United Way fundraiser held at Crawford County Courthouse

 

story and photos by Joel Rafkin
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A steady crowd trickled onto the Crawford County Courthouse grounds between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to enjoy lunch and live music on Friday (Oct. 14) for the 2011 Crawford County United Way Kickoff Lunch.

The event was sponsored by Arvest Bank, Citizens Bank & Trust, CV’s Family Foods, Experian, Goody’s Frozen Yogurt, Liberty Bank, Simmons Bank, U.S. Bank and United Federal Credit Union. The food was paid for by the sponsoring companies.

For a donation of $5 or more, guests were treated to either a burger or hot dog with all the fixings, chips, iced tea or bottled water and dessert of either cookies or Goody’s frozen yogurt. Proceeds will benefit the 34 agencies served by the United Way of Fort Smith Area.

Most of the crowd consisted of city, county or public service employees or those who worked for United Way funded organizations however, there were several private citizens who attended. Gailene Park, indirect service advisor for United Federal Credit Union and campaign director for Crawford County United Way said she planned for about 200 people to attend the kickoff but her personal goal was to raise $750 for United Way.

Park said she, Crawford County Judge John Hall and Van Buren Chamber President Jackie Krutsch met and decided to organize the event to bring awareness to the United Way campaign which began Oct. 1 and runs through mid November.

Debbie Thomas and Jason Gillmore were in charge of planning the event. Gillmore called upon four friends who joined together to form an unnamed band to perform a set of jazz music. The music was as fine as the weather despite the group having never practiced or performed together.

Tom Minton, executive director of United Way Fort Smith Area, took to the microphone to thank all the sponsors and volunteers who made the kickoff lunch possible. He explained that all of the funds collected by United Way go back to the communities served. In 2010, United Way dispensed $330,000 to agencies in Crawford County, Minton said.