The United Way would like to introduce our new President of the Board of Directors, Tony Bader! Tony has been employed at Steel Dynamics for 15 years, currently as a Technical Services Supervisor. With a wife, three children, and many interests -including camping, pre-1970's auto restoration, alternative fuel development, and woodworking - Tony keeps himself very busy.
Despite his full life, Tony makes volunteering and the United Way a priority. He says, "I started out in college building houses for Habitat for Humanity. As I began my career, I saw that my employer and coworkers give a significant amount of money to the United Way. I got involved because I felt it was important that my fellow employees' donations were being used properly. But my involvement has grown to so much more - it's become personal after hearing how far reaching the money we raise is able to impact our community for the better!"
With experience on Allocation Teams and the Day of Caring and Community Impact committees, Tony has seen many aspects of the work the United Way does and is excited to take up the challenge of Board President.
He explains, "The United Way has desired to become more actively engaged with the needs of the community and programming to meet those needs. We've assessed how we can best do that and I think we're ready to grow, implement, and reach out. Our goal is to meet with individuals from all walks of life: government leaders, business people, educators, agencies. We want to bring people together to meet the needs of our county.
"I think many people were like myself when I began serving the United Way. I didn't realize our Partner Agencies existed. I didn't understand the work they did or the United Way's role in the impact the agencies are able to make on our community. I have a gut feeling my experience is not the exception, it's the norm. How do we change that? I hope that's something I can help address during my tenure as President."
True to the call to Live United, Tony has an appeal for all members of our community, "Volunteer! Many of our agencies are looking for volunteers to read to kids, lend a hand in the food pantries, be a friend to the elderly who are too often lonely, tutor at the schools. The options are limitless. Steve Backley, author of The Champion in all of Us: 12 Rules for Success, said, 'There are three types of people in this world. Firstly, there are people who make things happen. Then there are people who watch things happen. Lastly, there are people who ask, "What happened?" Which do you want to be?' Let's be a county full of doers!"