Community Leader - May 2023

Emily Campbell

The Byrnes Family

John Litten

Julie Johnson

Dale Robinson Anglin

Pictured (l to r):

DEPARTMENTS

2 From the Publisher

46 My Life

48 1000 Words

UPFRONT

5 Finding New “Borders”

Learn about the incoming University Circle leader's passions.

BY LYNNE THOMPSON

6 Stepping Down, Moving On Cleveland Foundation’s Ronn Richard talks about what he wants to do next.

BY ALEX EMERSON

8 Coming Together

Willoughby residents and businesses faced a crisis with community in mind.

BY TERRY TROY

12 Drawing on Talent

A local artist makes a big splash on the national stage.

BY CHRISTINA EASTER

COLUMNS

14 What's in a Name?

Lee Fisher looks into the deliberate and thoughtful process to rename Cleveland State University College of Law.

16 Creating a Great Workplace

Pat Perry explores how companies can help attract and retain top employees.

COMMUNITY

22 Filling a Community Need

ThirdSpace Reading Room answers a community need for book lovers to gather in Glenville.

BY RHONDA CROWDER

24 Creating Coaches

The Baldwin Wallace Center for Coaching Excellence offers a program to develop sports mentors.

BY JILL SELL

26 Loving Our Lakefront

Discover improvements Cleveland Metroparks has made in 10 years.

BY JILL SELL

28 Kids That Tri

KTT targets diversity and inclusion to create champions in sports.

BY TERRY TROY

COVER STORY

18 Fighting the Pain of Poverty

Meet the leaders who are working to help makes things better for families and communities in Greater Cleveland.

BY TERRY TROY

30 Offering Hope

Prayers From Maria Foundation is bringing awareness to deaths from childhood cancer.

BY JILL SELL

34 Peace & Comfort First McGregor Hospice has programs to offer the highest quality end-of-life services.

BY JILL SELL

43

BUSINESS

36 Sticking with Fun Brands

Shurtape Technologies, the company behind Duck Tape, uses innovation to grow its global reach.

BY JILL SELL

40 Benchmarking Business

Greater Cleveland Partnership's “all in” annual report offers a way to measure business success.

BY TERRY TROY

43 Meeting

Workforce Needs

College Now helps adult learners access higher education.

BY ALEX EMERSON

If Not Nonprofits, Who?

Executive Publisher Lute Harmon Sr.

Editor Terry Troy

Managing Editor Jennifer Bowen Sima

Senior Editor Ann-Marie Vazzano

Managing Art Director Rayanne Medford

Art Directors Tom Abate

Ashley Moreman

Megan Rosta

Contributing Writers Karen Beis

Rhonda Crowder

Christina Easter

Alex Emerson

Lee Fisher

Pat Perry

Jill Sell

Lynne Thompson

Terry Troy

Contributing Artists Kevin Kopanski

Gabe Leidy Associate Publisher Denise Polverine

Years ago, it was Peter Drucker, one of the country’s great business thinkers, who proposed that nonprofits be recognized as the “first line of attack” in solving America’s social problems.

If Drucker were alive today, he would be proud: Nonprofits have become what he hoped they would become. Drucker would be proud, and Clevelanders should be proud. Because no city in the United States has done a better job of creating and supporting nonprofit organizations that solve social problems than Cleveland.

This issue’s cover story, “Fighting the Pain of Poverty,” is a reminder of one of Cleveland’s most important achievements. Unfortunately, I would guess if I asked a hundred people to name Cleveland’s biggest assets, not one would name a nonprofit that solves social problems.

Those same people might be surprised to learn that a study of our history would show that we were one of the first cities in America to have successful business owners share their wealth by endowing world-class museums, orchestras, hospitals, universities and foundations.

“Fighting the Pain of Poverty” is the story of what goes into building the nonprofits that have made a significant difference for the people of our community. It is a story of building a mission-driven organization, supported by philanthropic businesses and people just like you.

After providing management consulting to the largest corporations in the world for 35 years, Peter Drucker spent the last third of his life serving nonprofits whose mission was solving social problems. When asked why, he replied, “If not me, who?”

President, Advertising Paul Klein

Sarah Desmond

Tiffany Myroniak Account Executive Julie Bialowas Operations Manager Corey Galloway

Traffic Coordinator Kristen Brickner

Production Manager Alyson Moutz Cowan

Audience and Events Manager Jennifer Roberts

Chief Financial Officer George Sedlak

No city in the United States has done a better job of creating and supporting nonprofit organizations that solve social problems than Cleveland.

LEADERSHIP // BY LYNNE THOMPSON

Finding New “Borders”

University Circle’s incoming leader draws on experience and passion.

Kate Borders didn’t consider herself a candidate for the position of University Circle Inc. (UCI) president — at least, not initially. In fact, the president of the Downtown Tempe Authority & Downtown Tempe Foundation, both in Arizona, began thinking of others who could fill the post when a recruiter conducting a search for longtime UCI leader Chris Ronayne’s successor contacted her in July.

But as Borders read and reread the job description detailing the duties and responsibilities involved in heading the community-development nonprofit serving Cleveland’s cultural epicenter, she became more and more interested in it. The position seemed to be tailor-made for her, one in a “really cool place” that would draw on her passions for the arts and its institutions, community education and outreach, event-planning and production — building a neighborhood around a district.

“One day it just hit me: ‘Oh, my gosh! I’m excited about this!’” Borders remembers.

That enthusiasm is just one of the many reasons Borders will be assuming the position currently held by interim president Gary Hanson on June 12, according to search committee member Katie Brancato, vice president, chief of staff and strategic adviser to the president of Case Western Reserve University. She recalls that Borders not only “checked off all the boxes” in terms of experience — she articulated a vision of University Circle as a safe, welcoming destination that would keep visitors in the area.

“She really stood out as someone that had done her homework, understood the gems of University Circle and saw the potential of taking the area to the next level,” Brancato says.

Borders’ love of those cultural gems is rooted in her Rock Hill, South Carolina, childhood, nurtured by a fine art photographer mother and contractor father. She entered Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, as a music major who played piano and viola. But summers working in the box office and designing performance programs at Brevard Music Center in Brevard, North Carolina, changed her mind.

“I decided I wanted to be around the arts rather than spend all of my years in a practice room,” Borders says.

Eager for new experiences in new places, Borders enrolled at the University of Arizona and earned a bachelor of music, then completed work on a master’s degree in arts administration at Columbia College Chicago — a school close to extended family in the big-city environment she craved. She attended classes at night and worked days as a program manager at The Coleman Foundation, a local grant-making entity where she learned to review nonprofits from a funder’s perspective. In 2003 the then-29-year-old landed her first leadership position: executive director of the Peoria Arts Guild in Peoria, Illinois.

Over the next two years she managed the guild’s building and staff, some of whom were older than she was, as well

as overseeing the production of an annual fine-art fair involving 150 artists and hundreds of volunteers.

A persistent yearning for city life precipitated the need for another change in 2005: a move to Milwaukee to assume the executive directorship of the East Town Association. Her event-producing experience was invaluable in running neighborhood-association draws such as a 16-week summer concert series, four-day street festival and weekly farmers market. But the place-based nonprofit was also an introduction to streetscaping, public art and wayfinding signage projects.

“For whatever reason, it just kind of sparked my interest,” Borders recalls. “I came and visited and applied and just loved the district.”

She says her biggest accomplishment over the last nine-plus years has been building and strengthening relationships. For example, she began meeting regularly with leaders of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce and Tempe Tourism Office. Those meetings yielded Team Tempe, which she describes as a “very formalized, very powerful” partnership that also includes the city’s economic development department and members of its marketing team.

“My whole vision expanded into, ‘Wow, these districts are everywhere, these places that the public thinks are run by the city but are really not!’” she recalls.

That continued in 2011 as president and CEO of the Downtown Fresno Partnership in Fresno, California. Unlike the East Town Association, a merchant membership organization financially dependent on business’ fees, the Downtown Fresno Partnership was a newly created business improvement district funded by property owner-approved assessments. The result was a bigger budget that supported more programming and other endeavors.

Three years later, Borders ran into a longtime acquaintance at a conference. She told Borders she was retiring as president of the Downtown Tempe Authority & Downtown Tempe Foundation and asked if she’d be interested in applying for the job.

Borders talks of her desire to build and strengthen relationships with members of the University Circle community, “to better understand what they need and where the gaps are,” to learn about the staff’s goals. Despite her penchant for change, she isn’t one of those leaders who institutes them wholesale immediately upon arrival.

“My biggest goal is to come into this community with grace and humility,” she says. “I don’t want to come in and act like I know better than anyone there or I have these brilliant ideas that are going to change the world. I want to listen. I want to hear what other leaders in the community [have to say]…I want to be a part of the community and just work really hard, work really hard with the team that exists and the neighbors and the institutions and the stakeholders and do my very best to honor what is there — and maybe, along the way, offer some suggestions.”

I don’t want to come in and act like I know better than anyone there or I have these brilliant ideas that are going to change the world. I want to listen.”

— Kate Borders

RETIREMENTS // BY ALEX EMERSON

Stepping Down, Moving On

Cleveland Foundation’s Ronn Richard to end storied leadership.

After 20 years of leadership Ronn Richard, president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation, is stepping down. When he does so later this year, he will be the second-longest serving head of the organization, behind Leyton E. Carter, who served from 1928 to 1953.

During his leadership, Richard grew the foundation and transformed it into a nonprofit juggernaut with an impact across our city and entire area. In addition to addressing numerous community issues and leading and launching initiatives, Richard increased the foundation’s endowment and led the charge to build its new MidTown headquarters.

“When I came, the endowment was $1.5 billion, now the endowment is $3.2 billion, so more than double… and if you haven’t come to the new headquarters, it will blow your socks off,” Richard says. “This is the first time in 108 years that we can hold programs in our building — like our mastery-based dance program for kids after school and so many other community programs. The nonprofits can use the interconference center for free.

“I have a phenomenal staff, and we have an amazing team. I think the foundation is in a great place and on a great trajectory.”

Richard is still focused on the ongoing issue of gentrification. It’s been a target of the Cleveland Foundation for years during his leadership and it continues to be a battle.

“I think we have so many opportunities to do transformative things in neighborhoods, guarding against gentrification, not just in the East Side neighborhoods but in Clark-Fulton and around University Circle,” Richard says.

Having a true passion for social work in the Cleveland area, Richard also concedes that the foundation will always have work to do and things to improve.

“The challenges that the organization faces mirror the challenges that society faces,” he says. “We’re trying to help with disparities in health care, lack of teachers, nurses and labor shortages in critical areas that provide social service needs. There will always be room for the Cleveland Foundation to play its part.”

But Richard also says that he has been in charge for a long time, and it is now time for a new and different CEO to step up.

“You want to make sure you step aside while you’re still enthusiastic about the job and everybody wants you to stay,” he says. “Get your timing right — don’t wait until they wish you were gone.

“Even though I still think I’ve got all my energy, enthusiasm and inventiveness, lots of other people have that. It’s time to pass the baton.”

Richard is sentimental about his time at the Cleveland Foundation. He also realizes that he will miss it. And while proud of his accomplishments and the changes he has made during his tenure, he simply wants to pursue other ventures in life.

“I’ll be [the Cleveland Foundation’s] biggest booster forever and will show up at all their events,” says Richard.

“I’m sure I’ll end up on a couple of nonprofit boards and maybe a few corporate boards. And I’ll miss my fellow staff members and the board tremendously. But I think there are lots of other ways that I can contribute to society in retirement and reinvent myself.

Besides Richard’s plans to work for the community post-retirement, he also says he wants to pursue his own interests now that he has the time.

“I want to go back to school, and that may not be in a classroom. But for 40 years I haven’t been able to pursue some personal interests,” says Richard.

“I want to study the classics; I want to get fluent in Spanish; I want to get good at guitar; I want to study music theory. I’m fascinated with the biotech realm and have been on a few biotech boards.

“My wife and I also have a bucket list of places we want to travel to. I have a whole lot of things I want to do, and I probably won’t have time for half of it.”

I’m sure I’ll end up on a couple of nonprofit boards and maybe a few corporate boards . And I’ll miss my fellow staff members. But I think there are lots of other ways that I can contribute to society in retirement and reinvent myself.”

— Ronn Richard

COMMUNITY // BY TERRY TROY

Coming Together

Residents and businesses of Willoughby handled a recent crisis with competence and compassion.

