Cincy Magazine – Summer 2020

Summer issue!

Tristate Responds to COVID-19 Going Virtual With the Ballet, Opera and More

75 TOP

COMMUNITIES

Blue Ash

PLUS: First-rate Schools Safest Neighborhoods Best Property Values JUNE/JULY 2020 V o l u me 17

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Issue 3

$4.99

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C1

DePaul Cristo Rey High School Salutes our Partners

Among those employing DPCR students this year are:

Entertainment/Museums/ Sports

Cincinnati Reds National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Taft Museum of Art WAVE Foundation at Newport Aquarium

Government

City of Cincinnati Law Department Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Hamilton County Juvenile Court Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities

Health Care

Bayley CareStar Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

CommonSpirit Health CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services, Inc. Episcopal Retirement Services Good Samaritan TriHealth Hospital Kroger Health Madonna Manor Inc. Mercy Health ProScan St. Elizabeth Healthcare St. Elizabeth Physicians

Insurance & Finance

Ameritas Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The Dental Care Plus Group F E G Investment Advisors Kroger Personal Finance The Standard Western & Southern Financial Group •

•

Logistics

Expeditors International Verst Logistics

Manufacturing

AK Steel Corporation The David J. Joseph Company Michelman Rotex Global Shepherd Color Company

Marketing/Media

84.51 Cincy Magazine ProFootball Focus The E.W. Scripps Company

Suppliers

Religious

Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati

Social & Youth Services

Cincinnati Union Bethel Community Matters Dress for Success Cincinnati Easter Seals Serving Greater Cincinnati Santa Maria Community Services St. Francis Seraph Ministries St. Joseph Home St. Vincent de Paul YMCA of Greater Cincinnati

Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Cintas Corporation The Home City Ice Company Saturday Knight Ltd.

Technology

Cincinnati Bell LCS Quotient Technology Inc.

www.depaulcristorey.org

Contents

Shawnee State Park

The Magazine for Business Professionals

J U N E /J ULY 2020

Nearby outdoor adventures perfect for the whole family The 14th annual list of the Tristate’s top suburban communities.

BY BILL FERGUSON JR.

Page 34

View 4 Editor’s

BY CORINNE MINARD 6 Web Exclusives

INSIDE Cincy World-Class Treasure 7 ACincinnati Museum Center details new exhibits as reopening date draws nearer.

BY GINNY MCCABE

Educate & Inspire, 8 To From Home

CET supported the community during quarantine with innovative programming and initiatives.

BY CORINNE MINARD

10 Q&A Three questions with Kurt

Reiber, president and CEO of the Cincinnati Freestore Foodbank. BY LIZ ENGEL

Support 12 At-Home St. Ursula Academy’s counseling department moved online to help students while learning at home. BY CORINNE MINARD

18 Scene Columns & Leadership 14 History Cincinnati has learned from

its experiences with previous pandemics. BY DAN HURLEY

View 16 Another Cincinnati left with many

unknowns as we head into the second half of the year.

BY DON MOONEY

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By Corinne Minard Page 47

CINCY LIVE Different Kind of Show 20 ACincinnati’s arts organizations may have had to close their doors, but many have found new ways to connect with their audiences during this time.

BY CORINNE MINARD

Traveler: 27 Midwestern Indiana

Nearby cities in the Hoosier State are great for families looking for a day or weekend trip. BY CORINNE MINARD

The At Home Chef 32 Dining: The At Home Chef is designed to bring renowned epicurean means to guests’ dining room.

BY JESSICA BALTZERSEN

FEATURES & COVID-19 57 Cincinnati Community leaders emerge in

times of crisis, plus communitybased health care shows it is truly world class. BY TERRY TROY

Terrace Park

the Law Doesn’t Stop 64 When Wood Herron & Evans has found ways to innovate during COVID-19.

BY CORINNE MINARD

a New Approach 66 Taking Southern State Community

College’s computer technology program is adapting its program to give students more choice.

BY CORINNE MINARD

68 Love Cincy Special Insert

Five Star Home Pros Outstanding real estate agents, mortgage professionals and home/auto insurance professionals in the area.

