First Posted: 1/28/2015
ACCREDITATION
Bath Fire Chief receives credentialing
Bath Township Fire Chief Joseph Kitchen received credentialing from the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association as an “Ohio Fire Chief Officer.” This designation was presented by Ohio Fire Chief President Paul Wright on Jan. 23.
Ohio fire chiefs undergo a lengthy review process by a committee of their peers which reviews formal education, experience, community leadership and management skills to obtain the designation of “Ohio Fire Chief Officer.”
Kitchen began his carer as a firefighter in 1990 and has served as fire chief since 2002.
There are 27 fire chiefs in Ohio that have achieved this designation. There are more than 1,200 fire departments in the state of Ohio.
AWARDS
Willow Ridge receives high rating
Willow Ridge of Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio, located in Bluffton, was named 13th highest in Ohio, according to the results of the 2014 Ohio Department of Aging Resident Nursing Home Family Satisfaction Survey.
The survey included results from 610 nursing home communities, out of 960 nursing communities in Ohio.
Willow Ridge meets the needs and demands of the elders it serves in an environment created from the ground up to foster the same feeling and experience elders get from living in their own home.
Rep. Buchy earns award
The Ohio Cattlemen’s Association awarded state Rep. Jim Buchy, of the Ohio House District 84, the Industry Service Award at the awards banquet held Jan. 24.
The Ohio Cattlemen’s Association and Ohio’s Country Journal jointly sponsor this award to recognize Ohio’s top service providers for the beef industry. This award is presented to people who are not beef producers, but rather an individual who contributes to the betterment of the cattle industry.
Rep. Jim Buchy started his career through his family’s meat business in Greenville. He served as assistant director at the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Preschools earn five-star rating
Little River Preschool, located in the Upper Scioto Valley school district, and Victory Garden Preschool, located at Ridgemont school district, have earned a five-star “Step Up To Quality Award” from the Ohio Department of Education. Step Up To Quality is Ohio’s rating system for learning and development programs.
Bucher recognized for exceptional performance
The American Institute of DUI/DWI attorneys has recognized the exceptional performance of Ohio’s DUI attorney Andrew R. Bucher as 2015 10 Best DUI Attorney for Client Satisfaction.
The American Institute of DUI/DWI Attorneys is a third-party attorney rating organization that publishes an annual list of the Top 10 DUI attorneys in each state. Attorneys who are selected to the “10 Best” list must pass a selection process, which is based on client and/or peer nominations, thorough research and independent evaluation.
ELECTIONS
Sanchez re-elected to leadership council
The National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio, the state’s leading small business association, announces the re-election of Tracie Sanchez to the group’s statewide leadership council. Sanchez is the owner/operator of Lima Pallet Co., Inc. in Lima and has been a longtime member of this organization. As a member of the group’s statewide leadership council, she attends quarterly meetings that serve to guide the organization’s statewide activities.
APPOINTMENTS
Cupp appointed to four committees
Speaker of the house Clifford A. Rosenberger has appointed state Rep. Bob Cupp to serve on several standing House committees for the 131st General Assembly, including the House Finance Committee and the chair of its Primary & Secondary Education Subcommittee.
Cupp has also been appointed to serve on the Judiciary Committee, which focuses on legislation related to criminal and civil justice issues and the judiciary; the Public Utilities Committee, which focuses on electric, gas and other utility issues, and the Education Committee, which is legislating Ohio’s students and schools.
NEW HIRES
ONU hires enrollment manager
Ohio Northern University has hired William Eilola as vice president for enrollment management at Ohio Northern University. Eilola replaces Lawrence Lesick, who will be stepping down from this position after more than four years.
Eilola served as dean of enrollment services at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 2002 to 2006 and held several admissions positions at Grand Valley State University earlier in his career.
He holds a master of business administration from Grand Valley State University and a bachelor of science in business administration from Michigan Technological University.
Eilola and his wife, Colleen, have three sons, triplets, who are seniors in high school.
Ohio State-Lima names social work program manager
Heather A. Koontz is the new social work program manager at The Ohio State University at Lima. She will coordinate both the bachelor of science in social work and the master’s of social work programs.
Koontz has an administrative and field placement background that will help her place Ohio State-Lima students in community agencies.
She comes to Ohio State from community mental health services, including Coleman Professional Services, Lutheran Social Services and Tristar, Inc. She was previously a faculty member and field director at Bluffton University and worked in private practice and at St. Rita’s Medical Center.
Koontz earned her bachelor’s degree in social work from Bluffton University and her master’s of social work from The Ohio State University.
