Ring The Bell – November 2014

Beginning November 1, 2014 we are expanding our Ring the Bell award to include a 2^nd recipient category-Community Partner.  For our Community Partner Award, we will be opening the nominations process to all staff.  This community partner award can go to, host sites, employers, system partners or others who exemplify excellence in Workforce Development.

We would like to congratulate our partner in the war against poverty, Blue Mountain Action Council (BMAC) of Walla Walla. Career Path Services CEO, George Iranon, presented the award to BMAC CEO, Kathy Covey, as he addressed staff and community members at BMAC’s annual meeting.

George congratulated Kathy and her team for 46 years of helping people and changing lives in the greater Walla Walla area.  As one staff member put it, “When a client comes to see me, I am BMAC.”

Congratulations Blue Mountain Action Council Staff and leaders for fighting to remove the stigma of poverty through personal acts of kindness and social service!

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For this month’s Ring The Bell winner, we congratulate Heather Mahony!

Heather joined Career Path Services as an Employment Specialist in 2012, to work on the National Emergency Grant project position, geared towards serving Dislocated Workers from Hanford. She has carried an adult case load as well. By exceeding her required goals within all programs, she carved out a permanent position with us. She can now be found as part of a dynamic duo providing youth services alongside Katie Engel in Benton and Franklin counties.

Heather is a trend-setter. She has taken the lead on several programmatic changes and established key practices:

• Working with training providers in establishing quarterly Nurse Assistant “cohort training”
• Continued efforts with Columbia Basin Community College department heads in attempts to recruit and serve those in their last quarter of schooling/training
• Successful implementation and utilization of the two week working interview through work experience (WEX).

She has also been instrumental in evaluating our current GED remediation processes, establishing relationships with instructors at  CBC and Charter college, and identifying the best tools and resources available for providing top-notch service to our students.

Heather has a fierce desire to make a difference in the lives of her participants. We continue to see an increase in UE placements and in our overall placement wages for youth, which are a direct result of Heather’s ability to quickly form partnerships with employers in our community. She is diligent in taking advantage of networking opportunities and in participating in local Chamber meetings. She has already placed 15 participants in employment this program year, averaging $9.80/hour.