October 23, 2023 • 12 mins
Rick Ford, Executive Director of ACCADA, Ashland County Council Of Alcohol and Drug Abuse is our featured guest this week. Rick has been in his role for the last 3 years, but the organization has been around since 1985. Learn about their staff, all of the services they offer at two locations in Ashland County. Ford was born in Mansfield and is a graduate of Lexington and the Ohio State University. He shares about his path to ACCADA and much more on the podcast.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
The CEO you Should Know, broughtto you by Roby Foster Miller Eric Insurance.
This week's CEO Rick Ford, executivedirector of the Ashland County Council of
Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Today we'regoing to shine the spotlight on Ashland County
as we are going to chat thismorning with Rick Ford, who is the
(00:23):
executive director of a KADA Ashland CountyCouncil of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. First
of all, Rick, good morningand thanks for joining us. How are
you today? Fine? Thanks forhaving me. Absolutely, I've had a
chat with Rick many times over theyears, and we're going to learn about
his organization. Let's begin at thetop. Rick, somebody hears a KADA,
(00:46):
maybe they don't know about the AshlandCounty Council of Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
Could you kind of give us anoverview of your organization? What do
you guys do So? AKADA hasbeen a long standing agency provider in Ashland
County and we're located at three tenCollege Avenue in Ashland. We specifically,
what we're really known for in thecommunity is for alcohol and any type of
(01:10):
substance use or addictioned problems, butwe also do provide some mental health services
as well. We're a nonprofit thathas been around a CATA as we know
it since nineteen eighty five, butwe've had various forms that started really in
the mid nineteen seventies and then reallybecame a CADA as we know it in
nineteen eighty five. And we provideoutpatient counseling services for adolescents adults all the
(01:36):
way through lifetime. Really so individualcounseling, so it's one on one time
with the counselor and confidential and privatetreatment. We offer group therapy services.
We also offer prevention education services,so we're we have prevention education that is
really in every school district in AshlandCounty kindergarten through twelfth grade, and we
(01:57):
do an evidence based curriculum tie tooGood for Drugs, So we have three
prevention educators located in all the variousdistricts within the county. We also offer
a peer recovery support person, andso our peer recovery support person is someone
with lived experience and in active recoveryfrom having a substance use disorder. So
(02:19):
we have that which is really informalsupport in addition to the treatment services that
an individual and our family can youmay receive through a CATA. You know,
we also we do testing for ourclients. We have a very strong
relationship with both the municipal and CommonPolice courts here in Nashland County. And
(02:39):
we also have a full jail program, so we are in National County Jail
and have been for several years.So we have individual and education groups and
as well as treatment groups that weprovide to Ashland County Jail. We are
learning this morning about Rick Ford,who is the executive director of a CASE
(03:00):
and all the work they do inAshland County. The Council of Alcohol and
Drug Abuse you mentioned, been aroundsince the eighties. Rick, you have
two locations in Ashland County. Canyou tell people? I know you mentioned
in Ashland where you're located, butoverall, could you list your locations?
Yeah? Sure, we're at threeten College Avenue in Ashland, and we
(03:21):
also have an office site at theKettering Health Center in Loudonville, which is
right on Route sixty coming into themain street into town. All right,
and when you talk about people andresidents you serve I'm assuming mostly probably within
Ashland County. But you were tellingme you guys can branch outside. We'll
talk about the area you guys coverhere. Certainly, I mean we are
(03:42):
a contract service provider for Ashland CountyMental Health and Recovery Board, and the
majority of our clients to live withinAshland County. But at the same time,
we can service any individual in ourfamily from outside counties as well,
so nearby counties Richland, Wayne.Isn't too unusual sometimes in the Akron area
that we may have clients that come. But certainly we can serve any area,
(04:04):
but a majority of our consumers tocome from Ashland County. All right,
well, let's find out a littlebit more about Rick Ford, who's
the executive director of AKADA, theAshland County Council of Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
Rick, let's step back to thebeginning. If you would tell us
where was Rick Ford born. Iwas born in Mansfield, Ohio, so
(04:26):
at the time was Mansfield General Hospitaland born and raised in Mansfield area,
went to Lexington School. I'm theyoungest of seven siblings, seven kids my
parents had. And now you know, I returned back into the area probably
a little over three years ago,now that we moved back. All right,
Now, let's back up where yousaid high school Lexington then, And
(04:48):
how about college? Where'd you goto college? I went to the Ohio
State University both for my undergraduate workand my master's work. So I received
my bachelor's of social work in nineteenninety three and then received my master's in
social work in nineteen ninety four.All right, so you said you left
the area for a bit. Howabout after college? The path you know
(05:10):
to working and where you are now, I call it the highlights along the
way if you give us a recapthere. Sure, I've really you know,
I've been practicing social work and youknow, really clinical social work for
close to thirty years now and reallybeen in a variety of context. I've
began working in Columbus at Franklin Countyand Children's Services, and I was a
child maltreatment investigator for the county,and then moved from the Children's Services into
(05:35):
more of the treatment side of thingsand worked at Children's Hospital where I was
there for almost ten years, andI was a treatment provider in their outpatient
services and worked in a specialized programtitled the Family Support Program, which still
exists, and that's working with familiesand children effective by sexual abuse. So
I worked in that program for aboutten years, and then we moved.
