Safety Council of the Year – Honorable Mention
Board Members
Evan Dobrozsi, President
Eric Sotzing, Vice President
Tim Rudd, Treasurer
David Birk
Tom Brickey
Ann Brock
Jason DeDario
Karl Gaston
Holly Showalter
David Wilson
Sylvia Zatari
Who We Are
The Safety Council of Southwestern Ohio is the local umbrella for safety awareness and community programs that help you reduce your risks on the road, in the workplace, at home and in our community!
Have you ever wondered what makes a community safe? Most people think about Police and Fire services but what about the people? We make numerous choices each and every day that either increase or reduce our risks for injury and illness.
The Safety Council of Southwestern Ohio is the local umbrella for safety awareness and community programs that help make our community safer. Our mission: to save lives and prevent injury through education and partnerships.
We use local data and work with local partners to help reduce risks on the road, in the workplace, in the home and in our community. From young to old we work to build community and empower the whole family to make better choices and live longer!
Our Staff
Kristy Duritsch
Executive Director; Training Manager
kristy@safetycouncilswohio.org
Favorite quote
Life is liking riding a bicycle. To keep balance, you must keep moving.
Lisa Haines
Accounting/Office
lisa@safetycouncilswohio.org
Favorite quote
A little progress every day adds up to big results.
Aubrey Woods
Butler County Safe Communities Coordinator
aubrey@safetycouncilswohio.org
Favorite quote
Energy flows where the intention goes.
DeAnna Shores
Coalition for a Healthy Middletown Project Coordinator
deanna@safetycouncilswohio.org
Favorite quote
A single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.
Charles Hartman
Remedial Driving Instructor
Favorite quote
They say you can’t change 1 person 100%, but if you can change 100 people 1% you’ve really made a difference!
Angela Erhart
Administrative Staff
Favorite quote
“You can look at your glass and see it as half empty, or half full. Which do you want to choose?”
Our History
The Safety Council of Southwestern Ohio has been in Middletown since 1947. A non-profit organization, governed by a Board of Directors, the council has provided safety education in the schools, workplace and community for over 70 years. Our mission is to save lives and prevent injury through education and partnerships.
We are data-driven to keep our programs focusing on the leading causes of injury and accidental deaths. Although motor vehicle crashes and falls in the elderly continue to rank in the top three for accidental deaths, accidental poisonings have surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio.
As a result, the Coalition for a Healthy Middletown was added in 2008 to assess drug and alcohol use in the Middletown community. The Coalition was renamed Middletown Connect in 2022 when the focus shifted to aligning resources and increasing connection.
Our Occupational Safety Program remains committed to reducing injury and illness in the workplace by providing monthly safety meetings and training resources.
The Council provided quality driver’s education for years, but eliminated this from its services in spring 2009. Traffic Safety continues to be a priority of the Council which provides both adult and juvenile remedial classes each month for driver improvement. Online classes were added in 2020 for teen driving and 4 hour adult abbreviated.
Funding for the non-profit comes from many sources. As of 2007, the Safety Council of Southwestern Ohio no longer receives any funding from United Way for operating costs, thus forcing the Council to rely more heavily on grants to support our community programs and staff. Safety Council Membership also helps us to provide educational safety programs such as Safety Town, and other traffic, school, and occupational initiatives to save lives and prevent injury in our community.