Commissioner John O’Grady Recognized as Health Hero as the BOC Votes to Support African American Wellness Initiatives

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Resolution number 564 24.

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Resolution authorizing a grant agreement with the National African American Male

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Wellness Agency to support the African American wellness educational initiatives

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and events in the amount of 450, 000.

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Good

Damika Withers: 00:00:15

morning.

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Good morning.

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Good morning, Commissioners and County Administration.

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D'Amico Withers, Chief Economic Equity and Inclusion Officer in the Office

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of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

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The mission of the African American Male Wellness Agency is to increase the life

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expectancy of African American men in physical health, mental health, financial

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health, fatherhood, and research.

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The African American Male Wellness Agency seeks to improve health outcomes

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affecting African American men who live across Franklin County and

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surrounding communities by engaging African American men and their families.

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The African American Male Wellness Agency contributes significantly to improving

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the overall health and well being of Franklin County residents through their

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year round health awareness initiatives.

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This grant agreement will cover the Real Men Real Talk conference being

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held next Thursday on July 18th, Cooking with Dads, and the HIV Awareness Day.

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The African American Male Wellness Agency supports the importance of their parental

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relationship and offer programming that encourages the parent child

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relationship as well as addresses the mental wellness of African American men.

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The Real Men, Real Talk program will host monthly conversations that

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will provide services to 400 African American men over a 12 month period,

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focusing on mental health and opioid addiction with a collaborative approach

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with local faith based organizations.

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Barbers, mental health specialists, and drug counselors.

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This resolution supports the Rise Together Poverty Blueprint, goal number

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nine, reducing the overall incidence and racial disparities in occurrences

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of preventable diseases and trauma, and improving the health of those

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living with chronic mental, physical, and behavioral health conditions

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among those struggling financially.

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Here are what meets a day.

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It is, uh, founder John Gregory of the National African American Male Wellness

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Agency, President Kenny Hampton, Senior Vice President Perry Gregory,

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um, Jonathan Bitley is back there, and other representatives from the

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African American Male Wellness Agency.

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:22

Good morning, Commissioner, Carly.

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:23

Good morning, Commissioner Boyce.

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:25

Good morning, Commissioner Brady.

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:27

Good morning, administration.

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:29

It's an honor to be here again to have an opportunity to celebrate the

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:33

partnership that we have in place.

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:36

Mr.

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:36

Gregory and I, we had the pleasure of traveling all over this country.

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:39

And what I will say, he and I had a conversation this morning, and

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:43

we wanted to really just highlight the fact that we do have the best.

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:47

Commissioners in the entire country the work that we're able to do here in this

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county Across this county with this partnership is truly the model We've

Kenny Hampton: 00:02:58

been able to partner with you we've been able to go out to the community and

Kenny Hampton: 00:03:01

provide impact to holistically support african american men in their families

Kenny Hampton: 00:03:06

and some of the things that Were just listed and so every year we have an

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opportunity to celebrate and to honor you Uh, individuals who are working

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very closely with us in this work.

Kenny Hampton: 00:03:17

Uh, back in 2022, we had commissioner boy service, our honorary chair for our black

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men's wellness day, known as, as the walk.

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Um, we also had in 2023 commissioner Crawley service, our uplift, her honorary

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chair, our women's initiative, uh, 2024, we've been able to celebrate.

Kenny Hampton: 00:03:34

And, um, just recently had an incredible event where our 2024

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uplift, her honorary chair, DCA Bivens.

Kenny Hampton: 00:03:41

Um, was able to help us provide screenings for hundreds of women, thousands

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of folks came out for that event.

Kenny Hampton: 00:03:49

But this year we're, we're excited because we get an opportunity, uh, to celebrate

Kenny Hampton: 00:03:53

and to honor commissioner John O'Grady and to officially introduce you as one of our

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health heroes for 2024 with the African.

Kenny Hampton: 00:04:02

There

Kenny Hampton: 00:04:10

was some comments that you made, um, several months ago when we were here.

Kenny Hampton: 00:04:14

That really stuck out to us and, uh, it did not fall on deaf ears, but

Kenny Hampton: 00:04:19

you said, you know what, you know, I'm a white man and I don't, I don't

Kenny Hampton: 00:04:22

really know a whole lot about the things that, you know, is plaguing the

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community, but I'm going to do my part.

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And so we can't thank you enough on behalf of the entire organization for

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the work that you're doing, uh, a part of the most, uh, impactful and the

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best, uh, board of commissioners in this entire county and our founder, uh, Mr.

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John Gregory.

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You know what I see the correct world in the world.

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But at this time I would like to introduce our CEO and president of the

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national center for urban solutions.

Kenny Hampton: 00:04:53

Mr.

Kenny Hampton: 00:04:53

John Gregory.

John Gregory: 00:04:58

Um, thanks.

John Gregory: 00:04:59

Um, commissioner Brady, we, um, there's a big committee got together

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and said, you know, who deserves this?

John Gregory: 00:05:07

And we all said that, you know, this fight would not be, um, One, unless all

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of us collectively do this together.

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And so it doesn't matter whether you're black or white, it

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matters where your heart is.

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And we know where your heart is at.

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Your heart is in helping the black community rise to the occasion.

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So we thank you.

John Gregory: 00:05:28

I'm also standing here to talk about Real Men Real Talk.

John Gregory: 00:05:31

Um, what you will see is that, um, Black young men between the ages of 16 to 24

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has the highest incidence of suicide.

