Her roots are here in the Upper Ohio Valley, so the passion Jessica Rine brings with her when interacting with the public comes naturally.
Rine serves as the executive director of the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley, a non-profit that supports 23 different charitable outfits in the region. Over the past five years in the position, Rine has spoken to a plethora of civic organizations and has been most successful with gaining various forms of support.
“I think the fact I am from here helps me in my position because I am raising my three kids here, and that makes me very motivated to help our neighbors throughout the Upper Ohio Valley. I love this area, and while I spoke to a class at West Liberty University, I told them that as soon as I was graduated, I jumped and moved to Altoona, Pa.,” Rine recalled. “But then life happened, and I moved back.
“Either it was my fresh eyes when I returned or maybe it was the progression I saw taking place here that made me realize how much I truly love this community and the people in it,” she continued. “That’s really why I think having roots here makes me even more passionate about what the United Way is trying to do here. We really work very hard to fix some issues that people are facing for whatever reasons.”
Rine was employed by WTRF TV-7 before she began with the United Way in downtown Wheeling, and often she can be seen during the warmer months walking to address a number of gatherings throughout the year.
“I have been doing a lot of public speaking since I started with the United Way five years ago, but a lot more organizations have been reaching out this year,” Rine explained. “And I have been honored to be asked by them because it means people in this Valley really care about their community, and they want to do something to make it a better place to live.
“Most of the time, the members of those organizations just want to hear about what the United Way is doing here in the Upper Ohio Valley and what events we have coming up,” she said. “They also want to know about what services are offered by the many organizations we support, and about what we do in the community.”
A Big Smile
She has a way of connecting to those she’s addressing, but Rine also jokes that the particular ability not always proves to be positive.
“I try to be relatable when I am speaking to groups, and I have high-emotional intelligence which is a blessing and a curse,” the executive director said. “I can feel very deeply how people are reacting to anything I am saying or to a situation. What that means is that if people are uncomfortable, it makes me super uncomfortable. If they are excited, it makes them so excited. That’s why, when I go to speak to a room full of people, I take a good look around the room to see who’s there, and I go from there.
“I live and breathe the United Way, and I was very involved with it before I accepted this position, and that is why I am always ready to speak with people about it, and I do my best to get them motivated about their community,” Rine explained. “I also do my best to motivate them about giving, but not just monetarily but also with their time. Someone can simply volunteer to be on a committee and when we hold our events, or they can support the United Way with their donation.”
For example, Rine and her staff will host the return of the United Way’s annual Night at the Races at Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack on March 4. The evening will feature blackjack instead of live or recorded racing, and community volunteers will serve as the dealers.
Sponsorships and tickets are available for the Night at the Races 2022, and tickets are priced at $35 each. Each ticket includes dinner and a beer-tasting presented by Carenbauer Distributing.
Each attendee will receive two no-value chips, and additional chips will be available for purchase (10/$5). There will be a prize table to cash in chips, and every player that gets a Blackjack will be entered into drawings for additional prizes.
Contact Rine at jrine@unitedwayuov.org for more information or click here for ticket and sponsorship info: https://lnkd.in/eSmGKK39
“We are excited to bring back the Night at the Races event after we were not able to have it the past two years because of the pandemic,” Rine said. “In 2020, we canceled it because so much was unknown about the virus, and then we found out it was a good decision because Gov. (Jim) Justice closed the schools and put a lot of limitations on business and public gatherings.
“In March of last year, the mandates will still be in place concerning events like Night at the Races, but it is different this year so we decided to move forward with it with safety precautions in place,” she continued. “It’s a really fun event, and I think those who choose to support us by purchasing tickets are going to have a lot of fun with the game of blackjack.”
Making a Connection
Whether it is the Night at the Races, the annual Day of Caring, the Belmont County Golf Scramble, or Oktoberfest on Market Plaza, Rine’s goal always is to create fun events that bring as many people together as possible.
She also is very active on social media so she can reach out to as many people as possible in order to deliver as much United Way information as possible.
“It is very important for the members of our community to connect to the community, so they can do that by giving time or resources,” Rine said. “When that happens, I feel as if I have accomplished my mission. The United Way is an advocate for many of the non-profits in the Wheeling area because those organizations are doing the greater good, so if someone is willing to give back to the community, the conversation that I like to have with them concerns how they like to give and what mission are they on.
“Many times, at the end of that conversation, they end up being a United Way donor or a United Way volunteer,” she said. “I am a big believer that if people give back to their community, it automatically makes that community a better place to live.”
