A familiar face is joining a familiar place.
Bellefontaine native Melody Couchman is being introduced this week as the first Community Engagement Director at United Way of Logan County. Couchman joins the United Way team in a full-time capacity to help with the annual campaign, special events, volunteer activities, and more.
Couchman brings years of relationship building and community service to the table. Along with working in her family's floral business, Melody is been a certified Personal Training and Fitness Instructor. As a volunteer, she conceived and developed local events that have raised over $500,000 to benefit the Logan County Cancer Society, including the annual Doors of Encouragement display and auction, Lights of Love Memory Trees, and Sunflower Shuffle. She's also coordinated blood drives that have collected over 1,000 units for patients in need.
"Helping people and taking care of our community has been a passion for me and I look forward to continuing to do so with United Way," Couchman said.
"Melody jumped on this opportunity as the first person to submit her application, a mere hour or two after the job was posted," said Dave Bezusko, United Way's Executive Director. "I was sitting at the dinner table when I saw her e-mail come through, and a big smile came across my face because I knew we were going to get someone special for this role. Melody's experience, connections, and compassion make her the perfect fit to serve as another face of United Way in the community."
Bezusko says the United Way Board believes that now is the time for United Way to invest in itself to sustain recent growth. Not only is Logan County the smallest community in Ohio to ever achieve a $1 million United Way campaign, (it's happened four years in a row), but United Way of Logan County has the smallest staff in the state among the dozen local United Ways raising between $1 million and $1.5 million annually.