Rally raises $81,464 for UW

Warren and Boardman residents won Super Bowl and Ohio State/Michigan football tickets.

YOUNGSTOWN — Five United Ways in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys, along with several individuals, were winners in Wednesday’s annual United Way Rally for the Valley.

The Rally raised $81,464 for the United Ways of Mahoning, Trumbull and Northern Columbiana counties in Ohio, and Mercer and Lawrence counties in western Pennsylvania.

Ken Vassis of Warren and Linda Murphy of Boardman won big prizes for donors who gave at least $100. Vassis received two tickets to the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 in Phoenix, and Murphy won two tickets to the Nov. 22 Ohio State/Michigan football game in Columbus.

The telethon, broadcast from 8 to 10 p.m. on WYTV, capped the day-long business blitz and phone-a-thon conducted throughout the five-county area.

During the business blitz and phone-a-thon, staff and volunteers from each United Way contacted local businesses and individuals who had not yet given to the local campaign, said JoAnn Stock, Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way director of marketing and resource development, and coordinator of the five-county effort.

Every 30 minutes during the telethon, prize packages were raffled off to donors who gave at various monetary levels. Prizes awarded in addition to the football tickets included a pair of boxing gloves autographed by Kelly Pavlik and his trainer Jack Loew, and 20 personally autographed photos donated by Pavlik.

Prize winners are:

Autographed boxing gloves: David Hughes, Salem.

Columbiana County prize package: Wally Bell, Poland.

Lawrence/Mercer prize package: Roger Peterson, Cortland.

Mahoning County prize package: Herbert Wimberly, New Castle.

Trumbull County prize package: Henry Nemenz Sr., Poland.

Collectively to date, the five United Ways have raised $5,181,380, or 79 percent of their combined $6.6 million goal. The campaigns will continue through early spring. Anyone wishing to make a contribution should contact their local United Way, Stock said.

alcorn@vindy.com