I really appreciated the opportunity to serve as your President for 2014-2015. Thanks for all your help and support.   Coming off a tremendous 50th Anniversary Celebration and with now 177 communities and organizations as members, representing 300 to 400 community development professionals , OCCD is as strong as ever.  

My primary goal when I became president was to continue the progress made by recent outstanding presidents, the last two being Angela Brown and Dale Hartle.   The job was made much easier because of the constant assistance from our great staff of Debra Mayes, Patricia Richards, and Jack Riordan, and the take charge attitude of our OCCD Committees.  

Vice President Amy Riegel, in charge of the Sessions and Training Programs Committee, organized informative and inspiring quarterly programs.   When she went on maternity leave, President Elect, now President, Kathy Werkmeister stepped in and spent hours on the Summer Program. They were both assisted by Committee Vice Chair Amy Odum.

New members were successfully recruited by the Membership Committee headed by enthusiastic Randi Arnett.   Nominating Chair Dale Hartle took very seriously the task of asking four new outstanding individuals to serve on the OCCD Board.   Pamela Hanover not only headed the Legislative Committee, but gave us all timely reports. Treasurer Misty Frost ran Finance Committee. Evelyn Warr-Cummings took care of State Programs and Nancy Cook, the Advisory Committee.

We set up the OCCD Foundation this year.   Initial Board members were Tom Kroma, Mary Crockett, Paul Herdeg, Lucie McMahon, Lisa Patt-McDaniel, Karen Gabbard, and Angela Brown.

Last, but not least there were 37 members on the 50th Anniversary Committee headed by Rollin Seward, which events included part of the Spring Quarterly with the noteworthy speech by George Voinovich, the Summer meeting, culminated by the spectacular Banquet Gala at the Ohio Statehouse, and the After Gala with help of Amy and Lou Schocken!

This year there will be many challenges facing our communities and citizens which, working together through OCCD, we can do our best to address. Please support new President Kathy Werkmeister, Vice President Amy Riegel, Treasurer Angela Byington, and Secretary Susan Spiker!