With more than $34,000 to spare, the Carthage Area United Way met and surpassed its 2007 goal of $300,000.

Volunteer Campaign Chairman Neel Baucom announced the grand total of $334,300 Thursday afternoon at the annual meeting and celebration luncheon.

“I think this is just fantastic with the way the economy has been,” said Baucom. “It is great to know that the people of Carthage want to continue to make Carthage a great place to live.”

The final total didn’t quite surpass last year’s record-breaking amount of $345,749. However, it is the second highest amount raised since the Carthage United Way began in 1968 when $46,020 was raised.

Using the theme “Together We Matter,” 2007 Board President Dr. Mark Baker said, “Watching lives changed by the generosity of the Carthage community has been a humbling and rewarding experience. Although the Carthage landscape is changing, our tradition of generosity continues to be a consistent force as the Carthage Area United Way completes our 51st annual campaign.”

Fifteen agencies will receive funds from the United Way in 2007. Those agencies are:

• American Red Cross, Southwest Missouri Chapter;
• Boy Scouts of America, Ozark Trails Council;
• Carthage Crisis Center;
• Carthage Crosslines Ministry;
• Cerebral Palsy Center of Tri-County;
• Children’s Mercy Hospital;
• Citizen’s Advisory Board;
• Community Clinic of Carthage;
• Family Literacy Council;
• Ozark Area Girl Scout Council;
• Jasper county 4-H
• Lafayette House;
• Ozark Camp Quality;
• The Salvation Army;
• Special Olympics.

In addition to the announcement of the grand total, several awards to presented to honor those who gave or who volunteer their time during the campaign.

Seven business were given Chairman’s Awards because of the successful history with the Chamber and their successful year: Carthage Water and Electric, D&D Sexton, Flex-O-Lators, McCune Brooks Regional Hospital, Fairview Greenhouse, Wal-Mart Supercenter and Lowe’s.

The 110 percent award was presented to Dyno-Nobel. The business conducts an annual golf tournament for the United Way  and also had the highest average gift in the large business category.

Awards of Excellence were given to firms whose campaigns had improved by 15 percent over last year in participation, average gift or total giving – Innovative Industries, Windsor Foods, Butterball, Empire Electric, Jasper county Assessor’s Office, City of Carthage Public Works Department, City of Carthage Parks Department.
The Bronze Awards were given to firms with three or more employees who have at least 60 percent participation and an average gift of $26 or 100 percent participation with an average gift of $16 – Carthage R-9 Schools, St. Ann’s Catholic School, Jasper county Auditor’s Office, Jasper County Public Administration and Jasper County Treasurer.

The Silver Awards were given to firms with three more employees who had at lest 70 percent participation and an average gift of $40 – Knell Mortuary, Re-Max Classic, United Missouri Bank, City of Carthage Administration Office, City of Carthage Fire Department and Schmidt Associates.

Gold Awards were given for outstanding achievement in the United Way Campaign based on the largest contribution in each company size category with a minimum of 70 percent participation:

• 3-24 employees – Arvest Bank;
• 25-49 employees – Beimdiek Insurance;
• 50-99 employees – Hometown Bani;
• 100-199 employees – Southwest Missouri Bank;
• 200-499 employees – H.E. Williams;
• 599-999 employees – Schreiber’s Foods;
• More than 1,000 employees – Leggett & Platt.

School awards were given to the Carthage Junior High with the largest increase in participation and highest increase in pledges; Pleasant Valley Elementary with the highest increase in average gift per donor; Mark Twin Elementary for perfect participation; Carthage High School for the highest average gift award; Parents as Teachers for perfect participation; and U Turn Academy for perfect participation.
Enthusiasm Awards were presented to Dave Austin of Leggett & Platt, Linda Clemmons of H.E. Williams, Linda Hillebrenner of D7D Sexton and Susan Wendleton of Carthage Water & Electric.

A special Spirit of Giving Ward was presented by Marge House to Pat and Carolyn Phelps for their generosity and service to the community for the past several years.
The new board for 2008 will be: Chuck Bryant, president; Darren Collier, vice president; Steve Montague, secretary; Jeremy Swarnes, treasurer; Nate Dally, campaign chairman; Bev Baker, member; Amy Campbell, member; Jerry Poston, member; and Eric Putnam, member.