Joseph S. Byrum has served Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries in a management capacity for more than 34 years. As president and CEO since 1979, Byrum has expanded the organization’s programs and services to meet community needs.
During his tenure, Ohio Valley Goodwill has served more than 50,000 men and women with disabilities or disadvantages and helped a significant percent to obtain economic self-sufficiency. Examples of programs and services implemented by Byrum toward this end include the creation of the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program in the early ’90s, exponential growth in facility- and community-based services for individuals with developmental disabilities in the past 20 years and the launch of the award-winning Center for Advocacy, Recreation and Education (CARE) program.
Under Byron’s leadership, Ohio Valley Goodwill has also recently opened six new satellite work training centers, initiated the launch of a recreation/leisure program in Butler County, supported the development of the PAC program to provide job placement services and initiated a new youth mentoring program in collaboration with Goodwill International Industries.
To fund programs and services, Ohio Valley Goodwill operates 16 retail stores and has 28 donation center locations throughout the greater Cincinnati area, numbers grown under Byrum’s direction. The organization has also launched the most successful Goodwill Auto Auction program in the country. These efforts have allowed Goodwill’s employment and training programs to increase by more than 30 percent in the past three years, despite a challenging economic climate. In 2010 alone, the organization provided services to almost 3,000 persons with disabilities and veterans.
Byrum’s commitment to ongoing quality improvement practices has maintained Ohio Valley Goodwill’s excellent reputation within its community. The organization has received 12 consecutive CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) Accreditations, the most recent of which places Ohio Valley Goodwill in the top three percent of similar organizations nationwide.
How to reach: Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries, (513) 771-4800 or www.cincinnatigoodwill.org
