15th Annual Far West Fibers Classic Hits Fundraising Milestone

Over 250 golfers hit the links Thursday, June 24th to support United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. The Far West Fibers Classic raised a total of $1 million since its inception 15 years ago.

The 15th annual charity golf tournament was held at one of Oregon’s most prestigious courses, Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club’s Ghost Creek course. Golfers raised money for United Way of the Columbia-Willamette’s programs helping children and families that are in need in Washington, Multnomah, Clackamas and Clark counties.

“Part of our mission at Far West Fibers is to give back and this is one of the ways we can accomplish that goal,” said Stan Girard, Chief Operating Officer at Far West Fibers. “We love doing this tournament because we believe in United Way of the Columbia-Willamette’s work because it is a great way to get funds into the community and they do the very best job helping people.”

Fifteen years ago, tournament co-directors Stan Girard, Keith Ristau were seeking a way to increase the impact of their employee giving campaign in a fun way. Their love of golf and community led them to hold the first tournament with only 56 golfers at the Meriwether National Golf Club in Hillsboro.

“We were excited to have the opportunity to combine our passions of supporting our community and golfing,” said Keith Ristau, President of Far West Fibers. “We’ve drawn so many people year after year to support United Way. We always knew we’d reach $1 million and it’s so gratifying to finally have reached that milestone because with United Way of the Columbia-Willamette we know the money has been put to good use in our community.”

The Far West Fibers Classic has become one of the premier charity golf tournaments in the four county region. The day’s events include the tournament itself as well as putting contests, a hole in one challenge and more.

Next year’s tournament date has been set for June 23, 2011 and we hope you'll join us!

And the Winners Are...

Here are the winners of the 2010 Far West Fibers Classic:

Morning round:

1st place – Nuener, Davidson & Cooley
Charles Neuner
Tom Davidson
Mark Woods
Jeff Bean

2nd place - Recology
Ginger Emrick
Julie Jorgenson
Shane Jorgenson
Blake Murillo

3rd place – Morgan Machinery and Moving
Jeff Morgan
Greg Springsteen
Troy Talent
Tom Walker

Closest to the pin – Jeff Bean and Nancy Forstrom
Longest drive – Bill Woods and Ali Battaglia
Putting contest – Phil Middleton

Afternoon round:

1st place – US Bank

Michael Van Orman

Stan Reneker

Pete Craven
Chris Devich

2nd place – Legend Logistics and Trucking
Kevin White
David Niskanem
Mark Wittmeyer
Dave Harmensen

3rd place – Propel Insurance
Mike Bennett
Scott Farmer
Steve Warren
Tom Boyle

Closest to the pin – Scott Farmer and Brie Heinz
Longest drive – Gary Peck and Kat Centers

Responding to an Oregonian OpEd about Domestic Violence

The following is a response to an earlier Op-Ed about domestic violence that contained inadequately research data about domestic violence and misinformation about United Way of the Columbia-Willamette's work with partner organizations working on the issue. The below Letter to the Editor was co-written by Melissa Erlbaum, Executive Director of Clackamas Women's Services and Marc Levy, President/CEO of United Way of the Columbia-Willamette.

Domestic violence

We would like to respond to the op-ed "Men should be more than a national afterthought" by Phillip Cook (OregonLive.com, June 1).

Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors by one person to exert power and control over another in an intimate relationship. In a society where positions of power are still predominantly held by men, it is not surprising that the majority of perpetrators are men. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 85 percent of domestic violence is perpetrated by men against women. However, despite their numbers, male survivors do receive services in our community. United Way of the Columbia-Willamette provided funds to Clackamas Women's Services (CWS) to lead a collaborative initiative to expand housing for survivors who face homelessness. All CWS programs are open to men.

Our community needs men as part of the movement to end domestic violence. CWS is closely involved with Oregon Men Against Violence and a variety of other male stakeholders to address these issues. Only by men and women working together can we end domestic violence. CWS and United Way invite you to get involved by contacting your local domestic violence programs.

MELISSA ERLBAUM
and MARC R. LEVY

Erlbaum is the executive director of Clackamas Women's Services. Levy is the president/CEO of United Way of the Columbia-Willamette.
 
http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/2010/06/letters_economy_domestic_viole.html

Union Pacific Supports United Way

Toni Carlo, Vice President of Workplace Giving for United Way of the Columbia-Willamette accepts a $5,000 check from Aaron Hunt, Director, Corporate Relations & Media for Union Pacific at a recent luncheon hosted by the Union Pacific Foundation for non-profit partners. Union Pacific and Union Pacific employees have been long-time supporters of United Way and we thank them for investing in our community.

Local LIVE UNITED Story Goes National

United Way Worldwide chose a fantastic LIVE UNITED story from United Way of the Columbia-Willamette to use in their national campaigns.

This fantastic video features Meera who helps Portland area childrens and parents with a United Way of the Columbia-Willamette funded program at Neighborhood House. Hear how Meera works to LIVE UNITED, she's an inspiration!

Watch the video here