ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP Buckeye Local School District employees received a little pick-me-up on Monday morning, with motivational speaker William Guy Burney sharing his experiences.

Edgewood High School Principal Michael Notar said he heard Burney at another local educational event and asked BLSC administrators to have him speak to the staff on Monday.

Notar said listening to Burney helped change his thinking and prepared him to look at things in a different light. He said the district often has a speaker to kick off the year, but the winter doldrums are a good time to get an extra jolt.

We are halfway through the year and we need a little [boost], he said.

Burney is the executive director of the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence for the city of Youngstown. The organization works to help people create a non-violent path in life.

Burney was born in in Youngstown and has degrees in criminal justice, organizational leadership and project management. He said he makes presentations at meetings throughout the country.

He said he provides information to teachers to implement in class.

I am giving them tools they might not have had or forgotten, he said.

Burney has instituted preventative interventions with many young men who were previously involved in gun violence and helped start the Women of Worth Academy to help women overcome barriers in finding self-sustainable and successful living.

He also serves in many community roles. including as a diversity trainer for the Ohio Supreme Court Judicial College, a mental health first aid trainer and a faculty instructor at Kent State University.

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