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A trio of women who have dedicated their careers to helping the children of the Ohio Valley will be honored for their work by the Ohio County Partners In Prevention.
The organization will bestow Harmony House advocate Angelina Cornelia, Steenrod Elementary Principal Michelle Dietrich and Kings Daughters Child Care Center Executive Director Jamie Remp with the 2024 Deborah Doleski Allen Champion of Children Awards. The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, April 26, at the third floor of Catholic Charities on Main Street. The ceremony will be streamed live on the Ohio County Family Resource Network Facebook page.
The Champion of Children Awards recognize and honor individuals in Ohio County who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to ensuring children and families thrive. Nominees were submitted by the public and voted on by the Partners in Prevention Team.
Angelina Cornelia has been an advocate at Harmony House Children's Advocacy Center since 2018. Her nomination was submitted by her coworker, Jay Jack, who said Cornelia "has advocated for children just under 6,000 times and attended over 850 forensic interviews. Her motivated effort in working with the families of our valley has been an inspiration."
Jack goes on to describe Angelina as "animated, assertive, and all heart." Angelina's position at Harmony House is to greet families, keep them well informed, and support them for the lifetime of their case.
Dietrich received an unprecedented six nominations, all coming from parents of children attending Steenrod. Nominations of Dietrich describe her efforts as "going above and beyond" and note her patience, kindness, and involvement in all aspects of the school day and afterschool events.
Parent Beth Collins stated that "anytime someone comes to her with an idea, she not only gets excited about it, she empowers that person (whether it be a parent or child) to be a part of the idea formulation." Other nominations came from Cissy Johnson, Lihua Chen, Jessica Whisler and Carissa Pauley.
Remp has been the Executive Director of King's Daughters Child Care Center for nearly 10 years. She was nominated by employee Kaitlyn Harris.
"Jamie works tirelessly each day to ensure that our Center continues to thrive and grow so that we can serve as many children and families in the community as possible," Harris stated. "She is a go-getter and works hard to achieve the goals she sets for our Center and the children in our care."
She also describes Remp as "a smiling and familiar face to the children, a positive attitude in our workplace, a wonderful cook, a Christmas poem writer, holiday decorator, an advocate for the betterment of our Center and the services we provide, and she is not only our boss but also our friend."
In addition to presenting the Champion of Children Awards, the ceremony will include a proclamation of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and guest speaker Leslie Vassilaros, retired Executive Director for Hamony House Children's Advocacy and previous Champion of Children Award winner. Vassilaros will share her insight on the importance of child abuse prevention and child well-being. The event is free and open to the public.