Local 12 News Producer, Dan Hurley, Tours Ohio Valley Goodwill on History Research Mission!

Ohio Valley Goodwill’s corporate headquarters in the village of Woodlawn was the site for a visit by Local 12 news producer, Dan Hurley, on a quest to find out more about the organization’s 100 year old mission of putting people with disabilities and our nation’s veterans to work. Together with Michael Flannery, Public Information Officer, Hurley learned about Goodwill’s origins in the Greater Cincinnati community; founding by Methodist minister Reverend Richard Scully in 1916 and expansion and growth over time. Of particular interest is the organization’s most recent achievement of a fifth consecutive perfect score from the international accrediting body, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) which represents the “gold” standard for employment and training agencies like Goodwill. CARF noted Goodwill’s “achievement of five consecutive surveys with zero recommendations is rare and places it in a distinct group of organizations.”

During a comprehensive tour of the organization’s corporate headquarters, Hurley was interested to understand more about the many populations the organization serves, its efforts to help individuals obtain community employment as well as history of success. Ohio Valley Goodwill serves more than 3500 people with disabilities and our nation’s veterans annually and last year, helped 919 to get jobs in the Greater Cincinnati community. The connection between community donations, the organization’s network of retail stores and the mission of the organization was also a point of interest.

Dan Hurley has worked with Local 12 since 1981. Dan is the producer and host for 12 Newsmakers, Local 12`s weekly program that explores the political and urban issues confronting our metropolitan region. Newsmakers airs on Sunday mornings at 6:00 a.m.

Dan has also produced award-winning documentaries for WKRC on the history of Northern Kentucky, the history of the Ohio River, and the inland rivers steamboat, as well as the Union Terminal murals.

He is the president of Applied History Associates, a public history consulting firm that works with museums and historical societies throughout the Eastern United States. His clients include the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, the Parker House in Ripley, OH, and Reynolda House in Winston Salem, NC.

Dan produced the exhibit for the Education Center at the William Howard Taft National Historic Site, video documentaries on the history of the mass transit in Cincinnati, the floral industry in Western Hamilton County, and the history of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, The Queen City (1981), One Child at a Time: A History of the Children`s Home of Cincinnati (1992), Steamboat Days on America`s Rivers (1995), and Otterbein: Affirming Our Past/Shaping Our Future (1996).

Ohio Valley Goodwill was very pleased to welcome Mr. Hurley to its corporate headquarters on July 25th and looks forward to a future edition of the Newsmakers program.