Our 2024 Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Chef Mike Huffer from WoodBridge. WoodBridge has donated meals for many of our events in the past, including the Rally and Live United Day in 2024. Chef Mike volunteers his time to coordinate everything necessary and to prepare the food. On Live United Day this past year, Chef and his team made over 340 lunches for our volunteers! Chef has been a part of United Way for many years, and we appreciate all he does!
The United Way of Cass County's Annual Celebration was held on February 23, 2025 at Vibrant Event Center. Each year, we are lucky to have so many generous and caring supporters that help us make our work possible. The Annual Celebration gives us a chance to honor these community leaders. We recognized various individuals and companies, including our 2024 award winners. You can read more about them below!
Thank you to Security Federal Savings Bank for sponsoring this event, Vibrant Event Center for hosting, Vibrant Events for catering, and Lindsey Miller for taking the pictures!
2024 Award Winners
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Pacesetters are companies that run their workplace campaign in July or August, ahead of the regular campaign. These companies help set the tone for the Annual Campaign. Cole Hardwood's efforts during the 2024 Campaign stood out, and they received the 2024 Pacesetter of the Year award. Cole Hardwood is a long-time supporter of our work, and we appreciate all they do in making our community a better place!
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Zagajewski Construction and McCord's Do It Best were recognized for their work to ensure a ramp was completed for a local family. McCord's donated the materials for Zagajewski to complete the ramp. Due to the length of the ramp, it was also necessary to adjust a fence and gate. Zagajewski Construction donated the materials and additional time to make sure this project was complete. These two companies have played a big role in LIVE UNITED® Day for many years and are quick to lend a hand when needed!
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Transco Railway started volunteering for LIVE UNITED® Day a few years ago and they have tackled some big projects over the years. This year, they worked to revitalize the Clymers Cemetery. This group was tasked with cleaning up shrubs, removing trees, and painting. They also spent many hours digging out grass that had grown over sidewalks. Transco completed more than what was asked of them and made a major transformation!
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We created the Joe Johnson Legacy of Impact Award to recognize Joe’s many years of dedication and service to United Way of Cass County. We presented this award to his family and awarded the first recipient, Lloyd R. Knight, at our Annual Celebration.
Read more about Joe and Lloyd's involvement with United Way here.
2023 Award Winners
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Our 2023 Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Nikki Ellington. Nikki is our Board Secretary, served our organization in various volunteer roles, and showed up in many other ways in 2023. She is a key part of United Way of Cass County, and we are grateful to have her on our team!
*Photo by Rich Voorhees
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The Outstanding Pacesetter of the Year award was given to Small Parts. Their campaign improved greatly from 2022 to 2023. Small Parts supports United Way of Cass County in various ways!
*Photo by Rich Voorhees
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Lewis Cass High School was one of the recipients of the LIVE UNITED Day award for 2023. The students and staff worked at Galveston Town Park on September 8, 2023 to refresh and clean up the area.
*Photo by Rich Voorhees
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Pioneer Regional School Corporation was the other recipient of the 2023 LIVE UNITED DAY award. The elementary school and high school students and staff completed various projects on school grounds.
*Photo by Rich Voorhees
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The Cass County Reading Railroad's Business Partner program began during the 2008-2009 school year. Maria Rogers, Sharon Lantz, Deb Ploss, and Stacy Rans have been reading for the program since it began 16 years ago. We recognized them at our Annual Celebration for their commitment to the youth in our community.
*Photo by Rich Voorhees