While the main draws to Chardon Square for many people July 31 were the New Leaf Program graduation and Rockin’ With Resources event, the day also saw Geauga County Commissioner Jim Dvorak bestowed the Mitch Libster award for his addiction treatment advocacy.
While the main draws to Chardon Square for many people July 31 were the New Leaf Program graduation and Rockin’ With Resources event, the day also saw Geauga County Commissioner Jim Dvorak bestowed the Mitch Libster award for his addiction treatment advocacy.
“One of my favorite things to think about as it pertains to our treatment court is the ripple effect,” Geauga County Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Paschke said. “(New Leaf Program graduate Joe Gandee) is a great example of someone who went from committing crimes, he was in active drug use, he was using the resources of law enforcement, taking up space in the jail, which we know costs around $40,000 a year.”
Gandee is now a valued employee working full time, has a vehicle and apartment, is saving for a home and is present in the life of and taking parenting classes for his partner’s son, as well as helping others in recovery, she said.
“That’s a pretty big ripple effect and that’s going on to touch a lot of other people. People that probably he doesn’t even know about, people that we might not even know about,” she said. “This segues into the Mitch Libster award, because there’s a big ripple effect with that, as well.”
Libster was the stepfather of drug court probation officer Greg Potts. He passed away in 2022.
“He was described by his colleagues as a champion for low income and marginalized individuals in his community,” Paschke said.
The ripple effect of Libster’s kindness and service has made its way to Geauga and has likely reached other places Paschke cannot imagine, she said.
The award, named in Libster’s honor, recognizes someone who displays selflessness to the local community, its members and those in recovery, she explained.
“When we were thinking about Jim and made the decision to present this award to him, we thought about his work with the Red Tulip House, which is a (sober) recovery house for women here in Geauga County,” Paschke explained. “Jim was instrumental in getting the Red Tulip House started. He worked very hard to … help raise funds to get the trades in to work.”
When Paschke toured the house, Dvorak showed her bricks he laid himself, she added.
Dvorak has also done work with the One Ohio Foundation, ensuring opiate settlement money was used in Geauga County.
He has also been a supporter of the New Leaf Program since its inception, Paschke said, noting in the early days, they had to win some people over.
“Jim’s support of us was immediate and powerful. He has never missed one of our graduations and is always willing to speak,” she said. “I feel like for our participants, it’s important that someone who’s a county commissioner is recognizing them as people and sees them.”
Dvorak is also very active in the community, organizing a fishing event for children with disabilities and working with the veteran’s food pantry, among other items, she said.
Dvorak said receiving the phone call about the award was humbling.
“All I want to do is the right thing and help people,” he said. “I’ve heard terms that you are ‘those’ people. You’re not ‘those’ people. You’re our people. And we have to take care of our people in Geauga County.”
Dvorak recounted a long family history of addiction.
“When I was in junior high, my mom went to the hospital at least two or three times, for six months at a time to get dried out,” he recalled. “ I remember one time she came home after rehab, my youngest brother, he was around 5 or 6 years old, he saw my mom coming in the door and he ran across the room, ran up and jumped into her arms. And the love that he had as a child, it didn’t matter what she was addicted to, she was still his mom.”
It was a breathtaking moment he will never forget, Dvorak said.
Dvorak also talked about losing his daughter, Jamie Dvorak, to addiction in February of 2017.
“It was a very difficult time. So, I just want to say that we’ve been through it,” he said. “We’re all in this together.”
He closed his speech with a spin on the well known quote from Genesis 4:9, in which God confronts Cain over the murder of Abel.
“Are we our brothers’ keeper? You’re damn right we are,” he said. “When we stop talking about a problem, that problem never gets better and that’s another reason I’m so involved in the community.”