(05:59):
I moved out of state and movedto the state of Rhode Island, where
my wife is from. And welived in Rhode Island for almost well full
eighteen years before we decided to moveback to the Ohio area, and then
we picked to go back to Mansfieldand currently living in Lexington, Ohio and
Rhode Island. I practiced it wasa community action program, but we're also
(06:21):
what we considered a federally qualified healthcenter, so it's Committe Health and I
was the director of behavior health servicesthere for several years, and we had
what we call an integrated model ofcare, which we had behavior health services
with primary care and as well asdental services, so very similar to Third
(06:42):
Street Family Services here in Mansfield,Ohio. Now, Rick, how long
have you been overall with the CADAnow? So, I have been with
a CADA for three years in afew months. I came on board in
August of twenty twenty. Really duringthe whole you know, I found a
CADA and a CADA found me duringthe pandemic. We did a lot of
work and interviews and talks remotely,and then we did make the launch from
(07:06):
Rhode Island to Ohio and July oftwenty twenty, and became the director officially
in August of twenty twenty. Allright, great to learn this morning about
Rick Ford, this week's CEO.You should know he is the executive director
of a KAIDA, the Ashland KuntyCouncil of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and RICA.
While we're on the topic of you, I know you and I have
(07:28):
chatted in the past. I knowyou have at least one child. I
heard you say wife, So ifyou would tell us a bit more about
rick Ford and the family. Sure, My wife is Suzanne and my son
is Cole. And Suzanne and Ihave been married for seventeen years, but
we've been together for well over twentyyears, probably twenty two to twenty three
years. I think we've been togetherin our lives. And our son,
(07:51):
Cole, he was born in RhodeIsland, so you know, in the
same hospital where my wife was born. So you know that means a lot
in island has a you know,it's a big place in both of our
hearts as well as our sons.But yeah, he's in eighth grade now
at Lexington Junior High School. He'san avid soccer player. He likes basketball,
he does a lot of sports.He's good academically, great kid.
(08:18):
We couldn't We're blessed, and Susanneand I are really blessed to be together
and to meet each other. Andwe actually met at work when we work
together in Columbus, Ohio, atChildren's Hospital, So that's how the story
began between the two of us.And yeah, she had gone to a
graduate school at a high state herself, so that's why she was in the
Columbus area. And then yeah,we met at Children's Hospital and the rest
(08:41):
is pretty much history at that point. Terrific to learn about that. Now,
Rick, one more question about you. When rick Ford is not working,
what do you do in your sparetime? Do you have any hobbies?
Yeah? I do. I mean, actually, you know, some
people may see now I'm boring inthis and the other I've heard that,
but no, I'm an I'm stillactive soccer player myself. I've been playing
(09:03):
soccer since I was seven years old. Took a little bit of sabbatical when
we first moved back, but recentlyreconnected with one of my old high school
teammates and got to play. Inthe past two summers, I've been playing
in the Lexington Alumni soccer game andnow yeah I'm playing. I drive up
to Akron two times a week,playing with a group of guys and it's
(09:24):
been wonderful. And that is onehobby. But obviously watching sports, especially
the High State Buckeyes especially it's youknow, my favorite time of the year
with football. But then we'll leadright into basketball and wrestling that I watched
because I was a wrestler myself formany years through the Lexington program. So
sports is it. You know.I like to do some yard work and
(09:46):
tinker around out in the yard,do landscaping and those kind of things,
play cards, but you know,watching sports and being around my family is
those are my hobbies. You canconsider it a hobby. All right,
sounds good. Rick Ford with uson the fun for just a moment longer.
