A crowd of Warren Coalition staff, members, and guests gathered at the Warren County Community Center on July 30th for the Annual Luncheon and Awards, where Dr. Matthew Rosario, Joyce Jenkins-Wimmer, and Coalition Secretary Holly Goode were among those honored.
Holly was recognized as the Coalition Member of the Year for going above and beyond in her service to the organization, outside her duties as the secretary. Throughout the year, Holly consistently volunteered at events, attended fundraising meetings, and even gave her time to writing personal thank-you notes to donors. She also supported fundraising efforts with gifts and sponsorships.
Joyce was honored for 17 years of service to the Coalition. During her tenure, she ran the College Access Network, helping parents and students understand the college application and financial aid process, and the MORE (My Opportunity for Reinforcement and Enrichment) after‑school initiative, designed to provide youth with structured, positive activities and support to promote safety, health, and personal growth. Since 2020, Joyce has been the coordinator for HALO (Helping All Little Ones) Read, the name of the Coalition program affiliated with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Under her guidance, the program has served more than 875 children.
After two Warren Coalition staff members and one board member narrowed down the nominees to three, Linda and William Funk (Larry’s wife and son, respectively) selected the final winner of the Larry M. Funk Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to Children in Warren County: Dr. Matthew Rosario. He was nominated by Tiffany Halliday.
“Dr. Matthew Rosario has demonstrated a strong and ongoing commitment to supporting children and youth throughout Warren County through mentorship, athletics, behavioral health advocacy, community outreach, and educational support initiatives,” she wrote in her nomination.
While Dr. Rosario serves children through his practice, ClearHorizon Forensic & Counseling Group, Tiffany’s nomination demonstrated that he does even more beyond his office walls.
“Dr. Rosario has supported local youth athletics through the sponsorship of sports teams and community-based youth activities. He has also served as a coach for the Skyline High School track team, where he has mentored student-athletes both on and off the field by encouraging discipline, perseverance, teamwork, and positive goal-setting,” she wrote.
His nomination goes on to say “Dr. Rosario has also contributed directly to youth engagement through community outreach and mentorship initiatives designed to encourage confidence, accountability, leadership, and personal growth. His work emphasizes creating safe and supportive environments where youth feel seen, heard, and empowered.
“Through his practice, ClearHorizon Forensic & Counseling Group and the ClearHorizon Foundation (501c3 nonprofit organization), he has awarded grants and provided support to local organizations that offer educational programs, mentorship opportunities, youth enrichment activities, and community-based services that positively impact children and adolescents across Warren County.”
“I don’t get emotional, but that…that really got me emotional,” Dr. Rosario said, referring to the nomination Christa had read a moment earlier. He shared a little about his childhood, sharing that his experiences were what motivated him and allowed him to connect with kids. “How can I play poems? So understanding that this is a lot for me right now. I was like, whoa, I didn’t realize we’re doing so much stuff, but understanding that we’re doing things out of passionate care, to understand that we are about the people and about the community.”
“We do this as a community,” he explained. “We do this to uplift one another. Children are having a huge disparity of mental health. Unfortunately, I don’t work with the adults. I only work with children, but understand that alone in the past three months, I have worked with over 20 kids in Warren County who are on substances. It is an upbringing. It’s an uprising. We have to be careful with our children, with our youth, understanding that substance use is not just affecting adults, but it’s now affecting our children. It’s affecting the generation because they don’t understand how to cope with their life stressors.”
In addition to the previously listed awards, Christa shared that the Coalition had intended to honor Lauren Foltz, who has been the youth representative to the Coalition board for more than two years. Lauren was unfortunately unable to attend the event, so the award will be presented at a later date.
During the luncheon, President Nick Croft, Vice President Michelle Smeltzer, and Secretary Holly Goode were also honored for perfect attendance at meetings throughout the year.
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