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Black men over the age of 40 have the highest incidence of overdose of opiates.

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We just met with the coroner's office and had a long conversation with the coroner.

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This data is not from me, this is from the coroner.

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And what we know is that the incidence of black young men and black men

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committing suicide is extremely high.

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We know that our own personal experience over the last 90 days,

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we've probably known four young black men who have committed suicide.

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And so, but we also know that talk therapy is really great.

John Gregory: 00:06:14

And so before I go on, I do have a Mr.

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Wynn, um, who is here with us, who could tell you about his experience in

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participating in our real men, real talk.

Roderick Gwynn: 00:06:24

Thank you, Mr.

Roderick Gwynn: 00:06:24

Gregory to the board of commissioners and the administration

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for the Franklin County.

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My name is Roderick Nguyen.

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I moved here about four years ago, four years this November,

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my wife and I, and I met Mr.

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Gregory, uh, locally, and he invited me to come out to this Real Men Real Talk.

Roderick Gwynn: 00:06:44

Um, so I'm originally born and raised in Michigan, Flint, Michigan,

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and we moved here and I met Mr.

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Gregory and some of his staff and I went to the first meeting and I was blown

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away because I've never seen a platform where men of color And not only men

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of color, but men in general in that community can come together and have a

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conversation about not having a father, about living with a drug addicted mom

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or a parent living in a disparage place.

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And they come together and they give them an opportunity to

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actually have a conversation.

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They don't present anything else to them, just have a conversation.

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And many of the struggle for us, especially black

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men to be able to express.

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their feelings and their emotions.

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Mr Grady and his staff, Mr Mr Gregor and his staff has allowed them to come into a

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place and not judge them but allow them to have an opportunity to speak and to share.

Roderick Gwynn: 00:07:42

And some of the statistics that we know when I moved here, I'm trying to look at

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to see what Franklin County was about.

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And I've seen that, you know, out of every 100, 000 residents, 166 of

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them are headed to incarceration.

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Many of those youth are stuck in circle view right now.

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And I'm working with him to do that.

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And out of that particular meeting with real men, real talk, we

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have birthed a program which is called brother to brother.

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And in that we're also going into the prison ministry because Mr Mr Gregory

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has opened up our understanding to see.

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And when we celebrated 20 years of african american wellness on last year,

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it was, I've never seen it in such a way.

Roderick Gwynn: 00:08:21

And so my, my two cents to this is this, it's not really how you change

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an individual, but it's how you make that individual feel valued.

Roderick Gwynn: 00:08:32

And so hopefully I'll be going into Circleville at the end of this month.

Roderick Gwynn: 00:08:35

But real men, real talk coming up is always an opportunity and it is

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across this country that they're making it available to youth in this

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community, in every community worldwide.

Roderick Gwynn: 00:08:45

So for the opportunity, Mr Gregory, for standing with you and

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partnering with you and your staff.

Roderick Gwynn: 00:08:51

And I look forward to many years to come.

John Gregory: 00:08:55

So, um, we will be going into Whitehall, Reynoldsburg.

John Gregory: 00:08:58

We're also going into the, um, county jails, start Real Men Real Talk there.

John Gregory: 00:09:04

Um, so the funding that you give us, um, really it's, it goes directly into

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having an impact in our communities.

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And how do we get these guys to come?

John Gregory: 00:09:13

Well, we pass out cards, we knock on doors, we go to churches.

John Gregory: 00:09:16

We go to barbershops, we go to basketball courts, we go to bars, and we talk to men.

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And you would not believe the number of men that show up and, and,

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and really just open up and talk.

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And, and actually I was at, um, the barbershop the other day.

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I do go to barbershop even though I don't have here.

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Um, um, a woman came up to me and she said, Mr.

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Gregory, um, I just want to tell you that my husband does nothing.

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He doesn't go nowhere.

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He has, he said that real man, real talk.

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He does not miss a day of going to participate.

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We have a social media page.

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There's a closed page where men can come in and log in and have conversations.

John Gregory: 00:09:52

Um, you will be glad to know that next week, um, Eric Robeson, uh, R

John Gregory: 00:09:57

and B singer has a song out this year.

John Gregory: 00:09:59

Our campaign was masked off R and B singer.

John Gregory: 00:10:02

Um, Eric Rosen has created a song called Mask and he is going to put that song

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into full production and release it next week in which across this country

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that started in Columbus, Ohio, we're having black men take their mask off.

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And if you could see the stuff that they write on their mask

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and right inside their mask, it would bring you to complete tears.

John Gregory: 00:10:23

Um, we were in Detroit two weeks ago, Kenny and I, and

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we met with a group of others.

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Detroit's a hard place.

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And brothers stood up and talked about they had never, they had never

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experienced an event where they looked eye in eye with another black man and

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that they, and some of them talked about the fear that they had the only time

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they ever looked in the eye and eye of a black man when it was time to fight.

John Gregory: 00:10:48

And so when we talk about reducing crime, when we talk about, um,

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reducing violence, we have to talk about where does it all start?

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And it starts with mental wellness.

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And so if we get men mentally well, particularly black men, then we

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can begin to change our community.

John Gregory: 00:11:04

All of you all know, I started out in a community called Uzi Alley, and

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it was in that community that, um, we were able to reduce crime by 80%.

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And change that community because we are able to change the lives

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of the people in that community.

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So I just want to thank you for this opportunity to continue this work.

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To continue to change men's lives.

John Gregory: 00:11:22

Um, um, um, your staff came out last week.

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We had a graduation.

John Gregory: 00:11:26

I just wanted to share this before I end.

John Gregory: 00:11:28

Um, so I bought a program you did fund.

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And, um, I wanted to talk about the success.

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Our doula program.

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Um, but I also want to talk about how your work, when you fund

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grassroots programs, how they impact.

John Gregory: 00:11:41

There's a young lady here, um, by the name of, um, Destiny.

John Gregory: 00:11:45

Destiny, you still here?

John Gregory: 00:11:47

Yep.

John Gregory: 00:11:47

Come here.

John Gregory: 00:11:47

This is Destiny.

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Destiny, when she came to us, she was on public assistance.

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She came as a wet worker.

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And she got off of public assistance, we got her job, we gave

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her a job, and she was employed.

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And then, guess what, Destiny went and became a doula certified, I don't know if

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I'm saying that word right, um, and, and,

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and this year, now Destiny does our, um, just because of funding you gave us

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last year, we were able to get certified through the state of Ohio, we're the only.

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Organization started by the State Career Colleges to do a doula training.

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Destiny now is our doula certification trainer, and, and Vivian and them

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came out last week and they saw a lot of our women, about 17 of them,

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graduate from the doula training, which is very critical, particularly

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in black female maternal health.

John Gregory: 00:12:44

Destiny, tell them about your experience.

Destiny Daniels: 00:12:46

Okay.

Destiny Daniels: 00:12:47

Um, greetings everybody.

Destiny Daniels: 00:12:48

Um, my name is Destiny Daniels.

Destiny Daniels: 00:12:50

So a little bit about me is I did come through, um, this organization originally

Destiny Daniels: 00:12:55

through the web program, um, and was employed with them for three years.

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:00

And during that time I did, uh, get training as a doula and then

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:04

left the organization for roughly, uh, five years and now returned.

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:10

With the doula program, writing the curriculum and now teaching the

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:14

curriculum, and it's absolutely amazing to come full circle, leaving them to enter

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:18

into birth work and then returning to help teach with our first cohort of students.

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:25

We have all of them.

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:27

completed the program passed with flying colors and have

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:30

already started to attend births.

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:33

So we've had a mother daughter duo who graduated and have recently

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:37

attended a successful home birth.

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:39

We've had, um, another student who has attended a induction and is

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:44

actually scheduled to attend another induction later this week and a

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:48

scheduled C section the following week.

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:49

So we already have one student who's on their way to, um, getting their.

Destiny Daniels: 00:13:54

Full certifying births, um, sorry, and we are already, um, completing

Destiny Daniels: 00:14:02

our second cohort of students.

Destiny Daniels: 00:14:03

They are taking finals this week.

Destiny Daniels: 00:14:06

And so, um, the ball is rolling.

Destiny Daniels: 00:14:08

We're making a lot of contacts within the community and we've, um, been in

Destiny Daniels: 00:14:13

conversations with companies such as Celebrate One, Moby Nurses, to get

Destiny Daniels: 00:14:17

our doulas hired and, um, On their way to completing their certifying birth.

Destiny Daniels: 00:14:22

So I'm grateful for being here.

Destiny Daniels: 00:14:24

Thank you

John Gregory: 00:14:30

So I just want to thank you for the work that you do it does make

John Gregory: 00:14:33

impact it does make a difference And so when you turn on good morning america

John Gregory: 00:14:38

in about three weeks and you see Real men real talk on good morning america

John Gregory: 00:14:43

know that it started in franklin county

Commissioner Boyce: 00:14:46

Let me just make sure you say that

Commissioner Boyce: 00:14:50

You're good

Commissioner Boyce: 00:14:53

Yeah, please Commissioner Crowley.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:14:55

Uh, thank you for being here today.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:14:57

Um, and thank you for the work that you all continue to do.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:00

Um, obviously the doula space is near and dear to my heart, but

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:03

also the mental health space.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:05

Um, Some of you may know, I did a, um, we did a talk, DEI did a talk, what, two

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:10

years ago, um, where we were talking about mental health and I, um, talked about how

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:15

I'm a two time suicide attempt survivor.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:17

First time I attempted suicide was 19.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:19

The second time was 25 after I had given, um, birth to my twin girls,

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:23

which was a very traumatic pregnancy.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:25

Not understanding at that point in time I was dealing with, um, um,

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:30

depression, postpartum depression.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:32

Um, I have a history of, um, depression due to my upbringing coming up in

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:38

Youngstown, having parents that, um, struggle with addiction for 21

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:41

years of my life and, um, and all the things that come with that.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:45

And so it wasn't until, and I, I would not talk about it.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:50

Um, I would not talk about depression.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:52

I wouldn't talk about being a survivor of addiction.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:15:54

Um, or having to suicide attempts because of the stigma, because of the shame,

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:00

because I didn't want to be judged because, um, I felt like people wouldn't

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:05

understand the life that I came from and really just couldn't even empathize.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:11

And it wasn't until, and I tell this story all the time, it wasn't

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:14

until I started running for office.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:16

No, before I started running for office, I was getting my signatures, collecting

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:19

my signatures, to get on the ballot.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:21

And that's how I met Jessica Roach.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:23

She was at driving park, um, with a table letting people know about the services

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:28

that they provided and some how I just went up and picked up a flyer and it was

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:32

talking about, um, uh, coming to an event or they were having services for people

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:39

who experienced traumatic pregnancies.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:40

And then she reached out and invited me to one.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:43

And in that circle, she wasn't even there.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:45

And I know me, I had only been living here, not even Not even three years.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:49

Um, I'm an extreme introvert and I wasn't going to go.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:52

And she called me to make sure that I would attend.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:54

So I went, I didn't share in that group.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:16:57

But what I got to, um, do is be in community with people who had

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:01

a lived experience just like I did and make it seem like it was okay.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:05

Even though I had suffered from depression, had a traumatic

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:08

pregnancy complications that were horrendous, that I wasn't alone.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:13

And then I was able to get my voice.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:15

to talk about my story and to share.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:17

And so I talk about all the time how I come to this work

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:20

from my own lived experience.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:22

Um, I don't talk about things in theory.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:24

I talk about things that I know.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:25

Um, and so Um, that is how I got my why and why I started

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:29

running for office talking about maternal mortality and morbidity.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:32

And in Ohio, if you are aware, when it comes to maternal mortality,

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:36

the leading cause of death among pregnant women and postpartum women

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:39

is mental health issues, um, broad.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:41

So substance use, but depression, anxiety, suicide, all of that.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:46

Um, and this Minority Mental Health Month, and I was getting ready to post

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:52

about me being at Nationwide Children's Hospital a couple weeks ago, sitting with

Commissioner Crawley: 00:17:55

Charlita Tavares and, um, Stephanie Kunze, talking about my experience trying to

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:01

break the stigma, right, but also letting people know that I am in my early 40s

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:06

and live a full, productive life, and me sharing my story, um, out loud has come

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:14

with, you know, me being having anxiety about that, not wanting to be judged.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:19

But also, I know that if I could save one person's life, whether

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:22

it's talking about my pregnancy or talking about being a suicide

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:25

attempt survivor and living a full, healthy life, then it's all worth it.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:30

I have had men come up to me and say, thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:32

your story.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:33

I'm from Youngstown or, you know, I'm, I come from a similar background

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:37

and I feel like, you know, nobody understands, but you sharing your

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:41

story lets me know that I'm not alone.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:43

Um, I say all the time that I'm more transparent than I

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:46

ever been, um, about my life.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:48

If you know me, I'm very guarded.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:50

Um, but in order to do this work, I didn't want to be a hypocrite.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:54

I didn't want to talk about why we needed, um, more investment in mental health

Commissioner Crawley: 00:18:59

services, whether at the state when I was there or here, um, from a place of

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:04

not even willing to disclose myself.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:06

I just want to say.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:06

Um, always going to be my full authentic self and I am appreciative for you all

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:12

in providing a platform to individuals, um, or I like to say our neighbors

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:17

so they can be in community with one another and know that it's okay to not

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:21

be okay, but it's also not okay to stay there that, um, you know, that there

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:25

are help, there is help, there are resources, um, and you are never alone.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:30

So I appreciate all that you all are doing in the doula space.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:33

You know, that's my thing.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:35

Continuing to work in the legislature, um, and with the governor's administration

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:38

to get Medicaid reimbursement for doulas, um, you know, into law.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:44

I know we're, we continue to work on that.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:46

Kevin Pangrace, our government affairs director has been my right hand on that.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:49

for what you're doing there.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:50

Cause it will make a difference, um, in the lives of women here, um, in

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:54

Franklin County and across the state.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:19:56

Most importantly for black women who continue to die at almost three

Commissioner Crawley: 00:20:01

times the rate of white women.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:20:02

Um, and almost 60 percent of those deaths are deemed to be preventable.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:20:07

Um, so we have work to do, but glad that you all are a partner.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:20:11

Thank you.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:17

Michelle Grady.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:18

Commissioner O'Grady: Um, Mr.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:20

Gregory Perry and John, I appreciate the honor.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:23

Um, everybody with the African American male wellness walk or wellness agency.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:27

I'm sorry.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:28

Um, Um, you know, it, it's, uh, it was unexpected for sure.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:33

Um, you know, and all I can say is, uh, I was raised right.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:38

Had some great parents who, uh, taught me to, uh, recognize, um,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:44

you know, uh, the right thing to do.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:46

Recognize, uh, sometimes recognize injustice, recognize, uh, um,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:51

what needed to be done and do something about it and not, not be

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:54

afraid to do something about it.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:20:56

And, uh, thank my colleagues for being, uh, fantastic, uh, partners and, and, uh,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:02

examples of, uh, uh, folks to work with and folks to, uh, uh, follow their lead

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:09

and, uh, thank you guys for the work that you do and, uh, the example that you set.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:16

Uh, it's easy to do this work when you have great people to do this work with.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:21

And, um, I here in Franklin County.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:24

We have an administrative team.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:27

We have, I have great partners.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:28

I have great examples in the community.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:31

Um, it is easy for me to be an advocate in this community.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:36

It is easy for me to be an advocate when I have a great folks in the community.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:40

I see a river now offshore in the back, back there.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:44

I have a great examples.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:47

We have great examples in all of Franklin County.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:49

Uh, and so it's easy for me to do this and it's easy for me to.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:54

Uh, do the work that I do when we have D'Amico Withers

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:57

doing the work that she does.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:21:59

Um, it's easy for me to do this when I was raised the way that I was raised.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:03

And, uh, you know, I was the youngest of 12 kids.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:06

I had to be a fighter.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:08

You know, and so being a tough SOB is easy for me to be.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:13

And so, this, this was easy for me.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:15

And so I appreciate the honor.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:17

I really do.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:23

I'll close this out by one, just taking a second to acknowledge

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:26

my colleagues, um, Commissioner Crawley.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:30

Um, I think it takes for, first of all, one of my favorite attributes

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:34

about you is your transparency and openness, um, for what it's worth.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:38

Um, I, I, I think it takes a lot of courage to, uh, to be that way.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:45

And I aspire.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:46

Commissioner.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:46

to have that kind of courage like you do.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:49

And I appreciate you in your words have more impact than you think

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:53

on other people, even myself.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:55

Okay.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:55

So I just wanted to acknowledge that and thank you for your leadership.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:22:58

I didn't know what a doula was until you came around.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:01

So thank you for that.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:03

I really did.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:04

You don't know what a doula is?