Got a couple of quick questions beforewe let him go. This week's
CEO. You should know he's theexecutive director of a CADA, the Ashland
(10:07):
County Council of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. All right, so back to work
quickly. I know you've talked aboutprevention educators. I've had a chance to
meet them. They do great work. I know you mentioned in the schools,
but overall, how many staff membersdo you guys have a Akeda so
Adiketa We you know, and Imake it clear that we do an awful
lot in the community and for thecounty and a lot of treatment services.
(10:28):
But we we there's a total often staff persons underneath me. So yeah,
there's a total of eleven of us. And like I mentioned, we
just we do an awful lot forwhat we have and the size that we
do. We're very integrated, supportivegroup folks with a lot of experience and
providing these services. And you know, one of our counselors she's been here
(10:48):
since nineteen eighty five. We haveanother counselor and our prevention team that's been
here. I think this is goingon her thirty third year. So there's
a lot of commitment and dedication amongstall of our staff, and that not
only goes for our direct care providers, but our administrative support staff as well.
Rick. Last thing, if somebodywants to get more information about AKDA,
(11:11):
maybe they want to learn about NARCANtraining, maybe they want to you
know, get some more information,website, phone number, how can they
reach out and get in contact withyou guys. So the best number is
four one nine two eight nine sevensix seventy five in our website Akada Acca
DA Dash rap r AP dot org. All right, you can go online
(11:33):
as you mentioned AKDA Dash rapped outor get all the information that phone number
again four one nine two eight nineseventy six seventy five with us today.
Rick Ford, executive director of aKADA Ashland County Council of Alcohol and Drug
Abuse doing great work in the communityin Ashland County. Rick thanks so much
for spending time with us. Weenjoyed learning about you and your organization.
(11:56):
Again, appreciate the time and wewish you guys continued six. Thank you
very much, Aaron rick Ford,Executive director of the Ashland County Council of
Alcohol and Drug Abuse. The CEOyou should know riad a bio ce a
photo and hear the extended interview atWMA n FM dot com. Leading means
(12:18):
having a vision and sharing it withothers. I'm John Roby of RFMI Insurance.
We're excited to bring you this programfeaturing CEOs from our area who will
share the thoughts and what it meansto work and live in north central Ohio.
The CEO you Should Know, broughtto you by Roby Foster Miller Eric Insurance.
This week's CEO Rick Ford, executivedirector of the Ashland County Council of
Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Today we'regoing to shine the spotlight on Ashland County
as we are going to chat thismorning with Rick Ford, who is the
(00:23):
executive director of a KADA Ashland CountyCouncil of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. First
of all, Rick, good morningand thanks for joining us. How are
you today? Fine? Thanks forhaving me. Absolutely, I've had a
chat with Rick many times over theyears, and we're going to learn about
his organization. Let's begin at thetop. Rick, somebody hears a KADA,
(00:46):
maybe they don't know about the AshlandCounty Council of Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
Could you kind of give us anoverview of your organization? What do
you guys do So? AKADA hasbeen a long standing agency provider in Ashland
County and we're located at three tenCollege Avenue in Ashland. We specifically,
what we're really known for in thecommunity is for alcohol and any type of
(01:10):
substance use or addictioned problems, butwe also do provide some mental health services
as well. We're a nonprofit thathas been around a CATA as we know
it since nineteen eighty five, butwe've had various forms that started really in
the mid nineteen seventies and then reallybecame a CADA as we know it in
nineteen eighty five. And we provideoutpatient counseling services for adolescents adults all the
(01:36):
way through lifetime. Really so individualcounseling, so it's one on one time
with the counselor and confidential and privatetreatment. We offer group therapy services.
