THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 3, 1995 TAG: 9509010214
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 228 lines
T. DOUGLAS CASEY doesn't rattle easily.
Casey, Planters Co. executive and dedicated promoter of various civic causes, is a quiet, steady leader who gets the job done even when the going gets tough.
And he does it with humor - even when he slices off part of a finger or two.
Early last month, he calmly interrupted the church circle meeting his wife was hosting in their living room, explaining that he thought he needed to go to the hospital. He had injured his left hand, severing parts of his thumb and index finger, while using a table saw. He had been cutting pieces of fencing to dress up the deck he had built.
The accident broke up the meeting, Ruth Ann Casey said. Two of the women drove them to the hospital, where doctors reconnected his index finger but were unable to save the end of his thumb.
Ruth Ann Casey was hysterical; her husband calm and laughing.
``He always does that,'' she said. ``In any situation, he can see something funny. It makes life easier.''
For the next several days, his wife chauffeured him - drowsy from pain killers - to his office to check on auditors and to the Chamber of Commerce to tend to some volunteer duties. His arm was in a sling, his finger in a splint.
He carries that type of determination into everything he does.
He had just finished a stint as chairman of Suffolk division of the Chamber of Commerce when he agreed to take on another major commitment: chairman of the United Way campaign in Suffolk.
But the fund drive, with its theme ``Angels Among Us,'' depends on all of the volunteers, said Casey, known as the ``head angel.'' He's counting on the rest of the Suffolk cabinet and the many volunteers involved in the annual effort to help reach this year's goal of $363,859 - a 4.8 percent increase over last year's.
Patricia J. Branche, director of the Suffolk United Way, is delighted that Casey agreed to lead the 1995 fund drive. She believes his tenacity will inspire others.
``He's a bull dog,'' she said.
Each morning, just after completing physical therapy on his hand, he's at his desk at Planters, where he is the ``head bean counter,'' or perhaps more appropriately, the ``head nut counter.'' The title beside his door, however, simply says ``controller.''
He had always written with his left hand, but somehow he has managed to enter neat, legible numbers on his spread sheets with his right since the accident.
Casey, 59, is dedicated to his job, his family and his community. A low-key leader, he doesn't seek publicity for himself but inspires others to work together as a team.
He has worked on the annual Peanut Fest, coordinated golf tournaments for civic events, joined the Downtown Suffolk Association and taught Sunday school at Hillcrest Baptist Church.
``Doug's just a person who's very interested in his community,'' said Kenneth Thomas, manager of human resources at Planters Co. ``He keeps a perspective on supporting the community and supporting his work. He's just an all-around good fellow.''
His co-workers appreciate his steady hand and his dry wit.
``He has a real talent for getting to the heart of the matter and determining what needs to be done,'' said Linda Doland, vice president of Crestar Bank and vice chair of the United Way.
``He has a great deal of focus,'' said Doland, who has worked with Casey on a number of civic projects. ``He's solid. His quiet determination just gets you through.''
Doland became a United Way volunteer about 15 years ago as a loaned executive while working for a different bank on the Peninsula.
``Once you've been out and visited the agencies and reviewed their budgets with their really substantial needs, it's easier to ask for contributions,'' said Doland, a Newport News native who lives in Suffolk with her husband and two daughters.
Chet M. Hart, the campaign's other vice chair, has helped Casey call on businesses, asking for support for the United Way.
``He's not a pushy kind of individual,'' said Hart, senior vice president and chief operating office of Obici Hospital.
Hart, 42, believes in the United Way's efforts.
``I just feel it's probably the single most important fund-raiser for the community,'' said Hart, a Hampton native who has called Suffolk home for the past seven years.
Suffolk gets back about $1.30 for every $1 raised, said Hart. ``The more we raise, the more we get back,'' he said.
Without United Way assistance, many of the agencies would have to be tax supported in some way, he said.
``They help, in a charitable way, people not able to do things for themselves,'' he said.
This year, Suffolk has its first member of the de Toqueville Society - donors who contribute $10,000 or more. Thomas Smith, a Gates County native and now a cornerback with the Buffalo Bills, pledged $10,000 to the campaign to assist sickle cell anemia. His aunt, Mary Goodman, outreach/health educator for the local Society for the Aid of Sickle Cell Anemia, ``drafted'' Smith, 25, to help her organization.
Branche, Suffolk's United Way director, said she was shocked when she heard about it.
``I almost passed out,'' said Branche, who noted that the largest individual gift in Suffolk had been $2,600.
``For an individual to give that amount is extraordinary,'' she said.
Branche is proud of the local organization, recently honored as one of three United Ways in the country to received a ``quality award'' from United Way America.
