CCR CEO recognized with Cornerstone Award
Michael Robb says he focuses on the ordinary aspects of life and tries to make them extraordinary.
Robb has been president and CEO of the Center for Community Resources since 2005.
After more than a year of waiting, Robb received the Jean B. Purvis Community Cornerstone Award from the community clinic of the same name at a dinner and ceremony Friday night.
In his speech, Robb said the community needs more people to make the ordinary extraordinary.
“So often, we're looking for extraordinary things when really they're just occurring every day,” Robb said. “You either have to be doing it or you don't. We need people who care, people who want to build.”
The Jean B. Purvis Community Cornerstone Award was created by the clinic to honor someone in Butler who has made positive advancements to the community. Robb's work since he took the helm of the Center for Community Resources has fit the definition of the award.
“We chose him because he is such a valuable member of our community,” said Kim Reamer, executive director of the Jean B. Purvis Community Health Clinic. “He has the tremendous gift of being a visionary, and has been a big help to the community.”
The clinic chose Robb as its fourth annual award recipient for 2020, but the dinner was rescheduled to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Reamer said the recipient is chosen each year by members of the clinic staff, members of its board and some past winners of the award.
Reamer said the award began with Purvis herself, and she was a part of its awarding before she died last May.
In addition to his work with the center, Robb is also executive director of the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources, the Nonprofit Development Corporation and Community Partnership. He is also a member of the Criminal Justice Advisory Board and the Hearing and Deaf Services of Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties, according to a bio from the Jean B. Purvis Community Health Clinic.
He spends his free time with his wife, Angie, and four children, Emily, Caleb, Ian and Macrina. He also is an elected public official in Winfield Township and coaches soccer at Knoch High School, according to his bio.
Reamer said the Center for Community Resources is a one-stop-shop for people who need immediate help. Before it was created, an individual may have had to visit multiple locations before finding the help they needed.
“Basically, he had the vision to create an organization where you could go for a multitude of help,” Reamer said. “Rather than someone who is homeless going three or four places, they could go to the CCR, which is able to help them. That is a huge, huge gift to the community.”
Several officials of Butler and other healthcare organizations applauded Robb for his work. This included Carmine Scotece, former Butler County Human Services director; John Lovelace, president of UPMC for You; and Jordan Grady, executive director of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, who got his first job through Robb.
“He is a selfless human,” Grady said of Robb. “Really, everything he does is community-minded and helps throughout the whole state.”
Robb said the improvements made to the Butler community over the past year are due to the work of many people within it, not just his work alone.
“There are a lot of cornerstones here tonight,” Robb said. “There is a lot of good going on, and it's really attributed to all of us here.”
