Sandra Adams cooked and flipped fresh pancakes Friday at 7:30 a.m. as the Yadkin County Leadership Circle Breakfast got underway at the senior center.

Cindi Dixon welcomed the group and gave campaign totals. There was a drawing for campaign incentives and the introduction of the Yadkin County United Fund Board of Directors.

“We did have a very successful campaign here in the county,” said Dixon. “I don’t usually set campaign goals. If you set a goal and reach it, that’s wonderful. I want to bring in every year more than we brought in the previous year.”

Last year the organization raised a total of $201,573, she said, up $11,000 over the previous year.

“That’s because of what you do, what your employees do,” she said. “We cannot do it without you. We did need to raise a total of $310,000. That includes all of our out-of-county designations. Overall we had a very successful campaign, and I was very pleased with it. We have different little groups of donors. We have employee campaigns.

The company matches what the workers donate, she said, and some employee campaigns where the employer gives a set amount every year.

“Then we have corporate donors,” she said. “We had a wonderful employee campaign. We have a total of 19 campaigns right now.” One is in the school system. The total is 33 campaigns.

“It keeps me busy,” she said. “I would like to see us picking up more campaigns.” Some loss was from residents losing jobs.

“They may not be working at all,” Dixon said. “So we’ve got to work on getting more campaigns. To do that we are going to put together a campaign community development team. I am hoping it will be a large group of people. We need people who will go out and give a warm referral. You all have business acquaintances.”

An employee campaign talk can last only about 15 minutes, she noted, and there is no pressure.

“The campaign season is Aug. 1 to Thanksgiving Day,” Dixon noted.

Retired educator Thomas Wooten told the group how much he gets out of volunteering and expressed that this type of work is a good option for local residents and for agencies which offer a lot of services to the community.

“I can’t draw any retirement anymore,” he said to laughs. “I’ve got so much to be thankful for with friends and good neighbors. Thank you.”Cindi Dixon and Bobby Todd gave out the awards, and agencies represented were Austin Electrical Enclosures, Duke Energy Foundation, E.H. Barnard Charitable Trust, First Citizens Band, Gentry Family Funeral Services, Indera Mills, Phillips-Van Heusen, Southern Community Bank, Suntrust Bank, Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation, Wachovia-Yadkinville branch, Yadkin Valley Bank and Yadkin Valley Telecom.

The board of directors are now Carol Roberts, president, Sandra Adams, vice president, Kim Bruce, secretary, Andy Anderson, treasurer, Mark Moran, Tommy Jester, David Gentry, Roger Cook, Thomas Wooten, Nathan Lewis, Mike Reavis, Bobby Todd, Monta Davis-Oliver, Barry Hennings, LeDean Collins and Cindi Dixon, executive director.

The 2010 partner agencies include the American Red Cross, the Association for Retarded Citizens of Yadkin County, the Boonville Community Public Library, the Boy Scouts of America, Cancer Services, the Children’s Center of Yadkin, the East Bend Public Library, the Elderly Nutrition Program, Faith in Action, Girl Scouts, Jonesville Public Library, Mountain Valley Hospice, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, Share-A-Home, Sheltered Aid to Families in Emergencies, The Ark Homeless Shelter, The Children’s Center for the Physically Disabled, The Salvation Army, the Special Children’s School, Tri-County Christian Crisis Ministries, Tri-County Health Resource Center Grace Clinic, Yadkin County 4-H Clubs, Yadkin County Family Domestic Violence Program, Yadkin County Foster Parent Association, Yadkin County Public Library, Yadkin County Rescue Squad and EMS, Yadkin County YMCA, Yadkin SCAN, Yadkin Senior Centers East Bend, Yadkin County and Yadkin Valley and Yadkin Volunteer Medical Ministries.