Community Action Partnership holds Annual Meeting and Luncheon
April 21, 2009 - The Community Action Partnership of the Greater Dayton Area held its Annual Meeting and Luncheon at Sinclair Community College on April 16. More than 140 people attended the event, which celebrated the 45th anniversary of the creation of the Community Action Partnership, formerly known as SCOPE. The theme for the event was “45: Still Changing Lives.”
State Senator Ray Miller was the special guest speaker. He urged the audience to turn pain into passion. Miller’s role in drafting legislation in such areas as minority health, alcoholism and drug addiction services grew out of his own family experiences. He said his struggle doesn’t compare “to the struggles of so many people that Community Action Partnership serves.” He thanked those present for the tremendous service they provide.
The agency presented the Charles Wesley Peckham Award for Humanitarian Leadership to Dayton City Commissioner Dean Lovelace. The award is for a person who uses his position to advocate for the low-income community.
“Dean Lovelace has spent his entire public life in the service of the low-income community,” said Tim Donnellan, President and CEO of the Community Action Partnership of the Greater Dayton Area. “He’s put the interest of low-income folks on the front burner, perhaps sometimes at his own political peril. He’s been fearless and a champion of the needs of low-income people.”
Willie Harris, Director of Housing Counseling and Development, accepted the agency’s Commitment to Programmatic Excellence Award for successfully launching the agency’s Housing Counseling Program that helps homeowners avoid foreclosure through individual and group counseling.
“He had a vision to end the foreclosure crisis in this community,” said Joyce Price, Vice President and COO of the Community Action Partnership. “He worked hard, trained, and developed a department to do so.”
There were two recipients of the Marion K. Stockham Award for Dedicated Service. One, Beatrice James, has helped low-income citizens receive thousands of dollars in tax credits and refunds through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. She’s volunteered to prepare taxes at CAP’s Main Street office twice weekly for the last two years. Irene Kendig, the other recipient, has been a dedicated volunteer for many years at the Darke County Clothing Bank.
Tonya Estell, an Intake Specialist for the Home Energy Assistance Program in Community Action Partnership’s Darke County office, received the agency’s Award for Exemplary Service.
Keith Harrison was well received by the audience when he performed the spirited Community Action Partnership song that he also composed. Isaac Tobler, a talented student at Stivers School for the Arts, also moved those present by singing a score from the opera “Don Pasquale.”
