That description carries over from her previous years of working with nonprofit organizations, where she handled donor development, volunteers and “everything but the kitchen sink.”
“That kind of fits every nonprofit professional’s life. You wear so many hats. I am able to bring that experience. You wear a lot of hats with the city as well,” she said.
Williams joined the city staff in 2020 just before COVID-19 entered life.
With the city, she handles all engagement, internally and externally.
“That is working with management to make sure messages are communicated out properly,” she said. The vehicle would be social media or other information outlets including the newspaper.
“It is general communication, making sure people know where to get information on dog licenses, taxes, closings,” Williams said.
A native of Elyria in northeast Ohio, west of Cleveland, she is a graduate of Wright State University in the urban affairs department. She also holds a nonprofit leadership certificate.
There are differences between the public and private sectors but a whole lot of similarities, Williams said.
Government has more red tape, she said. In the nonprofit sector, there “is a little bit more freedom to be creative and for more out of the box thinking, compared with when you are working within the government sector, Williams said. “However, I am very fortunate that the city of Huber Heights is very progressive in its thinking. They are willing to try things based on recommendations from the community and residents, to engage everybody to love where they live, work and play.”
Although COVID-19 played havoc on almost every aspect of life and its activities, Huber Heights continued to offer more events than a lot of communities last year.
“Last summer, we were one of few cities that still had active programming. We just followed strict guidelines and made sure everybody was comfortable with everything we were doing,” Williams said.
The aquatic center was open for the season, and the city took over the farmers market, which previously was run privately.
The farmers market started in July with six vendors and grew as the season progressed to about two dozen. The event was promoted as a place for people to get out and walk and where fresh foods were available for families.
The July 4 fireworks moved forward, but the annual Independence Day festival did not. Plans are for both to return this year.
Event plans are being made to follow COVID-19 guidelines but will be adjusted with upcoming end to many of the special requirements.
Williams also is working with the Barn at the Heights, a 50-plus acre property with a barn being used to help increase the exposure of nonprofits and businesses to the community
This year also is the 40th anniversary of Huber Heights’ founding.
A celebration is being organized by the Wayne Twp. Huber Heights Historical Society. The city and the city arts and beautification committee are also involved.
“We are excited to hit that 40-year mark, which is young for a city in this area,” Williams said. “We have had a lot of growth.”
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Online: More information on Huber Heights, its services and events is available on the city website at hhoh.org or on Facebook.
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