A new spin to CORE's Wood Racquet Tennis Fundraiser has only added to the excitement of the already popular event. For the first time, last year's event featured a singles tournament to accompany the men's and mixed doubles brackets. That format continues this year as we prepare for the 5th Annual Wood Classic to benefit the CORE Choices Fund. As you may know already, the CORE Choices Fund is our annual fund campaign designed to raise funds to ensure that individuals with disabilities have optimal opportunities for life enrichment. This year's event is scheduled to take place September 16-18th at the Queen City Racquet Club. Interested players should contact Kevin Hayde at 513-771-2673 or by email at khayde@coreinc.org.

With generous sponsorship and an increase in the number of participants, last year's event met its fund-raising goal and provided a fun, family-friendly atmosphere for all those involved. Tournament Director, Kevin Hayde, stated that, "The level of play increases with each year of the tournament...our primary goal is for everyone to have a good time, which they do, but the event is also attracting a number of quality players from the area".

Another great aspect of the event has always been the artsy T-shirts given out to the players for their participation. This year's T-shirt is no exception as a new design concept will be unveiled. Last year's design received rave reviews and we expect the same from participants over this year's design. There are still several shirts available from last year's event if anyone is interested in purchasing one. To purchase a shirt, please contact. Cost is $10 each or 2 for $15 for last year's or this year's design. Proceeds, as always, go into the CORE Choices Fund.

The 'My Voice, My Choice' project visited Hamilton County over the past several months. 'My Voice, My Choice' is a project funded by the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council. The purpose of the project is to interview individuals that receive residential services and determine their level of satisfaction with their Service Provider. Individuals were asked to complete a 15-question "report card" on their Residential Provider. Each residential agency that serves more than 5 individuals in the County receives a grade in 5 categories: Service, Quality, Rights, Health & Safety and Satisfaction.

In a survey conducted among 19% of our consumers, CORE received high marks, in each area, and graded out at an 'A minus' (A-) overall. Among Guardians, CORE once again received excellent grades with an overall grade of A. The combined scores of all those surveyed graded out as follows:

Each area is important, but the most satisfying grade we received was an 'A' from our consumers in the area of customer satisfaction. Any business will tell you that an 'A', from its customer, means a job well done. We're very proud of our services and the work we do on a daily basis, but we won't rest on our laurels. No matter how well we provide quality services, we will continue to strive to be better each day.

The achievement of all the PATHS graduates is helping to reshape the direct-services field. Despite the vital societal contribution of human service workers, and the very complex and personal nature of their work, the human service practitioner has not been recognized as a professional in this country. As a result, there were inadequate educational and training opportunities available to them. By virtue their certification, our graduates are now recognized as expert workers. Such recognition will help shape their career paths by defining the benchmarks of direct service excellence, while improving the stability and quality of supports provided to people in need.

Our PATHS participation starts up again with a batch of new recruits. We want to wish Kim Kidd, Beverly Brown, Ernestine Neely, Shayla Cannon, Karen Erikson, Ramona Bowser and Kami Kidd the best of luck in acquiring their PATHS certifications