Merchant Recruits Gaston County United Way President

(December 23, 2008 ) -- The Board of Directors of The United Way of Gaston County has unanimously elected Deborah Ally as its new President. Deborah will succeed Mary Vaughn, who is retiring in January.

Mrs. Ally grew up in Gaston County, where she graduated from Hunter Huss High School. After graduating with a BS in Accounting from North Carolina Central, she spent the early part of her career in accounting and audit with a Big 8 firm and Knight-Ridder, Inc.

After transitioning to a marketing post with the Miami Herald, she was elected as Executive Director of the Deaf Services Bureau in Coral Gables, FL, where she enhanced community relationships, re-designed the organizational structure, and implemented new accountability standards.

Following her tenure with Deaf Services, Mrs. Ally served as the top marketing and development officer for Care Resource, South Florida's oldest and largest HIV/AIDS community health provider. There she was credited with the successful implementation of a number of large fund-raising events.

For the past year, she has served as a program consultant to several large government and nonprofit entities. In addition, she has continued to host and produce South Florida Voices, a weekly half-hour community affairs television program that has run continuously for the past 12 years.

The selection of Mrs. Ally followed a national search conducted by a strategic task force comprised of distinguished and diverse community leaders, and chaired by former Gaston Gazette publisher Duane McCallister. The task force was assisted by Trent Merchant of Charlotte-based Coleman Lew & Associates, a national retained executive search and leadership development firm. The search was funded by a grant from the Community Foundation of Gaston County.

United Way Board Chair Janet Sarn said that she was confident that the board had selected the right person for the job.

"Deborah Ally brings a solid background in financial oversight, operations, strategic marketing, and fund-raising that has prepared her well to lead our United Way. More than anything else, we believe that she will build strong community relationships as Gaston County moves forward."

Board Chair-Elect B.F. Beasley expressed his admiration for the members of the strategic task force and the Community Foundation.

"I cannot begin to count the hours that the members of the task force worked together during this process. And I am so grateful to the Community Foundation for stepping up to provide the funding to retain a search firm. This collaboration is a fine example of what we can do as a community when we work together."

Deborah Ally will assume her new post on January 12, 2009.

Coleman Lew & Associates, Inc., founded in 1979 and headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a international retained executive search firm that recruits board members, officers, and senior level executives for national and international companies, academic institutions and non-profit organizations. The firm also provides customized leadership development services to organizations seeking to maximize corporate performance. Member, Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC).