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Local Board Member Raises Funds and Awareness to Support Goodwill Mission

Goodwill Industries International Awards Cincinnati Man National Volunteer Award

October 18, 2005

Rockville, MD - Goodwill Industries International honors local Goodwill Board Chair James Armour with the 2005 Volunteer of the Year Award.  Armour has been a member of the board of directors of Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries (Cincinnati) and a champion for Goodwill for 11 years.  He has served on numerous committees and led a variety of projects to increase support and awareness of Goodwill in his local community.  Last year, Armour contributed more than 2,000 volunteer hours to Goodwill.

Since 1994, Armour has also been a member of the Service Guild, the Goodwill’s volunteer group, and taken an active role in its fund-raising and special events.  He participates in the annual Fall Fest and helps to serve food during the Goodwill’s annual holiday luncheons.  As chair of Goodwill’s Special Gifts capital campaign, he worked to raise the $14 million needed for a four-year project to renovate its corporate complex.  During 2004, he contributed the most hours to oversight and monitoring of project completion and quality assurance.  As board chair, Armour has been responsible for the recruitment of new board members and Goodwill’s annual celebrity golf event, which generates $130,000 in revenue to support the mission.

“Goodwill board members bear a responsibility to ensure that their Goodwills operate efficiently and effectively, to identify and grow financial resources, and to develop strategic plans that lead their organizations to serve more people and secure the organization’s future,” says George W. Kessinger, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries International.  “James Armour’s volunteer leadership has helped position Goodwill as a community leader in providing job training and jobs to local residents in search of work.”

Armour is a 30-year veteran of community service work.  He has served as vice president of the board of the Institute of Cultural Affairs, an organization dedicated to local and global community development; president of the board of Loaves and Fishes, a food pantry; outreach chairperson for the Northern Hills Community United Methodist Church; and with the Colerain Township Community Association.  He has also supported Habitat for Humanity and the Redbird Mission in rural Kentucky.

Each year, Goodwill Industries International honors an outstanding volunteer within the Goodwill Industries network.  The award focuses attention on the expanding role of the volunteer in Goodwill Industries and the organization’s commitment to serving people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. 

Goodwill Industries International is a network of 205 local, community-based organizations in the U.S., Canada, and in 22 other countries.  Goodwill Industries provides job training and employment services to people with disabilities, dislocated workers, welfare recipients, and other job seekers.  Last year, Goodwill provided jobs and other career services to more than 723,000 people.