Marian Reitano

Marian Reitano has been on the Board of the Fairfield County ADAMH for 3 years and through her efforts the ADAMH Board has been able to inform and educate residents of Northwest Fairfield County about the serious funding crisis faced by the public mental health and substance abuse treatment system.

The Fairfield County ADAMH Board is the county agency authorized to plan, fund and monitor mental health, drug and alcohol services in Fairfield County.

This year, as chair of the Pickerington area Issue 40 (Mental Health Law campaign), Marian planned and organized an art show, made presentation to clubs, organizations and public boards and recruited Pickerington area residents to volunteer their time on behalf of Issue 40.

Marian has been tireless in her efforts towards the passage of Issue 40. She has also provided leadership to the Fairfield County ADAMH Board on important policy issues and has been a strong advocate for the development of county funding treatment service in Pickerington and Violet Township.

On participating in this campaign, Marian says, "The time had come for me to give back to my fellow man. So when the call came that help was needed to tell the story of the Fairfield County ADAMH Board's need for funds, I decided that I was the one to spearhead this campaign because of my public presence in the community for 35 years. I accepted the challenge to bring the Pickerington voters to the cause. We did increase our voter share, but not enough to pass the levy. We will try again in the spring of 2005 and with the help of REALTORS®, affiliates, City Council & Township Trustees, I feel we can win. The need is great and my commitment strong."