Member Highlights

Eliyah Ochoa - UC CPAW Member

Hey there! I'm Eliyah Ochoa, a 17-year-old junior at Union County High School. I'm all about getting involved and making a difference in my community. I absolutely love the UCCPAW environment as well as substance abuse prevention among teens. I'm the President of DECA and TSA, and I also play roles in the BETA Club, Interact Club, Key Club, CCA School Board, and Spanish Club. 

But what really stands out for me is my involvement with UCCPAW. It's been an amazing experience where I feel valued and appreciated. It is singular in the way the coalition values students’ opinions and  action in the community. Recently, I got to do a wonderful environmental scan with other high schoolers, analyzing local gas stations' selling habits regarding vapes and alcohol. It's hands-on work that makes a real impact on our community and high school students. I am so proud to be a part of the UCCPAW and I’m excited for the years to come!                                        May 24

Collin Ng - Mentor

 I wanted to become a mentor because I wanted to learn more. I didn't have much experience with kids and I was always curious why parents loved their kids so much. I found, through mentoring Wylder, that kids can be a spark of joy in the hardest of times.  I hope that I can help Wylder open up and have a great time in school. 


UCHS Senior, 

Collin Ng                                            May 24

Matthew McClure - UCCPAW Member

I am currently a sophomore in high school. I am very involved with extracurricular activities. I am in HOSA, Beta, Appalachian Wellness Harm Reduction and Coalition, Student Council, and FFA. I work at Union General Hospital as a Rehab Tech at the Outpatient Rehabilitation Center and I am also a youth leader at Liberty Baptist Church. The reason I joined UCCPAW is to make underage students that vape, drink, use tobacco products , and anything else of that nature aware of how dangerous those products are and how they affect your body poorly.  

                                                                           Feb 24

Richard Hoibraten - Mentor   

I am Rev Richard Hoibraten, and my career path varied from the Navy active and reserve for 26 year's and employed in facilities engineering for twenty seven years and a Pastor third career since 2007.

   I have been mentoring for five years and have three young people 13,15,and 16,whom I am very grateful to share time and understanding with as they grow up. 

    We, as citizens are needed to be there for each of these boys.

Karen Cassity - UC CPAW Member

My name is Karen Cassity. My family and I moved to the area 2 years ago to be closer to my extended family. I'm a devoted wife of almost 30 years to my wonderful husband, Dan, and a blessed mom of three.


Last year, I decided to attend a UCCPAW meeting after learning about it at Family Connections. I decided to join because of the meaningful impact the coalition is having in our community. I'm excited to learn about how they are educating students and their families about the dangers of underage vaping and drinking. This was especially important to me since I have a child attending middle school here. 


I strongly believe the best way to make a difference in either your community or even your own family is to be engaged and involved in what's happening.

Christy Foster

I started mentoring in the fall of 2023. I heard about the mentor program first through my employer right before school started in 2022. I wanted to become a mentor, but I was going through some struggles in my personal life due to just losing my husband a few months before unexpectedly.  Then the opportunity was presented to me again the following Spring and felt compelled to volunteer for this program. I felt like this would be a good opportunity not only for the child I would get to mentor but for my own self-healing. I talked it over with my daughters, and they both agreed that this would be something that I would enjoy since I always seem to be the kind of mom that love and treat other children like they were my own. When I started the following school year, I was given a very sweet little boy in the

3rd grade and with me having girls I knew very little about boys. I have learned a lot in my year of mentoring, and so glad I decided to become a mentor. I would not change anything and like I told him on the first day I meet him, I would be with him until he graduated high school!

United Community Bank

Here at United we have a motto “Doing Well by Doing Good”. United Community Bank’s commitment to community involvement has been at the forefront of our business model since the beginning. These core values are made possible by our employees and their willingness to serve our wonderful community! Here in Blairsville where it all began, we are now blessed with 300+ employees many of whom are involved in local volunteer efforts and community events. These efforts extend past just bank related events as many are completed on employees own time and are led by their passions and drives toward the causes. As AVP- Branch Manager, I have been involved in many of these efforts and have seen the positive impact that it has made not only in the lives of those benefiting from the support but in our own personal lives as well. On behalf of myself and United Community as a whole we could not be more proud of our employees and the continued support from our community.   

                Bradley Barrett - AVP, Branch Manager