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:05

Let me tell you.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:06

And so it's easy to support.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:07

And so she has been our doula educator, uh, and champion, uh, for sure,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:12

among many other things, uh, here.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:14

So thank you for that.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:15

And to commissioner Grady, um, I do want to say that, um, you know,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:19

he is being sincere as it comes in authentic as it comes right now.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:23

Um, his father, Peto Grady was longtime chairman of the Democratic

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:27

Party when I started in politics and every day, not every day, but once a

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:32

month, maybe would take me to lunch.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:34

Just a little kid from the neighborhood and talk to me about politics and

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:38

being in politics and, and, um, uh, the conversations we had at the Levick tower.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:44

You know, uh, the press club.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:46

Yeah, was, I mean, he was just taking me and I was nobody and I was just a

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:50

kid and I don't know what he saw in me, but he took the time to spend quite

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:55

a bit of time before I even knew you.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:23:58

Um, and knew the connection, uh, he took, uh, the time and

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:01

spent a lot of time with me then.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:03

And I'll never forget that and I, I do believe he's instilled those into you.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:07

The other part I'll say is that Commissioner O'Grady is truly a healthcare

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:11

advocate and, and you know, uh, myself, I was struggling to take blood pressure

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:15

medication and I was telling him and Commissioner Crawley about it one day

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:20

and Commissioner O'Grady in true SOB fashion that he does turn to me and

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:25

said, Stop being stupid, take the damn medicine, you know, and we were right up

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:31

here and, um, and, and, and he went on to explain, uh, his own journey and pathway.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:39

This is why we're like in session here and we're talking about

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:41

it and he was dead serious, uh, about it and on my ASS about it.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:47

And Commissioner Crowley co signed with him on it, and, and so I take

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:51

blood pressure medication to this day.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:53

Um, you know, don't like it, I absolutely hate it, but I, I, but I do think often

Commissioner Boyce: 00:24:59

about your, your nudging me, um, when I don't want to take it, or I think

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:04

about relatives who are no longer with me and the difficulties they've had.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:09

Um, and then finally, I say, Commissioner Grady, it, it is more meaningful.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:15

In the broader case of advocacy for those who are at the bottom rung of this

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:20

healthcare conversation, when a white guy stands up, it makes that kind of advocacy.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:27

Um,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:30

and quite frankly, um, your advocacy, probably makes a broader, bigger

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:37

difference than anything I could do or commissioner Crawley could do.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:41

So I wanted to acknowledge that I was last night, I, um, went for a run trying to

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:46

train with this marathon, Lord have mercy.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:48

Uh, and went for a long run in the heat.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:51

And, um, after I said I can get some protein and so I went to

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:55

dinner and went to North star and over in short North and there was

Commissioner Boyce: 00:25:58

nobody there's the bar was pretty.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:00

So I sat there.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:01

And, um, I had a salad and a piece of fish, that's it.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:04

And, um, at the end of the bar, I could hear this, there

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:07

was a white couple talking.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:09

And they were just maybe three or four seats down, so I could

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:11

hear their whole conversation.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:12

Not that I was listening, but I was.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:14

And, and but their whole conversation was about the African American Bonus Agency.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:22

And they were talking about all that they've learned about

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:26

screenings for black men.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:29

And the lady just kept over and over.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:31

I really felt like she wanted me to hear what she was saying,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:33

but, but we're glad you did here.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:37

Right, right.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:38

She just kept saying, and black men is she had every statistic down and she said

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:42

that she had gone to the, to the walk.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:45

I think she said she just ran just because she was running in it, running, but she

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:48

did the homework that could have learned and she could not believe the statistics.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:53

And she said, even more so, she couldn't believe the, uh, So the number

Commissioner Boyce: 00:26:56

of people from that street screening that came out and were identified with

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:01

high blood pressure, high cholesterol, whatever, and she went on and on and on.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:04

And the guy that was with her, he was giving feedback to say, yeah, my,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:08

wherever he worked, he was saying that we've been doing things specifically

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:12

around it because we see the numbers too.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:15

And they had this whole conversation.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:16

And so Commissioner O'Grady, I got to tell you from the couple that I listened

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:20

to last night to your advocacy and work, um, I really believe the needle is moving.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:28

It's moving slightly, um, in the direction of our favor.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:32

Um, but we have a ways to go.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:35

And that is the purpose of this grant.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:38

That's the purpose of the grind that you all do, whether you're in Detroit,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:42

Houston, or wherever you travel to promote this cause, because it's, you know, it's,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:47

it's not enough to do it here in Franklin County and central high in Columbus,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:51

because that's our community, our town, it has to be a national conversation.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:55

It has to be a national strategy and approach and commitment.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:27:59

And I know this personally, that culturally.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:02

Black families often grow up and it's not about, you know, um, um, my wife

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:10

grew up in a very middle class home, two parents, uh, doctor's appointments,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:14

um, and she would go to the doctor.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:16

She's very diligent about doctor's appointments, about

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:20

screenings and different things.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:22

Me, I didn't grow up in that environment.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:23

So just culturally, you know, going to the doctor on a regular

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:28

basis and not as just an emergency.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:30

When I grew up, you only went to the doctor when it was emergency

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:33

when your hand was falling off or something, you know?

