As part of its 50th Anniversary Celebration this year, Brighton Center has introduced a “50 Years, 50 Stories” series to highlight some of the customers, volunteers, donors, community partners or supporters who are part of its history. The Northern Kentucky Tribune has partnered with Brighton Center to share some of those firsthand accounts with our readers.
In the coming weeks, the Trib will publish individual stories that demonstrate the breadth of services Brighton Center provides in Northern Kentucky. Occasionally some slight edits may be made in the text and, to protect confidentiality, we might only provide the first name of the storyteller.
These testimonials, however, describe some of the programs and services Brighton Center has provided in its first 50 years, in the words of the people who have benefited from them.
“My journey is one that really tells the story that you can do whatever you put your mind to do and the Brighton Center will give you that opportunity,” June Miller, Brighton Center chief financial officer.
I have been involved with Brighton Center since the summer of 1982.
I began my association with Brighton through the Summer Youth Program and worked as a secretary/receptionist one summer and the next summer worked in the Pre-Enrichment Child Development Program.
On October 1, 1983 I was hired as a full time secretary/receptionist for the agency. Since that date, I have been promoted to the following positions: Administrative Assistant, Office Manager, Finance Manager, Finance Director, and now CFO.
Throughout my history at the Center, I have been in charge of administrative secretarial functions/staff; accounting and finance functions/staff; human resource functions/staff; information technology functions/staff; maintenance and property management functions/staff;
When I was hired at Brighton Center and saw first-hand what the agency did for the community and the people, I was totally amazed. The mission of the agency is very heartfelt to me.
The agency not only cares about the customers we serve but also staff. The supervisors that I have had over the years has inspired me and guided me to keep reaching for new endeavors with the agency. Using my skills to help the agency progress on the back end operations, in turn helps the customers.
My journey is one that really tells the story that you can do whatever you put your mind to do and the Brighton Center will give you that opportunity.
Over the past 33 plus years, I have had the privilege of seeing the agency grow in finances and program services, expanding from a two office facility to over 10 office facilities. When I first started working at Brighton Center, there were a few basic program services and today we have grown to 41 comprehensive program service areas.
It has been an amazing journey and I look forward to what the next years bring.
From its beginning in 1966 as a modest Newport storefront, Brighton Center has grown to provide a range of programs and services which include meeting basic needs, adult and early childhood education, workforce development, substance abuse recovery for women, affordable housing, financial education and counseling, and neighborhood based programs.
Last year Brighton Center impacted the lives of 60,892 individuals from infants to senior citizens through 37 programs in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati
For more information about Brighton Center and its programs and services, or to become a volunteer, click here http://www.brightoncenter.com/