The first sign was a thick plume of black smoke rising from the center of the new construction along Mentor Avenue. The call came at 5:49 a.m. on Feb. 17, 2023. By the time Willoughby Fire Chief Todd Ungar arrived less than five minutes later, the building was engulfed in orange flames roiling over 100 feet into the pre-dawn sky.

The Chagrin Riverwalk apartments were already a lost cause.

“I realized the moment I saw it, that there would be no amount of water that could extinguish a fire like that,” says Ungar. “And since there was no one in the building, because it was under construction, we made the decision to evacuate and protect the buildings to the east and west. Our main

goal at that point was to preserve human life first and protect the other properties second.”

The Willoughby Police entered occupied buildings and pulled the fire alarms, expediting the evacuation. Some 20 different fire-fighting agencies from across Lake County answered the call to help fight the blaze, which caused damage estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars.

They did a good job of it. There were no fatalities. Only one Willoughby firefighter was injured. And hundreds of people and their pets were evacuated without so much as a cut, even while dodging bits of falling, razor-sharp glass.

But it wasn’t easy.

The conflagration was so intense that it buckled the siding on the buildings to

the west. At the east building, not only did the windows explode, but some cars burst into flames.

The denizens of the east building ventured forth shielding their faces against the searing heat, unable to access their cars — many in bathrobes, pajamas, slippers and flip flops. Once away from danger, they realized that it was only 22 degrees.

This is where our story really starts.

While the fire destroyed property and put lives in danger, it also ignited a spirit of community well-known to the residents of Willoughby, an East Side suburb known as the Courtesy City. And the businesses that call this community home were among the first to respond to the needs of the evacuees.

Crossing Mentor Avenue, many fled to the Speedway gas station on the south corner of Kirtland Road.

“Come in — get warm,” the manager yelled. “Make room, everyone. Come in here — get warm.”

The coffee was free. Then so were the donuts. Later, they were feeding everyone breakfast sandwiches. There wasn’t any expectation of pay. Indeed, many didn’t have their wallets or purses with them.

“For such a large company like Speedway to just step up like that and say, ‘take

In the pre-dawn hours of Friday, Feb. 17, a newly constructed building in the Chagrin Riverwalk Apartments burst into flames. No lives were lost.

whatever you want, stay as long as you’d like,’ is just outstanding,” says Ungar.

“Sure, I know how much it cost, but I’d rather not say,” says George Ogeka, area leader for Speedway, whose store was used as a makeshift refugee center. “This isn’t about money — it’s more about the people you have to help.”

When Mentor Fire Chief Robert Searles arrived on the scene, he could see that Chief Ungar was understandably preoccupied.

“So Bob told me that he would take care of our evacuees,” Ungar recalls.

Chief Searles called Laketran, whose CEO Ben Capelle just happens to be the next-door neighbor of Chief Ungar. Laketran had a warming bus on site within 20 minutes — which is just about the same amount of time it takes to drive from Laketran’s Grand River headquarters to downtown Willoughby. That means they left immediately.

“We work very closely with the various fire departments, police departments and other agencies in Lake County,” says Capelle. “We consider ourselves a first responder when necessary. Those people needed someplace to stay warm, and one of our large charter buses fills that need very well.”

After the fire had been brought under some semblance of control, Willoughby Mayor Robert Fiala’s office called Arabica Willoughby to see if they could get some

coffee, pastries and breakfast sandwiches for the tired and hungry firefighters. They wanted to pay for what was a very large takeout order.

But owners Tim Snider and his wife Tina weren’t having any of it.

“I told them they could just have it,” Tim Snider says. “This town has been great to us. Everyone has to do their part when people need help.”

Naturally, the Red Cross was instrumental in making sure evacuees were taken care

Tom Revolinsky Jim McIntyre

I realized the moment I saw it that there would be no amount of water that could extinguish a fire like that.”

– Todd Ungar, Willoughby Fire Chief

of, providing shelter, food and beverages, says Ungar.

“The Disaster Program Manager for the Red Cross of Northeast Ohio, Tom Revolinsky, coordinated with Chief Ungar and building management to help residents who had been evacuated and responders by providing water, coffee and snacks,” says Jim McIntyre, regional communications director for the American Red Cross. “We provided refreshments to about 60 people on the scene that day.”

Some eyewitnesses said they saw boxes of donuts and snacks from Biagio’s in Eastlake, although the owner did not want to take any credit. The next day the Wild Goose in downtown Willoughby sent pizza to the police and fire departments. There were others who helped as well, many of whom wish to remain anonymous.

“And don’t forget Marous Brothers,” adds Chief Ungar. “Even though this was

devastating to their company, we relied heavily on their excavation abilities to get the debris extinguished. Had they not brought in crews to pull the rubble apart, we would have been there for days trying to completely put out all of the fire.”

For the residents of the buildings to the immediate east and west of the great Chagrin Riverwalk fire, the help came

at a time when they were both vulnerable and traumatized. It came from people who wanted nothing more than to help. And while the fire will be burned into each resident’s memory, so, too, will the spirit of community that came from the first responders, neighbors and businesses of this community, which calls itself the Courtesy City.

Just one of several burned cars

JUNE 22-24

PLAYHOUSE SQUARE

2023 Performers

• Herbie Hancock

• Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

• Angélique Kidjo

• Richard Bona Presents ASANTE Trio Featuring Osmany Paredes (Piano) and ÍIario Bell (Drums)

• Dominick Farinacci and Triad

• Samara Joy

• Christian McBride

• Dan Wilson: 7 Decades of Wonder: The Genius of Stevie

• Braxton Cook

• Norman Brown

• Gerald Albright

• Steve Smith and Vital Information: Steve Smith (Drums), Manuel Valera (Keys), Janek Gwizdala (Bass)

Get tickets and passes at tri-cjazzfest.com

InsuranceServices Strassman Fran and Jules Belkin

CREATIVITY // BY CHRISTINA EASTER

Drawing on Talent

Lacy Talley merges graphic design and visual art to national acclaim.

Next, Talley was selected for the MGP’s 2019 Summer Boot Camp, where the cohorts act as an advertising agency that creates a campaign for a particular brand. She was the art director for her team, which created a 360-campaign for Google Inc.’s second launch of its 360-pixel buds.

“Google went with all of the ideas we had for the commercial rollout,” Talley says. “They went with our target audience and our idea of keeping the earbud in focus while people did everyday life things.”

justice and upholding the NBA’s values of equality, respect, and inclusion. Talley and her team were part of the award ceremony before the start of an NBA game on April 3, 2022.

Lacy Talley picked up drawing from her dad when she was only three.

“When I stopped doing art and tried to do other things, I realized I wasn’t good or happy doing anything else,” Talley says. “I always came back to drawing because it fuels my blood and soul.”

After a period of artistic doubt and uncertainty, she had an epiphany to merge graphic design with digital art while at Kent State University (KSU). Since graduating from KSU in 2018 with a bachelor of arts in Visual Communication Design and Pan-African Studies, Talley continues to find her artistic self as an alumnus of the Marcus Graham Project, freelancing and in partnership with the Maker’s Mark Art and Soul Program.

Classmates told her about the Marcus Graham Project (MGP), a national marketing, advertising and sports incubator that helps find the next generation of industry talent. As a result, Talley was selected to participate in their 2019 “I Create Sports Marketing” workshop with the Cleveland Cavaliers. She served as the team’s visual and graphic designer, creating an “in-game ordering” app at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and allowing users to order food and beverages from their seats.

Larry Yarrell, co-founder and chief development officer for the MGP, interviewed Talley for acceptance in the workshop.

“Over the phone, Lacy seemed very shy and quiet,” Yarrell says. “But during the workshop, she displayed that she was a quiet force. She understands her strengths and weaknesses and uses them to pull herself out of her comfort zone. For every workshop, we choose an MVP, and she was a finalist for the year.”

As Talley excelled nationally, she expanded her portfolio by doing commission art. All of her work was noticed when she was asked in 2021 to be a creative team member for the National Basketball Association (NBA) Inaugural Kareem Abdul Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award, which recognizes a current NBA player for pursuing social

MGP also picked Talley to be on the design team for the Cleveland Summit Location Marker that will mark the 55th anniversary of when Muhammad Ali and a group of African American athletes held a news conference in Cleveland after Ali refused to serve in the United States military in Vietnam. The historical marker will be

installed this fall at the former Negro Industrial Building — now the American Cancer Society at 10501 Euclid Ave. — where the news conference was held.

Clayton Pasley Jr., program director of the I Create workshop for MGP, says they look for that “it thing” and personality in applicants. “Lacy’s portfolio is very impressive, but her presence stands out,” Pasley says. “We bring her on as a freelance creative because of her energy, curiosity to create and the way her mind thinks. I’ve gotten to see her get started in the industry in 2019 and evolve into the pure artist that she is today. It is beautiful to see the transformation.”

Nonprofits: Tell Us What You Think

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What are the greatest challenges your nonprofit is facing?

What keeps you up at night?

How can we help?

Please take our 2-minute survey, and we’ll use the information to create content throughout the year and a webinar designed to help nonprofit leaders navigate today’s toughest challenges.

Take the survey at clevelandmagazine/nonprofit-survey or simply scan this code!

COMMUNITY // BY LEE FISHER

What’s in a Name?

Look inside the deliberate and thoughtful process to rename Cleveland State University College of Law.

In November 2022, the Cleveland State University (CSU) Board of Trustees voted to remove the name “Cleveland-Marshall” from our law school. Our law school is now known as Cleveland State University College of Law. We are a historic law school founded over 125 years ago, and this was historic.

How and why did this happen?

In the summer of 2020, we received a petition signed by many students and alumni urging the university to remove any reference to Chief Justice John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, in our law school’s name because of Chief Justice Marshall’s lifelong association with slavery.

Chief Justice John Marshall bought and sold hundreds of slaves throughout his adult life, and, unlike many of his contemporaries like George Washington, did not free any of his slaves. He also made some troubling statements about slavery. However, few would dispute that John Marshall, from a constitutional law perspective, was a very important chief justice in our nation’s history.

When we received the petition, some on all sides of the issue demanded that we make a

quick recommendation because, to them, the answer was clear and obvious. Some students demanded that we immediately ask the university to change our name, and some alumni demanded that we ignore the petition because it was an example of “cancel culture.”

Instead, I told both groups that we would undertake a careful process that modeled what we teach our law students — the need to listen to, respect and understand the viewpoints of all sides of an issue. We teach our law students that in order to be effective advocates and problem-solvers, they must be able to step outside the constraints of their own immediate, biased frames of reference and understand the viewpoints of not only their clients but also their adversaries.

We must recognize that few, if any, individuals can meet a standard of perfection. We are all flawed. Many of our historical figures led contradictory lives that serve as a constant reminder of our nation’s contradictions. Many of their stories hold

multiple truths — that they did truly great things and they did reprehensible things that we should unequivocally condemn and never excuse.

That’s why I immediately formed a Law School Name Committee consisting of faculty, staff, students and alumni to seek wide input and to develop findings and options. We met over 18 months, seeking wide and deep input from all law school constituencies and from professional historians and constitutional law experts. Our process included gathering comprehensive resource materials on institutional name change issues, hosting six public forums that included nationally prominent speakers from universities that have dealt with similar naming issues, writing a 45-page framing document that presented different views on the name change issue and conducting an online survey sent to over 4,000 law school alumni, students, faculty and staff, as well as CSU and Cleveland legal

“What’s in a name?”

–WilliamShakespeare,RomeoandJuliet

community members. The CSU Board reached its decision following an extensive and comprehensive process that included a careful review of the law school report of findings that we submitted to the University.

I fully supported the CSU Board’s decision. Changing our law school’s name is NOT about erasing history. Chief Justice John Marshall’s contributions to American jurisprudence are significant and enduring, and his writings, decisions and judicial legacy will continue to be a very important part of our curriculum and the education of all our law students.

However, we need to recognize the distinction between preserving history and bestowing honor. Naming rights are a highly cherished honor that should be reserved for those whose actions are consistent with the shared present day values of the law school and University and those with the strongest ties to our law school — either through their service or their philanthropy. Chief Justice Marshall and his

ancestors do not have any ties to Cleveland, CSU or our law school.

This was about understanding the inherent complexity of our history and reckoning with that history in the context of our present day values. We cannot ignore the reality that Chief Justice Marshall’s actions and views are contrary to the shared values of our law school and university — an unwavering commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.

