taz, have resided in Lebanon, NJ for the past 8 years. She is a member of the North Hunterdon Rotary Club.  Kathleen Horn Ms. Kathleen Horn is the Director of Infection Control & Epidemiology at Hunterdon Medical Center. She lives with her husband, Roger, in Upper Black Eddy, PA. Kathy also belongs to several other organizations including the Hunterdon County Lyme Action Committee, the Hunterdon County Partnership for Health Steering Committee, the Hunterdon County AIDS Task Force, the NJDHSS Licensure Standards Revision Committee, the American Association of Community Colleges, Northeastern Infection Control Educators and the NJ Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology. Kathy has served as the co-chair of the HMC United Way of Hunterdon County campaign for the past several years and is currently serving on the United Way of Hunterdon County Fund Distribution Committee.  Suzanne L. Lagay  Ms. Suzanne L. Lagay is the President/ CEO of the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce. She lives in Annandale, NJ and has been a Hunterdon County resident for 9 years. Suzanne is a member of the Flemington Rotary Club, the National Association of Chamber Executives and the Raritan Valley Community College Advisory Board for Civic Involvement and Volunteerism. She also serves on a number of other Boards: Hunterdon Economic Partnership, Hunterdon County Employer's Legislative Committee, Great Raritan Workforce Investment Board - Planning & Development Committee and the Hunterdon County Medication Access Partnership. Suzanne is also a member of the United Way of Hunterdon County Fund Distribution Committee.  Jeffrey D. Mattison  Mr. Jeffrey D. Mattison is the Vice President of Commercial Lending at Yardville National Bank in Flemington, NJ. He lives in Washington, NJ with his wife, Patricia. Jeff is active with the Arc of Hunterdon County, the Arc of Hunterdon Foundation as well as a member of the Flemington Rotary Club. Jeff is also a member of the United Way of Hunterdon County's Fund Distribution Committee.  Sharon H. Moore Ms. Sharon H. Moore is an attorney with Gebhardt & Kiefer, PC in Clinton, NJ. Sharon, a 25 year Hunterdon County resident, resides in Califon with her husband, John. She is a member of the Hunterdon County Bar Association and the North Hunterdon Rotary Club.  Anna M. Schwartz Ms. Anna M. Schwartz is a professional photographer and the owner of Portraits by Anna in Clinton, NJ. She resides in Clinton with her husband, Arthur. Anna recently moved into the county and is also a member of the Clinton Guild.  Robert J. Seymour Mr. Robert J. Seymour is an Associate Professor in the Howe School of Technology Management at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. Bob has resided in Annandale with his wife, Mary Ann, for the last 14 years. Bob is involved in various capacities at the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church and is also on the technology committee at the Liberty Science Center. Bob has been a member of the United Way of Hunterdon County's Fund Distribution Committee for the past 6 years. Daniel J. Torrone Mr. Daniel J. Torrone is the self-employed, owner of Doctor D Entertainment. Dan resides in Lebanon, NJ and he has lived and worked in Hunterdon County for over 30 years. Dan maintains active memberships with many county organization including the North Hunterdon Rotary Club, Community Dispute Resolution of Hunterdon & Somerset Counties, Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce, advisory board of Hunterdon Prevention Resources and 4-H Agricultural Fair Committee to name a few. The slate of officers for the 2005-2006 United Way of Hunterdon County Board of Trustees was elected as follows: President, Frank McElroy; Vice President Resource Development, Anna Walz; Vice President Community Impact, Alan Ford; Treasurer, Ann Kallam and Secretary, Dr. Boris Ivovich. Other committee chairs and Executive Committee members include: Past President, Donald Pinner; Nominating Committee Chair, Judith Morgan; Finance Committee Chair, Suzanne Kleinhans. [back to top]           United Way of Hunterdon County Holds Annual Meeting 2005 On June 9th, the United Way of Hunterdon County held its Annual Meeting to elect new members to the Board of Trustees, discuss the results of the 2004-2005 campaign and to highlight United Way funding and activities over the past year. The meeting, which was held at the Holiday Inn Select of Clinton, was preceded with a breakfast sponsored by 3-M, Bemis, BOC, Chiron, Clinton Holiday Inn Select, Geoffrey Close of Morgan Stanley, Commerce Bank, ExxonMobil, Herder-Tarricone, Hunterdon County Democrat, Hunterdon Medical Center, Medisys Health Communications, Merck & Company Inc., Peapack-Gladstone Bank and Sprint. Don Pinner, United Way of Hunterdon County Board President, spoke about the clear focus that United Way volunteers have on improving the lives of people in Hunterdon County. He described the passion and clear focus that drives United Way of Hunterdon County volunteers to develop and support programs that truly address some of the key issues facing our community.  