05/30/2026
💙 2nd Annual 1st Responder Wellness Conference Recap 💙
What an incredible day! We were honored to host our 2nd Annual 1st Responder Wellness Conference alongside the Adams, Lawrence, and Scioto County CIT Training Program — bringing together nearly 30 dedicated first responders for a full day of wellness, connection, and education.
We kicked off the morning with a powerful keynote from Austin Hall, whose opening on first responder wellness set a beautiful tone for the day. From there, our amazing speakers covered it all:
🔹 Peer Support — Steve Click, Ohio Dept. of Public Safety
🔹 Building Resiliency & Stress Management — Nicole Riley, Bureau of Criminal Justice Services
🔹 Su***de Care & Sleep Wellness — Courtney Ruggles, Shawnee State University
🔹 Financial Wellness — Melissa Justice & Chelsey Mitilien
🔹 The Benefits of Animal Therapy — Kim Dutey, Hamilton Fire Department
🔹 Nutrition & Fitness — Tabitha Crank
We also held our 2026 CIT Award Ceremony, recognizing outstanding individuals across our tri-county area:
🏆 1 CIT Officer of the Year
⭐ 2 CIT Awards of Excellence
💛 2 CIT Champion Awards
None of this would be possible without the generous support of our sponsors — thank you to The Ribber for providing lunch, Glenwood Behavioral Health for breakfast, and Market Street Cafe for the delicious cookies! And a heartfelt thank you to The Behavioral Health Board of Adams, Lawrence & Scioto County for making this event a reality year after year.
To every speaker, sponsor, award recipient, and attendee — THANK YOU. Our first responders give so much to our communities. Days like this are for them. 💙