The United Way of Southeast Missouri recently announced its upcoming campaign cabinet for 2008 to 2009. The campaign goal will be announced at the campaign kickoff event Aug. 29 at Cape West 14 Cine. The kickoff will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Jay Wolz of Southeast Missouri Hospital will serve as the campaign cabinet chairman, and Dale Rauh, city of Jackson alderman will co-chair. Karen Kraus of Saint Francis Medical Center will serve as marketing committee chairwoman.

Corporate/Employee

division

The cabinet is separated into four divisions. Merlin Pyrtle of UPS and Danielle Poyner of Drury Southwest will be co-chairing the corporate/employee division, including the banking, retail, manufacturing and service industries. This division is the largest of the four, raising 78 percent of the total campaign dollars.

Professional division

John M. Thompson of The Bank of Missouri and Janice Lumsden, a retired Jackson schoolteacher, will lead the professional division made up of professional individuals and businesses including doctors, lawyers, real estate agent and faith groups.

Merlin Pyrtle

Patron division

The patron division, chaired by Angie Umfleet of Chap Arnold Insurance and Lisa Rodman, The Bank of Missouri, represents individual givers, retirees and small businesses.

Public service division

The public service division, led by Heather Brooks of the city of Cape Girardeau, Pat Fanger of the Cape Girardeau School District and Sam Duncan of the Jackson School District, includes education, government, human services agencies and service clubs.

Pat Fanger

The mission

The mission of the United Way of Southeast Missouri is to serve as the leader in uniting people and resources around health and human service issues to build a stronger and healthier community. A safe, healthy and caring community in which every individual thrives during each stage of life is envisioned. Committed to strengthening families, the United Way's goal is to create lasting change that prevents problems from happening in the first place. For more information, visit www.UnitedWayofSEMO.org or call 334-9634.

The United Way is a national network of more than 1,300 locally governed organizations. Building on more than a century of service as the nation's pre-eminent community-based fundraiser, United Way engages the community to identify the causes of the most significant local issues, develops strategies and unites financial and human resources to address them, and measures results.

For more information about United Way of America, visit www.liveunited.org.

Sam Duncan

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133