Strickland appoints five from Southwest Ohio

Gov. Ted Strickland appointed five area residents to state boards and councils today:

Tommie Robertson of Cincinnati was appointed to a three-year term on the Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board. The board, which pays $19.55-an-hour and expenses, oversees the grading of examinations of people applying to be professional counselors, social workers, or independent social workers and determines if an applicant is qualified to practice.

Robertson is a marriage and family therapist for A Sound of Mind Counseling Service in Cincinnati and Northkey Community Care in Florence, Ky. He also is an associate minister at the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Glendale.

Donald B. Ahlers of College Hill was appointed to a four-year term on the Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Licensing Board. Ahlers previously served as general counsel and secretary for the American Druggists Insurance Co. The board, which pays about $19-an-hour plus expenses, provides exams and licenses for hearing aid dealers, fitters and trainees. It also revokes licenses and investigates charges of false advertising or malpractice.

Jerome Wiesenhahn of Mason was appointed to a four-year term on the state Board of Pharmacy. He has been a pharmacist in Ohio for nearly 50 years, currently working at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The board, which pays about $19-an-hour, provides exams and licenses for pharmacists. It sets pharmacist requirements and can revoke licenses.

Lois Rosenthal and Geraldine Warner, both of Cincinnati, were appointed to five-year terms on the Ohio Arts Council, which encourages development of the arts and preservation of the state's cultural heritage. Board members are paid expenses only.

Rosenthal is the co-director of Uptown Arts, an arts center for children in downtown Cincinnati. She served as a consumer columnist for The Enquirer for 10 years and was an editor for Story, a literary quarterly, from 1989-2000. She currently serves on the board of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the President’s Advisory Council of Xavier University.

Warner has practiced law in New York, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. She has served as a board member for several arts and community organizations in Cincinnati, including the Cincinnati Music Festival Association. She has also been a member of the Cincinnati Women’s Club and Cincinnati Art Museum Founders Society.