I know that some disagree with the CSU Board’s decision and my views, but I hope that those on all sides of this issue will respect the careful process that both the law school and the University undertook. The vast majority of our alumni, students, staff and faculty with whom I have communicated have agreed with this inclusive and deliberative approach, regardless of their views on the issue.

Our careful, thoughtful, deliberate process modeled what we teach our law students: including the importance of due diligence,

due process, inclusiveness, transparency and the need to listen to, respect and understand the viewpoints of others.

As CSU President Laura Bloomberg noted, we should move forward in agreement that the true value and strength of our iconic law school lies in the high quality of the education we offer and the talents and diversity of our students, faculty, staff and alumni. That will never change.

Lee Fisher is Dean and Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler Chair in Law at Cleveland State University College of Law. He is the former Ohio Attorney General, Lt. Governor, Director of the Ohio Department of Development, Chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission, State Representative, State Senator, Chair of the Cuyahoga County Legislative Delegation, President/CEO of the Center for Families and Children, and President/ CEO of CEOs for Cities. In November 2022, Dean Fisher was inducted in the Cleveland Magazine Business Hall of Fame.

HUMAN RESOURCES // BY PAT PERRY

Creating a Great Workplace

Companies can focus on these ideas to help attract and retain top employees.

As we experience the era of hybrid work schedules, it still remains important that organizations continue to focus on providing great workplaces for employees. For your consideration, here are some ideas in no particular order on how to enhance your work environment.

Expand your top performer population — Your business success is tied to the number of top performers you employ. They drive most of your success, so it makes sense to have as many on your team as possible. We want top talent for our local sports teams, so why not for our own workplace teams? Plus, top performers want to work with other talented top performers.

Paint colors — Consider using bright, energizing colors on your company’s walls. That would include the interiors of factories, warehouses and distribution centers. Throw in some tasteful, fun and bright artwork and you have the beginnings of a workplace that shines bright even on the gloomiest days.

Ask them — Don’t forget to ask your top performers their ideas on how to improve your work environment. Their insight and thoughts may surprise you, and they will appreciate being asked.

Productive work setting – Make sure your employees have the tools, technology and resources they need to get the job done.

Personalize – Let employees (tastefully) personalize their workspaces.

What’s on the walls? – Consider hanging art and/or photographs on the walls that tell a story and have meaning. They are great conversation pieces and reflect the personality of your staff and workplace.

Great place to eat – There are exceptional workplaces that create workspaces around kitchens and dining areas that reflect the company culture. These “hubs” provide centralized areas where employees can gather, collaborate, converse and socialize throughout the workday. They provide a way for all employees to get away from their workspaces, take a breather and enjoy a snack or meal versus one of the worst places to eat — their desks.

Keep them off balance – People love nice surprises and the workplace is no exception. To prevent staff from getting bored or in comfortable routines, surprise them at staff meetings, retreats and ordinary workdays throughout the year when they least expect something to occur. From spot bonuses to bringing in an ice cream truck, there are countless ways to surprise staff, put a smile on their faces and continue to

remind them that your workplace is different, fun and filled with tremendous people.

You can eat off the floor – Make no mistake that workplace cleanliness sends a message to your staff and visitors that you care about your team and have organizational pride.

Dog and family friendly – Back in 1998, I brought my Labrador Retriever (Nikki) into the office to celebrate her birthday with our team. They could not believe we were going to allow dogs in the office. From that day forward, the pooches were welcome and became a hallmark of our organizational culture. In addition, we let our team know that their children were welcome anytime. This took tremendous pressure off parents when there was a snow day or when some other situation came up that made daycare or school

attendance a challenge. What productivity loss occurred by being dog and kid friendly was more than made up with the positive impact made on our team and their appreciation for a work setting that was non-traditional.

Sit or Stand – Having attractive and ergonomically friendly furniture is as important as any other resource or tool needed by your team to do their jobs. Whether it is a standing desk or a properly designed conference chair, furniture matters to people. Like brightly colored walls, carefully select fabrics and colors that are pleasing to the eye and complement your work setting. Keep people safe – Today, workplace safety goes well beyond the use of equipment and includes surface sanitation, proper air ventilation, preventing hostile work environments, harassment and workplace violence. People want to go to work at a safe place. It is incumbent upon organizational

leaders to invest energy and dollars into programs that increase the probability that employees can feel and be safe in a place where they can enjoy their work and make a positive difference.

Thank you – Workplace recognition programs are vital to a healthy corporate culture. Team and individual performance should be recognized through cash and non-cash programs. Whether it is simply saying thank you or providing tangible awards, employees want and need to know they are appreciated and contributing to the success of the business.

Giving back – Today, employees expect their organizations to make a positive difference in the community. It may be a community project, donation or allowing your team paid time off to volunteer. Whatever form it takes, community service is fast becoming an important pillar in the foundation of a great place to work.

Care – Organizational leaders need to care more about their people than profits.

None of the ideas outlined above is difficult to accomplish. It is a matter of commitment to building a great workplace. The pieces and parts are not complicated. They just need a relentless approach and continuous process improvement to make it happen. Years ago, when I led ERC, our management team would spend at least 40% of the week focused on our employees and figuring out new and better ways to build a great workplace. We believed that if we developed and enhanced an exceptional place to work, we would attract and retain top quality talent, and success would follow. Fortunately, we were right.

Pat Perry is a business book author, keynote speaker, former ERC president, NEO Business Hall of Fame member and named to the Cleveland 500

Supporting Northeast Ohio’s Future

Covia is a leading provider of minerals and material solutions that improve daily lives. We believe in the power of long-term partnerships – built on integrity, reliability and an innovative solutions mindset – to deliver shared success.

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Fighting the Pain of Poverty

Can we ever break its vicious cycle?

By Terry Troy

It can be heard in the wail of a hungry infant. It walks aimlessly through dilapidated, decaying neighborhoods. It braces itself against the Greater Cleveland cold in weathered coats stuffed with newspapers. And it is witnessed in the eyes of a young generation racked with despair and hopelessness.

Our vicious cycle of poverty must be stopped. But it’s not going to be easy. It wears many hats, takes many forms and often hides behind our own prejudices and pre-conceived notions.

Greater Cleveland has a long history of poverty. Our numbers are among the worst in the nation.

Emily Campbell, COO of the Center for Community Solutions, reports figures from the U.S. Census Bureau: 105,000 people in the City of Cleveland lived

in poverty in 2021. More than 33,500 of those were children. At 45.5%, Cleveland has the highest child poverty rate of any large U.S. city with a population greater than 300,000. We edged out Detroit and are only second in working age poverty. We are fourth in older age poverty, behind Miami, Boston and Philadelphia.

Overall, our poverty rate of 29.3% is below Detroit’s rate of 30.2%, which means we are the second-poorest large city in the nation. Still, our poverty rate is nearly two times the national average.

Campbell also points out that the 2021 poverty rates for each age group fell, but the estimates are within the

margin of error. So, poverty, at least statistically, remained the same.

“We see some small changes from year to year, but the trend seems to be the same,” says Campbell. “Cleveland is a high poverty city. We have too many people and too many families that just don’t make enough to be able to make ends meet. We have a lot of people who are struggling in our community year after year.”

Which begs the question: Why? Especially, when we have one of the best networks of nonprofits in the nation, organizations that partner with an extremely generous population and giving business community. Indeed, it’s not uncommon to see corporate charitable gifts of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Rarely, you also will hear of gifts that exceed $1 million.

EMILY CAMPBELL

Earlier this year, the United Way of Greater Cleveland announced a $1.25 million commitment from the Byrnes Family and Oswald Companies dedicated to the United Way’s programs and partnerships, including something called the August Napoli Fund for Anti-Poverty Innovation. The gift was named in honor of the service of the United Way of Greater Cleveland’s current Board Chair Paul J. Dolan and its former President and CEO Augie Napoli — two community leaders who have been fighting the good fight for years.

“This generous $1.25 million commitment from the Byrnes Family in honor of Oswald Companies will support United Way’s programs and partnerships, including the August Napoli Fund for Anti-Poverty Innovation, a newly created fund that supports early-stage or testbed initiatives with the potential to transform Greater Clevelanders’ lives significantly,” says Sharon Sobol Jordan, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Cleveland.

“We are so grateful to Marc [Byrnes], Viki, their family and the Oswald Companies for their ongoing support of United Way’s work with our many partners to advance equity and justice for all Greater Clevelanders. Their unwavering generosity allows us to continue on our path forward to create inclusive prosperity in our region by effectively addressing both the symptoms and root causes of poverty.”

Oswald Companies also provides $200,000 in annual support toward United Way’s Workplace Campaign and other programs, she adds.

“Giving back to the community is simply a part of our DNA,” says Robert J. “Bob” Klonk, chairman and CEO of Oswald. “With us, giving back is a twoway street. We have been here for more

than 130 years because the community has been so good to us.

“It has been a part of our core values as long as I can remember. It was important when Jim Pender was leading this company, and Marc Byrnes took it a step further. If we want Northeast Ohio to grow into a better community, it is incumbent on all of us to make it happen. Everyone who works for this organization understands that it’s one of the most important things we stand for. It’s not just about increasing profits. It’s also about how much we can help.”

Fortunately, a lot of other business organizations across Northeast Ohio share the vision of Oswald, although it is a shining example.

“When it comes to poverty, it is just so hard to move the needle,” Klonk concedes. “The cycle of poverty is tough to break. There are a lot of great organizations in this city, and we as civic leaders are trying to combat it. Maybe if we had a more concentrated effort. Even if we have to do it block by block. Let’s try and create better environments and offer a better education, so our kids have the same opportunities that other kids have.”

Once it takes root in a community, poverty grows like an evil, invasive weed, its tendrils weaving into our innermost thoughts. The fruits it bears include hunger, homelessness and illhealth among many others. Many people who suffer from poverty work two or three jobs. There are other ill-conceived notions as well.

“When people look at a homeless person, they may think that they are lazy, a drug addict or mentally ill,” says Paul Finley, director of FOCUS-Cleveland-St. Herman House of Hospitality, a faithbased organization whose mission is to shelter and support homeless men. (After serving as its director for more than 10 years, Finley is stepping down this June. Frank Ries, a longtime advisory board member, will take his place.

“It’s not because they are lazy, or simply can’t afford housing — although the availability of affordable housing is a problem,” adds Finley. “More often, homelessness is caused by under-lying issues; things that occurred from birth to 18 years old.”

This is now being diagnosed by some in mental health as a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Many homeless men come from a dysfunctional family structure, where there has been a significant amount of neglect or abuse, whether it’s physical, mental, emotional or sexual abuse, says Finley. They may have had parents or one parent who was struggling with addiction in a home that was very unstable and food insecure.

“By the time you hit 18, if you haven’t been passed around or ended up in foster care, you have all this baggage from your earlier days,” Finley adds. “It makes it very hard for someone to get into or stay in a relationship; to sustain housing. They have never known stability, so how are they going to produce it in their life?”

Those are the reasons that St. Herman House tries to transition homeless men, offering main and transitional housing to some 40 men each month while serving three hot meals a day and more than 60,000 hot meals every year to both its residents as well as the general community. In addition to shelter and food, St. Herman offers life and jobs skills, individual case management and practical items like hygiene kits.

Aside from acute homelessness, there are many people in the Greater Cleveland area who simply can’t find

THE BYRNES FAMILY

“Giving back to the community is simply a part of our DNA. With us, giving back is a two-way street. We have been here for more than 130 years because the community has been so good to us.”

— ROBERT J. “BOB” KLONK

SHARON SOBOL JORDAN

ROBERT KLONK

PAUL FINLEY

affordable housing, let alone create wealth through home ownership. The Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity is trying to change that, one house and one family at a time.

“Cleveland is the poorest big city in the country and is severely lacking in affordable homes,” says John Litten, Greater Cleveland Habitat’s president and CEO. “A staggering 69% of Cleveland households have annual incomes that are less than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), and many of them pay more than half of their monthly income for housing. These issues disproportionately impact people of color who have long struggled for decades with gaining access to homeownership against racial and socioeconomic barriers.

“At Cleveland Habitat, we are focused on creating inroads to affordable homeownership for our partner families who lack the income necessary to qualify for a traditional mortgage. We do everything we can to help ensure that they have the knowledge, tools and support they need to be successful and build financial security.

