Hands up together

Nancy Collat Goedecke to be honored by Collat Jewish Family Services

Nancy Collat Goedecke is CEO and chairman of Mayer, a family-owned Birmingham business that is one of the nation’s largest wholesale distributors of electrical products, equipment and lighting.

A Mountain Brook resident, Goedecke is not only well-known in her industry but is recognized as an important community leader and philanthropist in the Magic City.

In 2015, she was the first woman to chair the annual campaign for United Way of Central Alabama and led a very successful, $38.8 million effort.

Goedecke has also led numerous other fundraising campaigns and volunteered or served as a board member with many local nonprofits, including the YWCA, the Girl Scouts, the American Red Cross and The Birmingham Zoo.

Collat Jewish Family Services, which bears her family’s name, is one among many organizations that have benefited in recent decades from Goedecke’s can-do, community spirit.

The programs and services that CJFS supports, such as cleaning, laundry and transportation, help older adults continue to live independently and to maintain their quality of life — regardless of their religious faith or their financial means.

Goedecke formerly served the organization as its board president and speaks passionately about the growing need for the services that CJFS provides in Birmingham.

“Our population is aging, and the needs of the older population are only going to grow, but I don’t think there are a lot of agencies that deal with older adults and keeping them in their home,” she told Village Living.

“There is a great need for older adult services, and the sooner the community wraps its arms around this issue, the better off we will be,” she said.

To honor her efforts on behalf of CJFS, the nonprofit has named Goedecke it’s Hands Up Together 2021 honoree.

The Hands Up Together 2021 annual fundraiser will be presented via Zoom on Thursday, May 13, from 5:30-6:15 p.m.

The virtual event will be presented by Mayer and Medical Properties Trust Inc

Event chairs are Marjorie Perlman and Emmett McLean, and the event’s honorary chair is Goedecke’s father, Charles Collat Sr.

Despite her lengthy service on behalf of area nonprofits, Goedecke typically shuns the proverbial spotlight and prefers to work behind the scenes.

“Whether it was the United Way or this or anything else, I can honestly say I do it for the right reasons,” Goedecke said. “I don’t do anything for a resumé or to be recognized. Whatever I do, I do because I am passionate and I feel I can make a difference.”

Perhaps it is not surprising then that Goedecke hesitated when she was asked by CJFS leadership to be this year’s Hands Up Together honoree. “I tried to say no a couple of times,” she said.

However, upon reflection, Goedecke realized that accepting the honor would give her a great opportunity to bring attention to the challenges faced by older adults and to highlight the vital role that CJFS plays in meeting their needs and those of their families.

“If I can make a difference and help people know about the agency, I was OK with it,” she said. “Truly, it’s not about me. It’s really about a best-kept secret that we need to make sure gets out to the public.”

She also wanted her friends and colleagues to understand that CJFS supports independence and enriches quality of life for a client population that is richly diverse, not only in terms of race and religion but in terms of financial means.

“My grandmother died in 1999,” Goedecke said. “She was just shy of 100, and she could have really used the services of CJFS. Honestly, my family at that time didn’t really think CJFS was for us. But when I became involved and eventually served as board president, it became clear that CJFS is for those who have means and for those who don’t, for those who are Jewish and those who are not — it’s for the whole community.”

“I really hope by accepting this honor I can help the whole community to learn more about what the agency does,” she said.

One issue Goedecke is passionate about is the need to support the people who serve as caregivers for older adults.

For example, CJFS has a respite program called CARES that provides much needed breaks for caregivers.

Goedecke learned about the difficulties faced by family caregivers firsthand when her mother, Patsy Collat, who died in 2015, was suffering with Alzheimer’s disease,

She saw her father at first try to provide all of her care himself.

“Family caregivers are so important, and it’s critical that CJFS is providing care and support for them as well as for their loved ones,” she said.

The CARES program “will be coming back as more people get vaccinated [for COVID-19],” she said.

In explaining his desire to co-chair the event, McLean praised Goedecke’s willingness to support so many good causes.

“Nancy has always been so generous in giving of her time and resources for so many worthy organizations, especially CJFS,” he said.

My goal is to raise more money so we can provide more missions and make sure the people know that the mission is for the whole community.

Nancy Collat Goedecke

“You can always count on Nancy to help,” McLean said.

Goedecke has also mentored other nonprofit volunteers, Perlman said.

“As a member of Nancy’s executive committee when she was CJFS board president, I learned so much about leadership in the nonprofit world,” she said. “She is a motivator and a visionary who is not afraid to get her hands dirty — and we also share a mutual love of red wine, and a love/hate relationship with golf.”

Goedecke carries on her full slate of nonprofit work despite running a big company and having her own family.

“My problem is I don’t know how to say no,” she said, laughing. “I am passionate about children and older people and health care services, and where there is a need I have a hard time saying no.”

Goedecke said that she also comes from a family where community service was very important.

Her parents supported such causes as the UWCA, Leadership Alabama and the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.

The couple also donated a total of about $25 million to the UAB School of Business, which was renamed the Collat School of Business in 2013.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” she said.

“It has been my honor and privilege to feel like I’ve made a difference, and the appreciation you get from people you are helping, there are no dollars that can equal that,” Goedecke said.

In addition, she would not be able do this work without her “supportive family and network,” she said.

“We have an incredible team at Mayer that keeps the doors open and keeps it running so I can make a difference,” she said.

Looking to the future, CJFS has the potential to grow, Goedecke said.

“There is a lot of need out there, and the more the need, the bigger the agency can grow to support the needs out there,” she said.

“My goal is to raise more money so we can provide more missions and make sure the people know that the mission is for the whole community,” Goedecke said.

To purchase your tickets to Hands Up Together 2021 or to become a sponsor, go cjfsbham.org/donate-now.