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Summit County Workforce Policy Board Names New Executive Director
(07-21-2005)
-- AKRON, OHIO July 21, 2005 – The Summit County Workforce Policy Board (WPB) has selected Charles (Chuck) Byrd as its permanent, full-time executive director beginning August 1, 2005. As executive director, Byrd will be responsible for providing leadership, direction and operational oversight for the WPB. William J. Ginter, who has served as the Board’s interim executive director, will remain with the organization in an advisory capacity during the transition.
Chuck has worked in both the private and public sectors. He comes to the Board after six years with the Workforce Initiative Association in Stark County, where he served as deputy director and comptroller. There, he pioneered a demand-driven business model that effectively handled a 300% increase in daily customer traffic and broadened services significantly. In addition, he oversaw the construction of two nationally recognized customer service facilities and managed a complex partnership with 19 diverse agencies.
“We were very deliberate in our selection of an executive director,” said Scott C. Meyer, president of the Summit County Workforce Policy Board. “Chuck’s vast experience in workforce development and knowledge of One-Stop employment & training systems coupled with his financial acumen, passion and commitment are exactly what we need to lead and manage the organization.”
Before joining the Workforce Initiative Association, Chuck worked for Bank One in Dover as Assistant Vice President Business Banking Relationship Manager and Commercial Credit Analyst. He began his career while a commissioned officer in United States Marine Corps, serving as Deputy Comptroller for the 3D Marine Division. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Bowling Green State University, is an honor graduate of the Marine Corps Financial Management Officer’s Course, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Public Administration at Kent State University.
ABOUT THE THE WPB AND SUMMIT COUNTY ONE-STOP FACILITY
Earlier this year the Board purchased the former DIY warehouse at 1040 E. Tallmadge Avenue to establish a permanent location for the One-Stop. The new facility, expected to open Spring of 2006, will be called The Job Center.
Currently operating as the Summit County One-Stop from within the Employment Resource Center at Goodwill Industries,The Job Center is part of a workforce development system created under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. WIA is a federal program administered at the local level by the Workforce Policy Board. The Board, whose mission is to maximize employment and economic opportunity in Summit County by being the resource for every job seeker and employer in the region, is an independent, 501c3 nonprofit organization consisting of a majority of business professionals and executives along with representatives from education, labor, and community organizations.
The 27 member board is charged with providing effective and efficient workforce services in cooperation with 15 partner organizations and oversees The Summit County One-Stop Job Center. These organizations have joined together to provide workshops for businesses and job seekers, resource materials, a career library with a bank of internet connected computers, phones, fax machines, a computer lab, copiers, labor exchange, job matching, employment screening and much more.
Last year, 561 job seekers, earning an average hourly wage of $11.42, found employment through services provided at the One-Stop. The Summit/Medina One-Stop Workforce Development System was one of the first in Ohio to have met the performance standards required to be certified by the State of Ohio.
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| MEDIA CONTACT |
Jill Bacon Madden
Director of Communications
Summit County Workforce Policy Board
jill@houseofinfo.com
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