We also offer prevention education services,so we're we have prevention education that is
really in every school district in AshlandCounty kindergarten through twelfth grade, and we
(01:57):
do an evidence based curriculum tie tooGood for Drugs, So we have three
prevention educators located in all the variousdistricts within the county. We also offer
a peer recovery support person, andso our peer recovery support person is someone
with lived experience and in active recoveryfrom having a substance use disorder. So
(02:19):
we have that which is really informalsupport in addition to the treatment services that
an individual and our family can youmay receive through a CATA. You know,
we also we do testing for ourclients. We have a very strong
relationship with both the municipal and CommonPolice courts here in Nashland County. And
(02:39):
we also have a full jail program, so we are in National County Jail
and have been for several years.So we have individual and education groups and
as well as treatment groups that weprovide to Ashland County Jail. We are
learning this morning about Rick Ford,who is the executive director of a CASE
(03:00):
and all the work they do inAshland County. The Council of Alcohol and
Drug Abuse you mentioned, been aroundsince the eighties. Rick, you have
two locations in Ashland County. Canyou tell people? I know you mentioned
in Ashland where you're located, butoverall, could you list your locations?
Yeah? Sure, we're at threeten College Avenue in Ashland, and we
(03:21):
also have an office site at theKettering Health Center in Loudonville, which is
right on Route sixty coming into themain street into town. All right,
and when you talk about people andresidents you serve I'm assuming mostly probably within
Ashland County. But you were tellingme you guys can branch outside. We'll
talk about the area you guys coverhere. Certainly, I mean we are
(03:42):
a contract service provider for Ashland CountyMental Health and Recovery Board, and the
majority of our clients to live withinAshland County. But at the same time,
we can service any individual in ourfamily from outside counties as well,
so nearby counties Richland, Wayne.Isn't too unusual sometimes in the Akron area
that we may have clients that come. But certainly we can serve any area,
(04:04):
but a majority of our consumers tocome from Ashland County. All right,
well, let's find out a littlebit more about Rick Ford, who's
the executive director of AKADA, theAshland County Council of Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
Rick, let's step back to thebeginning. If you would tell us
where was Rick Ford born. Iwas born in Mansfield, Ohio, so
(04:26):
at the time was Mansfield General Hospitaland born and raised in Mansfield area,
went to Lexington School. I'm theyoungest of seven siblings, seven kids my
parents had. And now you know, I returned back into the area probably
a little over three years ago,now that we moved back. All right,
Now, let's back up where yousaid high school Lexington then, And
(04:48):
how about college? Where'd you goto college? I went to the Ohio
State University both for my undergraduate workand my master's work. So I received
my bachelor's of social work in nineteenninety three and then received my master's in
social work in nineteen ninety four.All right, so you said you left
the area for a bit. Howabout after college? The path you know
(05:10):
to working and where you are now, I call it the highlights along the
way if you give us a recapthere. Sure, I've really you know,
I've been practicing social work and youknow, really clinical social work for
close to thirty years now and reallybeen in a variety of context. I've
began working in Columbus at Franklin Countyand Children's Services, and I was a
child maltreatment investigator for the county,and then moved from the Children's Services into
(05:35):
more of the treatment side of thingsand worked at Children's Hospital where I was
there for almost ten years, andI was a treatment provider in their outpatient
services and worked in a specialized programtitled the Family Support Program, which still
exists, and that's working with familiesand children effective by sexual abuse. So
I worked in that program for aboutten years, and then we moved.
(05:59):
I moved out of state and movedto the state of Rhode Island, where
my wife is from. And welived in Rhode Island for almost well full
eighteen years before we decided to moveback to the Ohio area, and then
we picked to go back to Mansfieldand currently living in Lexington, Ohio and
Rhode Island. I practiced it wasa community action program, but we're also
(06:21):
what we considered a federally qualified healthcenter, so it's Committe Health and I
was the director of behavior health servicesthere for several years, and we had
what we call an integrated model ofcare, which we had behavior health services
with primary care and as well asdental services, so very similar to Third
(06:42):
Street Family Services here in Mansfield,Ohio. Now, Rick, how long
have you been overall with the CADAnow? So, I have been with
a CADA for three years in afew months. I came on board in
August of twenty twenty. Really duringthe whole you know, I found a
CADA and a CADA found me duringthe pandemic. We did a lot of
work and interviews and talks remotely,and then we did make the launch from
(07:06):
Rhode Island to Ohio and July oftwenty twenty, and became the director officially
in August of twenty twenty. Allright, great to learn this morning about
Rick Ford, this week's CEO.You should know he is the executive director
of a KAIDA, the Ashland KuntyCouncil of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and RICA.
