ROCKVILLE, MD — Goodwill Industries of South Texas (Corpus Christi) has been honored with a 2013 Advocacy Leader Award from Goodwill Industries International. The award recognizes a Goodwill® agency that has demonstrated leadership and commitment to advancing Goodwill’s advocacy and policy efforts to further its mission of helping people secure employment and build stronger communities. This is the second year the agency has received the award.
John Owen, president and CEO of the Goodwill, has placed a high priority on relationship building in the agency’s advocacy efforts related to job creation and reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Site visits by policymakers and appearances at Goodwill events encourage dialogue. Shortly after the November elections, Goodwill Industries of South Texas, in cooperation with the Executive Directors Council of the Coastal Bend, held a breakfast meeting for newly elected public officials. Nonprofits at the meeting created awareness of the human services needs in the region.
“John Owen and his team are to be commended for educating current and newly elected officials on policies and legislation that affect the individuals and families that Goodwill serves,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “Their critical work has made the connection between Goodwill’s mission and stronger communities.”
Owen accepted the award on behalf of his agency at a May 15 reception in Washington, D.C. The reception is part of Goodwill Industries International’s seventh annual Advocacy Day – “Designing Goodwill into the Future.”
