The 19th Annual Heritage Club Appreciation Luncheon

Judy Goodbody, Ada-Marie Bowers, and Dr. Ruth Appleby

The doors of Downey’s Restaurant were opened for lunch for the first time in 15 years to honor United Way’s Heritage Club members on Wednesday, June 2, 2004. The Annual Heritage Club Luncheon recognizes this unique group of individuals for leaving a legacy to their community through planned gifts they have made to Santa Barbara County’s United Way.

An elegant lunch of poached wild king salmon or roast lamb chops was served as each person shared their stories and their personal commitments to the ongoing success of United Way. It was a lovely setting in which to meet the newest members of the Heritage Club, and to reminisce with those who have been members for many years.

Our thanks to John & Liz Downey for opening their restaurant for this very special luncheon, and sincerest gratitude to Bank of America for generously underwriting the luncheon.

Many thanks to our luncheon sponsor, Bank of America.

As others planted before me, so do I plant for my children

Bill & Maylene Cook and Tom Brashears

Dennis & Patty Forster

The Heritage Club is made up of forward-thinking individuals who have shown their long-term commitment to the health of their community by leaving their legacy to Santa Barbara County’s United Way as part of their estate plans. Their gifts come in the form of Charitable Remainder Trusts, Gift Annuities, Pooled Income Funds, Philanthropic Funds, Bequests, and gifts of Retirement Accounts and Life Insurance Policies. These gifts are invested in at least one of five Endowment Funds, which provide a solid foundation of perpetual support for United Way of Santa Barbara County, and the programs that benefit the neediest people in our community. Endow, according to Webster’s New Dictionary, is “to furnish with funds for support, to furnish with something freely and naturally”. In 1982, Santa Barbara County’s United Way established policies for an endowment program, and this program became a success due to the tireless efforts of volunteers and donors alike.

Since 1923, Santa Barbara County’s United Way has touched the lives of 1 out of every 3 people in this community. A solid endowment will insure the stability of these important programs in perpetuity.

To learn more about the Heritage Club, please contact Judy Goodbody, our Gift Planning Services Officer at (805) 965-8591.

Tradition, Legacy, Heritage

Eric Boehm and Diane Doiron

After her welcoming comments, Diane Doiron, a Heritage Club member since 1985 and the Endowment/Gift Planning Services Committee Chair, invited each Heritage Club member to share their United Way experiences. The following are just a few of their remarkable stories:
•Dennis & Patty Forster were the newest Heritage Club members to attend the luncheon. As a longtime volunteer on the allocations panels and on the Endowment/Gift Planning Committee, Dennis believes that of the nearly 900 non-profits in the South County, United Way is among the very best.
•Mike & Jennifer Bergquist have been Heritage Club members since 1990. Mike is a longtime volunteer as a member of the Endowment/Gift Planning Committee as well as the Endowment Investment Review Committee. According to Mike, he supports United Way because it is the best organization that pools its resources with the most efficiency.
•Bill & Maylene Cook became Heritage Club members in 1991. Bill joined United Way’s Board of Directors many years ago. He was involved in the campaign at the Assessors Office, and moved up into the campaign as chair for 2 years for the entire county. Says Bill, “I need not tell you what United Way means to all of us. It is a privilege to be here with you today, and to have served as President of the Board”.
•Gail & Charles Lucky are both very much involved in United Way. Gail has been a Heritage Club member since 1990 and introduced Charles to the allocations panels as a volunteer during their first year of marriage. After visiting the various non-profit organizations funded by United Way, he was sold on being a volunteer and leadership donor. Gail & Charles were honored as the 2004 recipients of the Alexis de Tocqueville Award for Outstanding Philanthropy.

There was not enough space to describe everything that these, and many more generous individuals have done for United Way.
We would like to thank all of you for your commitment of time and resources towards helping the neediest people of your community.

Improving Lives & Strengthening Our Community

Jill & Kent Englert

Paul Didier, United Way’s Executive Director since 1978 and a Heritage Club member since 1984, took a few minutes to share some recent successes and the vision of Santa Barbara County’s United Way. He spoke about the Character Counts program, a component of the Fun In The Sun program, which teaches homeless and low-income children the basic values that will help them to succeed in life. Character Counts is comprised of six pillars: Citizenship, Caring, Fairness, Responsibility, Respect and Trustworthiness. It is a coalition of schools, non-profits, and United Way of Santa Barbara County, and the program is successfully organized in 24 elementary schools in Santa Barbara County.

Paul spoke about his experience just a few weeks earlier at Adams Elementary School, where 300 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students eagerly gathered in the auditorium to learn who among their peers had been the first to achieve the “Six Pillars of Success” award for all of Santa Barbara County. The program recognizes and rewards the children for their behavior: academically and socially. Since the Character Counts program has been at Adams Elementary, the school has seen a significant improvement in the students behavior, parental participation, and academic scores, since good behavior and good learning have been shown to go hand in hand.

Heritage Highlight News
Santa Barbara County’s United Way
320 East Gutierrez Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone: (805) 965-8591x120
Fax: (805) 962-3461
Website: www.unitedwaysb.org
For more information: Judy Goodbody
Email: jgoodbody@unitedwaysb.org

The Heritage Club is made up of forward-thinking individuals who have shown their long-term commitment to the health of their community by leaving their legacy to Santa Barbara County’s United Way as part of their estate plans. Their gifts come in the form of Charitable Remainder Trusts, Gift Annuities, Pooled Income Funds, Philanthropic Funds, Bequests, and gifts of Retirement Accounts and Life Insurance Policies. These gifts are invested in at least one of five Endowment Funds, which provide a solid foundation of perpetual support for United Way of Santa Barbara County, and the programs that benefit the neediest people in our community. Endow, according to Webster’s New Dictionary, is “to furnish with funds for support, to furnish with something freely and naturally”. In 1982, Santa Barbara County’s United Way established policies for an endowment program, and this program became a success due to the tireless efforts of volunteers and donors alike.

Since 1923, Santa Barbara County’s United Way has touched the lives of 1 out of every 3 people in this community. A solid endowment will insure the stability of these important programs in perpetuity.

To learn more about the Heritage Club, please contact Judy Goodbody, our Gift Planning Services Officer at (805) 965-8591 x120 or log on to our website at www.unitedwaysb.org