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The Paint Valley ADAMH Board presented Your presence is Present enough a two hour workshop focused on mindfully celebrating the holidays. The Trainings were held in November and December in each of our five counties. During the training everyone was given skill to successfully navigate the stress of the holiday season. Over 100 people attended the training. Thank you to all who attended.

On November 30th, the Paint Valley ADAMH Board was recognized by the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities for a three year Culture of Quality certification. Thank you Bill Showman for leading this endeavor.

The Paint Valley Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Board has selected winners for its tenth annual “Write in Red” Red Ribbon Week Essay Contest.

The contest was part of Red Ribbon Week, observed Oct. 23-27, and was open to all middle and high school students in Fayette, Highland, Pickaway, Pike, and Ross counties. Students were given a red pen to write an essay for the contest about how to prevent drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse. This year, 14 of the 22 school districts in the Paint Valley ADAMH Board’s service area submitted entries. One student from each county was selected to receive a $500 scholarship to any accredited college or university. School winners also each received a $100 prize.

“I am thankful for the young people in our community. It was encouraging to read all of the great responses submitted by our students,” said Melanie Swisher, Paint Valley ADAMH Board Executive Director. “I hope the community will join us in congratulating the winners and all of the students who participated in the contest and other Red Ribbon Week activities. All of our children are worthy of love and support. Together we can create a healthy community for our young people.”

The following students were awarded a $100 prize for winning their school’s essay contest and a $500 scholarship for winning the county contest:

•         Sienna Hartley, Miami Trace Middle School - Fayette County

•         Jillian Harvey, Fairfield High School - Highland County

•         Makenzi Bates, Westfall High School – Pickaway County

•         Gabrielle Wall, Waverly High School - Pike County

•         Jozy Lougheed, Southeastern High School - Ross County  

The following students were school winners and awarded $100:



• Daymion Daulton, Washington CH High School
• Kaliyan Pendleton, Fairfield Middle School
• Alexandra McKinley, Greenfield High School
• Kyleigh Shoemaker, Greenfield Middle School
• Bria McDonald, Hillsboro High School
• Caraline West, Lynchburg Clay High School
• Lily Layne, Lynchburg Clay Middle School
• Ivree Burns, White Oak High School
• Jenna Canada, White Oak Middle School
• Abigail Baker, Teays Valley High School
• Brent McGuire, Piketon High School
• Ryleigh Sabo, Piketon Middle School
• Roxanne Milar, Western High School
• Cora Lynn Collins, Western Middle School
• Hannah Kempton, Huntington High School



On Tuesday November 14th, ADAMH Executive Director, Melanie Swisher was awarded the Hope Partnership Project's Substance Use Disorder/Mental Health Advocate of the Year Award. Congratulations on this well-deserved award! Melanie is pictured with Kim Dement, Managing Director of Community Behavioral Health at Integrated Services for Behavioral Health who nominated Melanie for the award.

On October 24th, the Ross County Health District, Ross County Community Action Commission, and the PVADAMH Board collaborated to train staff in Mental Health First Aid. If your agency would like help scheduling a Mental Health First Aid Training, please click here.

Congratulations to William Showman and Vonda Kern who recently celebrated employment anniversaries with the ADAMH Board in October.

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