SMA Hosts Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet, Installs 2014-15 Board Members

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Nov. 11, 2014 - PRLog -- SMA Behavioral Healthcare held their annual meeting and awards banquet October 15^th and presented community and staff awards, and installed members of their board of directors.

With CEO Chet Bell retiring at the end of the year, this was his last official SMA event. “This has been a very dynamic year for SMA,” Bell stated, “I am confident that I am leaving the organization in excellent hands,” he added. Ivan Cosimi, SMA’s current CFO, will become CEO on January 1^st, 2015.

The event, held at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, drew approximately 300 staff and guests and was kicked off by an emotional and original song “Free” by a 17-year-old former client. “She received a standing ovation from the crowd and there were definitely some attendees in tears after her song,” said event organizer Cyndi Wysong. “It was sung from the heart about her journey to recovery,” Wysong added.

Immediate Past Chair Dr. Rosaria Upchurch introduced incoming CEO Ivan Cosimi and he spoke about working next to ‘his hero’ Chet Bell for the past 16 years, and his confidence in the board members that will help guide the organization into the future. The 2014-15 Board of Directors Slate of Officers installed included: Chairman Connie Ritchey, Vice-Chairman Howard Stange, Secretary Matt Foxman, and Treasurer Thomas O’Keefe.

Employee of the year award-winners included: In administration – Cindy Hoff, Crisis & Residential Services –Carl Gandy, Enrichment Contract Services – Debra Milne, Outpatient Services – Melissa Weekley. The CEO Team Performance awards went to Reality House and Prevention on the Move, and the CEO Individual awards went to Ernestine Cunningham and Tore Gintoli. Community leadership awards were presented to Dixie Morgese, the Executive Director of Healthy Start Coalition of Flagler and Volusia Counties, Jerry Cameron, the Assistant County Administrator for Community Services in St. Johns County, and Flagler County’s Free Clinic. The event’s sponsors included: The Ocean Center, Ovations Food Service, Hall/Ritchey Automotives, James Moore & Co., Florida Health Care Plans, Healthy Start Coalition of Flagler & Volusia Counties, Sheriff Ben Johnson, Rosaria C. Upchurch PhD and the Stewart-Marchman-Act Foundation.

SMA Behavioral Healthcare has been serving the northeast Florida community with mental health and drug treatment services for over 50 years. SMA provides more than 35 mental health and substance abuse programs, providing prevention, diversion, intervention, and treatment services, delivered to diverse client populations Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, and Volusia counties.

SMA Behavioral Healthcare’s mission is to deliver exceptional and comprehensive behavioral healthcare to individuals and families in our community. SMA’s vision is of a community where addiction and mental illness are treated promptly, comprehensively and with respect for all. Contact SMA at 800-539-4228 or online at  http://www.smabehavioral.org/ or stay connected on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/SMABehavioralHealthServices.