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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: May 14, 2009 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. <br />_SUBJECT: Resolution Reco nizin Gretchen Aylsworth <br />DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Resolution <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Laura Blackmon, 245-2300 <br />PURPOSE: To consider a resolution recognizing Gretchen Aylsworth who is retiring after <br />seventeen years of service to the children of Orange County as Director of the Guardian ad <br />Litem Program for Judicial District 15-B. <br />BACKGROUND: The mission of the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) Program across the State of <br />North Carolina since 1983 has been to recruit and train men and women from amazingly <br />diverse backgrounds to serve as the SOLE NEUTRAL ADVOCATE FOR THE CHILD in court <br />proceedings involving alleged abuse or neglect or other child custody issues. <br />Gretchen Aylsworth assumed the directorship of the important GAL program in Orange and <br />Chatham counties in 1992. At that time Ms. Aylsworth was the only staff member, head only <br />nine volunteers, had no office and no training facility, found most open court cases unassigned, <br />and had to perform work and training from her own home. <br />Under Ms. Aylsworth's superb leadership, the GAL Program in District 15-B has achieved a <br />reputation as one of the finest in North Carolina. The program has expanded to encompass <br />some eighty-three (83) active volunteers serving two hundred fifty-two (252) children, including <br />eighty-nine (89) families and one hundred forty-five (145) children in Orange County. <br />Ms. Aylsworth is retiring after seventeen years of service to the children of Orange County as <br />Director of the Guardian ad Litem Program for Judicial District 15-B. A resolution recognizing <br />Ms. Aylsworth for her seventeen years of service on behalf of Orange County's children and the <br />Guardian ad Litem Program is attached. An event to honor Ms. Aylsworth is scheduled for 6:00 <br />p.m. on May 18, 2009 at Crook's Corner . <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with approval of the resolution. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board approve the resolution <br />recognizing Gretchen Uzzle Aylsworth for her seventeen years of service on behalf of Orange <br />County's children and the Guardian ad Litem Program. <br />