Two Employees Win Awards!

JFS employees won two of seven Hamilton County Employee of the Year awards handed out this year. They were both honored at today’s Board of County Commissioners meeting.

Jim Ashmore, our Performance Improvement section chief, won the county’s Leadership Award. Jim is a conscientious employee who makes sure we always put our customers first. He serves as an in-house advocate; always pushing us to make changes that will benefit the citizens of Hamilton County. He has also built relationships throughout the community that help us stay in touch with the needs of providers and the people we serve.

Mike Boehmer, a specialist in our Communications group, won the Innovation Award. He continues to forge new paths of communication with the public and the people we serve. Mike’s work in social media has been lauded throughout the community and has resulted in cost-effective ways for us to stay in touch with local residents. When you receive our e-newsletter, listen to a podcast or follow us on Facebook and Twitter — that is Mike’s doing.

They are both fine representatives of all the wonderful people we have working here. It has been a tough year at JFS and I could not be prouder of our employees who continue to work hard and do what is best for this community. Congrats Mike and Jim!

Advertisement

Moms Who Don’t Mess Up

I read the “Moms who don’t Mess Up” article in the Cincinnati Enquirer and I must say that I think the writer, Krista Ramsey, did a fantastic job. She says the things I try to say about some of the people we serve. She put a face on the people we deal with every day.

When you lack the economic means to fully support your family, tough choices must be made each and every day. It is never right to harm your children or put them in harm’s way, but it is also important for the rest of the community to know how these things happen. Krista did a good job of showing both sides…the tough choices that need to be made and how it is possible to make the right choices.

Job Seekers Seem to Have Attitude Change

We held another live chat today about services for job-seekers and employers. Interesting to see a change in the way people are dealing with the unfortunate economy. We detected an attitude of determination — versus the desperation of a few months ago — in the one-hour forum on www.hcjfs.org.

Pragmatic questions such as these dominated the chat with Kevin Holt of Workforce Development and Sheila Roth of the Super Jobs Center:

“Besides former employers, who else would be effective/appropriate to list as references?”

“Is it good to have a cover letter?”

“How effective are job fairs?”

“How long should I wait before I check on an application?”

“With having so many people out of work right now and competing for the same jobs, do you have any suggestions on how to make YOUR resume stand out among the rest?”

“It seems that every area of the country has its own work sectors that are still doing a lot of hiring even in this recession. What are those sectors here in Hamilton County?”

Altogether, 25 people asked 30 questions. Kevin and Sheila gave answers that hopefully will help these determined people find work.

For a transcript of the chat, please click here: http://www.hcjfs.hamilton-co.org/BoldChat/Chat/BoldChat090415.htm