‘Fun, festive and light’ golf tournament raises money for Butler County United Way

Interim president, CEO: Proceeds will be used for the ‘good of the community.’
Pam Cottle, interim president and CEO of the Butler County United Way, addresses the 104 golfers who played Monday afternoon in the Golf United Classic at Shaker Run Golf Club. RICK McCRABB/STAFF

Pam Cottle, interim president and CEO of the Butler County United Way, addresses the 104 golfers who played Monday afternoon in the Golf United Classic at Shaker Run Golf Club. RICK McCRABB/STAFF

Pam Cottle, interim president and CEO of the Butler County United Way, said people sometimes think of “doom and gloom” when they think of the agency.

But Monday’s Golf United Classic at Shaker Run Golf Club in Lebanon showed the 104 golfers and sponsors that the United Way can host a “fun, festive and light” event with the same end effect, she said.

“We provided needed help to the community where it’s most needed,” Cottle told the Journal-News, the media sponsor of the outing.

The 2022 golf outing raised $25,000, and those funds were allocated across the county, funding programming under the agency’s pillars of education, financial stability and health, she said. This year’s event raised about the same amount, she said.

Cottle also said the golfers represented a diverse group of representatives from local companies, but they were tied by one bond.

“They came together for the good of the community,” said Cottle, who was named interim president in April after president and CEO Krystal Tipton resigned to take a job with Miami University.

Before that, Cottle served as vice president of operations and marketing. While Cottle concentrated on fundraising for this year’s golf outing, her staff “really stepped up to put all the pieces together,” she said.

The United Way campaign ends in June, and Cottle said it’s running a little behind projections. She said the “economy is difficult and people are struggling.” Even if people can give up one cup of coffee a week, and donate that $5 to the United Way, it can make “a world of difference,” she said.

In 2021, the service for those in the Middletown area was transferred from the United Way of Greater Cincinnati to the Butler County United Way. Cottle said her staff and volunteers are still “building those relations” with Middletown area businesses.

“It takes time to gain that trust, build a good foundation with those companies,” she said.

Cottle joined the Butler County United Way in March 2015 and works with all areas of the organization, including community impact, resource development, finance, workplace campaigns, database management, and volunteerism. She previously worked at First Financial Bank, holding executive-level positions.

Cottle said she has applied to become permanent president of the Butler County United Way and she expects the hiring process to take about three months.

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