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A Celebration of Dreams: Fourth-annual event honors foster system graduates |
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In a moving event on a
special evening, 29 young men and women from the Hamilton County foster care
system were honored for completing high school. The fourth-annual
"Celebration of
Dreams"--a
collaborative effort of the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family
Services (HCJFS), Lighthouse Youth Services, the Foster Child
Enrichment Council and private donors--took place at the Montgomery Inn
Banquet Center.
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| Journalist and community advocate Courtis Fuller welcomed the gathering
and gave closing remarks. Ambrit Millhouse, a former foster child, was
keynote speaker. HCJFS Director Suzanne Burke presented scholarship
winners and County Commissioner Tom Neyer Jr. gave out certificates. A
heart-warming video was shown. |
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Caseworker John Wylie and graduate William Burbridge pose with
others for a celebration portrait. |
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“Being able to focus on and look forward
to a tangible goal has helped me overcome (family issues) and other
difficulties,” said Michael Smith, one of the graduates.
Congratulations to the graduates and best wishes in your future
endeavors!
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Great American
Ball Park to host Group Tours |
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Hamilton County has announced a
group tour plan for Great American Ball Park. This opportunity will give civic
organizations, professional societies and public groups the chance to tour the
construction site and see the immediate progress of the ball park and although tour
opportunities and size will be limited, Hamilton County wanted to give the public some
access to the project.
The group tours will occur the third Wednesday of every month, with the first tour
beginning on August 21. Each tour will be 30 minutes long, and each group will be
limited to 30 participants. There will be a total of three tours each day with the
first tour of the day beginning at 3:30 p.m. The group tour dates are as follows: |
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 | August 21 |
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| November 13 |
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| September 18 |
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| December 21 |
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| October 16 |
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| January 15 (2003) |
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“Our main goals are to complete the project safely, on
time and on budget,” said Mike Sieving, Construction Project Executive
for Hamilton County. “We are now planning events that will allow the
public to tour Great American Ball Park upon its completion in March
2003. At this time, we are pleased to announce that we are offering
tours to small groups to see the work in progress.”
Groups interested in signing up for a tour can do so by calling
513-564-0700. Each group will then be required to fill out a group tour
registration form. All forms must be returned by noon on the first
working day of each month. A random drawing will determine winning
entries on that day. The winners will be notified that month. Groups not
selected for one month will remain eligible for subsequent tours. |
Great
American Ball Park will be open for the 2003 season.
Ball
Park Update: On July 15th, the Ball Park project team
provided the Board of County Commissioners with the monthly report.
Highlights of the report were:
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Ball Park is 70% complete and remains on target for Opening Day 2003. |
| Ball
Park Plaza and parking remains on target for April 2004 completion.
The Reds Hall of Fame building is on track for completion in the
summer of 2004. |
| Small
Business participation remains strong with a total of 26.8% of all
contracted committed to small businesses. A further breakdown
shows that 11.8% of contracts are committed to minority-owned
businesses and 4.2% to women-owned businesses. |
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safety numbers are also impressive with only four lost work day
incidents through May 31, 2002. The national average is a rate
five times higher than GABP's rate thus far. |
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| All's
Fair? On Friday, July 26th, another mile stone
was reached when the right field Foul Pole was put in place at Great
American Ball Park. Each pole weighs 8,325 pounds and measures
90 feet from the field surface. On Saturday, July 27th, the
large, illuminated Great American Ball Park sign was installed atop
the main scoreboard.
With Opening Day 2003 less than 250 days away, citizens
can check the progress of Great American Ball Park by clicking onto
the County's Home Page (www.Hamilton-Co.org)
or the Ball Park website (www.Hamilton-Co.org/GABP).
Digital photos of the Ball Park site are updated each hour, giving
citizens a "real time" view of the construction
project. The Ball Park website also includes weekly "Play
By Play" reports about the project, many photos, movies,
artists renderings of the Ball Park at completion, and many other
interesting and informative features. |
On Friday, July 26th, the right
field foul pole was put in place at Great American Ball. |
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Hamilton County
Volunteers: Future Leaders of Tomorrow |
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The Hamilton
County Volunteer Program is pleased to welcome Walnut Hills seniors Kia
Grant and John Burns, the newest additions to the Volunteer Program! Both
Kia and John have been working hard at entering information in the Hamilton
County Board County Commissioner’s Intranet website. |
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| Kia volunteers her time working in the Commissioner’s
Office by scheduling Board Meetings at various locations in the
community.
During school, Kia actively participates in the Spanish Club,
Cross-Country and Varsity Track, while maintaining a 3.36 GPA. Her goal
is to attend The Ohio State University or University of Michigan. |
Walnut Hills student Kia Grant is volunteering with
Hamilton County.
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John Burns, also of Walnut Hills, is spending part of
his summer learning about County government. |
John’s favorite subjects are history and science. He
maintains a 3.4 GPA. John’s goal is to be accepted into a reputable
college in California to study Political Science or Aerospace
Engineering.
Hamilton County appreciates the time and
contributions of all of its volunteers.
