By By Sharon White/The Meridian Star
Dec. 24, 2000
With the new year will come a new executive director for the United Way of Lauderdale County.
The search committee, made up of three executive board members and five community members, began looking for a replacement for Bernie Satterwhite after he resigned effective Oct. 31 to accept a position at Boeing.
Satterwhite worked at Boeing only briefly before accepting a position as city manager in Bellaire, Texas, a Houston neighbor.
Meanwhile, the local search continues. "Two of the candidates are from Lauderdale County, and one has close ties to this area," Sims said. "The candidate who does not live here now is originally from Meridian and would like to come back home."
Sims said the selection process began with asking heads of the 18 community agencies supported by United Way what they were looking for in an executive director. After advertising the position, the group received about 25 resumes.
Smith said each of these candidates was again called in, and interviews were conducted this time in a panel setting.
Satterwhite left United Way in the midst of its 2000 annual campaign, but Sims and Smith agree the absence of an executive director has not hampered the results of this year's drive.
Totals for this year's drive are expected to be announced next week, he said.
Should United Way reach this year's goal of $760,000, it will be the second highest campaign recorded in the history of United Way. The most money ever raised in a single campaign was in 1998 with $800,000 collected, Smith said.
Sharon White is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail her at swhite@themeridianstar.com.