Name: Terry Worthington
Age: 55
Family: Wife, Marilyn; children, triplets Chelsea Worthington, Ryan Worthington and Katie W. Gernert, all 26.
Residence: Lakeland, since 1996.
Education: Bachelor's in communications and master's in education from Ohio State University in Athens, Ohio.
Career: President of the United Way of Central Florida since 1996. I started with United Way in 1987 with Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties as a campaign staff person for a United Way agency called the Epilepsy Foundation, then I was campaign director. I then moved on to the United Way of Virginia Peninsular, then of Middle Tennessee, as the vice president of the Resource Division, and back to the United Way of Central Florida in 1996.
Have you always worked with the United Way? No. I worked as a head supervisor at a detention center in Ohio years ago.
What was your toughest job? Working as a juvenile probation officer. In college I also worked for the university's legal affairs office, which was tough.
How did you get involved in the United Way? Through the Epilepsy Foundation, I became aware of how the United Way helps and provides services through its partner programs. The thing that I was attracted to immediately was how the United Way brings the business community together with the nonprofit community, for the common good.
With unemployment soaring and the economy in an uncertain state, what is going on right now at the United Way? We are out in the community right now raising funds, as we have for the last 30 years. Some businesses are having a hard time donating, but they are still giving. We still expect to reach our goal of $8.8 million. We all know that people need help as a result of change in their employment. There are people who need help now who have never needed it before. I believe that people are even more sensitive today than in the past, that we're all a paycheck or two away from needing the support of our community.
Is this the toughest time that you have ever seen in your career with the United Way? In Polk County in the early '80s, the unemployment rate was 17 percent. I can't say that this is THE toughest time, but it is certainly a tough time for those delivering those services. I think people respond when they see need around them. Everybody has a neighbor or a relative who is experiencing the fear of losing a job or even underemployment or loss of investment values.
In working with a nonprofit agency and being exposed to such great need on a daily basis, what is a good memory that you have working with the needy that keeps you going? During the aftermath of Hurricane Charley, when United Way was able to immediately shift our efforts to address the needs of those affected by the hurricane. We shifted our capacity. We were able to meet the needs to the capacity of our ability. United Way is not confined to a lot of things that other nonprofits may be. We are governed by volunteers who determine where United Way can focus. We were even unsure of our role during the aftermath of Hurricane Charley, but the Salvation Army captain helped to direct us where we could be used the most. Others played a big part, like the Red Cross, and about a dozen smaller charities. Literally millions of dollars came in for the efforts of helping people. Publix gave two tons of turkey. Country Hearth gave 7,000 loaves of bread initially and more later on. The Ledger donated its trucks and drivers to deliver supplies, even outside of their delivery areas, and The Ledger reporters were out assessing the needs more quickly than the official folks could, and they were telling us where the needs were. Businesses and nonprofit volunteers were able to put money to work by people who knew their specific communities, like Wachula, Haines City, Fort Meade, not some outside organization trying to come in and figure everything out. That was a time that reflected very positively of the United Way, especially in East Polk County.
With having to ask for money and then decide who receives it, how do you cope? You just work as hard as you can and trust in the goodness of the people. I also like to exercise. I like to run with my daughter, and I ride bikes with a group of guys out of Bartow. We don't compete, just participate in the sport.
What do you like most about Polk County? I like the fact that if you want to get involved in the county, people in Polk County welcome that. They take pride in helping one another.
