Each year, the United Way of Odessa recognizes members of the community who help out with the nonprofit organization’s mission of improving lives throughout the nine counties in which it serves.
The United Way of Odessa held its annual 2022-23 meeting and awards luncheon Tuesday afternoon at the MCM Fundome and honored Odessa leaders.
Among the awards given out was the Anita and Bill Elms award, which was awarded to Sondra and Toby Eoff as well as Odessa College President Gregory Williams.
“It means a lot to us because of what United Way of Odessa has done for the community,” Sondra Eoff said. “They’ve done so much. We love what they do and how they honor the charitable organizations and the city with the grants they do. Several of the board members are recipients and we just think United Way is a valuable asset to the city.”
Sondra Eoff is the president of Eofficial Enterprises, which was started to open the Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in downtown.
“We have a distinguished award, the Anita and Bill Elms Award and we honor longtime supporters of United Way,” United Way of Odessa Executive Director Christina Escobar said. “Those supporters that are still with us, that support us and do so much for us, we honor them. Today, we honored Toby and Sondra Eoff and we’re honored to have that support from them.”
Both Sondra and Toby Eoff talked about how honored they were to receive the award.
“Having known Bill and Anita, they were very responsible citizens of Odessa and they did a lot,” Sondra said. “It’s an honor and privilege to follow them in their footsteps.”
“If there was only one charity in Odessa to support, it would be United Way because they support the majority of charities of Odessa,” Toby said. “They’re a great organization.”
Several campaign awards were given out from the 2022 Fundraising Campaign that began back in August with a ceremony at Odessa College.
“Today, we also honored Odessa College for their campaign,” Escobar said. “They do tremendous things for us. They hold a large campaign with their employees and garner over $60,000 for us via payroll direct. So we honor Odessa College in that capacity. We also honored Dr. Gregory Williams and his team members for what they do for this community to help us serve families.”
The Volunteer of the Year Award was also given out before the end of the ceremony with Marketing Manager at JS Architects Crystale Castillo being this year’s recipient.
“It means the world to me,” Castillo said. “I’m honored to be able to serve the city of Odessa in this capacity alongside United Way. The team is amazing and they welcomed me with open arms. To serve them is very easy from the heart.”
Castillo has served on numerous committees for the United Way of Odessa.
“Castillo has served in many different capacities for us,” Escobar said. “You can always depend on her to be at different fundraisers or on different committees so we’re lucky to have her.”
The United Way of Odessa supports programs in nine counties in West Texas from Ector County to Culberson County and as far south as Brewster County.
“The purpose of the United Way is vital,” Escobar said. “It sort of serves as a warehouse for our agencies. We allow them to operate their agencies and serve their clients. They’re the ones that see those clients firsthand. We want to be that background support that continues to fundraise and support them. We have 16 agencies that rely on our support and we make it a goal to raise funds to support them and support the community.”
For more information about the United Way of Odessa, go to tinyurl.com/4f2nz8tj.