While we're on the topic of you, I know you and I have
(07:28):
chatted in the past. I knowyou have at least one child. I
heard you say wife, So ifyou would tell us a bit more about
rick Ford and the family. Sure, My wife is Suzanne and my son
is Cole. And Suzanne and Ihave been married for seventeen years, but
we've been together for well over twentyyears, probably twenty two to twenty three
years. I think we've been togetherin our lives. And our son,
(07:51):
Cole, he was born in RhodeIsland, so you know, in the
same hospital where my wife was born. So you know that means a lot
in island has a you know,it's a big place in both of our
hearts as well as our sons.But yeah, he's in eighth grade now
at Lexington Junior High School. He'san avid soccer player. He likes basketball,
he does a lot of sports.He's good academically, great kid.
(08:18):
We couldn't We're blessed, and Susanneand I are really blessed to be together
and to meet each other. Andwe actually met at work when we work
together in Columbus, Ohio, atChildren's Hospital, So that's how the story
began between the two of us.And yeah, she had gone to a
graduate school at a high state herself, so that's why she was in the
Columbus area. And then yeah,we met at Children's Hospital and the rest
(08:41):
is pretty much history at that point. Terrific to learn about that. Now,
Rick, one more question about you. When rick Ford is not working,
what do you do in your sparetime? Do you have any hobbies?
Yeah? I do. I mean, actually, you know, some
people may see now I'm boring inthis and the other I've heard that,
but no, I'm an I'm stillactive soccer player myself. I've been playing
(09:03):
soccer since I was seven years old. Took a little bit of sabbatical when
we first moved back, but recentlyreconnected with one of my old high school
teammates and got to play. Inthe past two summers, I've been playing
in the Lexington Alumni soccer game andnow yeah I'm playing. I drive up
to Akron two times a week,playing with a group of guys and it's
(09:24):
been wonderful. And that is onehobby. But obviously watching sports, especially
the High State Buckeyes especially it's youknow, my favorite time of the year
with football. But then we'll leadright into basketball and wrestling that I watched
because I was a wrestler myself formany years through the Lexington program. So
sports is it. You know.I like to do some yard work and
(09:46):
tinker around out in the yard,do landscaping and those kind of things,
play cards, but you know,watching sports and being around my family is
those are my hobbies. You canconsider it a hobby. All right,
sounds good. Rick Ford with uson the fun for just a moment longer.
Got a couple of quick questions beforewe let him go. This week's
CEO. You should know he's theexecutive director of a CADA, the Ashland
(10:07):
County Council of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. All right, so back to work
quickly. I know you've talked aboutprevention educators. I've had a chance to
meet them. They do great work. I know you mentioned in the schools,
but overall, how many staff membersdo you guys have a Akeda so
Adiketa We you know, and Imake it clear that we do an awful
lot in the community and for thecounty and a lot of treatment services.
(10:28):
But we we there's a total often staff persons underneath me. So yeah,
there's a total of eleven of us. And like I mentioned, we
just we do an awful lot forwhat we have and the size that we
do. We're very integrated, supportivegroup folks with a lot of experience and
providing these services. And you know, one of our counselors she's been here
(10:48):
since nineteen eighty five. We haveanother counselor and our prevention team that's been
here. I think this is goingon her thirty third year. So there's
a lot of commitment and dedication amongstall of our staff, and that not
only goes for our direct care providers, but our administrative support staff as well.
Rick. Last thing, if somebodywants to get more information about AKDA,
(11:11):
maybe they want to learn about NARCANtraining, maybe they want to you
know, get some more information,website, phone number, how can they
reach out and get in contact withyou guys. So the best number is
four one nine two eight nine sevensix seventy five in our website Akada Acca
DA Dash rap r AP dot org. All right, you can go online
(11:33):
as you mentioned AKDA Dash rapped outor get all the information that phone number
again four one nine two eight nineseventy six seventy five with us today.
Rick Ford, executive director of aKADA Ashland County Council of Alcohol and Drug
Abuse doing great work in the communityin Ashland County. Rick thanks so much
for spending time with us. Weenjoyed learning about you and your organization.
(11:56):
Again, appreciate the time and wewish you guys continued six. Thank you
very much, Aaron rick Ford,Executive director of the Ashland County Council of
Alcohol and Drug Abuse. The CEOyou should know riad a bio ce a
photo and hear the extended interview atWMA n FM dot com. Leading means
(12:18):
having a vision and sharing it withothers. I'm John Roby of RFMI Insurance.
We're excited to bring you this programfeaturing CEOs from our area who will
share the thoughts and what it meansto work and live in north central Ohio.
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