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:37

And, and that is, that is a poverty oriented, um, uh, mind

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:41

construct, but it also poverty is connected to racism and race.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:46

And, uh, unfortunately all the statistics say that it's not me just saying that.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:50

And so my point is, my point is this, I know there are some who say,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:54

why black men, you know, why, why are we talking about black people?

Commissioner Boyce: 00:28:58

And, and, and there is, I don't care where you pull your statistics from.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:29:03

They will consistently show that not only are black men the bottom rung in a

Commissioner Boyce: 00:29:07

healthcare standpoint and black women, um, but culturally, um, it is, um,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:29:14

something that we have to overcome, um, from diet to, uh, screenings to mental

Commissioner Boyce: 00:29:21

health, All of these things and I just talked to a mental health provider the

Commissioner Boyce: 00:29:26

day and they said that I said is it just me or is the mental health at its height

Commissioner Boyce: 00:29:29

now I feel like I feel everybody is stressed I feel like a different level

Commissioner Boyce: 00:29:34

and the mental health provider said 100 percent that it is spiking at a point

Commissioner Boyce: 00:29:42

to where and to commissioner O'Grady and commissioner Carlis point you know

Commissioner Boyce: 00:29:46

mental health is health care you know it's a it's We have historically haven't

Commissioner Boyce: 00:29:51

had the parity from a, um, insurance standpoint that we need to have, but

Commissioner Boyce: 00:29:57

it's, it, the effect is very similar.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:00

You know, you have mental health issues and they can create physical health

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:04

issues, uh, high blood pressure, uh, diabetes, because, because you might eat

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:08

from what you're saying, you might eat from stress, you might drink from stress,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:12

you might take medication for sure.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:13

I mean, all of those things create the kind of spiral.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:17

And when you're, you look at the unemployment rates, the housing rates,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:20

the education rates, all those things are connected that drive substance abuse,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:24

mental health and different things.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:25

And so you have a race that's still struggling to come out from the bottom.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:29

And so, uh, I only say that because I know there are people out there who listen to

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:32

us making these appropriations and whatnot and say, Oh, you're just doing that

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:35

because you got two black commissioners.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:37

That's why I want to emphasize Commissioner Grady is just, he understands

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:41

this just as much and that's why I shared the personal story because it's authentic

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:45

and sincere and, um, and it's learned, you know, it's something that he's gotten

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:51

to a point where he said, we've got to address this and Commissioner, uh, Brown

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:55

was the same way when she was here.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:56

She, she, um, understood it.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:58

And so we invested in it.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:30:59

Um, and so, um, you know, this is, this is, um, the easier part

Commissioner Boyce: 00:31:05

of our job, the easier decision.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:31:07

We have many tough decisions.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:31:08

This is not one of them.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:31:09

So, yeah.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:10

I know you said you were gonna wrap up.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:11

I do wanna talk about the jail real quick because you are so much of a champion

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:15

about, you know, really addressing the disparities in our criminal

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:20

justice system or in our jails that.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:22

we are responsible for in black men being there as well as the J.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:25

I.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:25

C.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:26

Which are youth are in.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:28

But when you talk about going into the jail, it is so necessary.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:31

And I think we are one of the leading.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:32

I mean, we lead in a lot of spaces, and I'm proud about that.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:35

But one thing that we lead in for the county, and we have 3066 counties in

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:39

this country is one that has, like, long acting injectables for those

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:44

who have, um, chronic and serious Pervasive mental health, um, illnesses.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:50

But that is not enough.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:51

And if we think about who we house in our jails is the largest population

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:55

of people with mental health, right?

Commissioner Crawley: 00:31:57

And so the fact that you all are going and they're black men, black men, we already

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:02

know that overrepresented, um, 60%.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:05

Um, and when we think about that, compare it to our population,

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:08

uh, it's, it's, it's devastating.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:10

And so we know that just, um, treating, um, the symptoms of mental health,

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:16

um, in our jail is not enough.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:18

We're having long acting injectables or giving them a prescription for a couple

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:21

of days when they leave is not enough.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:23

Like we know that we need people in our jails talking to, um, our neighbors,

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:28

our residents about what got them into, you know, a criminal, incident, right?

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:34

Or what are the, the things that are really happening at home or in their life

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:40

that had them end up coming into jail?

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:42

What is it about their life that they would like to change and really

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:45

working through that with them?

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:47

I know, um, Commissioner Boyce probably saw this when he was in the state house.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:51

We both sat on the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:54

Um, I did after he.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:56

He served.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:32:57

I mean, we would get letters all the time from people saying, you know what?

