Dec. 15, 2022
By John Bailey
For the third year in a row, the winner of the Catawba County United Way Fair Share Donor car giveaway was the first person who tried to start the car at Paramount Automotive in Hickory.
And for the second year in a row, it was a teacher from Conover School who turned that car key to win.
The 2022 Catawba County United Way Fair Share Donor Car Giveaway winner is Margaret Bush from Conover School.
It’s been another record year for the Catawba County United Way, with 784 Fair Share Donors signed up during our annual campaign. Ten of those donors were drawn for the chance at winning a new car from Paramount Automotive Group on Dec. 15.
The names of the CCUW Car Giveaway finalists were picked during weekly drawings that started in September by Martin Starnes & Associates, CPAs, P.A. The car giveaway was open to employees of companies who pledged at Fair Share level (1hour pay/month) during their company’s workplace campaign.
The finalists who didn’t win a car received special gifts donated by local companies and to help show their support of the United Way.
Those companies included: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Martin Starnes & Assoc. PA, Cargo Transporters, Peoples Bank, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co., Truist, RLI-CPA Certified Public Accountants, PC and Morphis Law & Mediation.
The CCUW Fair Share Car Giveaway tradition was started when Benny Yount, owner of Paramount Automotive Group, decided he wanted a way to help support the annual Catawba County United Way campaign.
And the CCUW wants to thank the Hickory Daily Record for providing free ad space each week to announce the Car Giveaway finalist.
The Catawba County United Way’s work is focused on the building blocks for a good life: education, income and health. In 2021, local agencies who received funding from the CCUW helped improve the lives of more than 20,000 individuals.
Donor gifts helped fund tutoring programs for at-risk youth, provided shelter for the homeless, provided crisis assistance counseling for families, provided sexual assault services, supported emergency and disaster services, supported services for seniors and provided education on sexually transmitted diseases and Hep C.
For more information, call the Catawba County United Way at 828-327-6851 or visit ccunitedway.com.
The 2022 CCUW Fair Share Donor Car Giveaway Finalists:
1: Nicholas Walden - Peoples Bank
2: DeAnna Setzer - Vanguard Furniture
3: Jonathan Hood - Paramount Automotive Kia
4: Travis Lawton - Vanguard Furniture
5: Jennifer Lindsay - Catawba Co. Public Health
6: Kate Smith - Catawba County DSS
7: Elizabeth Blair - Catawba County DSS
8: Joshua English - Shurtape Technologies
9: Margaret Bush - Conover School
10: Vickie Franklin - Hickory Chair