Guest speaker Hatton Smith tells crowd at United Way kickoff, 'We will win'
United Way of Etowah County kicked off its 2023 fundraising campaign on Thursday with a luncheon at The Venue at Coosa Landing that turned into a pep rally, courtesy of “head cheerleader” Hatton Smith.
The campaign is already at 40% of its goal of $1,017,000 through efforts of Leadership Givers and Pacesetter Companies, which prime the donations.
Smith, chief executive officer of Back Forty Beer Company, was guest speaker at the event. Formerly president and CEO of Royal Cup Coffee, he’s been a supporter of United Way for a half-century as a donor and leader.
He’s served as campaign chairman and chairman of the board for United Way of Central Alabama and has long been a member of that organization’s Dunne Circle, for donors making an annual contribution of $25,000 and more.
Smith related how the Birmingham area where he’s from (Mountain Brook) reinvented itself after the demise of the steel industry that once was its economic driver, as people “became generous and reinvested in the community.” He said it was a “sign of better things to come” and of people “(putting) their money where their heart is.”
He said the turnout at Thursday’s luncheon shows that people’s “hearts are right here in Gadsden, Rainbow City, Glencoe, wherever.”
Smith said United Way, which supports 33 agencies in Etowah County, “makes a difference” in communities for “the aged, children, people without homes, people without shelter or with some kind of mental condition or sickness” who have nowhere else to turn.
Every donation by individuals and the business community “gives them a chance and lifts them up,” he said. “What a wonderful thing to do for your fellow human beings.”
Smith asked representatives of some of the partner agencies where they’d be without United Way’s support; the responses proved how problematic that would be.
He stood on a chair on The Venue’s stage and led the crowd in a group cheer of “We’re going to win" because “the cause is good and every one of you is great.”
United Way officials said their $416,433 has been raised so far thanks to Leadership Givers and the Pacesetter companies: Alabama Power, Alabama Teachers Credit Union, Attalla City Schools, BMSS Advisors and CPAs, Cadence Bank, Etowah County Schools, Family Savings Credit Union, Gadsden City Schools, Gadsden Regional Medical Center, Life Insurance Company of Alabama, People’s Bank, Regions Bank, River Bank, Riverview Regional Medical Center, Southern Data Automation, The Chamber of Gadsden & Etowah County and the United Way board of directors and staff.
Cadence Bank, Family Savings Credit Union, Regions Bank, Southern Data Automation, The Chamber of Gadsden & Etowah County and the United Way board of directors and staff all had 100% participation from employees.
Molli LeMay, United Way’s interim director, said the organization’s true goal is always higher than the official one, and Dr. Sabrina Morgan-Graves, this year’s campaign chairwoman, said, “We do want to meet that million, but we really want to go over to $1.2 million or $1.3 million. I know we can do it.”
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: United Way of Etowah County launches 2023 fundraising effort
