BY KATHY WILLIAMS

HERALD DEMOCRAT

Rudolf on crutches (run over by a Grandma,) a krunk-dancing "United Way success meter" and a fighting team of optimists reported results of the UW Grayson County campaign in traditional style.

At the tailgate luncheon Thursday, United Way of Grayson County fund-raising teams reported being a hair's breadth from reaching their $1.43 million 2008 campaign goal. With some businesses and industries yet to report, United Way has just $20,000 left to raise this year.

"It's not those big corporate offices out there writing checks, it's those folks working on the line, those folks out there in the cold, those folks out there doing the best they can to buy food and provide for their families that care enough about the people your agencies serve," said David Cortinas, chief executive officer for United Way of Grayson County. This was after Terex, a manufacturing company, reported contributions of $71,262 this year. That's miles ahead of the $2,500 contributed three years ago.

Pam Wagener, who came to work for Terex several years ago, served as co-chair of the local United Way campaign with Whitewright Mayor Bill Goodson. Cortinas credited Wagener and her volunteer team with bringing such a large gift.

Although acknowledging the gifts of individual workers, Cortinas also expressed the campaign's gratitude to corporations like Texas Instruments, which added $115,000 to its employees' $219,000 in contributions this year. Cortinas, who presented TI's report, said the local plant has Texas Instruments highest rate of per capita giving.

Another generous corporate donor was Fisher Controls (Emerson Process Management) which chipped in $50,000 to add to its employees' $55,000, reported Plant Manager Al Bremers, who's served as lead actor in a supporting role in United Way skits over the past few years. Bremers said he had set a goal of raising 10-percent more than last year's gift of $92,000, so they went way over that bar.

The campaign kicked off months ago with "We Can" Wegner punching "You Can't" Bremers in a boxing routine. Supporting players for the "Can't" team were "High Gas Prices" "High Food Prices," "Weak Economy" and "Tough Times." Coach Goodson trash talked the "Can't" team, and his team mates "Action," "Help," "Can-do," "Good News" won them over with support and encouragement. Each "Can't" team member shed his or her black T-shirt for the "Can" team white "LIVE UNITED" shirts.

"We are going to make this go all the way," Goodson said. "We've just got a few more inches to crawl. We proved $4 gas prices, high dollar food and a bad economy can't break us. We can do it!" Then he raised the heavy, gilded championship belt.

The day's master of ceremonies Sam Keeler reported his employer, Tyson Foods, added $15,000 to worker contributions to bring that industry's total to $100,000.

Helene Jackson reported that Folger, now owned by Smucker's, got a boost from former corporate owner Procter and Gamble and from a 67-percent participation rate and a 47-percent fair share rate among its employee contributors, to raise $53,953. A fair share contribution is one hour's salary a month for a year.

Tina Martin of American Bank reported total gifts of $22,000, and added that this year's campaign was about more than money. They conducted a food drive and took the bounty to the Grayson County Shelter. And collections from another food drive went to Jack and Jill Day Care Center in Denison.

Cigna's campaign reporter followed Cortinas' Texas Instruments report, and she joked that being a much smaller agency, she really wished she had gone first. This year Cigna employees contributed $26,000. That brought the total up to $1,410,765, nearly 99 percent of goal, 4-percentage points better than United Way staffers thought they would have at the end of the lunch.

Before and after the formal program, bluegrass band Upper Grassmen performed some real American music.

Wanda Shea, president of the Board of Directors of United Way of Grayson County, welcomed those who attended.

Providing some sophisticated entertainment were a troupe from Texoma Area Paratransit System, the Public Transportation Comic Relief Players with Becca Moon playing the wounded Rudolf, Charlene Parrish as Mrs. Santa, Bill Girodanengo as Santa, Deborah Coleman as the Grayson County Mouse, and Kaye Burleson driving the TAPS Rescue Bus.