Tulsa Area United Way Announces 2009 Campaign Cabinet

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Anne Tarbel, 295-6612

The Cabinet members for the 2009 Tulsa Area United Way Campaign held their first meeting April 16. This year’s chairperson, Don Walker, President of ARVEST, welcomed and challenged the group, saying, “I’m delighted to head up such a dynamic leadership team with such a critical mission. Together, our efforts will impact thousands of lives through a dynamic 2009 campaign which officially kicks off with our Day of Caring in September. Each of our 63 partner agencies and the community as a whole are counting on us to work tirelessly to achieve our goal.” As 2009 Campaign Chair, Walker is responsible for leading his volunteer Campaign Cabinet and thousands of other volunteers. The first responsibility of the newly announced Cabinet is to recruit the remaining volunteers needed for the fall campaign. “In our planning process, we evaluate the community’s need for services as well as the community’s willingness and ability to meet the needs,” Walker said. “TAUW’s Community Investments volunteers are currently in the process of assessing the agencies’ funding requests and determining the allocations for over 170 programs and services. They will bring their allocation recommendations to the Campaign Cabinet in June. Based on this recommendation and our analysis of the community-wide potential, the Campaign Cabinet will develop its goal recommendation which they will take to the TAUW Board of Directors for approval on June 23.” “Don has recruited a top quality Cabinet this year,” said Mark R. Graham, President and CEO of the Tulsa Area United Way. “Although we have challenges ahead of us, our community has always helped those in need. With this outstanding leadership team, I am confident that we will maximize our ability to provide for our citizens in need.” United Way’s area-wide campaign kicks off with the annual Day of Caring on Sep. 11, when an estimated 4,000 company volunteers will work throughout the six-county TAUW service area to complete projects for the 63 agencies. The official campaign closing date is November 10. Walker announced the Team Chairs and Division Heads recruited to date. They include: Industry and General Business Team Chair - Becky J. Frank, Schnake Turnbo Frank PR, and her Division Chairs - Kirk Hays, ARVEST Bank – Business/Retail; Robert S. Mareburger, ONEOK, Inc. - CommTech; Kelli Bailey,

1430 S. Boulder PO Box 1859 Tulsa, Oklahoma 74101-1859 918-583-7171 FAX 918-582-5588 Matrix Architects, Engineers, Planners Inc. - Construction; Wesley Holmes, Williams - Energy; Donna J. Fletcher, Helmerich & Payne, Inc. – Energy Services; Tim Brooks, T.D. Williamson, Inc. - Manufacturing; Carl G. Vincent, Ruffin Properties - Real Estate. Public Service and Government Team Chair - Tom Baker, Community Volunteer; Division Chairs are Paul Williams, Tulsa Police Department - City; John Smaligo, Board of Commissioners - County; Brett Campbell, Tulsa Community College and Dr. Cathy Burden, Union Public Schools - Education; Eloy Huerta, Social Security Administration-Tulsa – Federal (CFC); Jeff Summers, The Bridges Foundation – Non-Profits; Jari Askins, Office of Governor Brad Henry – State. Professional Business Team Chair - Steven B. Ganzkow, American Residential Group. Division Chairs are Bradley Stoots, Grant Thornton, LLP - Accountants; Tray Siegfried, The NORDAM Group - Aerospace; John D. Pixley, The F&M Bank & Trust Company - Finance; David S. Wagner, Saint Francis Health System - Healthcare; Jeff R. Tikkanen, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Oklahoma – Insurance. Green Country and Commerce Team - Paula D. Cotten, QuikTrip Corporation. Division Chairs are Matthew C. Smith, Community Bank - Bristow; Chris Cadieux, QuikTrip Corporation – Hospitality; Rex Jones, Okmulgee Memorial Hospital - Okmulgee; Michael J. Bradley, Matrix Service Company – Port of Catoosa; Donna Nagel, St. John Sapulpa and George Ricker, First United Bank - Sapulpa; John D. Benjamin, Auto Finance Consultant – Transportation. Leadership Team Chair – Dan Ellinor, Bank of Oklahoma, N.A. Division Chairs include Darton and Jamie Zink - Tocqueville Society; Andrea B. Doyle, H.A. & Mary K. Chapman Charitable Trust - Foundations; Russ Florence, Schnake Turnbo Frank PR - Trailblazers; John Gaines, Northeastern Oklahoma Central Labor Council - Labor; David Littlefield, Littlefield, Inc. – Marketing. The Tulsa Area United Way provides services to over 730,000 annually through its 63 partner agencies in Creek, Okmulgee, Osage, Rogers, Wagoner and Tulsa counties. For more information, call TAUW at 583- 7171 or visit www.tauw.org.

1430 S. Boulder PO Box 1859 Tulsa, Oklahoma 74101-1859 918-583-7171 FAX 918-582-5588