Northern Berkshire United Way Marking 75 Years
 Gould shows where contributions continued a dramatic rise despite the collapse of the local manufacturing industry. The sharp dip to the right came after the global economic collapse. |
Some 150 people attended the annual meeting and breakfast on Friday at the Williams Inn to celebrate the United Way's past accomplishments and volunteers and look toward the future.
"It's really a remarkable story," said Jack Gould, former president and longtime volunteer with the agency. The agency, which can be traced back to the establishment of the North Adams Community Chest in 1935, has seen its donations grow from $41,063 in that first campaign drive to a record $760,332 in 2004.
At the same time, the number of agencies supported by United Way has grown from nine to 23.
Gould gave some history of the agency with the help of a display denoting time lines and important events in the agency, along with scatterings of life at the times (15 cent burgers and Elvis).
Of particular note was a graph denoting the rise (and slight fall over the past few years) of funds raised in the annual campaigns. A long stretch that flowed steadily upward conincided with the region's loss of industry.
"It was very dramatic growth and, I point out, that it corresponds in time to when major employers, many of them industrial based, with very solid wage scales, were one by one packing it in or packing up ... and with that a corresponding decline in population," said Gould.
He said there was a simple answer to this "incongruent case-and-effect thing."
"Our organization is not about numbers, not about that graph, not about that display, it's about people ... thousands of them, tens of thousands of them whether they be volunteers or donors or member agencies," he said. "They really have done some incredible work."
  Top, the display showing some the agency's historyin the 1950s and '60s. Right, this year's campaign chairmen Dr. Charles Nemser and Sharon DeMyer-Nemser announce a goal of $575,000. |
"I have been so impressed this past year with the way this community is willing to step up and give," said Executive Director Joseph W. McGovern. "It's been incredible the way people rally in North County."
Campaign Chairmen Dr. Charles Nemser and Sharon DeMyer-Nemser were confident that the agency would reach the goal of $575,000, having exceeded that amount this past year.
iBerkshires will help the campaign through a Facebook contest that will allow supporters to vote for their favorite Northern Berkshire United Way agency. iBerkshires will contribute $1 for every vote up, up to $500, for the two agencies that garner the most votes. Look for more information in the coming weeks.
Sharon DeMyer-Nemser said the drive would be seeking out organizations and individuals "that have historically not contributed" and called for volunteers to help in the effort.
"All of us here today realize the challenge to solicit donations as the needs grow becomes harder every year," she said. "Not only are we faced with the continued downturn of the economy but this year, Mother Nature has made the needs of Northerm Berkshire greater than we expected.
"We need our local community to help our local community."
In other business:
Maureen Baran, filling in for Julia Bowen, chairman of the Board Development Committee,
presented a slate of candidates.
Officers elected were President Thomas W. Rumboldt and Vice Presidents Amy Girioux (first), James Brosnan (campaigns), Dan Caplinger (agency relations), Michael J. Hoffman (finance) and Jack Gould (community needs).
Board of directors: Maureen Baran, Joseph Desmarais, Jay Durand, Christine Singer, Christine Singer, Blair Benjamin, David Bond, Julia Bowen, Chris Dodig, Leon "Butch" Parrott and William Robinson Jr. Mayor Richard Alcombright, a former campaign chairman, presented the agency with a certificate recognizing its 75 years and drew a laughter by claiming it read: "So whereas in 1935, through what many felt was divine intervention, Jack Gould and Steve Green first met ... with the parents of Jim Brosnan and Maureen Baran."
James Kolesar's name was drawn and he correctly answered the trivia question on how much the NBUW has collected over the past 75 years and won a $75 gift certifcate from Boston Sea Foods. The correct answer was $20,229,928. (See photo: We're pretty sure it was rigged.)
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