Goodwill of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio
Anne Richards was named President and CEO of Goodwill of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio in June 2017. In this role, she leads one of the largest non-profit organizations in Northeast Ohio, comprised of 24 stores and mission programs that served close to 12,000 people last year alone. Anne creates and guides the strategic direction and mission for the $31M+ agency which currently employs more than 600 individuals in 10 counties throughout Ohio and West Virginia.
Before joining Goodwill in 2012 as the Vice President of Human Resources, Ms. Richards was the Manager of Health Plan Services for the Timken Company. Previously, she held Human Resource leadership roles within Timken and Detroit Diesel Corporation.
She is a graduate of the Executive Development Program at Goodwill Industries International, Leadership Stark County and Cleveland Civic Leadership. Anne earned her Bachelor and Graduate degrees from Kent State University and Walsh University, respectively.
Ms. Richards and her family reside in Massillon, Ohio.
On Tuesday May 15, 2018, three Canton Rotarians, Chris Burt, Mark Clendenin, and Rick Taylor, through the auspices of Junior Achievement, mentored approximately 100 McKinley High School juniors as part of the Canton City Schools' "Success Classes", which are designed to prepare young people for life after graduation.
Over the course of several hours, these three Rotarians taught several classes of students about savings, investing, and insurance, including the power of compound interest. Breaking down into small groups, they also were able to answer students' individual questions on these subjects, as well as share information about their careers and backgrounds.........giving the students some valuable insight into the real world of work.
As requested by Junior Achievement of East Central Ohio, this was a departure from what has been the somewhat traditional Canton Rotary involvement in JA: presenting JA programs to elementary students in the Canton City Schools.
A big thanks to Chris and Mark for volunteering to spend a few hours with these students to teach them this valuable information.
The Rotary office received a "Thank You" letter from Stephanie Werren of Leadership Stark County. Stephanie writes:
"Dear Mark, We greatly appreciate the Rotary Club of Canton sponsoring Leadership Stark County's first ever Civic Ideation Sprint. We challenged the participants to use the knowledge and perspective that they have gained throughout the program year to develop ideas and create a plan to increase connections between local employers and students. The groups successfully prepared and delivered tangible solutions to the issue.
It is with your support that Leadership Stark County fulfills its mission to develop a core of motivated leaders. With much appreciation, Stephanie Werren"
For 60 years, choosing a theme has been the privilege, and sometimes the challenge, of each incoming president. Looking back on those past themes opens a small window into the thinking and the vision of each leader – how they saw Rotary, the place they saw for Rotary in the world, and what they hoped Rotary would achieve.
When my turn came to choose a theme, I did not hesitate. I knew immediately that our theme in 2017-18 would be Rotary: Making a Difference. For me, that small phrase describes not only what we do now, but what we aspire to do. We want to make a difference. We strive to help, to have an impact, to make the world a bit better.
Over the past two years, I have seen so many ways that Rotary is doing just that. In California, after the devastating wildfires last year, I saw Rotarians Making a Difference to those who had lost everything. In Guatemala, I saw the difference that simple wood stoves are making in the lives of women who had been cooking on open fires: They no longer breathe smoke when they cook, they spend less time gathering firewood, and they are using their stoves to start small businesses. In Israel, I visited a Rotary-supported hyperbaric center that is helping brain injury and stroke patients return to healthy, productive lives. In communities around the world, Rotarians are Making a Difference by resettling refugees, immunizing children, ensuring a safe blood supply, and helping young people learn and thrive.
All over the world, I have been a part of Rotarians’ commitment to planting trees. As this issue of The Rotariangoes to press, we are still awaiting the final count of trees planted, but I am delighted to announce that we have already far surpassed our original goal of 1.2 million trees, one new tree per Rotarian. And, all over the world, Rotary is continuing its advocacy, fundraising, and support for polio eradication. Last year, wild poliovirus caused only 22 cases of paralysis in only two countries. I am confident that soon that number will be zero, and we will begin a new phase in the timeline of eradication: counting down at least three years from the last sign of wild virus to the certification of a polio-free world.
As Juliet and I return home to Australia, we will bring warm memories of the places we have visited, the friends we have made, and the service we have seen. Thank you, all of you, for the tremendous work you are doing, through Rotary: Making a Difference.