The City of Youngstown and JAC Management Announce Community Engagement and Inclusion Coordinator

The newly hired position will seek to actively connect the community to the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre and Riverfront Park.

May 2, 2019 Youngstown,OH—The Community Engagement and Inclusion Initiative Committee has announced the hiring of Derrick McDowell to undertake the newly-created position of Community Engagement and Inclusion Coordinator. McDowell will assume his new role immediately.

The focus of this position is to connect with the residents of Youngstown on a grassroots level. This will include gathering community feedback, creating sustainable programming and providing access to the facilities and resources to host quality of life events and seasonal programming for residents of our great community.

The Community Engagement and Inclusion Coordinator’s primary objectives will be to work directly with community groups, churches, neighborhood associations and downtown businesses to build relationships that results in the identification and production of program, projects and events that resonate with city residents. The Community Engagement& Inclusion Initiative Committee, comprised of city officials and community leaders, had a strong vision for the Community Engagement and Inclusion coordinator. The group took ample time in creating and hiring the position.Included in the hiring committee was JAC Management President, Eric Ryan, who will manage the park and amphitheatre. Ryan explained, “The committee strived to find a candidate who could effectively serve a diverse population and we are excited Derrick was chosen to fill this role.Our common goal is to engage and include the community as a whole and our JAC team is excited to work with him.”

Posted in early 2019, the job became highly-sought after, receiving more than 50 applicants. The competitive field of qualified applicants were reduced to a smaller group who underwent several rounds of interviews and were tasked with creating a 90-day plan for the position. McDowell was chosen as the result of careful consideration from the committee.McDowell will get to work immediately. “I am looking forward to engaging the community and cultivating their participation in this all-inclusive 22-acre community complex,”McDowell concluded.

About The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre
The culmination of progressive culture, transformative vision, generous support, and celebrated revelry is that of The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre. The amphitheatre is an impressive and well-appointed physical structure that invites the community toexperience the pinnacle of outdoor entertainment and community events. With the Youngstown City skyline overlooking the 4,800-person facility, The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre is simultaneously settled amongst the vast green spaces of the park,allowing visitors the unprecedented opportunity to experience downtown in all its forms. The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre is the palpable outcome of collaborative vision which is reflected in both its construction and its events serving the community in which we live and work; we invite you to experience it at a live event this season.The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre is owned by The City of Youngstown and proudly managed by JAC Management Group.

About The Riverfront Park
The Riverfront Park is nestled in the heart of Downtown Youngstown,but encompasses an identity all its own as the front door to the City of Youngstown. With uncharted frontiers, the Riverfront Park and The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre (located inside the park) has sustained the excited anticipation from the community with its promise of what its existence will give to the area.Families enjoy plush, grassy knolls to picnic, downtown residents walk to summer concerts, art curators participate in festivals in their own backyard, and employees of downtown businesses jog or walk the well-appointed trails that circulate the park after work.

The Riverfront Park reflects the spirit of its urban setting while, at the same time, projecting the nature of community fellowship. It has pioneered Downtown Youngstown’s next steps in progression while embracing the beloved traditions native to this area we all call “home”. The Park has an identity that envelopes evolvement but appreciates tradition; its identity values revitalization but respects history.The Riverfront Park is owned by The City of Youngstown and proudly managed by JAC Management Group.

About JAC Management Group
JAC Management Group is a private management company headquartered in Youngstown Ohio that specializes in entertainment facility management encompassing all areas of operations, bookings, food and beverage operations, marketing and facility maintenance. JAC Management Group proudly manages the Covelli Centre and the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre in Youngstown, Ohio as well as Packard Music Hall in Warren, OH.

Press Contact:
Kelsey Klim – K Squared Marketing
(330) 717-5976
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