Lake Area United Way Celebrates Campaign Partners at Appreciation Lunch Held at Cooper’s Hawk Restaurant

Lake-Area-United-Way-Honors-Campaign-Partners-01Lake Area United Way (LAUW) recently hosted its annual appreciation luncheon honoring Corporate Partners and Employee Campaign Managers at Cooper’s Hawk Restaurant in Merrillville. 63 representatives from 38 companies attended the event. The theme of the event was “Thanks for Being Part of the Picture”. There was a station with props for the guests to have fun photos taken. They were also given a photo frame engraved with the event message.

”The luncheon was great. It was fun to be a part of it, “ said Al Spajer, 2014-2015 LAUW Campaign Chair. “Our workplace partners are an energized and enthused bunch. They play a huge role in the campaign process by championing our cause within local businesses. This luncheon was a great way to show them our gratitude for the time, talent and energy they share with us each year. Without their help, our work in the community would not be possible,” he added.

Susan Dolinski, Project Engineer, Cargill Texturizing Solutions, Hammond was awarded Employee Campaign Manager of the Year. Chris White, publisher of The Times of Northwest Indiana was honored with the Best Executive Involvement Award. In addition, Cargill & The Times were received Campaign Champion awards for their large increase over last year’s donations.

Lake-Area-United-Way-Honors-Campaign-Partners-02Other companies were recognized as follows: BMWC Constructors for Best Special Event; Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana for Campaign Champion; BP Whiting Refinery (3 Awards) for Community Excellence, Best Campaign Planning Team and Best Company Campaign Video; Dover Chemical (2 Awards) for Best Labor-Management Partnership and Campaign Champion; Fed Ex Ground Hammond for Community Excellence; Hammond Family YMCA for Campaign Champion; Lake County Public Library (2 Awards) for Campaign Champion and Best Workplace Kickoff; Multi-Wall Packaging Corporation for Best New Workplace Campaign; Northwest Indiana Community Action for Campaign Champion and Best Use of Internet & Social Media; Silver Line by Anderson for Best New Workplace Campaign; St. Mary Medical Center for Campaign Champion; Target (Munster) for Campaign Champion; Unilever Home & Personal Care for Best Labor-Management Partnership; UPS (Hammond) for Campaign Champion; Urban League of Northwest Indiana for Campaign Champion.

If you’d like to learn more about Lake Area United Way, or to learn how your company can participate, please contact TJ Holsen, Resource Development Director at (219) 923-2302 x314 or tjholsen@lauw.org.