Dennis Cox reported that United Way of Hunterdon County has projected to raise $1.32 million in Hunterdon County during the 2004-2005 campaign. Dennis explained how strong this campaign was during a time when our economy has not been very steady and at a time when charitable donations is at an all time high. In fact, many neighboring United Way's and hundreds of local businesses and community organizations are having double digit revenue losses. However, the community in Hunterdon County has truly rallied around our local United Way, Cox said. Several members of the 2004-2005 Board were recognized for their tireless efforts during the past year. Don Pinner thanked his fellow Board members for their commitment to our community. He presented the Executive Committee; Karen Tarricone, vice president of community impact; James Robinson, vice president of resource development; Alice Brydia, treasurer; Liz Schmid, secretary; Dr. Boris Ivovich, nominating committee chair; Frank McElroy, President-elect; and Alan Ford, member at large, with a small token of his appreciation. He also recognized outgoing Board members, Terry Martin, Jim Robinson and Karen Tarricone.  On behalf of the Board of Trustees, Dennis Cox and Alice Brydia presented awards to local companies for their outstanding contributions to the 2004-2005 campaign. The award recipients included:    ¨Highest Corporate Per Capita Award: Merck & Company, Inc.    ¨Highest Employee Per Capita Award: ExxonMobil Research and Engineering,Co.     ¨Highest Union Per Capita Award: Independent Laboratory Employee Union - Employees   of     ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Co.    ¨Highest Member Agency Employee Per Capita Award: Hunterdon Prevention Resources    ¨The Campaign Pillar Award was established last year to recognize companies that have made generous contributions of $50,000 or more to the United Way of Hunterdon County. This year the two companies that received this award were Chubb & Son and Hunterdon Medical Center.     ¨Several companies were awarded  the Award of Excellence which is recognition for giving levels of $100 and above per employee.  The winners included ExxonMobil Research & Engineering, Girl Scouts - Rolling Hills Council, Hunterdon Prevention Resources, Medisys Health Communications, Merck & Company, Morgan Stanley, New York Life Insurance, Sun National Bank and United Way of Hunterdon County.     ¨The Hunterdon Youth Facility and Lebanon Borough School were both recognized with the Youth Award for volunteerism. The youth of the facility and the students at Lebanon Borough School have lent their time to do projects that put their skills to good use and helped to support United Way of Hunterdon County. Rev. Mark Summer highlighted the funding that had been provided this past year to assist programs in our community focused on helping those in need. He thanked the 26 United Way certified member agencies for their commitment. The annual meeting was culminated by introducing the incoming President, Frank McElroy. Frank is the Manager of Research Support at ExxonMobil where he has worked for the past 28 years. He and his wife have lived in Hunterdon County since 1984. United Way of Hunterdon County has been building a caring community in our own backyard since 1982. Like other local United Ways throughout the country, United Way of Hunterdon County is independently operated and must generate all of its financial resources through the collaborative effort of its staff, volunteers and community leaders. What matters most to United Way of Hunterdon County is mobilizing the community to create sustained change in community conditions to improve lives. The community-wide fundraising campaign is focused on lending assistance to the hungry and homeless, children at-risk, people with disabilities and the elderly. The organization also supports programs for disease prevention and treatment and family support. In the last year, over 40 percent of Hunterdon County's population benefited in some way from a program or service funded by United Way.   [back to top] UNITED WAY TO HOLD 2nd ANNUAL "CELEBRATING COMMUNITY CARING" EVENT The United Way of Hunterdon County will be holding the 2nd Annual "Celebrating Community Caring" recognition dinner on Friday, April 15, 2005 from 6-11 p.m. at the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse.  This year Kathleen Hadfield Zuback, community leader and longtime volunteer, will be recognized as the United Way of Hunterdon County Community Volunteer of the Year. The event will feature a silent and live auction, entertainment, dinner and dancing. The entertainment will be provided by Doctor D Entertainment. All community members are invited to recognize Kathleen Hadfield Zuback at this fun-filled event. Tickets are currently on sale for $85 per person. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact Heather Holland or Theresa Maire at the United Way of Hunterdon County, (908) 713-1555. [back to top] 2-1-1 Helpline Answers the Needs of Hunterdon Caption (pictured left to right): Bonnie Duncan, Executive Director of United Way of Hunterdon County, Jeanne Cassano, Executive Director of Hunterdon Helpline and one of 2-1-1's Community Resource Specialists, celebrate the statewide launch locally in Hunterdon County on February 11th During the past 2 years, more than 127,000 calls have been connected to the health and human services, community resources, and government assistance individuals need thanks to the 2-1-1 Helpline that has been implemented through a strong partnership between Hunterdon Helpline, United Way, the Board of Chosen Freeholders and Sprint. The overwhelming success of 2-1-1 in Hunterdon led to a statewide launch of 2-1-1 on February 10, 2005. Hunterdon's Call Center, Hunterdon Helpline, was the first county to go on-line and pilot the 2-1-1 initiative in October of 2002. Over the past two years efforts have continued to build capacity and ensure 2-1-1 services are available to the entire state through a distributed network of Call Centers. "Every day someone in our community needs essential services - from finding substance abuse assistance to securing adequate care for a child or an aging parent," said Don Pinner, Board President of the United Way of Hunterdon County. "Although there are a large number of agencies and help lines ready to assist, people do not always know how to access the appropriate one. In many cases, they end up going without these necessary and readily available services because they do not know where to start. Fortunately, for thousands of local people in need of assistance, the introduction of 2-1-1 has become a vital resource and a critical link."  Freeholder Director, Marcia Karrow also recognizes the strong impact that 2-1-1 has made. "2-1-1 has strengthened our entire community by putting local people in a better position to access health and human service programs," said Ms. Karrow. "2-1-1 is also putting us in a better position to anticipate demand for services in our area and mobilize resources to meet changing needs." 2-1-1 is an easy-to-remember and universally recognizable telephone number that connects individuals and families to the health and human services, community resources, and government assistance they need. Landline and cell phone calls to 2-1-1 are always free and confidential. Multi-lingual, Information Specialists make appropriate referral to community-based organizations and government agencies. Ongoing monitoring is also conducted by 2-1-1 Information Specialists to assure links are made and service is provided. TTY / TTD is also available. 2-1-1 Information Specialists provide comprehensive information and referral services to callers about a variety of issues, including: ˇ Basic Human Needs Resource: food banks, clothing closets, shelters, rent assistance, utility assistance.  ˇ Support for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities: adult day care, congregate meals, Meals on Wheels, respite care, home health care, transportation, homemaker services.  ˇ Support for Children, Youth and Families: childcare, after school programs, NJFamily Care (health insurance programs), family resource centers, summer camps and recreation programs, mentoring, tutoring, protective services. ˇ Physical and Mental Health Resources: health insurance programs, Medicaid and Medicare, maternal health, Children's Health Insurance Program, medical information lines, crisis intervention services, support groups, counseling, drug and alcohol intervention and rehabilitation.  ˇ Employment Supports: financial assistance, job training, transportation assistance, and education programs.  The 2-1-1 Helpline is accessible to everyone living and working in the State of New Jersey. Local 2-1-1 Call Centers are geographically distributed throughout the state, drawing on local based information and assistance expertise to provide access to a full range of resources. In the United States, 2-1-1 is being deployed state by state with advocacy and support provided by local government and United Way. Currently, about 34% of the U.S. population has 2-1-1 access, and plans are focused on bringing 2-1-1 to 50% of the U.S. population by the end of 2005 and growing to 100% soon thereafter. Hunterdon Helpline has been providing quality Information & Referral services to our community for the past 35 years. United Way of Hunterdon County is focused on supporting programs that lend assistance to children at-risk, people with disabilities, families in crisis, the elderly, and the hungry and homeless. In the past year alone, nearly 40% of the people that live and/or work in Hunterdon County benefited from a program supported by United Way. For more information, please call 2-1-1. [back to top] View the News Archive for Past Highlights

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