BUSINESS AWARDS
The Greater Dayton Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals has announced that Luke Dennis will receive its Outstanding Fundraising Professional award at the 2019 National Philanthropy Day celebration in November.
Dennis, WYSO Development director since 2012, was nominated for the award by his WYSO colleagues, citing his numerous and lasting contributions to the Greater Dayton creative community including transforming WYSO’s fundraising efforts when he joined the station in 2012.
“WYSO has come a long long way since Luke joined our team. His roots in the community, his community minded-ness and his creativity as a fundraiser have helped us thrive,” says Neenah Ellis, WYSO General Manager, who hired Dennis.
In 2018 and 2019, Dennis masterminded a unique, creative and quietly successful $3.5 million fundraising campaign that will eventually allow WYSO to become independent of Antioch College and owned by the community.
For the seventh year in a row, the Humane Society of Greater Dayton has been named as a 4-star Charity Navigator nonprofit organization, a feat that only 4 percent of nonprofits have received on a national level.
“According to Charity Navigator, only 4 percent of organizations have received seven consecutive 4-star ratings, making this accomplishment extremely rare,” said Ashley Post, a spokesperson for Charity Navigator. “A 4-star legacy proves that the Humane Society of Greater Dayton is committed to upholding the best practices for financial health while remaining accountable and transparent to those they serve and the people who support their work.”
Charity Navigator is the largest and most-utilized charity evaluator in America. The organization helps guide intelligent giving by evaluating the financial health, accountability and transparency of more than 9,000 charities and provides basic data on 1.8 million nonprofits across the United States.
Brian Weltge, President & CEO of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton, said, “As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that relies solely on donations to fund all of our programs and services it is important for us to be transparent with our supporters. We want the community to know that we are not only grateful for their generosity, but that we do everything we can to show them that their donations are being used responsibly, ethically and that every dollar given to us directly impacts the lives of thousands of animals here in the Miami Valley.”
The Humane Society of Greater Dayton also has received other numerous awards for being fiscally sound. From their continuous top-rating as a Platinum nonprofit by national group Guidestar to being named a BBB Eclipse Integrity winner, groups on both a local and national level have recognized the Humane Society of Greater Dayton’s commitment to being good stewards of the donations they receive.
For more information about the Humane Society of Greater Dayton, call 937268-PETS (7387) or visit www. hsdayton.org.
U.S. News & World Report has ranked Kettering Medical Center among the best hospitals for 2019-20. The annual Best Hospitals rankings, now in their 30th year, are designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive care for challenging health conditions or for common elective procedures.
Kettering Medical Center is ranked No. 10 out of 237 hospitals in Ohio and is recognized among the Best Hospitals in the Ohio River Valley region. It is recognized as high performing in the following specialties:
■ Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
■ Colon Cancer Surgery ■ Heart Failure Care ■ Hip Replacement ■ Knee Replacement ■ Lung Cancer Surgery
For the 2019-20 rankings and ratings, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 medical centers nationwide in 25 specialties, procedures and conditions. In the 16 specialty areas, 165 hospitals were ranked in at least one specialty. In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News recognized hospitals as high performing across multiple areas of care.
For more information, visit www.ketteringhealth.org.
The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) has honored Ohio AFL-CIO Field Director Jeanette Mauk with the organization’s Volunteer of the Year Award for her tireless commitment to conservation, community service and solidarity.
Mauk, of Dayton, is a vested member of the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA), which is a USA charter union, and is also a member of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 98.
She has a long track record of volunteering her time and talents to organize projects and special events through the USA’s Work Boots on the Ground program. For example, she was instrumental in the Lakeside Lake renovation project in West Dayton, rallying more than 100 union and community volunteers to clear trash and invasive vegetation, assemble a fishing pier and install custom park benches.
In 2018, Mauk played a key role in organizing USA Take Kids Fishing Day events in Marietta, Dayton, West Portsmouth and Portsmouth, and assisted the Chillicothe Fire Department with its Fish With A Firefighter Day—all with help of union volunteers.
In addition, she has shepherded and grown the USA’s Ohio State Conservation Dinner in Columbus for seven years, raising funds for multiple projects, including the construction of the Black Fork Wetlands Environmental Studies Center at Ashland University.
Mauk began her union career in 1997 while working on an auto assembly line in Dayton. Starting out as a union steward, she worked her way into the local IUECWA office, then onto the staff of the Central Labor Council in Dayton.
As state AFL-CIO field director, she travels Ohio working with all the Central Labor Councils, and takes every opportunity offered to talk about the USA and its mission. “I love the labor movement and am proud of the benefits it brings union members,” she said. “I also support the USA wholeheartedly because it’s a program that benefits not just union members, but their families and the communities as well. When people see my sincerity as I talk about it, I think they respond.”
Miami Valley Hospital ranked sixth among all Ohio hospitals in the latest annual rankings released today by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital, which is part of Premier Health, again had the best performance among all hospitals in Southwest Ohio.
Miami Valley Hospital also ranked 47th in the nation in urology care.
The hospital received a “high-performing” designation in 11 additional areas of care: nephrology; orthopedics; pulmonology and lung surgery; aortic valve surgery; heart bypass surgery; heart failure; colon cancer surgery; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); hip replacement; knee replacement; and lung cancer surgery.
“Year in and year out, Miami Valley Hospital sets the bar for our region when it comes to quality hospital care,” said Mike Uhl, president of Miami Valley Hospital. “I’m so proud of our compassionate team of providers, nurses, and clinical and support professionals for bringing this level of excellence to our hospital each and every day.”
For more information, visit www.premierhealth.com
The American Society for Engineering Education has bestowed the highest award given in its inaugural ASEE Diversity Recognition Program on the University of Dayton School of Engineering. UD’s engineering school is one of just 28 nationwide and the only school in Ohio to achieve this status.
According to the ASEE, the Bronze award with exemplar status establishes the School of Engineering among the nation’s leaders in inclusive excellence and demonstrates the school is committed to establishing support for groups underrepresented in engineering. Recognized schools also are committed to analyzing and assessing unit composition, policies, culture and climate related to all groups underrepresented in engineering. They also are committed to implementing programs and initiatives to strengthen K-12 or community college pipelines and developing action plans for continuous improvement.
“We realize the power of diversity in preparing graduates for leadership and service in an inclusive and intercultural community, so we foster a culture that values diversity and inclusive excellence,” said Eddy Rojas, dean of the School of Engineering.
Since joining the University, Rojas created a Diversity in Engineering Center, which is home to the school’s Women Engineering, Minority Engineering and international student programs. Two-thirds of new faculty hires have been women or minorities. More than a quarter of incoming students are women and nearly a fifth are minorities; both are records. Women now comprise a third of the school’s leadership council, formerly an all-male group. The school also has appointed its first female department chair.
In addition to these academic and program initiatives, Rojas also has made substantive changes in the school’s home, Kettering Labs. He provided financial support to create a lactation room and changed restroom spaces to provide more equitable access for female faculty, staff and students.
Read more about the University of Dayton School of Engineering’s diversity efforts at https://udayton.edu/engineering/connect/diversity/ index.php.