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:00

I've been in prison for three years or I've been in jail sitting in jail for

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:03

years and I'm getting ready to be released and I've never had anyone talk to me about

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:07

my substance use disorder or well, they say my drug addiction or my mental health.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:13

I'm scared that I'm going to relapse when I come back out.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:16

I did not get any programs or services.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:18

So I just want you to know that what you do or what you're going to do in our

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:21

jail, um, It's not like another program.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:25

We're talking about processes.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:26

We're talking about things that can be transformative.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:28

So these, um, these residents don't come back into our

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:32

jail or come back into the J.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:34

I.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:34

C.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:34

We have more youth ready to be bound over, um, from our J.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:38

I.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:38

C.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:38

Into, uh, into jail or to prison than we've had before.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:42

That's saying that we have juveniles with felony convictions who are being

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:47

ready to be sent over as an adult, um, who are probably dealing with trauma.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:52

Or dealing with some of the things that Commissioner Boy saw as a child or lost

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:56

their family or had gun violence, right?

Commissioner Crawley: 00:33:58

Like these are things that will take time to deal with but we should not

Commissioner Crawley: 00:34:03

write them off And so I appreciate you all being willing to go into

Commissioner Crawley: 00:34:06

our jail to talk to our residents Because most of the people in our jail

Commissioner Crawley: 00:34:10

have not been convicted of a crime.

Commissioner Crawley: 00:34:11

They are human beings having human experiences And just need

Commissioner Crawley: 00:34:15

a chance to turn things around

Commissioner Boyce: 00:34:18

And I think, I think commissioner,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:34:20

Commissioner O'Grady: okay.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:34:21

I

Ken Wilson: 00:34:21

know, I know we've been, we've been, um, uh, the time is long, but I, I

Ken Wilson: 00:34:26

feel it necessary to make some comments.

Ken Wilson: 00:34:28

Uh, the folks with the national African American wellness initiative

Ken Wilson: 00:34:32

know how I feel about your work.

Ken Wilson: 00:34:34

Uh, you all, uh, this work is important.

Ken Wilson: 00:34:38

Uh, the work you've been doing, uh, focusing on African American

Ken Wilson: 00:34:42

males has been important.

Ken Wilson: 00:34:44

Um, I'm excited about the Uplift Her, uh, movement.

Ken Wilson: 00:34:48

Um, that was a quiet event you all just had.

Ken Wilson: 00:34:52

So, uh, we got to take care of all the sisters and brothers.

Ken Wilson: 00:34:55

Uh, particularly at a time when.

Ken Wilson: 00:34:59

The America's Rescue is not over.

Ken Wilson: 00:35:02

In the American Rescue Act, dollars are diminishing every day.

Ken Wilson: 00:35:07

And I was just talking to the team from Job and Family Services yesterday for

Ken Wilson: 00:35:12

my fiscal update and our PRC program dollars are dwindling and they were

Ken Wilson: 00:35:20

looking to me for answers and I'll be talking to you all soon about that.

Ken Wilson: 00:35:24

Uh, but the work that you all doing, uh, as a board, um, I feel blessed to be the

Ken Wilson: 00:35:30

County Administrator for Franklin County.

Ken Wilson: 00:35:32

and have the opportunity to work with you three.

Ken Wilson: 00:35:35

And Commissioner O'Grady, you one of the West Side Finest.

Ken Wilson: 00:35:38

Uh, in every, every, every sense of the word, man.

Ken Wilson: 00:35:42

I've been knowing you for a long, I've been knowing you for a long time.

Ken Wilson: 00:35:45

You one of the West Side Finest.

Ken Wilson: 00:35:47

But seriously, to the point, poverty is the fourth leading cause of death

Ken Wilson: 00:35:54

in the United States of America.

Ken Wilson: 00:35:57

That, just let that soak in, when we said, you know, we say poverty is a

Ken Wilson: 00:36:02

public health crisis and we talk about the Rise Together Poverty Blueprint,

Ken Wilson: 00:36:08

and when poverty is the fourth cause of, uh, of death in the United States behind

Ken Wilson: 00:36:14

only heart disease, cancer and smoking.

Ken Wilson: 00:36:16

That means this work is critical, because people don't have access to.

Ken Wilson: 00:36:23

healthcare, food, stable housing and because of the issues around safety,

Ken Wilson: 00:36:30

not even opportunities for physical activity in many zip codes in America.

Ken Wilson: 00:36:36

This work is critical.

Ken Wilson: 00:36:38

We're blessed in Franklin County.

Ken Wilson: 00:36:40

This is a, this is a great county, but we got challenges

Ken Wilson: 00:36:43

and we need community partners.

Ken Wilson: 00:36:45

And you all spoke about the community partnership program

Ken Wilson: 00:36:48

and the work that we're doing.

Ken Wilson: 00:36:50

And we can't back off from DEI.

Ken Wilson: 00:36:52

We need to have the most active Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Ken Wilson: 00:36:58

of any county in the United States.

Ken Wilson: 00:37:00

We need to, uh, show up, show out, keep doing what we're doing, and be intentional

Ken Wilson: 00:37:07

about it, and have no shame in what we're doing, because we're doing the right

Ken Wilson: 00:37:12

thing for the people of Franklin County.

