GCBHS and the community recently lost a wonderful colleague and friend. As many of you know, Steve Goldsberry was the CEO for the Clermont Recovery Center (CRC). His experience and leadership were invaluable when GCBHS merged with CRC in 2014. While his plan was to retire soon-after, his passion and dedication lead him to continue serving as an executive leader for several years where he helped lead GCBHS in a significant expansion of addiction services. He eventually did retire in 2018 but remained as a valuable consultant to GCBHS. Steve passed away March 15th after a long illness.
According to current GCBHS President & CEO Jeff O'Neil, "Steve's experience and leadership were invaluable in assisting us to significantly expand our addiction services in Greater Cincinnati. He was a trailblazer, mentor and leader in addiction issues/services at the local, state and national levels. He will be greatly missed."
During his tenure in Clermont County, Steve worked very closely with the (now retired) Executive Director of the Mental Health and Recovery Board, Karen Scherra. Says Karen, "I had the privilege to work with Steve Goldsberry for over 25 years. His life experiences helped him to become a compassionate, creative and driven leader in the addiction field who was able to balance the needs of clients with the realities of the systems in which he worked and with whom he collaborated.
Steve earned his Masters in Social Work from the University of Kentucky but initially started college studying agriculture and eventually became a Master Gardener. Many staff including Tammy Altman a long-time employee in our Batavia office, remembers sharing their love of gardening and swapping seeds with Steve every spring. "He had a beautiful garden at his home", she says, "and he helped start a community garden for our adolescent youth program."
Steve also loved music and played guitar which led him to encourage staff to use any and all tools available that could potentially resonate with a client. According to Alicia Fine, Sr. VP of Clermont County Behavioral Health Services, "Steve had the ability to see things people didn't see in themselves and he found a way to bring that to the forefront."
Staff who worked for Steve before and after the merger said he never stopped wanting to improve himself, the agency, or staff. He was always aware that no matter how good we were, we could always do more. Many felt he postponed his retirement because he didn’t want to stop until he could help as many people as possible.
Steve kept in touch with many of our staff after his retirement, including Tammy Altman. "I talked to him recently about gardening. He mentioned that he had started his seeds this spring. He never lost his passion for the things he truly loved."
GCBHS celebrates Steve and all of his wonderful contributions. Our thoughts and prayers remain with his family during this difficult time.