“When our homeowners succeed, so do the communities where they become stakeholders. They have an opportunity to build generational wealth and provide a safe, stable environment for their families in a quality home built or rehabbed by Habitat. We have seen evidence that these factors have a positive impact on the economic health of the community as well.”

Nowhere is the pain of poverty felt more acutely than in the empty bellies of infants, children, adults and elderly who are food insecure.

“Hunger Network ensures no one goes hungry and no food goes to waste,” says Julie Johnson, CEO of the Hunger Network. “Incorporated as a grassroots nonprofit in 1995, we are the largest grassroots hunger relief and food recovery nonprofit in Cuyahoga County, serving over 40,000 neighbors each month.”

Hunger Network fights food inequity and injustice through a collaborative consortium of hunger centers, food donors and nonprofit partners that serve its neighbors in need with dignity and compassion by providing them with accessible, healthy and culturally relevant foods, hygiene items and resources free of charge.

“Our collaborative consortium of 79 hunger centers are strategically located directly in local neighborhoods where food insecurity is the highest, which allows more of our neighbors to have increased equitable access to fresh foods, and minimizes transportation challenges. Currently, City of Cleveland Ward 5 has the highest food insecurity rate at 78.3%; followed by Ward 7 with a 69.7% food insecurity. On the Northern end of the County, Hunger Network sites stretch from Euclid to Bay Village and on the Southern end from Oakwood Village to Olmsted Falls.”

Hunger Network member food pantries and hot meal sites are often run by volunteers who reside in the neighborhood where the center is located.

“Our hunger centers promote healthy eating by supplying as much fresh, healthy and culturally relevant foods as they are able to meet residents’ needs,” says Johnson.

“Our collaborative consortium of 79 hunger centers are strategically located directly in local neighborhoods where food insecurity is the highest, which allows more of our neighbors to have increased equitable access to fresh foods, and minimizes transportation challenges.”

— JULIE JOHNSON

The typical family who relies on Hunger Network’s hunger centers is employed — sometimes working two or three jobs — but due to low wages are unable to meet their basic food needs.

“In 2021, 30% of neighbors we nourished were children,” says Johnson. “During school holidays and summer vacations, when school meals are unavailable, many families more heavily depend on the Hunger Network centers to put food on the table.

“For our senior residents (23%) experiencing hunger and other poverty-related challenges, their nearby hunger center is more than just a reliable food source. It is also a safe, comforting, familiar place where they can interact with neighbors who care about their needs and well-being; access services that help them protect and improve their health; and gain guidance and connections to additional community resources. We give people the food they need to survive and connect them to vital services that can help them live healthier lives.”

If you’re talking about fighting hunger, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank is

JOHN LITTEN

JULIE JOHNSON

“At Cleveland Habitat, we are focused on creating inroads to affordable homeownership for our partner families who lack the income necessary to qualify for a traditional mortgage. We do everything we can to help ensure that they have the knowledge, tools and support they need to be successful and build financial security.”

— JOHN LITTEN

arguably among the best in the nation. It recently expanded its operations to include a new food distribution center, staffed by volunteers and welcoming partner agencies and other supporters.

With a strategic mission to end hunger “Today, Tomorrow and for a Lifetime,” the Greater Cleveland Food Bank is often recognized for its efforts. And while supported through charitable efforts like the recently launched Harvest for Hunger and thousands of community partners, even it is facing new challenges.

One of the biggest is inflation and the rising cost of food. Where a $1 donation would have been enough for the Food Bank to supply four nutritious meals, it now only provides three.

There are also more mouths to feed. Last year, 84,700 people visited an emergency feeding program for the first time. And 349,000 people were served by the Food Bank and its more than 1,000 partner agencies across its six-county service area in Northeast Ohio.

“One of the things the federal government did during the pandemic, amongst many other things, was to provide support to Americans,” says Kristin Warzocha, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. “They increased the monthly allotment for people enrolled in the SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program].

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, about 220,000 people in the six counties served by the Greater Cleveland Food Bank were receiving additional benefits to help them put food on the table.”

And those additional benefits were significant, says Warzocha.

“We support an entire ecosystem of food banks and initiatives. We don’t just support the Food Bank, because not everyone can get to the Food Bank. We also support a lot of other organizations, like the Hunger Network, and those are what I would call some of our regulars.”

— DALE ROBINSON ANGLIN

“Every SNAP recipient received about $95 more a month that they could use to buy food at their local grocery store,” she says. “And some received more than that. Some senior recipients receiving the maximum allotment for a single person could have been getting $250 more each month to purchase food. Now many of them are going back to the minimum allotment, which is $23 a month.

“Of course, we knew this was a pandemic era program. We all knew that it would end. It is just ending at a very difficult time.”

Hundreds of thousands of people will be impacted by the recent cuts in the SNAP program, Warzocha says, forcing them into the emergency food system, including the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and its regular food distributions at the Muni-Lot — which currently serves 2,500 families and 7,500 people at each distribution.

“And the emergency food system was designed to fill in the gaps, not make up for federal funding,” she adds.

It’s clear that poverty is a complex problem that cannot possibly be solved by one nonprofit, one corporation, nor one partnership alone. That’s one of the reasons a multi-faceted organization with multiple partnerships like United Way can be of such a help. But United Way is not alone.

“We support an entire ecosystem of food banks and initiatives,” says Dale

Robinson Anglin, vice president, program for the Cleveland Foundation. “We don’t just support the Food Bank, because not everyone can get to the Food Bank. We also support a lot of other organizations, like the Hunger Network, and those are what I would call some of our regulars.

“We realize that no one entity or foundation can tackle the initiatives caused by poverty. It’s one of the reasons we have done a lot more collaborative work with other foundations and nonprofits.”

That is the main reason the Cleveland Foundation has named Megan Wilson chief of staff and director of public policy and government relations.

“Moving forward, we can give money, but we can also be giving our time and name, especially for policy makers who are willing to answer our calls,” says Anglin. “We have to work on understanding how they see the problem and make them understand how big an influence they have.”

One of the biggest poverty initiatives supported by the Cleveland Foundation in the last few years has been through its partnership with the George Gund Foundation, Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Say Yes Cleveland’s Integrated Health Initiative, which is bringing physical, mental and behavioral health resources and services into public school buildings.

While all of these initiatives have Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio pointed in the right direction, it will take a sustained collaborative effort on the part of all nonprofit and corporate partners as well as generous private contributions to truly fight the pain of poverty.

“Our community has a good understanding of the kinds of things that help and the sustained effort that is required,” says Campbell from the Center for Community Solutions. “These are just a few of the approaches that we need to do to break the cycle of poverty and get our city off the highest poverty list.”

KRISTIN WARZOCHA

DALE ROBINSON ANGLIN

COMMUNITY COMMUNITY

FILLING A COMMUNITY NEED

ThirdSpace Reading Room welcomes book lovers in Glenville. By Rhonda Crowder

It feels more like a great hangout than a bookstore. It resembles someone’s living room with lots of books, open space, soft seating, colorful art, plants, a huge picture window, decorative light fixtures, one massive wall shelf, strategically-placed tables and carts with books and even a couple of ’70s-style, highback wicker chairs similar to the one seen in Huey P. Newton’s iconic photo positioned for effect. And ’90s R&B resounds.

With such a cultural vibe, you might come for a book or two but will stay for the dialogue — the exchange of thoughts and ideas about everything from some of the best places to eat in the city to your favorite travel destinations.

It’s the ThirdSpace Reading Room.

A brand extension of ThirdSpace Action Lab, ThirdSpace Reading Room is located at 1464 E. 105th St. on the first floor of The Madison in the space once occupied by the Black-owned Deuteronomy 8:3 Cafe Books & Music. It is the only African American bookstore in the Glenville community. And Glenville native Harry Atwell, who manages the bookstore and activities happening in “the space,” is captain of the ship.

“They had the idea to open the bookstore from the beginning,” says Atwell,

speaking of owners Evelyn Burnett and Mordecai Cargill. “The pandemic put things on hold.”

Burnett and Cargill, both Glenville residents, are the masterminds behind Third Action Lab, a consultancy created to disrupt the vicious cycle of disinvestment and displacement that exploits low-income communities of color.

“They truly love this community,” says Atwell. “Both are avid readers and wanted to make books accessible.”

Atwell’s official title is community manager. He learned about the position through a mutual friend, Celia Williamson. She and Burnett have maintained a “bestie” relationship since their college days at The University of Akron.

Williamson sent Atwell the job description, asking him if he knew

someone who would be interested. Atwell, who left Cleveland State University before graduating to care for his aging grandmother and had worked at the Cleveland Clinic for 17 years, then Crate & Barrel, took a chance, raised his hand, saying, “Umm, me.”

He joined ThirdSpace Reading Room just before the grand opening on June 17, 2022.

“It’s been amazing,” he says. “It’s one of those things where I didn’t know what to expect. But I don’t think anyone could’ve been better prepared.”

Most importantly, Atwell enjoys reading — a passion he picked up from his grandparents, he says.

“I love getting lost in books. I love an actual book,” says Atwell. “I love learning about people.”

Harry Atwell greets patrons of the ThirdSpace Reading Room.

ThirdSpace Reading Room also serves as the bookseller at events outside the space, such as the Great Lakes African American Writers Conference fundraiser, which hosted renowned African American food writer Toni Tipton Martin at Landerhaven last September. In addition, Tipton Martin’s books can be purchased at the store.

For varying prices, a mixture of rare, old and new books can be found in ThirdSpace Reading Room. Atwell recalls discovering a first or second edition of a Langston Hughes book. The libraries, Anisfield Wolf/Cleveland Foundation and people from the neighborhood have donated inventory.

Atwell adds that the community is starting to embrace the space, and foot traffic is increasing. “Having books in the windows indicates to people that we are a bookstore,” he says.

Happy about his chance, Atwell is still taking it all in and developing ideas to keep the business and physical space evolving. The latter allows his interest in interior design to kick in.

“Every time I come in here, it looks different,” says Burnett. She calls Atwell the “real rockstar” of ThirdSpace Reading Room.

Atwell welcomes all into the space to hang out, read and shop anytime the lights are on.

Williamson says it’s been a “group dream” creating this “third space.” A Cleveland native who grew up in Glenville, graduated from John Hay and recently returned from the New York City area, she is an interior designer — a passion she and Atwell share.

“It’s been such a joy to watch Harry make the space his own,” she says. “I want everyone to walk away happy.”

Photographer Amber Ford, a frequent visitor, thinks ThirdSpace Reading Room is great for Cleveland’s East Side.

“They are building a space people want to spend time in,” she says. “It can become a new staple for the community. And, it’s Black-owned.”

Ford, a younger millennial/Gen Z-er, loves hearing the “back in the day” stories while at ThirdSpace Reading Room

and says Burnett and Cargill have a way of making people feel welcomed.

“This space, being in the neighborhood, makes you feel ownership,” she says.

Dr. Adam Banks, professor of writing and rhetoric at Stanford University, grew up in the Hough community and lives up the road on Wade Park Ave. When not reading academic works, he enjoys anything about music. He loves music biographies. Some of his favorites are about Herbie Hancock, Curtis Mayfield and Aretha Franklin.

Banks always tries to support independent bookstores. Mac’s Backs-Books on Coventry and Loganberry Books on Larchmere are a couple he frequents most often. Missing Black-owned stores such as Timbuktu and Ethic Arts, once staples for Cleveland-based African American readers, he says having ThirdSpace Reading Room in the neighborhood is “necessary.”

“We need far more spaces like it in every other neighborhood,” he says. “What is so crucial about ThirdSpace is they welcome people as they are. It’s a

space not just for books but space for actual community.”

Banks also points out that with the “major loss” from Hough Branch Library moving from Kenmore Ave., behind the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, to E. 66th Street and Lexington Ave., ThirdSpace is even more important.

“Without it, there’s a lack of any other place to access books, information and community in this neighborhood,” he says. “And, it’s important to note they are continuing the legacy of Deuteronomy 8:3.”

ThirdSpace Reading Room is open Wednesday through Saturday from Noon to 4 p.m. Books can also be ordered online.

"We need far more spaces like it in every other neighborhood. What is so crucial about ThirdSpace is they welcome people as they are. It's a space not just for books but space for actual community."

— DR. ADAM BANKS

Creating Coaches

The Baldwin Wallace Center for Coaching Excellence makes the next generation of sports mentors.

