The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. March 18 in the Heartland Events Center's Bosselman Conference Center, and the public is invited to attend.

The United Way will also recognize its retiring board of directors and announce the new leadership team that will serve the board. The 2008-09 campaign chairs will be introduced, and the gavel will be passed to the new board chairperson and officers.

Also during the meeting, the Heartland United Way will present its Citizens Award to Principal Financial Group and its employees for their outstanding support of the United Way and the community. The President's Award will be given to Case IH and its employees for their unwavering commitment to the Heartland United Way as demonstrated in their consecutive record-breaking employee campaigns.

Special recognition will highlight the United Way Agencies that serve Hall, Howard, Hamilton and Merrick counties.

The Heartland United Way proudly supports the following 17 partner agencies: Adult Basic Education, American Red Cross-Great Plains Chapter, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boy Scouts-Overland Trails Council, Central Nebraska Council on Alcoholism and Addictions, Central Nebraska Community Services, Child Care Solutions, Citizen Advocacy, Crisis Center, Girl Scouts-Goldenrod Council, Heartland CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), Hope Harbor, Lutheran Immigration Services, Multicultural Coalition, Third City Community Clinic, YMCA and the YWCA.

Tickets for the annual meeting are $20 and are available by calling 382-2675 or by e-mail at info@heartlanduway.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the Heartland United Way office, 410 W. Second St., Suite 1, Grand Island.