Top local social workers win accolades at banquet

YOUNGSTOWN

Local social workers received awards from the National Association of Social Workers Ohio Chapter-Region IV at its Meet & Greet Recognition Dinner on May 6 at Youngstown State University’s Kilcawley Center.

The dinner was hosted by the Region IV director, Bradley Smith, with the assistance of Dr. Shirley Keller and Danielle Smith.

The award winners were selected by social workers in NASW representing Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana, Harrison, Carroll and Jefferson counties.

A Lifetime Achievement Award went to Donna Beatty of Warren, a social worker who logged more than 30 years of social work throughout her career before retiring in 2007.

Beatty has been a team leader for a mental health program to return clients to the community, and she coordinated an interdisciplinary team for those who are developmentally disabled.

Also honored was Mayor Michael O’Brien of Warren, who won the Public Elected Official of the Year Award. He has served as an elected public official for the past three decades. O’Brien began as a Warren city councilman and later became a Trumbull County commissioner.

As mayor, he has fought to keep public safety services and to keep parks open for inner city youths despite recommendations to close them to save money. He has been a strong ally to Trumbull County Children Services and participated in Child Abuse Awareness Month.

Ralph Barone, known to many as “Skip,” won the award for Public Citizen of the Year. He manages the St. Vincent de Paul Society dining hall, 208 W. Front St. After retirement Barone began this second career helping the most needy in Youngstown while recruiting an extensive charitable base to support his efforts.

He served more than 90,000 meals in 2010 to the homeless and provided an average of 150 lunch bags three days a week to at-risk children for a Youngstown City after-school program.

Darian Scott received the award for the Master’s of Social Work Student of The Year. He graduated in May from YSU’s master of social work program. Scott is completing a graduate assistantship in the Office of Student Diversity, he is an assistant program manager in the Goodguides Mentoring Program at Goodwill Inc., and he volunteers working with troubled high school students and parents through the Mahoning County Juvenile Court.

Stephanie Caruso has won the award for Bachelor’s of Social Work Student of the Year. She is a May graduate of YSU. Caruso has volunteered at the Rescue Mission and served those with terminal cancer while winning numerous social work scholarships.

She became the president of the BSW Student Social Work Association in 2010. In this position she planned activities for the local community, including collecting blankets for children at Akron Children’s Hospital, collecting “wish gift lists” for children at a local foster care facility and providing gift baskets for a raffle to raise funds for NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.