• PDG Larry Lohman reminded Rotarians of the upcoming Grill for Good event on Saturday, June 10th .  Once again, he is asking for volunteers on that day and will pass around a sign-up sheet.
• Amanda announced that the next Rotary Happy Hour will be held at the Battleground Restaurant Wednesday, from 4-6pm.  Please let Amanda know very soon so a head count may be provided to the restaurant.  In addition, Amana is looking for ideas for next year’s program, as she will be installed as the incoming program chair.  She welcomes any ideas for speakers and asks that people reach out to her.  Due to a scheduling conflict with the UMC, Rotary’s meeting will week be held at TRHS.  
• Roger Sidoti invited all interested Rotarians to participate in the Rough Rider Reading Program, designed to encouraging reading in elementary students by distributing books.  This is a great opportunity to work with teachers and students.  Sign-up dates are 6/13; 6/27; 7/11 and 7/25.


Happy Buck Celebrants
• Will Underwood – son just received his flight instructor license; Paul Organ donated an unusual amount that turned out to be the birth weight of his newest grandson – John Organ; MaryBeth provided a donation for fellow Rotarian, Carol Crimi who would enjoy visitors; Lee celebrated the gathering of friends from England and classmates from Miami University; Tom Tadsen for all fellow veterans.

Program
John Vennetti, Superintendent, Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities

John Vennetti was brought into the County’s Board of Developmental Disabilities in Portage County (PCBDD) around 2010.  Having served in many capacities, he ascended to the role of Superintendent in 2020. 

 

The fiscal and administrative landscape for county boards has changed much since his initial arrival.  Today, the PCBDD serves ~1057 consumers across the entire lifespan. However, new laws / regulations have changed how services are funded, and who must provide those services.
As an example, in the past it was the duty of all county boards to manage and oversee their sheltered workshops for adult consumers.  Today, due to inherent conflicts of interest, there is now a legal separation between county boards of DD and the workshops that provide employment for adult consumers.  Moreover, school-age consumers are being served by their local school districts that are charged with the task of mainstreaming these special-needs individuals into a more traditional school environment.  This is largely the reason that Happy Day School, in operation since 1950, will close its doors this year due to a declining census.
The core charge of county boards remains relatively the same – they must coordinate, monitor, and manage the services and funding for all eligible consumers.  This requires trained experts at several levels to coordinate the individual action plans, who are referred to as Service and Support Adminstrators (SSA’s).
Supporting these specialists are a nursing support manager; an advocacy manager; and an incident investigator referred to as an MUI agent (Major Unusual Incident), all of whom comprise a team designed to provide total care.
As John implied, it takes a whole village to tackle the special challenges associated with the DD community.  

Sue Hetrick responded to today’s speaker by commenting on the importance of the broader community to solve matters related to mental / physical disabilities.