Tocqueville Society First Tuesday Luncheon
Congressman Yarmuth Meets with Metro United Way’s Top Donors
Published On: February 01, 2012
On the first Tuesday of each month, the Metro United Way’s top donors ($10,000 per year or more) are made privy to small, intimate luncheons with government, corporate, and community leaders. Congressman John Yarmuth spoke to members of the Metro United Way Tocqueville Society at their January First Tuesday Luncheon, held in the Rathskeller at the Seelbach. Commenting generally on a government at loggerheads and a media-driven society bent on discrediting all of its institutions, Yarmuth said, “As a society we are going to have trouble moving forward if we don’t have anyone to look up to.” Mentioning many corruption stories involving teachers, elected officials, coaches, and financial leaders, which played out in the media over the past year, Yarmuth lamented a pervasive negative climate and then commented more specifically on the state of politics in Kentucky.
Tocqueville Society meetings are a perfect antidote to overall negativity. With all members committing to the United Way’s mission of improving lives, there’s no shortage of people we can all look up to. As incoming Tocqueville Society Director Jerry Henderson said, “You don’t have to look far to see the excellent work that is being done all across our community by Metro United Way and its member agencies, but what most people probably don’t know is that much of this work would not be possible without the exceptional generosity of our Tocqueville Society members. During the economic slowdown of the last few years, it has been the growth in dollars given by Tocqueville members that has really helped sustain the work of the Metro United Way.”
Outgoing Tocqueville Society Director, Chris Burnside, who has passionately worked to grow membership, welcomed new and prospective members to the luncheon and said that “The Tocqueville Society exists, in part, to celebrate exceptional generosity and leadership in philanthropy. Embracing this idea has helped us to grow our membership to 244 members, and to recruit 40 new members this year. Our Society has grown by 50% in the past 3 years. It’s really exciting: When we started 3 years ago, many of us on our Steering Committee could not even spell Alexis de Tocqueville. Today, we have a Society that is really starting to sizzle.” LS
—Photographs by
Frankie Steele
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