County Executive Ryan delivered his 2020 State of the County address at Kingston High School, returning back to his alma mater after 20 years and highlighting how the County plans to reinvigorate opportunities for the next generation
KINGSTON, N.Y. – County Executive Ryan delivered his first State of the County Address today at Kingston High School to an audience of hundreds of students from across the County, state and local leaders, and community members. Returning back to his alma mater, County Executive Ryan unveiled new initiatives that will drive the future of our County, including investments in solidifying Ulster County’s position as a leader in the green economy, spearheading a new youth service program, and a commitment to launch 1,000 jobs in 1,000 days here in Ulster County with a focus on youth and workers in transition.
“It is a true honor to have the opportunity to open this brand new auditorium and to not only deliver my first State of the County address, but to be able to do it here at Kingston High School, where I graduated almost exactly 20 years ago,” said County Executive Ryan. “Since I took office 8 months ago, I’ve been meeting with and hearing from people all across our County. And from those conversations, shaped by what really matters to our residents and particularly our young people, I am extremely excited to announce several major initiatives that are designed to help bring our community to its maximum potential.”
"Kingston City School District is proud to open our renovated Wendell Scherer Auditorium with Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan's State of the County address,” said James Shaughnessy, President of Kingston City School Board of Education. “I applaud that he is expanding opportunities for our high school students to make a difference in our communities now. They will learn they can make a difference in the future. That is important for all of us."
New Green Initiatives
$249,700 in grant funding for the Green Careers Academy at SUNY Ulster by NYSERDA
Included in this initiative are increased resources for the first-ever Ulster County Green Careers Academy in partnership with SUNY Ulster. County Executive Ryan announced that the New York State Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) has awarded $249,700 to SUNY Ulster designated to help the County build a skilled clean energy workforce with focused outreach to individuals who have not had access to clean energy training. The funding will go directly towards tuition assistance for Ulster County residents.
Green Youth Fellowship
Tapping into the energy created by students around the Climate Strike, the Green Youth Fellowship will recruit, place, and pay high school and college students to work at partnering green businesses and nonprofits in Ulster County where they will gain mentorship and critical skills and provide students with a platform to fight climate change from the ground level.
Both initiatives further County Executive Ryan’s goal of transitioning Ulster County use 100% renewable energy by 2030.
1,000 Jobs In 1,000 Days
County Executive Ryan launches a bold new program to connect youth and workers in transition with job opportunities here in Ulster County
In response to a declining youth population in Ulster County and in upstate New York, County Executive Ryan has set out the aggressive goal to create 1,000 Jobs in 1,000 Days focused on young people and those transitioning careers. This is an ambitious and unprecedented program that no other County in New York State is doing.
The program will prioritize emerging industries that will lay the groundwork for the future economy of Ulster County, including the tech, green, agricultural, and creative arts sectors. Led by the new Ulster County Department of Economic Development, the program will surface jobs at local businesses and help to pair them with applicants. The program will partner with institutions including local colleges and high schools to assist with outreach. The County will also launch a digital marketing campaign to reach young people in new, innovative ways and connect them to these job opportunities.
In addition, resources will be provided to participants to ensure success and create a broader sense of community.
Call to Service Youth Program
County Executive Ryan establishes first-ever Call to Service scholarship to assist local youth attending college; aims to provide youth opportunities in volunteerism in local government and beyond
To engage a new generation of volunteers, County Executive Ryan unveiled his Call to Service initiative. This initiative includes a partnership with UlsterCorps to recruit volunteers with organizations throughout Ulster County, including programs aimed at enhancing senior’s lives through socialization, increasing the number of much-needed volunteers in Emergency Service fields, and giving our youth opportunities to serve their community.
Generation to Generation: Ulster County’s Living History
As part of County Executive Pat Ryan’s Call to Service initiative, the Office for the Aging is creating a program that will partner area youths ages 14-18 with area seniors to work on building intergenerational relationships.
Continuing to partner with UlsterCorps, this initiative will create a program to document the living history of Ulster County’s senior community. Ulster County’s youth volunteers will work with UlsterCorps and Office for the Aging to conduct video interviews of seniors to document their stories and create a digital repository for all County residents to enjoy.
Ulster County Explorer Program
The Ulster County Explorer program would look to reverse the downward trend of declining volunteers by creating a program targeting youth ages 14-20 and giving them opportunities for careers in emergency service fields.
The Explorer program provides young men and women ages 14-20 opportunities to explore fire service as a career while providing experiences that help develop interpersonal, leadership, and organizational skills.
The objectives of the Explorer training are to promote learning, teamwork, leadership, and organization with a hands-on approach that allows the member to experience fire department operations under the close supervision of professionals. At the age of 16, participants would be able to join the local volunteer fire department within their community, which opens up more training opportunities, as well as partake in a tuition reimbursement through the Fireman's Association of the State of New York for college credits from a New York State chartered two-or-four year school.
Ulster County Youth Corps
The Ulster County Youth Corps initiative is a partnership between Ulster County and UlsterCorps seeking to increase volunteerism among the County’s youth. This focused extension of UlsterCorps will place willing Ulster County youth with nonprofit and government organizations throughout the County to serve their community. This program would work with the individual volunteers and match them with different Ulster County organizations based on the student’s interests and the organization’s needs.
The Office of the Ulster County Executive will also be launching a “Call to Service Scholarship Fund,” designed to recognize young people who go above and beyond in their service.
To get involved and learn more about the County Executive’s State of the County Initiatives, text “Join” to (877)-875-5786 or visit http://bit.ly/GetInvolvedSOTC. A video of the State of the County Address has been provided by Radio Kingston and can be found here.
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