UNITED WAY KICKOFF LUNCHEON SET TODAY

Pete Poe hopes people will make a connection between the successful baseball season of the St. Louis Cardinals, the team's former manager Whitey Herzog, and the Area Wide United Way campaign kickoff today.

This has been a successful year for the Cardinals, and people still make the connection between Herzog and the team, said Poe, chairman of the board for the local United Way. Now he wants them to support the United Way.

Herzog, who managed the team for 10 years, will be the guest speaker for the annual United Way campaign kickoff luncheon today at noon at Drury Lodge. Tickets were sold in advance.

"There's been a lot of buzz in the area about the teams," Poe said. "We knew that he's always been a supporter of the United Way and we knew that he was an entertaining speaker."

So when planning began for the kickoff luncheon, Herzog seemed a logical choice. "He speaks directly to the issue," Poe said.

During his career as manager of the Cardinals, the team won a World Series in 1982. Herzog left the Cardinals in 1990.

Inviting a celebrity speaker to the kickoff should give the campaign a boost, organizers said. KFVS weatherman Charlie Neese will emcee the program as honorary chairman.

During past campaigns most speakers were local personalities or business people. This is the first time a sports-related speaker was chosen, Poe said.

The annual fund-raising goal also will be announced during the program today. The 1996 campaign goal is expected to be larger than past goals, which hovered near the $500,000 mark. The initial campaign goal was $49,500 in 1954.

"We wanted to increase involvement and increase our presence and visibility in the community," Poe said.

Herzog will help with publicity during the campaign by making television and radio commercials. "We wanted more awareness for the general public," said Narvol Randol Jr., campaign chairman. "There's not much difference in the way it functions. It's just more exposure."

Since 1954, the Area Wide United Way has served many community needs with campaign funds. It serves 19 health- and human-services agencies in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City.

The United Way wants to develop a relationship with the agencies that aren't being funded now. Some of the agencies that haven't received funding could be eligible for grants through the United Way, said Nancy Jernigan, executive director.

Each spring, area agencies submit funding requests to the United Way. The board of directors examines each request and determines how much funding the agency can receive. None of the 19 agencies is completely funded through the United Way.

"We want to put the money where it will impact the needs," Jernigan said. Many of the agencies that receive funding are local groups that have no national or state assistance.

The United Way has a long history, and the board of directors constantly reviews its funding to ensure quality programs that meet the needs of the area. "It's nice to live in a healthy, caring community," Randol said.