George McCanless, President & CEO of United Way of Central Georgia, has been appointed to the National Professional Council of United Ways, a select group of chief executive officers from from across the country that focuses on identifying common challenges and solutions for the community-based member nonprofits. Stacey D. Stewart, U.S. Network President, appointed McCanless to the group.
 
McCanless was selected because of his outstanding leadership in his local community and within the United Way network. He will join just a handful of local United Way executives who are helping advise United Way Worldwide in setting strategy and direction for nearly 1,200 United Ways across the U.S.
 
McCanless became President & CEO of United Way in January, 2013 after a career in the newspaper industry, the last five years serving as President and Publisher of The Telegraph in Macon, GA.
 
“George McCanless understands the real value of United Way, someone we know is a champion of innovation and new ideas, who will take a collaborative approach to helping strengthen our network,” Ms. Stewart said. “I’m excited to have George on our team.”
 
“While I am honored to have been selected to this key strategic group within United Way”, Mr. McCanless stated, “this is really a testament to the work our board, staff and volunteers have done over the past three years to transform ourselves into a true community impact organization.  The success of our Read2Succeed program, our being selected as one of DECAL’s Early Education Empowerment Zones, and our role in helping form a community health partnership are just three examples of our focus”.
 
McCanless will serve a two-year term beginning January 1, 2016 and ending December 31, 2017. For more information about United Way of Central Georgia please visit unitedwaycg.org.