United Way declares $6M pacesetter goal

By Brian Kimball

Published: June 14, 2008

After raising $5.75 million last year, the United Way of Central Oklahoma will try to round up $6 million during its 78-day Pacesetter fundraising campaign.

The campaign kicked off Friday afternoon as 282 people from 99 different companies gathered to figure out how best to achieve their goal of raising about $75,000 a day.

"We really hope to motivate people ... and get them excited” about the Pacesetter campaign, said Erin Gillogly Brewer, vice president of marketing and communications for the United Way of Central Oklahoma. "The key is making sure (participants') co-workers are familiar with what we're putting on in the community and the things they can support with their contributions.”

The campaign displays "the genuine pride and genuine good feeling that Oklahomans have about Oklahoma City and the United Way and wanting to participate in the welfare of this community,” said John Richels, president of Devon Energy and Pacesetter chairman.

"One of our strong corporate values is to be a good neighbor, and that means understanding and reflecting our social and corporate responsibilities,” he added. "We really have as a value that we want to leave the communities in which we operate ... better as a result of us being there than they were before.”

The Pacesetter campaign spans from June 13 to Aug. 29 and is the precursor to the general United Way campaign, which begins Sept. 5. It is chaired by David Thompson, president of The OPUBCO Communications Group and publisher of The Oklahoman.

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