The United Way of Carbon County (UWCC) hosted it's Third Annual Community Service Celebrity Roast this past Friday evening at The Galleria at Split Rock.

The Community Service Celebrity Roast, where they select people who are active in their community to honor, is one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for the United Way.Those selected to be so honored are active in their community through their businesses and or their jobs.This year's title of "Man of the Hour" was shared by Palmerton residents Eugene "Geno" Roberts and Dave Rodrigues.At the start of the program, the UWCC presented a Recognition Award to Jack Kalins, the owner of Split Rock Resorts, for sponsoring the event.Between his private donations and sponsorship of this and previous roasts he has helped the United Way raise over $20,000 over the course of three years.Also receiving Recognition Awards were the Roastees Roberts and Rodrigues for their participation in the event this past Friday night.David Reinbold, who chaired the Roast for the UWCC, Split Rock Resorts owner Jack Kalins, and Angela Nardini received Community Impact Awards because of the impact that they have had on the community by raising funds for community services.Barbara Kalins was also to receive a Community Impact Award that evening but was unable to attend so she will receive her award at a later time.With the "niceties" out of the way and the hearty meal that followed, it was time for family and friends to get to work turning up the heat on the Roastees who later got to respond.It was all in good fun though fulfilling the spirit of the event and making it the success that it was.Throughout all of this, drawings for door prizes were held throughout the evening for those in attendance.All proceeds from the Community Service Hero Roast go to the United Way of Carbon County which benefits over a dozen Community Service Agencies in the county.After the Roast, Donna Lennon, current President for the United Way of Carbon County noted "we had an excellent turnout, we sold 130 tickets which surpassed anything in the past."In that respect, this was the best out of the three roasts that the UWCC has held so far in that they raised more money on Friday night than they had raised in any other previous night.Last year was a record year for UWCC when they raised over $80,000 for the year exceeding the goal of $70,000 which they were aiming for.Lennon noted that in spite of economic woes, the individual pledges last year went up quite a bit.On Saturday June 19th, the UWCC will host "Cruise to the Music" at Memorial Park in Jim Thorpe to further help fund Community Service Agencies in Carbon County.Anyone desiring more information on this "day of family fun" can call Denise at (570) 325-4310.