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Ball Park
Contractors Meeting set for Aug. 6
Small, Minority and Women-owned
businesses encouraged to participate |
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As Great American Ball Park
approaches its final construction phase, new contracts – many
ideal for small, minority and women-owned businesses – will soon
be available for bid. To
help familiarize potential contractors with the bid process and
upcoming contracts, the Great American Ball Park project team is
hosting a Contractors Information Meeting on Tuesday, August 6th
from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Urban
League of Greater Cincinnati, 3458 Reading Road. |
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Attendees
will receive information about the project scope, bid packages, and any
scheduled dates of upcoming pre-bid or bid-opening meetings. Although it
is open to anyone interested, the Contractors Information Meeting is
specifically designed to facilitate participation in the bidding process
for members of the small, minority, and women-owned business community.
“We’ve been
extremely pleased with small business participation on the project so
far—as of May, more than 26% of all contracted work was committed to
small businesses. However, we
would like to see that percentage continue to grow,” said Bernice
Walker, Director of Hamilton County’s Small Business Program.
“With that in mind, we’ve organized a Contractors Information
Meeting to provide these businesses with an opportunity to learn more
about the project, the upcoming contracts, and the bidding process.”
Recognizing that small
businesses provide employment and economic growth in Hamilton County, the
Board of County Commissioners established its Small Business Program
1998. The program's objective is to increase the participation of
small businesses on County projects, such as the construction of Great
American Ball Park.
“The Contractors Information Meeting is an example
of our small business program’s outreach efforts and is designed to
communicate important project information with firms interested in
submitting bid proposals,” said Darraugh Butler, president of D. Butler
Management Consulting, whose firm was hired by the County’s Construction
Manager, Hunt Construction Group, to oversee the new Ball Park’s small
business enterprise program. “Our
goal is to provide small, minority and women-owned businesses with the
information needed to competitively bid on and win contracts.”
Those
interested in attending the meeting or obtaining more information should
contact Sonya Walton, at (513) 946-8195.
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Employee of the
Year Profile: Harvey Reed |
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A 25-year employee of Hamilton County, Harvey Reed has served the past 19
years as the Director of the Probationary Work Detail program. Through
Mr. Reed’s leadership the work detail program provides community services to
75 work sites each week.
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Employee of the Year Harvey Reed of Juvenile
Court has worked with youth to provide countless service hours to the
community.
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These work sites include Adopt-a-Block, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, the
Cincinnati Zoo, and various area parks and schools. Harvey has relocated the
program’s facilities four times during his career. Most recently,
Mr. Reed took on the challenge of moving to a facility that had been
vacant for 10 years and was scheduled for demolition. Under
Harvey’s leadership the renovation and move was completed in December of
2001. The facility houses the work detail program as well as a GED program and the Hillcrest School aftercare program. Harvey also gives
of his time outside of the workplace volunteering with Keep Cincinnati
Beautiful and various youth sports activities.
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Hamilton County
Development Company's Main receives Ernst Young Entrepreneur Award |
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| In the fall of 1982, David Main, a Silverton native,
returned to Hamilton County to launch the nonprofit Hamilton
County Development Company (HCDC). HCDC set up shop in June 1983.
Since that time, HCDC has become an important resource to the
regions entrepreneurs as they strive for success. |
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David Main (right) pictured here
leading a tour of the HCDC's business incubator was recently named
an Entrepreneur of the Year. |
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In recognition of his leadership and the
important role HCDC plays, David Main recently received an Ernst &
Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Support. Over the years, HCDC has
grown to be one of the most proficient
small-business lenders in the Tri-State, particularly for young companies
that have a hard time securing bank financing. Since 1983, the company has
made Small Business Administration loans to more than 600 companies in and
around the Tri-State. Its current SBA loan portfolio is $80 million, and
it ranks first in Ohio in year-to-date lending activity.
With a solid lending operation in place, Main oversaw
the 1989 opening of the Hamilton County Business Center Inc., a business
incubator that has since graduated more than 120 companies, more that
two-thirds of which are still in business.
Congratulations to David Main and the entire HCDC team for their efforts
to build the local economy by helping local entrepreneurs and small
businesses succeed!
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Hamilton County
Employees offered Grant Writing Seminar |
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A Grant Writing
Seminar for Hamilton County Employees will be offered on Friday, September
6, 2002 at Job and Family Services in Room 6SE401. The seminar will be from
9-11 a.m. Cindy Weitlauf, Hamilton County Grants Coordinator,
will be conducting the seminar. A copy of the Grants Manual for Hamilton
County will be available at the seminar.
Because space is limited, please contact Cindy to
reserve a seat. She may be reached 946-4317. |
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Don't forget to
post Hello, Hamilton County so that everyone can see what's
going on! |
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| Hello, Hamilton County
is published twice each month. It is placed on both the County's
internal and external Web pages. It is designed to enlighten and
inform both citizens and employees of Hamilton County. If you have
questions or suggestions for future editions, contact Erica Binford
(946-4324), Sharon Booker (946-4428) or Eric Stuckey (946-4432) in the County Administrator's Office
or e-mail to eric.stuckey@hamilton-co.org. |
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