CDCAGC annual awards honor excellence in community development

Community Development Corporations Association of Greater Cincinnati (CDCAGC) recognized the top people and organizations in the public sector of community development during its 2009 Annual Awards Celebration, held last Thursday at the Fellowship Center of Concordia Lutheran Church in Clifton.

Sponsored by US Bank, PNC Bank, Local Initiatives Support Corporation of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, WesBanco, and Global Development, LLC, awards were given for the "most outstanding" in categories of:

• Executive director: Stefanie Sunderland, Cincinnati Northside Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation
• CDC staffer: Margaret (Peggy) Wong, Cincinnati Housing Partners
• Project: Harkavy Hall, Tender Mercies
• Lender: Simón Sotelo, PNC Bank
• Collaborative Effort: City Home, Over-the-Rhine Community Housing/3CDC/Eber Development/Schickel Design

• City staffer: Patrick Ewing, interim economic development director, City of Cincinnati
• Consulting: Burns Brady, brandocity, for Cincinnati Housing Partners
• Volunteers: Ken Kabel, Cincinnati Housing Partners and Dr. Patricia O'Connor, Cornerstone Corporation for Shared Equity
• Renaissance Man: Marty Weldishofer, College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation

Keynote speaker State Representative Denise Driehaus (D-31st), selected because of her statewide work on housing issues, said that she continues to "work very, very hard" for the passage of House Bill 3 (H.B. 3), of which she is the primary sponsor.

According to Driehaus, H.B. 3 would establish a six-month moratorium on foreclosures, require registration of residential mortgage servicers, create a statewide database to track foreclosures, enact new procedures and requirements related to residential foreclosure actions, and adopt new civil and criminal penalties for violations of the bill's provisions.

"I encourage you to continue to call, e-mail, and write your legislators about this important legislation," she said.
In other CDCAGC business, outgoing board president Matt Strauss welcomed Over-the-Rhine Community Housing executive director Mary Burke as the new board president.

Strauss, who also serves as director of the Price Hill Housing Resource Center, had to relinquish the position due to term limits.

Previous reading on BC:
CDCAGC Awards recognize public sector achievement (7/1/08)