FS1-4, starts after page 50 SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

CINCINNATI'S

2020 FIVE STAR AWARD WINNERS REAL ESTATE AGENTS

MORTGAGE PROFESSIONALS

Five Star Professional partnered with Cincy Magazine to identify real estate, mor tgage and insurance professionals in the Cincinnati area who deliver outstanding service and client satisfaction. The Five Star Professional research team surveyed homebuyers, home sellers and industry peers, and analyzed online consumer evaluations. Survey respondents rated their service professional on criteria such as overall satisfaction and whether they would recommend the provider to a friend. The research methodology allows no more than 7% of professionals in each category to receive the award.

Recognizing Outstanding Real Estate Agents, Mortgage Professionals and Home/Auto Insurance Professionals

BUSINESS Hiring Gets 62 Second-chance a Hand Cincinnati Works takes over operations of Beacon of Hope Business Alliance to encourage more second-chance hiring.

BY DAVID HOLTHAUS

HOME/AUTO INSURANCE PROFESSIONALS

FIVE STAR PROFESSIONAL

Proprietary Research Process Nomination of Candidates The Five Star Professional research team surveyed homebuyers, home sellers and industry peers, and analyzed online consumer evaluations to identify professionals that excel in key attributes of customer service.

Evaluation Score Using our scoring algorithm, each nominee is given an evaluation score based on surveys in our database.

High scorers are named candidates.

RISING STAR AWARD WINNERS Meet the next wave of outstanding real estate agents in the Cincinnati area! Five Star Professional’s research team contacted branch managers, real estate veterans and consumers to identify up-and-coming real estate agents in the industry. Rising Star award winners are held in high regard by their peers and mentors and have received a qualifying nomination for the award. Evaluators were asked to identify an agent who has been in the industry for five years or less and embodies professional excellence, exhibits superior customer service and shows great potential to excel in their profession. All Rising Star award winners must be actively licensed, satisfy minimum production criteria and have a favorable regulatory history to be eligible for award consideration.

RESEARCH — How Our Winners Are Chosen • The 2020 Five Star Real Estate Agents, Mortgage Professionals and Home/Auto Insurance Professionals do not pay a fee to be included in the research or the final lists.

• Each professional is screened against state governing bodies to verify that licenses are current and no disciplinary actions are pending.

• The inclusion of a real estate agent, mortgage professional or insurance professional on the final list should not be construed as an endorsement by Five Star Professional or Cincy Magazine.

Determination of Award Winners Professionals who satisfied each of the following objective criteria were named a 2020 Cincinnati-area Five Star Real Estate Agent, Five Star Mortgage Professional or Five Star Home/Auto Insurance Professional: 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint Evaluation Criteria: history review.

1. Qualifying rating.

4. Satisfies minimum production on a Eligibility Criteria: one-year and three-year basis.

2. Holds an active license and employed in their 5. Successful completion of a Blue Ribbon Panel field for a minimum of three years. review.

Real estate agents, mortgage professionals and home/auto insurance professionals are pooled only with other candidates from their profession.

The final list of 2020 Cincinnati-area Five Star award winners is a select group, representing approximately 1% of real estate agents, 1% of mortgage professionals and 1% of home/auto insurance professionals in the area. To see the full list of winners, visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.

Candidate Submission of Business Information Candidates must complete either an online or over-the-phone interview.

Eligibility Criteria Candidates must be in the industry for at least five years, have a favorable regulatory history and meet minimum production thresholds.

Blue Ribbon Panel A Blue Ribbon panel of industry experts reviews the final list of candidates.

Final Selection Less than 7% of professionals in the market are selected.

2020 FS • 1

Cincy (ISSN-1934-8746) published in February/March; April/ May; June/July; August/September; October; November; December/January for a total of seven issues by Cincy, 30 Garfield Place, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Cincy, 30 Garfield Place, Suite 440, Cincinnati, OH 45202.

share a moment Experience the CarDon Spirit of Compassion.

THINKING AHEAD? Take our free assessment at cardon.us/lifestyles Lori loves the new and inventive ways her grandchildren stay in touch with her daily. As we stay in - sharing these special moments is vital.

Staying in saves lives. Thank you for doing your part. The human spirit continues to shine at Cedar Village as our staff provides care and compassion for your loved one.

CedarVillage.org

INDEPENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING • REHABILITATION LONG TERM CARE • MEMORY SUPPORT

Editor’s View

Connecting Community W

here we live became awfully important in the last couple of months, didn’t it? I dare say that most of us have never been this familiar with our homes or the neighborhoods in which we live.

So it seems appropriate that our summer issue, the first Cincy issue we’ve produced since COVID-19 came to the Tristate, would be the Rating the Burbs issue.

While many things have changed, what makes a community great hasn’t. Good schools, low crime and increasing home values remain important. You’ll still be able to learn about how certain suburbs are doing in these categories in this issue. However, we’ve also added something new. This year, we’ve expanded our list of the Top 50 Suburbs to 75. Often, there is very little difference between the community that places at 50 and one that is listed at 65. This expansion enables us to include more of the Tristate’s great suburbs in our annual list.

This issue also addresses, however, many of things that have changed. Writer Terry Troy interviewed many of the major players in town to get a better picture of how the Tristate responded to COVID-19. We spoke with organizations and businesses like CET, Cincinnati Works and Wood Herron & Evans to see how they adapted to the new normal. And our arts and entertainment feature describes the impact of the coronavirus on our region’s many art organizations and what they did during the last couple months to remain connected to the community.

Ultimately, this is an issue about community—from what makes us different to what is the same. I hope you enjoy this issue and that it helps you feel connected to the Tristate, even when you’re home.

Locally, veteran and family owned

Editor & Publisher Eric Harmon Managing Editor Corinne Minard Contributing Writers Jessica Baltzersen, Liz Engel, Bill Ferguson Jr., David Holthaus, Dan Hurley, Ginny McCabe, Don Mooney, Terry Troy Editorial Intern Sam Cioffi Creative Director Guy Kelly Digital Content Coordinator Danielle Cain Associate Publisher/Director of Sales & Print Operations Rick Seeney Director of Digital Operations & Events Stephanie Simon Custom Sales Manager Brad Hoicowitz Sales Representatives Jon Castonguay, Kristine Granata Advertising, Circulation & Office Manager Laura Federle Advertising Coordinator Katelynn Webb Cincy on the web: www.cincymagazine.com Cincy Co. LLC Cincinnati Club Building 30 Garfield Place, Suite 440 Cincinnati, OH 45202 Contact Cincy: information@cincymagazine.comor call (513) 421-2533.

Go to www.cincymagazine.com to get your complimentary subscription to Cincy.

Voice for Community Progress

Cincy Magazine is a founding partner of Voice For Community Progress, a 501(c)3 nonprofit center for research and communication whose mission is to tell the stories of the individuals and organizations advancing Ohio and its communities economically, politically and socially.

VCP Cincinnati is an initiative-driven, community-based voice for educating and engaging citizens in the things that matter in achieving community progress and, just as importantly, personal growth.

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Digital Exclusives

The Tristate’s A+ Professors

This year’s besT college and universiTy educaTors, as nominaTed by Their peers and sTudenTs, show The breadTh of TalenT aT our local insTiTuTions by the editors

Top 5 Online Stories

Cincy Magazine’s Outstanding Educators Class of 2020 features exceptional professors

1 Outstanding Educators

by The Editors

selected from the many nominations we received from their colleagues. The winners were singled out for a variety of traits that ranged from scholarship and spending extra

2020

2 Cincy Today: Producing Support

by David Holthaus

5 Best of the East 2020 by the Editors

more about this year’s winners from those who nominated them.

Hassana alidou

Social Justice Union Institute & University “As an educator and diplomat, Dr. Alidou brings a wealth of world-class expertise and knowledge in equality and social justice coupled with her outstanding global experience.

She is widely known for her work in helping community-b ased organizations, national governments and internationa l institutions work together to achieve educational equality, literacy, gender equality and economic development .”

– Teresa Wilkins, Union Institute & University

3 6 Great Escapes

by Corinne Minard 4 Cincy Today: Getting Crafty

by Corinne Minard

time with students to innovation in the classroom and research. Read on to learn

stacey lowery Bretz

Chemistry & Biochemistry Miami University “Dr. Lowery Bretz advances student learning using studentcentered teaching methods and innovative assessments to help students build lasting conceptual understandin g over rote memorization. Scores demonstratin g student learning, students’ perceptions of learning and students’ ratings of her teaching … meet the highest standards of classroom teaching and significantly distinguish Dr. Lowery Bretz from her colleagues.”

– Carolyn Haynes, Miami University

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rosalyn Brown Beatty

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Union Institute & University “As a professor for the last 12 years in the substance abuse and mental health counseling fields, she strives to make a personal connection with students and humanize the experience between teacher and student. Dr. Brown Beatty reminds students that there must be a work-life balance in the counseling profession, and she urges students to practice self-care.”