It’s not a game. The influence a coach can have on an athlete’s self-esteem, development or sportsmanship can be extensive. And that’s at any level — from the 4-year-old child who would rather pick dandelions in the outfield instead of paying attention to the batter, to the high school wrestler who hugs his opponent at the end of a very tough match, to a professional athlete with a multi-million-dollar contract.

Like teachers, coaches can directly and indirectly make a huge difference in someone’s life. Developing coaches who have the training, knowledge and empathy to be effective, positive influencers is vital.

Baldwin Wallace (BW) University established the Center for Coaching Excellence in its School of Health, Physical Education & Sports Sciences in 2019 (now the Department of Allied Health,

By Jill Sell

Sport and Wellness). More than just concentrating on sports rules, regulations and training methods, the Center also focuses on collaborative research, player and coach development, workshops and partnerships.

In addition, the Center (under BW’s Division of Community Learning) tackles current evolving topics, including the coaching shortage and multicultural coaching opportunities. The university

Coach Cheri Harrer, Baldwin Wallace’s Head Women’s Basketball Coach

also offers an athletic coaching minor. The comprehensive curriculum includes instruction in program planning, nutrition, first aid and psychology, as well as other expectations. The curriculum is based on the teachings and philosophy of the Positive Coaching Alliance, an organization that “promotes positive, character-building experiences for athletes.”

“It’s unbelievable what a student gets with this minor,” says Kerry Bebie, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Allied Health, Sport and Wellness, and the Center’s founder and director. “There are also internships involved with the minor’s requirements, so students have to physically get out there and coach in the real world on some level.”

That opportunity is crucial and can be compared to the experience of traditional student teaching while in college. A college student might enjoy taking classes in a specific subject area, as well as learning from teacher education classes. But being in a classroom, standing in front of high school pupils or energetic elementary students, might be a different case.

Practical, classroom experiences help future teachers learn skills and techniques to establish a productive learning environment. Or someone may decide being a teacher really isn’t for them. The valuable knowledge they have learned can lead in another direction, one more suitable for them.

The same is true for coaching internships. In most cases, coaching is both a mental and physical activity. Maybe gritty dust in your face blowing off a baseball diamond isn’t someone’s idea of a good time. Or maybe a potential track coach finds out helping with a tennis team is challenging in a good way and is a sport to coach that was not considered before the internship. BW offers student coaches a chance to find out.

Many in Northeast Ohio associate BW with its superb curriculum and

opportunities in the performing arts. But the university’s commitment and reputation for quality athletic programs and education should never be underestimated.

“BW has such a rich history of coaching and coaches, including individuals like Lee Tressel (who coached his quarterback son, the future legendary football coach Jim Tressel). We were doing a lot of those important coaching and athlete preparations and studies before the establishment of the Center, but on a less formal basis,” says Bebie. “There is really nothing else like the Center around here in Northeast Ohio.”

Research opportunities for students enrolled in BW’s Department of Allied Health, Sport and Wellness are also challenging and meaningful. For example, collaborating with USA Football, students collect data on participants in a modified Rookie Tackle Football league. These paid research positions contribute to the knowledge and effects of sports on athletics.

Partnerships are paramount. The Center has worked with the Cleveland Browns and the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) to offer a course in football officiating. Students had the opportunity to take a certification exam and become a registered official with OHSAA. Partnerships have also been formed with the U.S. Soccer program.

In addition, the university has partnered with the nonprofit Adaptive Sports Ohio to bring the Adaptive Sports Ohio ExCEL Games (a Paralympic track and field event) to campus. This past March, BW hosted a Special Olympics Basketball Tournament that involved more than 13 schools and 260 athletes.

But no one has to leave their home, school or office to benefit from some of the Center’s networking or educational opportunities. “What’s the Score?” is a monthly podcast presented by the Center, featuring coaches, administrators and other professionals who discuss topics of interest in the coaching world and beyond. “Fans” of the podcast can watch from their personal “bleacher seat” devices, as sessions are available on Apple, Spotify, Google and Libsyn. The next podcast features Randale L. Richmond, director of athletics at Kent State and an alumnus of BW.

“Any good coach will say they never stop learning or evolving,” says Bebie, who has been with BW for 14 years and who was active with volleyball and basketball teams when she attended college as well as after college. “What’s most challenging for a coach depends on the individual. All people have strengths and weaknesses. But I say if you want to be a coach, start with a solid philosophy. Know who you are and what you want to accomplish as a youth coach or a coach of professionals.”

Particularly with athletes up to the age of 18, Bebie says coaches should have a special goal.

“If an athlete doesn’t leave a youth program being a better person than when they started, that’s a problem. Winning is important, but not at the extent of the athlete,” says Bebie. “It’s great when you or your child’s school or community really get it.”

The Center for Coaching Excellence guides coaches to help create that environment at the court, field, pool or gym.

“What’s most challenging for a coach depends on the individual. All people have strengths and weaknesses. But I say if you want to be a coach, start with a solid philosophy. Know who you are and what you want to accomplish as a youth coach or a coach of professionals.”

— KERRY BEBIE, PHD

KERRY BEBIE

Loving Our Lakefront

Cleveland Metroparks celebrates 10 years of success. By

It wasn’t pretty. A decade ago, in some areas, Cleveland’s lakefront parks were home to drug dealers, broken glass, pieces of Styrofoam cups, bags of garbage and washed-up dead fish. Graffiti marred boulders and buildings. Public restrooms were best avoided. Weeds encroached on any battered land that could sustain life.

But equally as damaging was the acceptance that the situation could not be changed. It was hard for the city and many of its residents to use and be proud of lakefront parks that were neglected and not respected.

That was then. This year, Cleveland Metroparks is inviting Northeast Ohioans and tourists to celebrate Lakefront 10, an acknowledgement of the transformation of these parks. Various educational and fun activities are planned for all ages, beginning in June.

The 10-year milestone is tied to 2013, when Cleveland Metroparks became

the stewards of several collective parks. Cleveland Lakefront State Park had been owned and maintained by the State of Ohio. Before that, the parkland was city-owned. When the parkland came under the wing of Cleveland Metroparks, it became Cleveland Lakefront Reservation.

“The State of Ohio did a lot of things really well, including some repairs,” says Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman of the leased land. “But priorities had changed and there was a long look at local control, which we had been advocating.

“We needed a change in the culture of users. These parks were not thought of as high-quality amenities. We put out a notice with our partners that we were going to follow our motto: clean, green and safe. And we pushed very hard,” says Zimmerman. “Now you can look at the increase in visitation and see how the community helped shape the plans that allowed for the renaissance to happen.”

Cleveland Metroparks’ Lakefront, Euclid Creek and Huntington Reservations now include an incredible array of facilities, parks and natural features, many

developed, enhanced or preserved by the park district during the transformative past decade.

Here are four highlights often noted by Cleveland Metroparks:

The $4.5 million Edgewater Beach House, 7600 Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, in the Lakefront Reservation, opened in 2017. The building, designed by the Cleveland-based architectural firm of Bialosky, features a ground floor with restrooms, a kitchen, serving windows and office. The open second floor allows views of downtown and the beach.

The 500-foot-long, $5.6 million Wendy Park Bridge connects downtown Cleveland and Cleveland Metroparks lakefront parks and trails. The bridge, decades in the making, provides pedestrians and bicyclists much-needed access to Wendy Park, Edgewater Park, Whiskey Island and the historic U.S. Coast Guard Station. Funding for this project came from many local, state and national sources and is one of the best examples of Cleveland Metroparks and its partners working in tandem.

Jill Sell

BRIAN ZIMMERMAN

The Euclid Beach Pier is a 315-foot-long pier that extends 150 feet over Lake Erie.

East 55th Street Marina and e55 on the lake restaurant is what a user-friendly marina is meant to do. The E. 55th Marina, 5555 N. Marginal Road in the Lakefront Reservation, includes a 1,200-foot fishing platform, 360 floating wet slips, a marina store, fuel dock and fish cleaning station. As one veteran Cleveland fisherman said, “You no longer have to take your life in your hands navigating rocks and litter to take your grandkids fishing.” In addition, the e55 on the lake restaurant is the place to buy Lake Erie Lemonade and breaded walleye.

The Euclid Beach Pier opened in December 2018 and greeted pedestrians and dog walkers in the snow and cold. The 315-foot-long pier that extends 150 feet over Lake Erie instantly became one of the Metroparks’ most beloved spots . Maybe it is part nostalgia for the former Euclid Beach Amusement Park, part appreciation for the marvelous custom arches by local artist Brinsley Tyrrell, and partly because it is a unique new place for the community to relax, lake-watch and come together.

“I am tired of people saying we are not a lakefront community,” says Zimmerman. “Cleveland is what it is — a gritty, industrial city with a very challenging lakefront. But we continue to make inroads, whether that is at Edgewater or the bridge across to Wendy Park, which people said couldn’t happen. These projects could change the narrative about how we feel about being a lakefront community. Be bullish in your plans and work to execute them. CHEERS, for example, is one of those bold visions.”

Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Strategy (CHEERS) is an ambitious plan of Cleveland Metroparks, the Port of Cleveland, the

City of Cleveland and other partners to add about 80 acres of new parkland to Cleveland’s East Side lakefront. The park district believes connecting more communities and neighbors to Lake Erie and lakefront with CHEERS will result in better health for residents due to the potential for physical activity and recreational opportunities. Economic and environmental benefits are also expected.

“We’d love for people to visit the lakefront on a daily basis and for those who live adjacent to Lake Erie to embrace the idea of living in a lakefront community,” says Metroparks Principal Planner Kelly Coffman.

Sean McDermott is the chief planning and design officer for Cleveland Metroparks. McDermott says that over the past decade, and particularly during the COVID-19 isolation, “there was a lot of pent-up demand for good, clean, public lake access.”

In some ways, the park district was in the right place at the right time. More Clevelanders, like many other Americans, were primed and ready to demand and expect a cleaner environment and

greater access to a vanishing natural world.

“Most of everything, if not everything we have done with the lakefront, has been with strong partnerships,” says McDermott. “We have also exceeded our expectations over the past 10 years. A main reason for that is how the public has responded, adapted and embraced the lakefront.”

Jacqueline Gerling, Cleveland Metroparks director of communications, says “extensive efforts throughout the seasons” to maintain the lakefront by the park district and its partners, plus “the help of community volunteers participating in beach cleanups,” are huge benefits.

“It shows the pride Clevelanders take in Cleveland Metroparks and being a lakefront community,” says Gerling.

METROPARKS By the Numbers

3.8 MILLION

In 2022, visitation to Cleveland Metroparks lakefront locations was more than 3.8 million.

20%

Lakefront Parks account for 20% of Cleveland Metroparks total visitation.

1.2 MILLION

SEAN MCDERMOTT

(Lakefront park location stats include: Edgewater, Whiskey Island/Wendy Park, E. 55, E. 72, Villa Angela, Wildwood and Euclid Beach.)

There has been a 1.2 million-person increase in visitation from 2015 to 2022.

The Wendy Park Bridge connects downtown Cleveland and Cleveland Metroparks lakefront parks and trails.

The $4.5 million Edgewater Beach House in the Lakefront Reservation opened in 2017.

KIDS THAT TRI

By

While competing in triathlons back in 2020, Mark Brandt noticed a paucity of diversity at many of the competitions, which include a swim, bike race and run.

“I was seeing a lot of white males in many of the races, so I began to think, ‘We need to get more diversity into this sport. Why wouldn’t a young person who is ethnically diverse like Asian, Hispanic or African American want to get into this sport?’” Brandt asked himself. “The answer was, of course, they would. They just haven’t been given the opportunity.’”

So, Brandt founded a nonprofit called Kids That Tri (KTT) in October 2020, “right in the middle of COVID,” he says.

Brandt went to the Parker Hannifin YMCA downtown and asked if he could rent out the entire facility for one Saturday a month to help spread the word about his favorite sport.

“So the manager at the time agreed to shut down the entire Y and clean everything,” says Brandt. “We brought our kids in and offered them a three-hour program once a month.”

After about six months, the program started to grow.

“We did have some drop off, but the kids were still showing up,” says Brandt. “Most of my urban kids were from Cleveland and East Cleveland. We found out that transportation was

a huge problem, much larger than we had anticipated.”

Still, the kids came down to the Y and the nonprofit got them to run, bike and swim. That first year 30 kids participated in the program. It wasn’t long before the Greater Cleveland YMCA came to Brandt with a proposition. They would like to partner with KTT, and instead of renting out space, allow the nonprofit to use its facilities for free. Practices increased to three days a week instead of just once a month.

“And we ended up getting seven really good coaches, with a lot of diversity on the staff,” says Brandt. “These kids see themselves in our coaches, so they are really taking the message to heart. They realize we care.”

At the end of each program, the kids are encouraged to compete in the Tri CLE Rock Roll Run, a for-profit USA Triathlon Sanctioned Event founded by Brandt that has been held here since August 2021. This year’s event is slated for Aug. 12, starting at the Great Lakes Science Center.

“The first year, we had four kids participate. Last year we had 18. We’re expecting even more this year because the program at the Y attracted more than 50 kids,” says Brandt.

The kids are encouraged to keep competing at one or more other triathlons held throughout the state. But make no mistake, the Tri CLE Rock Roll Run is the culmination of each year’s program, Brandt adds.

“And they are the highlight of the whole event,” Brandt says of his young charges. “We put up a tent at the finish line and their moms, dads, aunts, uncles and teachers come down and root the kids on. And when they come in, you’d think they just won the Olympics.

“It’s not that these kids are such great athletes, although they do win a majority of the medals in their age groups,” adds Brandt. “What is really rewarding is to be able to inspire confidence

and create a solid foundation for a healthy and active lifestyle at no cost to the athlete.”

KTT targets diversity and inclusion to create champions.

Terry Troy

"These kids see themselves in our coaches, so they are really taking the message to heart. They realize we care.”

—

MARK BRANDT

1-2. Mark Brandt trains a class of Kids That Tri.

3. Handing out t-shirts at last year’s Tri CLE Rock Roll Run.

4. Mark Brandt runs in Edgewater Park.

Cleveland’s greatest attraction is its ALL IN business community.

Cleveland’s greatest attraction is its ALL IN business community.

Cleveland’s greatest attraction is its ALL IN business community.

Through partnerships among the public, private, philanthropic and civic communities, we are ALL IN on our vision of building a great region on a Great Lake.

Through partnerships among the public, private, philanthropic and civic communities, we are ALL IN on our vision of building a great region on a Great Lake.

Through partnerships among the public, private, philanthropic and civic communities, we are ALL IN on our vision of building a great region on a Great Lake.

Learn more about the All In plan

Learn more about the All In plan

Learn more about the All In plan

largest metro chamber of commerce

Offering Hope

Prayers From Maria Foundation strives to reduce childhood cancer deaths.

Depending on the weather and soil conditions, thousands of sunflower seeds will be planted either this month (Brain Cancer Awareness Month) or in June in the two Prayers From Maria Fields of Hope in Northeast Ohio. When the flowers bloom, they will turn their faces to the sun, and, some believe, reflect the joy of the little girl who inspired the glorious bright yellow gardens.

Maria McNamara was 7 years old in 2007 when her 14-month fight with brain cancer came to an end. Maria was diagnosed with a glioma brain tumor, an aggressive growth belonging

By Jill Sell

to a family type that accounts for the second-highest cause of cancer deaths among young people. Her cancer was the type that leaves devastated parents with the knowledge that their children face a 99.5% chance of not living more than two years.

“If we could move that needle from 99 to 90 and save one, two, five children, as a parent you couldn’t be happier,” says Edward McNamara, who, with his wife, Megan, co-founded the Prayers From Maria foundation in 2007.

Changing that percentage takes research and money. The McNamaras founded their nonprofit to benefit

Megan and Edward McNamara created Prayers from Maria to honor their late daughter’s concern for other children with similar fatal conditions.

global research into the “cause, prevention, treatment and cure” for pediatric glioma brain tumors. More than $12 million has been raised in total. The McNamaras say Prayers From Maria was not created as a memorial to their daughter, but as a recognition of their daughter’s concern for other children with a serious illness and a parent’s desire to end brain cancer’s hold.

Edward McNamara, president and CEO of Armada Risk Partners, a Cleveland-based insurance brokerage firm, was incredulous when he first learned funding for childhood brain cancer was minimal. Over the years, he and his wife have personally worked and partnered with others to raise the awareness of this horrendous challenge youngsters can face.

For many people, the most visible and well-known introduction to Prayers From Maria is one of the Fields of Hope. Forty-two acres of land have been purchased for a permanent location for a

The Fields of Hope is a visible showcase of Prayers from Maria.

Field of Hope in Avon, on the east side of Jaycox Road, across from Middleton Road. Aside from planting a possible cover crop at the new field this spring if planting conditions are suitable, this year’s Avon Field of Hope will remain at its temporary spot, alongside Recreation Blvd., near Crushers Stadium.

A second Field of Hope is located along Cedar Point Causeway. More than 240,000 sunflowers on eight acres have been planted at that location. Several varieties of sunflowers are planted in both locations, including Mammoth Grey Stripe, a flower that can grow to 12 feet high and have a bloom that is a foot across.

There is no fee to visit the fields in bloom, from sun up to sundown, although donations are accepted. A Memorial Wall remembers and celebrates the lives of children no longer with us.

“I assure you that there will be a third, a fourth, a fifth, and, I hope, a 100th Field of Hope. But I also hope

that someday there won’t be any,” says Edward McNamara, expressing his wish that in the future, pediatric brain cancers will be eradicated.

Visitors to the sunflower fields also may dedicate a sunflower in honor, memory or support of someone dear to their heart for a minimum donation. Family activities are planned throughout the blooming season. Being in a non-intimidating environment can be particularly comforting and healing to children who have lost a sibling. Also, with notification, visitors may hold dignified, small events at the fields.

“I love that people want to come to the fields to celebrate life moments, like engagements, anniversaries, graduations. These are life moments that the children we recognize here didn’t have. I think it all works synergistically in a lot of ways,” says Megan McNamara, who, like her husband, does not take a penny from the nonprofit.

HOW TO HELP

The McNamaras understand that some people feel it is important to donate to cancer research. Others prefer to increase awareness of childhood cancer and perhaps provide some comfort to families by supporting the planting and care of the Fields of Hope. The Prayers From Maria Foundation appreciates both gestures.

Many in Northeast Ohio have embraced the nonprofit. This year’s Jersey Mike’s Day of Giving was held March 29. Six Northeast Ohio restaurants donated 100% of the day’s sales — not just profits — to the Prayers from Maria Foundation.

Read more about upcoming fundraising events on the next page.

This annual program is designed to offer exceptional and exclusive access to Zoo experiences. Corporate Champions enjoy benefits that engage employees, entertain clients, and connect with community partners.

MORE WAYS TO GET INVOLVED:

2023 Union Home Mortgage Cleveland Marathon May 20 and 21

When the McNamaras learned that a number of people were already running in the marathon independently to aid Prayers From Maria, they decided to encourage their supporters. An official team of runners, Sunflowers for Striders, was formed a number of years ago.

Northeast Ohio parents Jason and Cathy Massey lost their young son, Logan, to cancer. They have devoted an admirable amount of time and effort to help the Prayers From Maria running team.

“Logan’s dad is really passionate and has this event in his heart,” says Megan. “We are blessed to have him involved.” To become a team member, contact team coordinator Grace Bevington through prayersfrommaria.org.

The Sunflower Summer Wine Festival July 8

Thousands of people enjoy this event that takes place annually along Depot Street in the Old River area of Rocky River. Entertainment includes live music, including the kickoff performance by Ed Purcell Music. Edward Purcell, a solo acoustic cover artist, is a partner with Armada Risk Partners. Billy Morris and the Sunset Strip will close out the event.

“We know people come to this event to enjoy themselves and we want them to,” says Megan. “But we also have signage, handouts and a slideshow on stage that tells them why we are there. They get to know that their money is going to something important.”

The Sunflower Soiree August 11

Many of Northeast Ohio’s movers and shakers, including about 50 CEOs of top companies in the region, attend this high-end fundraiser to show their support for Prayers From Maria. Medical researchers and physicians, including those from University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth Medical Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health, as well as other organizations, are part of the very special night, according to Megan. Last year’s soiree was held at the Historic Coast Guard Station on Whiskey Island. This year’s location has not been finalized.

Key individuals fighting childhood brain cancer from across the country, including those who have benefited from Prayers From Maria funding, share information about the progress being made in childhood cancer research. The McNamaras are also touched and amazed by those researchers who say their current work would not be possible without initial funding by Prayers From Maria years ago.

“I have been told by some CEOs that this is one event they want to come to, and they say, ‘’Not only do I sponsor it, but I bring my friends.’ We are proud and grateful for that,” says Edward.

FIRST PEACE & COMFORT

McGregor Hospice strives to provide the highest quality end-of-life services.

By Jill Sell

Cultures around the world view death differently, according to Penni-Lynn Rolen, hospice director for McGregor, a nonprofit organization providing services for seniors since 1877.

“America is all about being young and healthy and productive. As a culture, we have a lot to learn about honoring our elderly and supporting them at the end of life,” says Rolen. “And that includes changing the perception of hospice. The philosophy of hospice is recognizing that quality of life, peace and comfort should be the focus of health care when curing is no longer possible.

“Hospice is a benefit. It allows the person to spend more quality time with their

family and friends. It can mean decreasing trips to the hospital. With hospice, the family and the individual are exercising more control and pushing away those extreme methods and aggressive treatments that are not really going to be effective,” says Rolen.

(The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services defines hospice eligibility for those who have been diagnosed with a life expectancy of six months or less.)

Rolen joined McGregor in December 2022, previously having worked for another hospice agency for three years. The hospice director’s career has spanned 40 years of nursing experience that includes staff nursing,

management positions, education and leadership roles.

McGregor Hospice is about 10 years old and has been gently adapting its services and programs to fit the times, communities it serves and influencing perspectives on hospice. Hospice services are available as part of the organization’s continuum of care and are offered to residents on its main 45-acre Cleveland campus in independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing care and long-term care facilities.

But McGregor’s commitment to “providing the highest quality of life by ensuring comfort, dignity and tranquility — no matter where the patient resides or calls home,” means off-

campus hospice services are also part of its mission.

“Someone doesn’t even have to be in a McGregor facility to receive McGregor Hospice,” says Rolen, referring to its description as “a special kind of caring.” “We have contracts with other facilities throughout Greater Cleveland. We are also always willing to entertain a onetime contract with a facility or work with individuals and their families to offer support and advocacy in their home or home of a family member or friend. The latter does not require a contract.

“Each individual’s journey is different. Our philosophy is to meet them where they are in every sense and move forward in the direction they want that journey to go,” adds Rolen.

Hospice support services can include pain and symptom management, medication management, medical supplies, respite care for caregivers, 24/7 support, bereavement support for 13 months following the death of a loved one and more.

The Hospice Team at McGregor consists of physicians, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, hospice aides, social workers, counselors, chaplain/ spiritual counselors, pharmacists, volunteers and others who may be needed. Those individuals also may be called upon to be part of several auxiliary hospice services. That includes the McGregor Bridge program, which is for those not yet eligible for hospice.

“McGregor Bridge is an alternative for people with life-threatening diseases who aren’t quite ready for the hospice level of care. In the Bridge program, people may pursue curative treatments for their disease and will have team support in identifying what they need to focus on, for example education related to disease progression and advanced directives,” says Rolen. “We can help people understand what to expect as their disease progresses, and what they should or want to focus on. When we see more acceptance of their end-of-life journey, we can move these individuals into McGregor Hospice where they can continue to find comfort and care.”

In keeping with McGregor’s belief of a “boutique style hospice,” McGregor Bridge and social workers can help individuals connect with someone who can assist not just with health issues, but with financial and legal concerns, as well.

“The sooner you can establish a relationship with someone and the family, the better,” says Rolen. “That way the interdisciplinary team gets to know everyone and really understands what the individual wants. Also, if we get to someone too late, it’s difficult to do legacy work with them, and that’s often important to the individual and the family. How does someone want to be remembered? How do family members want to remember that person?”

She notes that McGregor’s Memorable Moments program is aimed at coordinating events and activities, including special birthday parties, that can be especially moving and appreciated by terminally ill individuals.

“Having discussions earlier with people who are managing life limiting diseases allows the team to support the individual to plan their end-of-life journey,” says Rolen. “We need to get health providers to refer individuals sooner so hospice can provide necessary support.”

We Honor Veterans is a recognition program focused on those servicemen and women who have “sacrificed so much to keep all of us free and our liberties intact,” and who are receiving McGregor Hospice or McGregor Bridge assistance. The McGregor team particularly understands the devastating

effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that some veterans face, sometimes months, years or even not until the end-of-life period. Depression, irritability, shame, anger and other emotions may be common. Support services associated with McGregor Hospice can help vets and their families deal with PTSD at this challenging time.

The We Honor Veterans program awards Certificates of Appreciation and a small token gift, such as a cap, to the veterans in hospice. Journals are also provided to help the veteran and their family record memories; they can be used for anyone, not just vets.

McGregor Hospice has been honored for its end-of-life services by Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP), an independent, nonprofit accrediting body for home and community-based health care organizations. CHAP was created in 1965 as a joint venture between the American Public Health Association and the National League for Nursing. CHAP standards exceed minimum state and federal guidelines and has “deemed authority” granted by Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Basically, that determines which agencies meet the standards, allowing government payment.)

“McGregor Hospice received full accreditation in 2022, the most recent evaluation,” according to Rolen. “The next review is in three years. Through CHAP, we are able to demonstrate that we meet and exceed standards and that those we care for come first.”

Referrals to McGregor Hospice can be made by an individual themselves, a family member, physician, a member of the clergy or others with an interest in someone’s welfare who they think might qualify for services.

“I really like the McGregor community. The Hospice Team and I hope to add peace and comfort to people in their final days,” says Rolen.

“I don’t think a lot of people realize hospice is a benefit. It allows the person to spend more quality time with their family and friends. It can mean decreasing trips to the hospital.”

— PENNI-LYNN ROLEN

PENNI-LYNN ROLEN

Sticking with Fun Brands

Shurtape Technologies uses innovation to grow its global reach.

BY JILL SELL

Duck Tape — it is used for kids’ crafts, decorating teenage lockers, creating prom dresses and tuxes and building parade floats. Swords and shields are made from tape for fantasy role playing games enjoyed by adults wearing Medieval costumes. The tape repairs fishing rods and can decorate or hold together most anything in your home. DIYers and professional painters and other contractors couldn’t work without it.

Duck Tape, and its even stronger, specific-purpose cousins made by its parent company, temporarily fix eyeglasses, air leaks and broken pieces and parts on trains, planes, boats, mo torcycles, cars and bikes. The manufac turer doesn’t necessarily recommend some of those quick fixes, but you get the idea.

Duck Tape (and Trust E. Duck, its easily identified, much-loved logo), along with FrogTape and T-Rex, as well as industrial brands, are well known here and in some cases, globally. There aren’t many items in the world that appeal equally to fun-loving preschoolers as well as serious, business-minded

adults. But the tape products converted (cut from “jumbo” rolls from the mill) and distributed by Shurtape Technologies’ Consumer and Craftsman Group in Avon, fit that description. The tape is manufactured at Shurtape’s Corporate Headquarters and Industrial Group in Hickory, North Carolina. Shurtape sells more than 1 billion yards of tape per year. That is enough to go to the moon and back 21 times, based on a 2-inch-wide strip, according to the company. The 644,000-square-foot Avon facility is now 40% larger than the original building built on 200 acres purchased by the company in 1996. Between 350 and 400 employees work at Avon, depending upon seasonal fluctuations. Nationally, the company counts 1,400 employees; globally 1,700. Shurtape’s global footprint includes facilities in Germany, the United

Kingdom, China, Mexico, Peru, United Arab Emirates and Australia.

“We do converting in Avon, but the primary space allocation is for distribution,” says Bill Kahl, Shurtape’s executive vice president of marketing and a member of the family that founded and expanded the branded products. “We also do all the design, branding and marketing in Avon.”

That includes promoting the company’s most recently announced Duck Pro by Shurtape BR Code Scannable Solutions, introduced in February at the 2023 National Association of Home Builders International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. The new adhesive tape and label products have numerous industrial applications, including instant accessing of material tracking, maintenance records, equipment inspections and more. A code label placed on a hardhat can be scanned and information about the wearer (certification, required training and other personnel data) is immediately available.

It’s easy to be amazed by a company that supports industry and commerce with its vital tape products, but also has made Glow-in-the Dark Duck Tape and Scented Duck Tape, as well as tape adorned with camouflage print, polka dots and colorful stripes for craft use.

“We have been successful because we have built on our brands, starting with Duck Tape,” says Kahl. “It’s been a combination of a strong focus on customers and the ability of the sales and marketing side of our business helping us bring high-quality products to our end users.”

As a privately held company,

Shurtape Technologies declined to discuss financials. But a 2023 IncFact research company profile lists Shurtape as having more than $500 million in revenue.

“Through our Insights and Innovations team, we conduct market research and evaluate trends, which ultimately seeds our new product funnel of both ‘new and improved’ and ‘new to the world’ products,” says CEO Vuk Trivanovic, who began his career with Shurtape in 2015, was named CEO of the Industrial and Engineering Solutions Group in 2020 and whose role was expanded in 2021 to include the full Shurtape group of companies and the Avon facility.

Kahl says consistency is a major reason Shurtape products are trusted and chosen over items manufactured by competitor tape makers.

“Pros, like professional painters, use our tape every day. It’s a tool for them and they need to get the same quality day to day. Consumers buy it in less quantity, of course. But if you need to fix a hose on your car and you are stranded on the side of the road, you want that tape to work,” says Kahl.

And that’s the beauty of a good duck (or duct) tape. It works. And it has worked for decades. But like many items invented generations ago, duct tape has a complicated and not crys tal-clear history.

Most product historians (as well as Kahl) give credit to Johnson & Johnson for improving and promot ing modern duct tape. “Duck tape” (so named, some say, because water rolled off it like rain on a duck’s back) was used in World War II for everything from temporary bandages to fixing bro ken windows and holding uniforms to gether. After the war, it became known

COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS:

1880 Shuford Mills, a major textile producer and manufacturer of spun yarns and cordage, is founded

1955 Shuford Mills creates a tape division

1971 Jack Kahl buys Melvin A. Anderson Co., and changes its name to Manco

1980 Duck Tape brand name is registered by Kahl

1996 Shurtape Technologies spins off from Shuford Mills

2009 Manco assets (including Duck brands) acquired by Shurtape Technologies

2010 FrogTape acquired from Inspired Technologies

2020 All companies transition to

Shurtape sells more than 1 billion yards of tape per year. That is enough to go to the moon and back 21 times, based on a 2-inch-wide strip, according to the company.

Vuk Trivanovic

widely as “duct tape” because of its ability to hold ventilation ducts together.

Fast forward to 1971. Bill Kahl’s father, Jack Kahl, bought the Melvin A. Anderson company and changed its name to Manco, buying tape from Shuford Mills in North Carolina. Kahl officially branded Duck Tape in 1980, and the company became successful in selling its products at Walmart, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware and other retailers. John Kahl, Bill’s brother, was

company CEO from 2000 until his retirement in 2021.

“In 1998, my family decided to sell the business to The Henkel Group, a large German conglomerate that makes adhesives, cosmetics and detergents,” says Kahl. “They had a lot of good brands, an impressive research and development division and a global reach. We were able to take advantage of all that. We globalized our perception, and it was a learning experience.”

In 2009, Shurtape Technologies of North Carolina purchased the Duck brand from Henkel, forming ShurTech Brands. That subsidiary changed its name to Shurtape Technologies Consumer and Craftsman Group in 2020.

“The Consumer and Craftsman business remains in the same entrepreneurial spirit on which it was founded — innovation and imagination,” says Trivanovic. “We continue to carry on that vision as we work to develop better, easier solutions for everyday household and workforce tasks.”

The company understandably protects its products under development and won’t talk about items not yet released. That does raise an amusing and probably fanciful vision of Shurtape research and development staff busily sticking pieces of experimental sticky tape all over lab walls and each other.

“We do converting in Avon, but the primary space allocation is for distribution. We also do all the design, branding and marketing in Avon.”

— Bill Kahl

Bill Kahl

But we do know that in December 2022, the company acquired ProTapes & Specialties Inc., a tape manufacturer and converter. That business serves a variety of markets, including graphic arts, library and school supply, precision die-cutting and fabricating and others.

Throughout the years, Shurtape has remained involved in philanthropy and the communities in which its employees live and work. Trivanovic points to the Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest that “challenges participants to get creative in designing their prom attire out of Duck Tape for a chance to win scholarship money.” Students across the country now participate in the event.

“This will be the 23rd year we have hosted the contest, and we continue to see clever, creative and meaningful designs,” Trivanovic says.

In addition, the annual Avon Heritage Duck Tape Festival, sponsored by the company, “is always a hit with Northeast Ohioans and has even gained

national attention, drawing Duck Tape enthusiasts from across the country,” says Trivanovic.

“The festival is traditionally held every year over Father’s Day weekend, as a nod to dads’ favorite fix-all — duct tape. The family friendly weekend is always free and features larger-than life-sized Duck Tape sculptures, delicious food, activities and live entertainment,” he notes.

And the Duck is not going anywhere soon. Trivanovic says the Avon facility “remains our central point for our Consumer and Craftsman Group, focusing on marketing DIY, EIY (Express it Yourself) and home and office products under the Duck, T-Rex, FrogTape, Painter’s Mate and Shurtape brands.”

In addition, the 15-year lease agreement Shurtape Technologies had with ILPT Avon LLC that was to expire in May 2024 has been extended to May 2031.

Nonprofits: Tell Us What You Think

HW&Co. and Community Leader want to know:

What are the greatest challenges your nonprofit is facing?

What keeps you up at night?

How can we help?

COURTESY SHURTAPE TECHNOLOGIES

Benchmarking Business

GCP’s second “all in” annual report offers a great starting point.

BY TERRY TROY

“What gets measured gets managed.”

That truncated quote, often attributed to management guru Peter Drucker, has been elusive in Northeast Ohio’s economic development efforts for decades. But with its Annual Report for 2022 on its “All In Plan,” the Greater Cleveland

Partnership (GCP) and its partners are taking a huge step forward in benchmarking where we are and where we are headed in terms of our competitive economic regions in the Great Lakes area.

“We just started this last year, so we are really just getting started on a path to be among the top tier of our peers in the Great Lakes area,” says Baiju

Shah, president and CEO of the GCP. “It’s important to have this scorecard, so we can monitor year-over-year and see how Greater Cleveland stacks up with its peer set, so we can track it. It’s easy to get lost in economic data. That’s why we crystalized this with the three metrics at the top level that reflect growth and prosperity.”

HERE ARE THE NUMBERS: Business Growth

2010 to 2019 we ranked 8th

2019 to 2021 we moved up to 6th

Jobs Growth

2010 to 2019 we ranked 8th

2019 to 2021 we moved up to 5th

Income Growth

2010 to 2019 we ranked 5th 2019 to 2021 we ranked 8th

Productivity

2010 to 2019 we ranked 5th 2019 to 2021 we ranked 4th

Post-Secondary Attainment

2019 we ranked 8th

2021 we ranked 9th

Inclusive Opportunity

2019 we ranked 9th

Population Growth

2010 to 2019 we ranked 11th

2019 to 2022 we ranked 8th

The latter refers to the rate of growthandnotactualsize.

While we have made great strides with business expansions, investments of millions of dollars in capital for small and emerging businesses, scaling of workforce initiatives and increases in minority business growth, we are still very much in the middle of the pack when it comes to our competitive economic regions across the Great Lakes, even by Shah’s own admission. We’re competing against 10 other economic regions, including: Columbus, Louisville, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indiana, Buffalo, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Rochester and Pittsburgh. With Cleveland, that makes 11.

While the All In Plan Annual Report does give us a benchmark against our competitive economic regions, it still doesn’t publish hard numbers that can show whether we are actually growing — especially when it comes to jobs, business growth and population. But

the data used to achieve those rankings are supported by hard numbers from empirical sources, including: Federal Reserve Economic Data, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census Bureau.

The All In Plan Report also redefines our region, and that is a very important step in the right direction. While it’s simply contained in a footnote on page 3 of the report, it’s a statistic that we all need to

Risk and Insurance Leadership

embrace — especially if we want to grow.

Currently, the federal metro area definition for Cleveland includes only five counties (Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Geauga and Lake) from which data are easily available. That’s not really a level playing field, when you consider that other major metropolitan areas in Ohio include 10 and 16 counties.

The Greater Cleveland region needs to be defined as the Cleveland-Akron

“It’s important to have this scorecard, so we can monitor year-over-year and see how Greater Cleveland stacks up with its peer set, so we can track it.”

