SNAPSHOTS | 24-25

MS Dinner of Champions honors supporters

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s annual MS Dinner of Champions paid tribute to the generous corporations, organizations and volunteer leaders dedicated to making a difference in the lives of people living with multiple sclerosis.

At this year’s dinner, held at Jack Casino, the society honored Amanda Glenski with the Joel Kahn MS Award of Courage. The event raised over $100,000 to support valuable programs and services for people living with MS.

Eddie Rauen, MS Society Ohio Valley president, left, presents the Joel Kahn MS Award of Courage to Amanda Glenski. Also pictured is her husband, John Glenski.

Aaron Stapleton and Britany Stapleton

Nash Dreyer and Elizabeth Dreyer

Tammy Willis, Joyce Levine and Kristina Guse

Sylvia Trambaugh and Sara Freitag

Bari Thornberry and Paul Thornberry

Kasey Brown

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Taft’s Ambrosini receives prestigious award from France

Lynne D. Ambrosini has been awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (the Order of Arts and Letters) by the government of France for her promotion of French language and culture.

Deborah Emont Scott, Taft Museum president/CEO; Guillaume Lacroix, consul general of France to the Midwest; Lynne Ambrosini, Taft Museum deputy director and chief curator; Anne Cappel, honorary consul of France in Cincinnati

Ambrosini was the Taft Museum of Art’s deputy director and chief curator. She retired on March 2 after 16 years. The award recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world.

Ambrosini has had a lifelong passion for France and its art. After decades researching and publishing books and articles on French art, she led the effort to curate “Daubigny, Monet, Van Gogh: Impressions of Landscape,” which she coorganized with the Scottish National Galleries in Edinburgh and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The exhibition brought international recognition to the Taft when it opened in February 2016 before traveling to Edinburgh and Amsterdam.

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Software innovator Craig Young wins Cincinnati Jefferson Award

Craig Young, a software developer who is changing the face of volunteerism in Cincinnati and beyond, was presented the Greater Cincinnati Jefferson Award for community service by the Rotary Club.

Finalist Dan Meyer, winner Craig Young and finalist Angie Ferguson

Young created Inspiring Service, a company designed to use technology to revitalize volunteerism. Inspiring Service developed CincinnatiCares.org, which includes a user-friendly online guide to connect people to nonprofits. Young created Ugive.org, a platform to make it easy for youth to make a difference in their communities. He also created GiveOneForCincy.org, which the city of Cincinnati uses to promote and record hours of community service. The digital tools are now being used in other states.

As the Greater Cincinnati Jefferson Award winner, Young will be among 90 regional finalists vying for one of five prestigious national Jefferson Awards to be presented in Washington D.C. in June. The Jefferson Awards were created in 1972 by Cincinnati native and then-U.S. Sen. Robert Taft with former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The program honors outstanding service in more than a dozen categories.

Rotary Club president Dave Carlin, Jefferson Award winner Craig Young and event chair Bill Shula

Participants climb 804 steps to raise money for American Lung Association

More than 600 participants and more than 100 firefighter teams climbed the 804 steps of Carew Tower during the 15th Cincinnati Fight For Air Climb to end lung disease. The event raised more than $150,000 for lung health research, patient education and public policy efforts.

The American Lung Association also will host a 5K run and one-mile walk on May 15.

Double lung transplant recipients who climbed the 804 steps: Timothy Phipps, Mollie Pegram, Scot Ashton and Stephen Mitchell

(Left) The event’s fastest and highest-fundraising firefighter team, Team Covington, pictured with Lung Association “lung hero” Keegan Smith, in firefighting gear. (Right) Posing with event mascots are the two oldest Fight for Air Climb participants: Nick Hoesl, 88, and Richard Soller, 92.