Goodwill Marketing Director Retires After 34 Years of Service
Ohio Valley Goodwill announces the retirement of its Marketing Director, Sharon Hannon, this year after 34 years of service in support of the organization and its mission of service. Hannon joined Goodwill in 1990 after completing her Master’s degree in Communication Arts from the University of Cincinnati. She had previously worked as the Asst. Director for Case Management for Hamilton County through Cincinnati Center for Developmental Disorders (CCDD as it was known at the time). She had also worked at LADD (Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled) as both a Program Coordinator as well as a House Manager.
Past Professional Experience: Prior to moving to Cincinnati, Sharon had helped to facilitate the deinstitutionalization of adults from state Developmental Centers both in Ohio and Pennsylvania as well as the corresponding development of independent living settings in local communities.
The early days of her career took place in the Akron area initially working in a group home for adult women with developmental disabilities and then as an Education Specialist for Blick Clinic for Developmental Disabilities. Hannon’s Undergraduate degree is from Kent State University in Psychology.
In the Beginning: In the initial years of Hannon joining Ohio Valley Goodwill, her responsibilities included the development, promotion of and coordination of services for individuals with developmental disabilities served by local County Boards of Developmental Disabilities. At the time, Goodwill was serving less than 100 individuals through its initial work and training programs. Through her tenure, Hannon helped to grow the program to more than 700 individuals served on a daily basis as well as helping to secure the recognition of the larger Greater Cincinnati community, resulting in more than 150 different local, regional and national awards for the organization.
Statewide Marketing Chair for OAGI: Additionally, Sharon served as the Chair of the statewide Marketing team for the Ohio Association of Goodwill Industries (OAGI) from 2005-2008 and as a Consultant until 2010, helping to create and implement the state-wide Brand Promise initiative, “Creating Opportunities Together,” which still serves as a template for statewide marketing efforts.
Community Spotlights: Hannon also helped to lead the development of multiple community spotlights to showcase the organization’s mission including as Chairperson for the Community Ambassadors Resource Alliance (CARA) which raised funds to help individuals with DD to access special items of interest when funds were unavailable from any other resource. Over the 8 years of the CARA Group’s existence more than $30,000 was raised for this purpose and distributed to individuals served by HCDDS. The CARA Group was responsible for and presented the 2009 “What Matters Most Fashion Show” in support of HCDDS to a sold-out audience of more than 450 people and resulted in $5,000 raised to support the Levy campaign that year.
Additional community spotlight initiatives included the involvement with and subsequent Goodwill sponsorship of the PigAbilities event as part of the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, the annual ShareFest Donation Drive in partnership with Miami University and the city of Oxford and the Queen Bee Half Marathon and Expo. In 2016, Hannon helped to coordinate the year-long 100th anniversary celebration and “100 Years of Goodwill Fashion” event which took place at the Sharonville Convention Center with WLWT News Anchor, Sheree Paolello, as the celebrity host. This event was later featured in the Cincinnati Enquirer with photo. More than 20 models were involved in the Fashion Show which featured staff team members, Guild volunteers, program participants, vendors and friends.
Awards: In 2023, Hannon capped off her 34 year career by receiving an award from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in recognition of the PigAbilities event – which celebrates the inclusion of athletes of all abilities- which was nominated by long-time partner and referral source, Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services. Other awards received by Hannon during her tenure include the Superintendent’s Award from HCDDS, Advocacy Award from the Southwest Ohio Rehabilitation Association, as well as the Community Impact award from Butler DD.
As Marketing Director, Hannon was responsible for all of the corporate communications of Ohio Valley Goodwill including website management and social media as well as special event coordination and support of all of the organization’s business lines.
Thanks to Community Partnerships and Supportive Team: Hannon credits her long tenure with Ohio Valley Goodwill to a strong belief in the organization’s mission of helping people with DD as well as our nation’s veterans to attain personal success as well as to a supportive and collaborative organizational team. “It has been an honor to have spent the majority of my career with an organization who resolutely believes in and works towards fulfilling its mission to the individuals they serve,” noted Hannon. “I am especially gratified by the community collaborative partnerships that I have enjoyed over the years in support of this vital mission of service.”
