The Richland County Board of Developmental Disabilities held its 2017 reorganizational meeting on Wed., Jan. 25.
Nicholas Gesouras will serve as president of the board for the second straight year. He has been a board member since 2009. The other officers for 2017 are Steven Swank, who will serve as vice-president, and Richard Otto, who was elected secretary.
The board will continue to hold its regular meetings on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 11:30 AM at Richland Newhope’s Administrative Offices, 314 Cleveland Ave. There will not be a meeting in July and November, and the December board meeting will be held on Dec. 6. All meetings are open to the public.
Other members of the DD Board are Margaret Davis, Geneva Cummins, Virginia Harmon, and Michael Howard.
Also during Wednesday’s meeting, Don Johnson, grand knight of the Knights of Columbus Council 1968 in Shelby, presented a check for $2,503. The money was raised last year as part of the Knights’ annual Measure Up campaign. The money will go into Richland Newhope’s Gift Fund, which provides various supports for individuals with developmental disabilities, such as the purchase of wheelchairs and other adaptive equipment.
In 2016, the Richland County Board of Developmental Disabilities (Richland Newhope) supported more than 1,700 individuals through early intervention, preschool, adult, residential, therapy, transportation, and other family support programs.