``It shows we're a quality organization just like the companies we deal with,'' she said.
More than 200 United Way ``angels'' - volunteers and representatives from participating agencies - attended Thursday's kick-off luncheon, the beginning of the general campaign to raise funds for the needy in their hometown.
For some, like Casey, it's an adopted home.
He grew up outside Philadelphia until he was a teenager and his family moved to a farm outside Marion, Virginia - near his grandparents in Abingdon.
``I consider myself a Yankee with Southern blood,'' he said.
His mother, his two grown sons and four of his five grandchildren still live in southwest Virginia. A daughter lives in Suffolk with his youngest grandchild - a 2-year-old granddaughter whose picture graces Casey's van and car.
In 1970, he came to Suffolk to work for Planters in the accounting department, after spending time working for various other companies along the East Coast. He's survived numerous company restructuring efforts and spent five years working at Planters' Fort Smith, Arkansas, plant before being named controller for Suffolk's flagship facility.
And he's been active in the United Way organization since returning to Suffolk in 1980, first as a member of the Keel Club - individuals who donate at least $500.
He enjoys any chance to explain the good done by the United Way.
``We try to get out and talk to people,'' he said. ``We're just asking for a chance to get in and talk to them. We're not trying to twist arms.''
But don't give him too much credit, he insisted.
``I can't do it all,'' he said. ``It takes all of us.'' A few good words about Casey
What others say about T. Douglas Casey:
``He's been involved in practically everything civic minded in Suffolk. We need a man like him.''
- Theodore J. ``Ted'' Lo Cascio, consultant, Planters Co.
``In a meeting, usually his humor is the type that can get you out of a rut.''
- Colin R. ``Randy'' Davis, executive director, Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Suffolk division
``When he says he will do something, you can consider it done. He's somebody you can count on. He's the perfect person to have on a team.''
- Gail F. Pruden, regional vice president of Commerce Bank and former Peanut Fest chair
``He's quiet and most unassuming. He's a bull dog.''
- Patricia J. Branche, Suffolk director, United Way of South Hampton Roads
``The thing that impresses me most about Doug is he is a very intelligent fellow but very down-to-earth. He kind of pitches in as one of the regular guys as a team-type player.''
- Harold U. Blythe, president of Bank of Suffolk and former chairman of Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Suffolk division
``He's not a lot of fluff, just solid. He has a wonderful outlook. Even when times are tough, he tries to look for the bright spot.''
- Linda Doland, vice chair of Suffolk cabinet, United Way of South Hampton Roads and vice president of Crestar Bank
``He doesn't have an inflexible type of approach. He lets you do it the way you need to do it.''
- Chet M. Hart, vice chair of Suffolk cabinet, United Way of South Hampton Roads, and senior vice president/COO of Obici Hospital
``He's a very effective leader. He's very well organized.''
- Susan J. Towler, chair of Pacesetters campaign for the Suffolk cabinet, United Way of South Hampton Roads, and vice president of Crestar Bank
``We call him the `gas man.' If there's any spark over here, Doug will throw in his dry wit and make it more interesting.''
- Kenneth Thomas, manager of human resources, Planters Co.
``He doesn't like to take a lot of glory for anything. He will stay with something til the job is done, whether it is something around the house, something at work or a committee at church.
``He sets a good example by being a good person. When you see Doug, that's just what you get. There is nothing underneath, as far as pretense.''
- Ruth Ann Casey, his wife MEMO: [For related stories on the United Way, see page 13 and 15 of The Sun
for this date.]
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
SUFFOLK UNITED WAY'S HEAD ANGEL
[Color Photo]
T. Douglas Casey
Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
T. Douglas Casey gives a welcome speech at the United Way kickoff
luncheon Thursday while volunteers Arnold McKinnon, center, and
Linda Doland listen.
Harold
Blythe
Gail
Pruden
Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
T. Douglas Casey is chairman of the United Way campaign in Suffolk.
UNITED WAY AGENCIES
These agencies serve the Suffolk area.
American Cancer Society
American Heart Association
American Lung Association
American Red Cross
Big Brothers/Big Sisters
Boy Scouts of America, Virginia Council
The Children's Center
Edmarc, Inc.
Family Services
Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia
Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast
Help & Emergency Response (H.E.R.)
The Planning Council
Salvation Army
SEVAMP Senior Services
SHARE Hampton Roads
Society for the Aid of Sickle Cell Anemia
Suicide Crisis Center
Suffolk Shelter for the Homeless
Suffolk YMCA
United Cerebral Palsy
United Way Helpline
United Way of South Hampton Roads
Voluntary Action & Information Center
KEYWORDS: PROFILE UNITED WAY
by CNB