BOARDMAN Ohio Goodwills plan conference in Valley

Youngstown native Sue Thomas is the conference's motivational speaker.
BOARDMAN -- Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries will host the annual fall conference of the Ohio Association of Goodwill Industries Sunday through Tuesday at the Holiday Inn here.
Some 135 representatives from 16 Ohio Goodwills, plus two Michigan Goodwill executives, are expected at the training event, which will offer a variety of seminars presented by national and local experts. It is the first time the state conference will be conducted locally.
Keynote speakers include:
U Sunday, 7 p.m.: George Kessinger, president and chief executive officer of Goodwill Industries International. Kessinger oversaw the 1999 launch of shopgoodwill.com, Goodwill's online auction site, that has since earned about $10 million in revenue for Goodwill programs.
U Monday, 6 p.m.: Dr. David Sweet, president of Youngstown State University, will discuss "Building Community Collaboration," about his work in strengthening partnerships throughout the region and about working with Youngstown to devise an urban development plan.
U Tuesday, 8:30 a.m.: Sue Thomas, Youngstown native and internationally known motivational speaker and advocate for people with disabilities, who became deaf as an infant.
Enrolled at the Youngstown Hearing and Speech Center, Thomas learned to speak, play the trumpet and piano and, at 7, and became the Ohio's youngest Ohio state champion free-style skater.
Thomas' experiences working for the FBI in undercover surveillance are the basis for a television series, "Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye."
Thomas' autobiography, "Silent Night," is a best seller, and she is currently completing another book. She has recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Training sessions
Numerous training sessions will be conducted Monday and Tuesday. Monday's luncheon speaker will be John Connelly, executive director of the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission.