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Richmond, VA – Mayor Dwight C. Jones today introduced Paul Manning as the city of Richmond’s first Chief Service Officer. As Chief Service Officer, Manning will serve as a senior city official, reporting to Chief Administrative Officer, Byron Marshall.  Mr. Manning is charged with developing and implementing a citywide plan to increase volunteerism and target volunteers to address the city’s greatest needs.

Mayor Jones stated, “Paul Manning has a proven record as a senior level executive in the Richmond area in developing long and short term strategic business/financial plans; building financial, operational and administrative infrastructure which supports corporate objectives as well as, cultivating philanthropic donor relationships. In order to expand on our efforts to increase volunteerism, we needed an individual with the proven ability to provide proactive leadership in creating, developing and utilizing corporate resources to deliver growth of volunteerism in our city.”

Mr. Manning will be the lead for the city’s Neighbor-to-Neighbor Program; a program launched by Mayor Jones in April of this year designed to engage citizens in volunteerism, as they support their neighbors with a commitment to service.  Neighbor-to-Neighbor projects have included mentoring to children in schools, visiting the elderly, as well as providing home repairs for elderly population, beautification projects throughout the city, supporting various special events, and youth programs to include back-to-school shopping and several others.

Manning’s position of Chief Service Officer is being funded through a Cities of Service Leadership Grant that was awarded to the city on June 30, 2010. “We went through a very competitive process with cities from across the country as only 10 cities were selected to receive the $200,000 grant over a two year period,” said city Chief Administrative Officer Byron Marshall. “Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the funds were made available exclusively for the hiring of a Chief Service Officer.” In addition to Richmond, Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Baton Rouge, LA; Chula Vista, CA; Houston, TX; Little Rock, AK; Orlando, FL; and Pittsburg, PA were also selected as grant recipients.

Manning is the founder of U-Turn, Incorporated, and is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering.