WARSAW — United Way of Kosciusko County has honored several from the community who have made contributions over the past year.

At its annual meeting and volunteer celebration, held Thursday, Feb. 18, in the lobby of Key Bank, Warsaw, United Way said farewell to retiring board members, recognized board members elected to a second term and welcomed new members of the board.

Retiring board members included Siobhan Davenport, Kosciusko Community Hospital; Don Bergen, RR Donnelley retiree; Tim Meyer, Medtronic retiree; and Joel Harstine, Maple Leaf Farms.

Returning for a second term on the board are Becky Plummer, StaffMark; David Hoffert, Warsaw Community Schools; Jason Hill, Miller’s Merry Manor; Jeri Burkhart, Indiana Tech; Amanda Tom, Lake City Bank; and Cindy Sisson, Grace College.

New to the board this year are Tim Westerhof, Otis R. Bowen Center; Lidia Perez, Maple Leaf Farms; Chuck Josey, Kosciusko Community Hospital; and Anne Hill, DePuy Synthes.

Capping off the event were the annual awards, given as follows.

Awards of Excellence: RR Donnelley, with 13 percent growth in employee giving; KGP Logistics, with 54 percent growth in employee giving; Grace College and Seminary, with 67 percent increased participation and 45 percent increased employee giving; Otis R. Bowen Center, 33 percent increased participation and 86 percent increased employee giving; and 1st Source Bank, 100 percent increased participation and 183 percent increased giving.

A highlight of the festivities was the Key Leader of the Year award, given to those in charge of their respective workplaces’ United Way campaigns. Honorable mention in this category went to Ted Westerhof, Otis R. Bowen Center, for 86 percent increased giving and 33 percent increased participation in his workplace campaign, serving on the campaign cabinet in 2015 and recently joining the United Way board of directors and marketing committee.

The winner of the Key Leader of the Year award was Cindy Ambrose, RR Donnelley. Ambrose has been a key leader for several years and has worked to help her co-workers better understand United Way.

Ambrose has organized 15 departmental meetings within her company, worked many hours beyond the regular work day, met with employees who could not attend the meetings and, through it all, increased her company’s giving by 13 percent in 2015.

Another event highlight, the Volunteer of the Year award, went to Tim Meyer, a Medtronic retiree. Meyer served on the United Way of Kosciusko County board of directors fir six years, was on the finance committee since 2008, served on the campaign cabinet, volunteered with VITA and unofficially chaired the “construction committee.”

To cap off the events, it was announced that in 2015, United Way of Kosciusko County raised $1.63 million, with pacesetters Danco Anodizing, Otis R. Bowen Center and Tippecanoe Valley, Warsaw and Wawasee schools collectively raising $55,740 of that.

Through the Indiana Associaiton of United Ways Work2Gether grant, United Way of Kosciusko County raised an additional $83,052 for the Kindergarten Countdown initiative.