Chris Goff will chair this year’s United Way of Greater Stark County’s campaign. Goff, CEO & General Counsel of Employers Health, has been an avid supporter of United Way corporately and personally for many years. Chris and his wife Michele, a pharmacist at Absolute Healthcare, are members of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society; Michele is a member of United Way’s Women United and Chris joined the Board of Directors in 2019.
Goff was asked to lead this year’s campaign in early January shortly before Mark and Tonya Wright wrapped up their campaign leadership for the past year. The Goffs and the Wrights had a chance to have dinner together in late February to talk about what it’s like to lead a major United Way campaign, not realizing our community would need the services of United Way in an unprecedented manner weeks later. Prior to Governor DeWine’s “stay at home” order, Goff built a cabinet of community leaders to build on the success of the Wrights’ campaign; the first meeting was set to kick off on March 31 but by that time, face-to-face meetings were being cancelled or postponed. While the cabinet has been established, it will utilize virtual meetings to launch its efforts. Goff stated, “while the public generally sees the campaign as a September to December event, much methodical and strategic planning begins in earnest by April and continues into the first quarter of 2021.”
Goff plans to begin meeting with his cabinet in the next few weeks. According to Goff, “this year’s campaign will be challenging given the economic crisis our nation currently faces with record unemployment and critical needs such as food, rent and mortgage payments. However, we stand ready to meet the challenge as United Way’s success is critical to provide necessities for our most vulnerable populations’ needs.”
United Way’s impact areas of health, education and financial stability are a good match for Goff’s personal and corporate philanthropic initiatives. Having led Employers Health for the last twenty-five years, Goff attributes the company’s success to the talented, dedicated team at Employers Health who have consistently donated to United Way as part of a workplace campaign. Goff said, “my colleagues understand the importance of giving to the community by sharing their compensation and their talent.” The company observes “First Friday,” a day of volunteering at non-profit organizations or team building experiences on the first Friday of every month as a mechanism to strengthen our community and our team.
In addition to United Way, Goff serves on other community boards, among them the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, Arts in Stark, Jackson Local Board of Education, Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges, Health Foundation of Greater Massillon, University of Akron School of Law Alumni Association and University of Akron President’s Advisory Council; Goff also serves on the faculty of the law school where he teaches health law. The Goffs reside in Jackson Township, have been married for thirty-one years and have three adult children.