Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro will deliver the annual State of the County speech at the John S. Knight Center on Thursday, October 12, 2023. Doors open at 11 a.m. and the program will begin at noon.
The speech is sponsored by the Akron Press Club. There will be the opportunity for questions following the speech.
Ilene Shapiro was appointed county executive in 2016. She was elected to the office the following November, becoming Summit County’s first elected woman county executive. She currently is serving her second term as county executive. She is a former county council president who served on the council for nearly 10 years.
Shapiro is the chief fiduciary officer for the county, managing a budget of more than $500 million with 10 departments.
Under her leadership, the county negotiated the largest financial settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors, attracted new and existing business investment, improved security conditions at the county jail, implemented cost-saving measures for a new, state-of-the-art consolidated 9-1-1 dispatch system and emphasized workforce diversity. The county continues to have a strong credit rating.
Spanning her business career to her time in office, Shapiro has received recognition from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Women’s Network, ATHENA International, the Akron Urban League, Crain’s Cleveland, Team NEO and Direction Home. In 2022, she received the Greater Akron Chamber’s H. Peter Burg Award and the Victim Assistance Program Bernard Rosen Community Service Award.
Proceeds from Akron Press Club events fund scholarships for journalism and public relations students. Between the Press Club and the John S. Knight Memorial Scholarship Fund, scholarships of $5,000 were awarded to 10 students in 2023. The Press Club sincerely thanks Summit County, Dr. Aileen Thong, Elizabeth Bartz and FirstEnergy for their donations to the scholarship fund.
One of the scholarships is named in honor of the late County Executive Russ Pry, a long-time supporter of the Press Club. Ilene Shapiro continues that support with her State of the County speech.
Registrations can be made through Leah Nemeth at the Akron Press Club by clicking here or calling 330-715-6372.
All elected officials must register through Julie Tortora at the Summit County Executive’s Office at jtortora@summitoh.net or 330-643-2609.
Once again, Summit County ReWorks is partnering with us to make this a Zero Waste Event.
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Register Today
Program: State of the County 2023
Date: Thursday, October 12, 2023
Time: Doors open 11 a.m. Lunch served at 11:30 a.m. Program begins at noon
Place: John S. Knight Center
Cost: $40 Individual Tickets, members and non-members
$400 per table of 10
Reservations required
- Click here for fast and easy online registration (non-elected officials)
- Elected officials must register through jtortora@summitoh.net or 330-643-2609.
- Or, contact Leah Nemeth, Akron Press Club administrator, at 330-715-6372 or akronpressclub@gmail.com.
Cancellations: Cancellation requests must be received no later than 48 hours before the event. After that time, there will be no refunds and an invoice will be issued for payment.