United Way director resigns

by David Reed

June 18,2009

After less than a year in office, the executive director of The Heart of Missouri United Way announced Thursday that she has resigned and will leave July 10 to take a job in Iowa.

Connie Benton Wolfe said she will be vice president for advancement at Wesley Retirement Services in Des Moines.

Wolfe became the director on Aug. 1, 2008, taking over from David Franta, who moved to St. Louis.

Benton is an Iowa native who worked for 20 years at organizations in Iowa that provide services to the elderly. Before coming to Columbia she was a United Way administrator in Johnson County, Iowa. "I have family, friends and many ties there," she said. "Columbia is such a wonderful town. I'll cherish the time I spent here for all of my life."

Stephen Gaither, president of the area United Way board, said, "Our transition plans for new staff leadership will be developed over the next several weeks.  In addition, because we know this will be a challenging year to raise funds, we have done a great deal of advance preparation for the 2009 campaign."

The campaign will be launched Sept. 10. Last year's campaign raised more money than any previous year but fell slightly short of the goal, which Wolfe attributed to the recession.