Judi Gerding, president of The Point/Arc of Northern Kentucky, will be honored May 19 with the annual Covington Award, presented each year by the Friends of Covington to someone who has had a significant impact on the city and the Northern Kentucky region.
Gerding is a charter member of the nonprofit The Point/ARC since it was founded in 1972 and has been the president since 1978.
She is a life-long resident of Northern Kentucky, a graduate of Notre Dame Academy and attended college at St. Louis University. She has been married to Gene Gerding for 54 years. They have lived in Covington for the last seventeen. They have four children and ten grandchildren.
The Friends of Covington’s annual fundraiser will be held at Twin Oaks Golf and Plantation Club in Latonia. Tickets are $55 per person and include a reception that begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30.
Tickets may be obtained by mail through FOC Treasurer Sue Corken, 632 Point Benton, Covington, 41014, or by calling her at 859-261-1762. Tickets also are available at here.
Since its founding, the Point/Arc has grown into a successful non-profit organization whose mission is “to provide opportunities to people with intellectual/ developmental disabilities to reach their highest potential educationally, residentially, socially and vocationally.”
The Point/Arc has established viable social-purpose businesses that have provided on-the-job training and meaningful employment for its clients. The businesses operate at such a high degree of success that an extremely low percentage of government funding (just over 25%) is required to keep the programs functioning. This demonstrates board and administrative responsibility for every dollar, a spokesperson for the organization said. In fact, their goal is to become entirely self-sufficient.
The businesses the Point/Arc established are:
Point Commercial Laundry: Established in 1996 and opening with an exclusive
contract with the Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati. Other clients are the Hollywood Casino, the downtown Cincinnati Hyatt, the Millennium Hotel, and the Hollywood/Lawrenceburg Convention Center Hotel.
Point Commercial Cleaning Co.: Established in 1985 with an Ohio contract to clean commercial buildings and offices in greater Cincinnati.
Point Logo & Design Co.: Established in 2012 to provide additional training and employment opportunities for their clients. Custom embroidery and silk-screening are available.
Point Perk: This most recent business, established in December 2015, is a coffee shop located at 43 W. Pike St.
In addition to the businesses, Point/Arc also provides residential housing for 41 people who receive individualized support. There are nine of these homes scattered throughout the Greater Cincinnati area. The organization has trained and placed more than 400 people in jobs.
Gerding has also been honored with the Kentucky Philanthropy Initiative’s Commonwealth Award, the Chamber’s Dunlevy/Frontiersman Award, the Northern Kentucky Outstanding Woman Award and many others.
You might also be interested in this NKyTribune story about Judi Gerding and The Point/ARC