Ken Wilson: 00:37:13

So, uh, thank you, uh, President Boyce, Commissioner O'Grady,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:37:20

Just

Commissioner Boyce: 00:37:20

Commissioner O'Grady: briefly, you know, uh, Commissioner Boyce mentioned

Commissioner Boyce: 00:37:23

my father, um, and folks, obviously folks knew him and what an impact he

Commissioner Boyce: 00:37:29

had and he was, but his, his sense of, um, justice came from, uh, you know,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:37:35

he was, uh, he went to law school, he, uh, was a bailiff in the court system.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:37:39

He was involved in politics and government, um, but what I learned about,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:37:44

um, social justice came from my mother.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:37:47

Um, and, and, uh, you know, what I was, you know, what I was, I mean,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:37:53

my father taught me, believe me, taught me a whole lot about justice.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:37:56

He was very, uh, he was a great man and he was, you know, he was

Commissioner Boyce: 00:37:59

a strict individual for sure.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:38:01

He had to be with 12 kids.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:38:02

He also had a military background, but my, but, but for the women in the room,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:38:06

uh, in particular, um, my mother was such an advocate for social justice and, um.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:38:14

And, and so that's, you know, the basis of, of a lot of, um, the work

Commissioner Boyce: 00:38:20

that I do as a county commissioner.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:38:22

Um, the work that I do as a, as a, an elected leader, the work that

Commissioner Boyce: 00:38:27

I do as a political leader, uh, certainly, uh, is the base, the

Commissioner Boyce: 00:38:33

basis of, of the education of my dad.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:38:37

Um, but the work that I do as a county commissioner, the work that we do

Commissioner Boyce: 00:38:41

together, the work that That work all comes, and the work that I do, um, that I

Commissioner Boyce: 00:38:47

think, you know, led to this honor today, a lot of that comes from, from my mother,

crowd: 00:38:54

you know,

crowd: 00:38:54

Commissioner O'Grady: so I, when you, when you talked about that, I

crowd: 00:38:57

just wanted to mention my mom based on, you know, the work, and that was

crowd: 00:39:02

mostly for the, for the, especially the women staff in the room who I work

crowd: 00:39:06

with day in and day out, uh, you know.

crowd: 00:39:10

Moms and the impact of mothers on, uh, raising all of us and the work

crowd: 00:39:17

that my wife does, um, and the work that we're doing raising our kids, um,

crowd: 00:39:23

today is, you know, I can't, I can't even imagine the impact that my, you

crowd: 00:39:32

know, and the work that, that, uh, that That my wife does raising our

crowd: 00:39:37

kids and what our kids would be like if, you know, if she wasn't impacting

crowd: 00:39:42

them, because, you know, you know, I'm, you know, half the parent she is.

crowd: 00:39:47

So, I'll leave

Commissioner Boyce: 00:39:48

that, I'll leave that at all.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:39:51

Well, um, again, um, thanks for, for coming down today.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:39:55

Um, if you can see, I mean, we, we, we, uh, We don't spend this

Commissioner Boyce: 00:39:59

type of time in general session on any, any issue unless it's serious

Commissioner Boyce: 00:40:03

and we feel very strong about it.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:40:05

Most issues, you know, we're getting through, we've done

Commissioner Boyce: 00:40:07

the work in the background.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:40:09

Um, and so, uh, just know how much we're with you and how much we're counting on

Commissioner Boyce: 00:40:14

you to continue championing this work and making the progress that you're making.

John Gregory: 00:40:19

Well, we, again, thank you.

John Gregory: 00:40:21

We see commissioners all, I'm telling you all over this country.

John Gregory: 00:40:25

We sit down and talk with them, long meetings, and the first thing we talk

John Gregory: 00:40:28

to them about is, here's what the Franklin County Commissioners are doing.

John Gregory: 00:40:31

Can you match them?

John Gregory: 00:40:32

Most of them can't, but what we do let them know is that it is the

John Gregory: 00:40:38

leaders of this community that has to be about the voice of change.

John Gregory: 00:40:42

We can't do it without you.

John Gregory: 00:40:44

We got to do it in partnership with you.

John Gregory: 00:40:46

So I just thank you all for being an exceptional group of politicians, even

John Gregory: 00:40:50

in amongst, I'm sorry, we talked to.

John Gregory: 00:40:54

And I want to say to you, politicians amongst the state,

John Gregory: 00:40:56

you all still do far more better than most politicians we talk to.

John Gregory: 00:41:00

We know.

John Gregory: 00:41:01

And I'm one.

John Gregory: 00:41:02

We know.

John Gregory: 00:41:03

And before we leave, I do want to say to Danika, she does an

John Gregory: 00:41:06

unbelievable, incredible job.

John Gregory: 00:41:12

And she holds us very accountable and lets us know, uh uh, what

John Gregory: 00:41:16

y'all doing and let me know.

John Gregory: 00:41:18

So we appreciate the sincerity of the work that she's doing that keeps us in line.

John Gregory: 00:41:24

For sure.

crowd: 00:41:24

Yeah.

Commissioner Boyce: 00:41:26

Okay, is there an adoption?

Commissioner Boyce: 00:41:28

Is there a move motion, rather?

Commissioner Boyce: 00:41:29

Yeah,

Commissioner Boyce: 00:41:30

Commissioner O'Grady: if there are no further comments or questions, I

Commissioner Boyce: 00:41:33

will move approval of Resolution 564

Clerk: 00:41:35

24.

Clerk: 00:41:35

Second.

Clerk: 00:41:36

Moved and seconded voting, Commissioner O'Grady.

Clerk: 00:41:38

Yes.

Clerk: 00:41:38

Commissioner Crawley.

Clerk: 00:41:39

Yes.

Clerk: 00:41:40

Commissioner Boyce.

Clerk: 00:41:40

Yes.

Clerk: 00:41:41

Resolution number 564 24 has been adopted.

Damika Withers: 00:41:44

Thank you.