The State Employees Combined Campaign (SECC), established in 1984, held its annual recognition reception at the Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh yesterday (Wednesday, March 2). In attendance were agency leadership, numerous campaign volunteers, and Governor Pat McCrory, who expressed his gratitude for everyone’s efforts and for the ongoing success of the campaign: “Giving back is so important. Thank you all for your thoughtfulness and for contributing your time, talent and treasure in the interests of those who are less fortunate. It is people like you who help make North Carolina such a great place to live, work and raise a family.”
The SECC is the only authorized fundraising campaign permitted to solicit charitable contributions in the state employee workplace. It provides state employees and retirees an opportunity and choice in directing their contributions to charitable organizations through a uniform and systematic process. It gives state employees and retirees an opportunity to support charitable organizations that are accountable, fiscally sound, and committed to improving the quality of life in North Carolina, across the nation and around the world.
The chairman for SECC’s 2015 campaign, themed “Give – Make it Grow,” was C. Neal Alexander, Jr., State Human Resources Director. Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality, Donald R. van der Vaart, acted as co-chair. At the reception, Director Alexander passed the campaign gavel to Secretary van der Vaart who will chair the 2016 campaign. Keith Werner, CIO with the Department of Information Technology, will serve as the 2016 co-chair.
The 2015 SECC campaign raised $3,760,000 which boosted the total contributions since its inception to over $102 million! Each state agency and university had its own team of volunteer campaign organizers who raised awareness with state employees of the over 1000 charities that are part of the SECC and facilitated collecting the donations.
Out-going SECC chairman Alexander acknowledged his appreciation to all the volunteers for their tireless efforts in making the 2015 campaign such a success. He also presented the Chairman’s Award for campaign excellence. “This is awarded to an organization in each category based on number of employees, with the highest per capita giving level,” Alexander explained. The Chairman’s Award was presented to representatives of the following agencies and universities.
GENERAL GOVERNMENT
- Under 100 Employees - State Human Resources
- 100-499 Employees - State Treasurer
- 500 -999 Employees - Information Technology
- 1,000-1,999 Employees - Revenue
- 2,000-9,999 Employees - State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU)*
- 10,000+ Employees - Public Safety
*The SECU is not a state government agency, but they qualified for the awardthrough their partnership with the SECC.
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
- Under 500 Employees - University of North Carolina General Administration
- 500 -1,499 Employees - Fayetteville State University
- 1,500 -4,999 Employees - University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- 5,000+ Employees - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill