United Way kicked off its 80th Year as a community leader in Thurston County with its Straight From the Heart dinner auc-tion. Vocalist Chris Anderson serenaded the 350 guests in at-tendance, and wine experts Rebecca Murphy and Keith Marton, M.D., guidedthem through each of the five gourmet courses and wine pairings. The evening’s proceeds of $170,000 will go to the Community Care Fund, which supports programs across Thur-ston County that help children and youth learn and succeed, pro-mote financial stability for families and individuals, and improve citizens’ health.
