Jason Reed was part of the NKY Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Northern Kentucky class of 2013 and toured ESNKY as part of Human Services Day. This was his first experience with the ESNKY, but far from his last. His entire class decided to create a multi-faceted effort to help them out because they wanted to help those who needed it most.
Jason joined the Board in 2013 and has previously served two terms as President. He currently serves as the Chair of the Governance Committee, but this will change as he ends his Board service on July 1, 2021. His favorite part about working on the board of ESNKY is he gets to meet so many amazing people that he would never have met otherwise.
Together they all work towards making their community a better place and he cannot think of a better way to spend his time. His favorite memory of being on the board was the kickoff event for ESNKY’s First Capital Campaign in 2013 because he loved how exciting it was to build something from the ground up.
We all experience bad days and even knowing the impact you have sometimes it is hard to see the big picture every day, even someone as involved as Jason wishes that he could spend more time with the shelter than he is able.
Jason used to have the time to come to the meetings at the ESNKY building, but due to Covid and receiving a new job in Frankfort as a Staff Attorney III/ Administrative Hearing Officer, much of his free time goes to commuting back and forth between home and work. So, in most of the meetings, he attends he does so virtually or over the phone. Still, he has come to grow from these meetings because he said,
”It helped me expand my sense of empathy and understanding knowing the face of homelessness is not what I’d believed it to be before joining the Board.”
When Jason is not driving to work or attending meetings, he says he loves to cook for his two kids or to garden, Jason is a single father so unfortunately, he does not have as much time as he would like. He truly is our hero.
By: Emily Broyles
The Scripps Howard Communication Intern