— Baiju Shah

Baiju Shah

Combined Statistical Area (CSA) (which is 13 counties) or Cleveland and Northeast Ohio (which is 18 counties) both of which better describe the region and its true scale. By those latter two definitions, we are the largest region in Ohio, the third-largest region in the Great Lakes (behind Chicago and Detroit) and one of the top 20 economic markets in the United States.

“When I talk to Greater Clevelanders, they don’t realize the size of our region,” says Shah. “In the Cleveland Akron CSA, we have 3.6 million people. The City of Cleveland is just one component of our CSA. That’s why we are a Top 20 market. It’s why we have three major sports teams. It’s why we have a major airport. These things come with population.”

And we are growing, contrary to what you might read in the national and business press.

“We grew from 2010 to 2019, and we continued to grow from 2019 to 2022,” adds Shah. “We are not where we want to be [in terms of our growth rate being in the top four], but we are a growing region.”

Defining ourselves as a larger economic region does present some challenges, but there are also significant opportunities.

“Certainly, the number of companies and higher education institutions as well as the breadth of our workforce are assets,” says Shah. “When companies are thinking about where they can expand, they look for those kinds of resources.

“Because of our region’s size, we have the largest number of tech workers compared to the 11 different geographies in the report,” adds Shah. “We have 58,000 technical workers. If you are looking to scale up a tech-related business, or if

your business requires a significant tech component, that matters.”

Other competitors in the report can’t deliver those numbers.

“Another one of my ‘fun facts’ that Greater Clevelanders don’t appreciate is that we have more college students in Northeast Ohio than they have in Central Ohio. No one perceives that because people usually just think about our flagship school in Columbus. But if you add up Case Western Reserve, Cleveland State, Kent State and Akron, not to mention all the smaller, private universities like John Carroll, Baldwin Wallace and Oberlin, we have more students,” Shah notes.

“Those are some of the advantages we have because we are such a large region. We need to start acting like we are a singular large region rather than remaining vulcanized against the idea.”

Meeting Workforce Needs

College Now advises adult learners.

BY ALEX EMERSON

Postsecondary education is not only for students who just graduated high school. In addition to providing career exploration and scholarship opportunities to recent high school graduates, College Now Greater Cleveland is also focused on assisting adults — ages 19 and older — to find educational pathways to meet their career goals and help them find a way to pay for it. College Now works with adult learners who either have some college and no degree, or those who are exploring postsecondary educational options for the first time.

In today’s economy, higher education is increasingly important for those seeking jobs that pay a living wage. Education and training beyond a high school diploma matters today more than ever, preparing individuals to contribute to their communities, allowing them to lead healthier and more productive lives and strengthening the economy. Studies estimate that a person with a college degree earns $19,000 more annually than a person with some college but no degree. Over a lifetime, there is more than a $300,000 difference in net earnings for these two groups. Throughout the region, there is a growing divide between

jobs in Northeast Ohio that require degrees and workers who have them.

As post-secondary education is becoming an increasingly necessary step to earn a living wage in Northeast Ohio, it can be a difficult process for adults to

consider. College Now plays the role of a college and career advisor, so whether it’s an unfinished college degree, financial aid or helping people figure out what their career goals are, the organization helps with these challenges.

In the city of Cleveland alone, approximately 60,000 residents have begun some form of postsecondary education but were unable to complete it for varying reasons. “One of the things we do is help untangle the mess of previous enrollment,” says College Now’s Bob Durham, who leads the organization’s adult program. “When you have outstanding fees

from a college you were previously enrolled in, you can’t finish your degree at any other school; so we help to get people out of that situation.”

“We’re partnering with Cuyahoga Community College and Cleveland State University on the Cuyahoga County Debt Forgiveness Program, helping former students of Ohio public institutions

clear their balances, so that they can receive their transcripts and re-enroll at CSU or Tri-C.”

If it’s the college tuition that is a barrier to entry, College Now also has resources to help adult learners obtain scholarships and create a financial aid plan.

The organization also offers the College Now Adult Learner Scholarship, specifically for adults who have graduated high school or earned their GED, interrupted their education for at least one year and also qualify for the federal Pell Grant.

After the organization helps connect students to colleges and assists them in finding a career path that fits their goals, College Now also has resources to connect students with people who are willing to help them throughout their postsecondary educational journey. This includes a mentorship program, in which

HELP US HONOR INSPIRING LEADERS

We are inspired by the volume of great work being done in our community — and we are proud to tell the stories of those leading the way. Once again this year, we will be honoring some of Cleveland’s most accomplished community leaders with our Community Leader of the Year Awards.

Awardees will be nominated and selected within the following categories:

Arts | Diversity & Inclusion | Education | Environment & Sustainability Health Care | Nonprofit Organizations | Public Service/Government Technology | Young Professional Advancement

If you know somone who is making a positive impact in the community, we want to know about them. Visit us online at clevelandmagazine.com/CLOTY to submit a nomination. Nominations are due by July 1.

“There are a lot of jobs here that need people right now, like health care, manufacturing companies — there’s IT and cyber security. We have a newer mentorship program, and we’re always accepting new people from different fields.”

— Bob Durham

Bob Durham

students can learn from professionals and build relationships with them.

“There are a lot of jobs here that need people right now,” Durham says, “like health care, manufacturing companies — there’s IT and cyber security. We have a mentorship program and we’re always accepting new people from different fields to serve as mentors. The adult learners can talk with these [professionals] and ask them questions about school and career.”

College Now offers these resources free of charge. If an adult student thinking about going back to school, or a student fresh out of high school seeks guidance for higher education, they can set up an online or in-person consultation.

Adult learners can schedule an appointment with College Now online at collegenowgc.org or call 216-241-5587.

My Life

By Lynne Thompson

My Food

Great Greens

The greens in a salad usually serve as simply a supporting role for the veggies, fruits, nuts, croutons, dressings and meats topping them.

Not for Douglas Katz.

The owner of Indian-inspired restaurant Amba in Ohio City and Mediterranean eatery Zhug in Cleveland Heights, as well as chef partner at The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Provenance, makes greens the stars of his salads by tossing in the following: Fresh herbs. Katz generally incorporates whole leaves, sprigs and fronds “almost like another green.” He recommends tossing ½ cup of a single herb in a salad to serve four. The herb, he stresses, should match the flavor profile of the dressing. “If it’s an Italian dressing, you may use herbs…like Italian parsley or oregano or basil,” he says. “If you’re doing

more of an Asian dressing, maybe you do a Thai basil or cilantro.”

Cabbages. Katz likes to mix green and red cabbages with iceberg lettuce or crispier counterparts like kale. “They hold up well to your salad dressings and add a great crunch,” he says. Bok choy and tatsoi leaves are perfect for adding to salads accompanying an Asian entree.

Swiss chard/ rainbow chard. Katz likes the mineral flavor and hardy texture chards contribute to a bib lettuce or a radicchio-and-endive blend. “They have a beautiful leaf,” he adds — an attribute that increases a salad’s visual appeal, as do the bright colors of the rainbow chard’s thinly sliced ribs.

Dressing to try: Stir equal parts tahini — Katz prefers the Seeds of Collaboration brand, available at Heinen’s grocery stores — and pickle juice. “I like more of a sour pickle juice when I’m making this dressing,” he says. It can be served as is or seasoned with everything from sumac to a favorite chili pepper.

My Earth

Flowers for the Black Thumb

The old saying “April showers bring May flowers” seems like an optimistic statement to those who swear they kill everything they touch.

Noelle Clark Akin, manager of training and education at Oakwood Village-based Petitti Garden Centers, provides a few examples of the many perennials that can survive a busy, bumbling novice gardener. The only musts: six-plus hours of sunlight and one inch of water once a week.

The purple coneflower. Akin praises this native perennial for its several cultivars, pest resistance, 5- to 10-day life span in an arrangement and interest its bird- and pollinator-attracting seed cone adds to a winter landscape. The newer varieties are branching and repeat blooming. “You cut a stem, and you get another side-shoot

development,” she says of the flower, which blooms in midto late summer from seed.

Ornamental onion (allium). Growers have forced this flowering bulb, which is traditionally planted in the fall and blooms in the spring, into a plant garden center customers can pick up in May and watch bloom multiple times. All varieties offer a distinct advantage: “The deer don’t like it,” Akin says. “And the bunnies don’t like it.”

Oriental lily/Asiatic lily. Growers have also forced these bulbs into garden-ready plants. Akin describes the showy, hardy flowers as large, star-shaped blooms available in a rainbow of colors — even bicolored — that last for a long time in a vase. “The Orientals are very fragrant; the Asiatics are not,” she points out. Their only drawback: “The deer love them.”

English lavender. Hardy English lavender thrives in welldrained soil, raised beds and containers, although it takes at least two to three months to bloom from seed, according to Akin. She recommends planting seeds in late summer or early fall so plants can develop foliage and roots. “That next spring season, you should start to see flowering develop,” she says.

Noelle Clark Akin

Oriental lily

The water looks invitingly clean on a hot summer afternoon or evening.

Appearances, however, can be deceiving.

Dr. Claudia Hoyen, director of pediatric infection control and co-director of infection control at University Hospitals/Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, describes microscopic and

My Home

Assessing Water Quality Friendly

A fire pit can extend the usability of outdoor living spaces and serve as a warm, welcoming focal point. According to Ben Holt, owner of Embers Custom Fireplace & Gas Products in Mentor, North Olmsted and Solon, it can also help preserve and protect air quality.

Holt says the most environmentally friendly fire pit in

chemical threats in freshwater bodies, swimming pools and hot tubs. Fortunately, she also offers ways to reduce them.

Lakes and rivers. Arguably the most frightening thing people can share freshwater with is Naegleria fowleri. Dr. Hoyen explains that the amoeba enters the nose and makes its way to the brain, where it causes a severe encephalitis that is usually fatal. Most of these relatively rare infections occur in late summer, when the amoeba proliferates in warm waters. It prefers mucky lake and river bottoms. Common sense dictates avoiding that muck by not swimming near it or deliberately stirring it up.

“Using nose clips, plugging your nose and keeping your head above water so that you don’t get water

Fire

terms of its effect on air quality is the gas fire pit. “It’s a pretty clean-burning flame,” he says. The smokeless wood-burning counterpart is second. He describes a fire bowl surrounded by an outer shell with an air intake at the bottom. A series of small holes just inside the fire bowl’s top emit super-heated air that “re-burns” the smoke.

“There is still some smoke,” he concedes. “But it is a dramatic difference between that kind of a fire and just having a fire out in the backyard.”

up your nose can be helpful,” Dr. Hoyen adds.

More common issues arise from algae-bloom toxins, which can irritate the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal and nervous system and skin. Algae blooms are made worse when storm-water or farmland runoff gets into the water adding nutrients like nitrogen into the river, lake or ocean. Dr. Hoyen advises against swimming after a heavy rain, near a drainage outlet or in cloudy water not only to avoid algae blooms but also any other waterborne bacteria, viruses or parasites. Check for any advisories by logging on to odh.ohio.gov/know-our-programs/bathing-beach-monitoring/beachguard. And obey all no-swimming signs.

Swimming pools and hot tubs. “Any time you are in a swimming pool, you need to worry about bacteria and viruses as well as some other parasites [such as cryptosporidium and giardia],” Dr. Hoyen

warns. She explains that even the most fastidiously clean individuals have a “fecal veneer” on parts of their bodies that can put diarrheal-illness-causing bugs in the water when they’re sick. Anyone who swallows the water has a chance of developing that illness. Soaking in a hot tub can result in an itchy, red, bumpy skin rash caused by the bacterium pseudomonas.

Chlorine, bromine and filtration systems can reduce or eliminate these hazards if they’re used and maintained correctly. But even then, dead skin cells and other biologic materials wash off bodies and bind with the chemicals, decreasing their effectiveness. To improve conditions, Dr. Hoyen recommends rinsing off before and after swimming or hot-tubbing, making sure children take hourly bathroom breaks, keeping swim diapers changed and staying out of the water until all symptoms of any diarrheal illness have resolved.

For the best results, Holt suggests using a seasoned cordwood, a hardwood such as maple, oak or cherry that’s been split and dried for six to 12 months, ideally reducing its moisture content to

10 to 15%. (To learn more, log on to epa.gov/burnwise.)

Built-in units, both gas and wood-burning, should be installed by a National Fireplace Institute-certified contractor to ensure safety.

Dr. Claudia Hoyen

Ben Holt

Take a stroll and experience the beauty at Wade Lagoon this spring.

By Gabe Leidy

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