United Way of Kosciusko County welcomes Nelson Beverage as a pacesetter for the 2004 campaign.

The first-ever Nelson Beverage United Way employee campaign will run July 16 and 17, and they have set a goal of $2,000 to raise for the community.

Keyleaders for Nelson's are Tara and Hunter Carlile. Their campaign includes hosting the world-famous Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Clydesdales for a public photo opportunity at the Warsaw Wal-Mart, which will help Nelson's raise dollars for Kosciusko County.

Nelson Beverage has been serving Kosciusko County for more than 20 years. Jerry Nelson purchased K&H Distributing in October 1983. Over the next nine years, several growth opportunities arose.

K&H Distributing purchased distributing rights for Wabash and Whitley counties, which led to the purchase of land north of Warsaw and the building of a new warehouse. In 1997, K&H Distributing became know as Nelson Beverage.

In 2000, Nelson Beverage doubled the size of its warehouse and added additional office space. Today, Nelson Beverage services four counties and employs 23 people.

Nelson Beverage will become the first retail business to be a pacesetter for the United Way of Kosciusko County. Pacesetters run their companies' employee campaign early, before the end of August, to set the pace for other companies throughout Kosciusko County. Pacesetters strive to achieve a "double digit increase" over their last year's campaign.

Pacesetters follow three basic rules to run a successful campaign for United Way:

• Companies make their campaign educational by informing every employee about the benefits to donating to the United Way: 95 percent of dollars raised are available to fund 44 programs that are administered by 28 agency partners; each program has its own way of making lives better in our community, from food, clothing, affordable day care and assistance in finding a job.

• Company Pacesetters have fun. Each company runs its campaign differently, but all have one thing in common - they all have creative ways to raise dollars in the community.

• Companies use the motto "Plan long and run fast." Most companies take up to three months planning their campaigns and run the campaign within a 24-hour period.

But most of all, Pacesetter companies are working to raise dollars for our community. So help United Way Pacesetter Nelson Beverage Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Warsaw Wal-Mart, see the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale horses and enjoy a photo event to raise dollars for the United Way! [[In-content Ad]]