– Teresa Wilkins, Union Institute & University

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outstandingEds_CB_0420.indd 78 3/16/20 11:02 AM

Top tweet

Thomas More University Alumni @ThomasMoreAlum Raymond Hebert, Ph.D., has been named an Outstanding Educator of 2020 by @CincyMagazine! Who has Professor Hebert while a student at @ThomasMoreKY? Read more about Hebert’s 45 years of accomplishments!

CTI Clinical Trials @CTIClinical Thank you for the feature, @CincyMagazine! Check out their latest Cincy Today for more details on the #COVID19 work we are doing with @humanigen.

UC Lindner College @ LindnerCollege “I have a real opportunity to build us into a strong alumni community that helps and supports the city, the school and, most importantly, our students.”

Awesome write up from @CincyMagazine about Dean @MarianneWLewis!

Cincinnati Opera @cincinnatiopera @CincyMagazine writes about the artful leadership of Patty Beggs, our General Director Emerita, and the great impact she’s had on Cincinnati Opera. #PowerOfHer #CincyArts Liz Engel @_LizEngel Is @dsmann115 running for mayor in 2021? Probably. “I don’t have aspirations to be governor. Maybe once in my career I did, but not now. We’ll see. I mean, the primary isn’t until next May. We’ve got to elect a president before that.” @CincyMagazine

Want to be featured in our Instagram stories?

Follow us at @cincymagazine and use our hashtag #LoveCincy! Show us what makes you love this city!

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Are you interested in valuable local content about the Cincy community? We’ve got you covered with our new newsletter—Cincy Today! Subscribe now for our timely articles, other good news, events and more!

Visit Cincy-Today.com to sign up!

A World-Class

Treasure

Cincinnati Museum Center details new exhibits as reopening date draws nearer

By Ginny McCabe

C

incinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal is a world-class treasure that has been inspiring visitors of all ages for generations, and it will continue to do so when it reopens this July.

The Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) welcomed over 1.8 million visitors in 2019, an attendance milestone in the first year after the historic Union Terminal restoration, and in the 200th anniversary year of the Museum of Natural History & Science.

Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center, says the increased attendance has been sparked by the fact that people have been excited to come back to Union Terminal to see it in all of its refined, restored glory. Also, they have been exhilarated by the way new exhibits are being displayed.

“We’ve had a great drumbeat of reasons to visit, and reasons to continue to celebrate the history and the science collections that this community has benefitted from for so long,” says Pierce.

Pre-COVID-19, crowds were thrilled to visit Dinosaur Hall, which showcases incredible specimens, and the “Cincin-

nati in Motion” gallery in its refreshed and renewed space. Patrons have also discovered new content in the Robert D. Lindner Family Omnimax Theater, and explored new, notable exhibitions.

While its doors closed temporarily in March due to the pandemic, Cincinnati Museum Center has continued to offer a wide variety of virtual opportunities through its website and social media platforms. Resources are available for all ages.

“Museum on Tap” is one popular program for adults, while “Wonder Zone” brings experiments and museum experiences into visitors’ homes. More than 200,000 people have engaged with CMC through the various digital opportunities.

CMC has been following the directives of Governor Mike DeWine and local officials, and Pierce says CMC is anticipating reopening on July 17.

As its reopening date draws nearer, the museum is gearing up for new and featured exhibitions, which will debut later this summer and into the fall. Two new permanent galleries are being added in the Museum of Natural History & Science— “Shaping Our City” and “You Are Here.”

“Maya: The Exhibition” will be calling the museum center home through December.

“What you are going to see as we roll out new permanent galleries in the History Museum… are really deep ways to appreciate how we work, live and play in this community, and how has the geography of this area and then innovation shaped how we continue to live here?”

Pierce says.

“Maya: The Exhibition” is also making its United States debut at CMC. The exhibition will allow guests to immerse themselves in Mayan culture through over 300 original artifacts. The pieces detail daily life, religion, politics and innovations of the Mayan people. The exhibit design features the civilization’s iconic stepped pyramids and the vibrant colors of Mayan artwork.

The exhibition will remain on display through December of 2020. “‘Maya: The Exhibition’ is spectacularly beautiful. People are going to love it. It is amazing. It is in collaboration with the national museums in Guatemala. The artifacts that they have lent to us are breathtaking, and they give such incredible detail of carvings…The objects are unbelievable, and people are going to be blown away when they walk through,” Pierce says. n w w w.

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To Educate & Inspire, From Home CET supported the community during quarantine with innovative programming and initiatives

By Corinne Minard

C

ET, Cincinnati’s local PBS station, has always looked to support the community through its programming and educational offerings since it started broadcasting in 1954. This mission remained unchanged when the governor issued his stay-at-home orders in March and in fact led the station to find new ways to serve its audience.

“Sometimes you have to be supportive of the most vulnerable in our community,” says Kellie May, manager of Communications and Digital Initiatives for CET, of the changes the station put in place during COVID-19.

First, the station pivoted its programming to offer educational shows for

CET’s Art in Isolation video series introduced viewers to a variety of local artists, including hip-hop artist Jody Jones aka GrandAce. school-age children who now had to stay home.

“We know that not everyone has internet access and even if you do you might have a family with only one computer or

Thanks to the local businesses who graciously worked with St. Rita students to teach them employability skills to help them

DREAM. ACHIEVE. SOAR.

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one tablet. In those situations we wanted to make sure that we were kind of going back to our roots and providing those educational opportunities that had access for everyone,” says May. Called At Home

CET’s Art In Isolation video series features interviews and performances from local artists, like Countess Winfrey with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.

Learning, the schedule featured programming ideal for elementary school children, such as Molly of Denali, in the morning; for middle schoolers, like NOVA, in the late morning and early afternoon; and for high school students, like Secrets of the Dead, in the afternoon.

The channel’s daily schedule was posted online and included resources for parents.

“They’re finding coordinated lesson plans on PBS Learning Media, resources from partners, and we’re putting those all in the schedule for parents that want to use that as sort of that lesson plan for the day,” says May.

Another way CET moved to help parents was to create a weekly email newsletter called Learning @ Home. The email contains links to content created by organizations like the Cincinnati Zoo along with resources such as PBS Learning Media.

The resources are organized by age group so that parents can best find the content that fits their child.

“We know parents are deluged with information. PBS is a trusted partner. If we can make that as easy as possible with one email a week, let’s give you some place to start when you have time between your day,” says May.

But that’s not all CET did during quarantine. While productions were halted, the station’s executive producer and digital content specialist reached out to local artists to create a web series called Art in Isolation. Local artists were asked to film themselves answering a series of questions so as to document how the pandemic had affected them and their art.

“We knew that people’s social feeds were really dark. They were looking for something to cheer them up and inspire them—educate and inspire is part of our mission. We really thought that this was an opportunity for us to tell a story but also bring a little bit of light to people’s social feeds,” says May. All episodes can be seen on CET’s Facebook page, The Art Show’s YouTube channel and the PBS Video App. While CET has already returned to its regular programming, May says the station is looking to carry forward some of what it’s learned during this time. “[This] gives us an opportunity to look back and say, ‘OK, we did all of these great things. What can we learn from that and how will that impact the way that we operate?’ I think those discussions are happening,” she says. n

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Q&A

3 Questions with Kurt Reiber

President and CEO of the Cincinnati Freestore Foodbank

By Liz Engel

W

hat do the Rubber Duck Regatta and Kurt Reiber have in common? Both have been staples at the Cincinnati Freestore Foodbank for decades. The former, a race of yellow rubber ducks down the Ohio River, will mark its 26th iteration this Labor Day weekend, although whether that swim will continue in its typical fashion is still unclear. Just chalk it up as another challenge for the latter. Reiber, a former senior vice president at Key Bank, has logged nearly as many years at the Freestore. After a 14-year stint on the board of directors, he’s on the heels of his ninth anniversary as its president and CEO. During these uncertain times, Reiber has continued to lead the charge against hunger, even as a wave of nationwide layoffs sent exponentially more families his way. The organization is on pace to distribute 52 million pounds of food over the next 52 weeks, nearly double its normal amount. While that’s the nonprofit’s bread and butter, of course, there’s tons more going on behind the scenes.

Tell us about the Freestore.

What are some of your bestkept secrets?

When I started on the board, what I liked most about the Freestore was that it wasn’t just about giving out food. It’s providing supportive services to these families.

We’re trying to change the outcome. We have a culinary training program called Cincinnati COOKS! We’ve graduated over 3,000 students and 85% are getting jobs in the industry. [In 2017], we started LIFT The TriState, which is a 10-week logistics training program. With companies like Amazon, Wayfair, DHL and UPS and Verst in our metro area, there’s so much demand.

We’ve had nine classes graduate so far.

And we’ve had 100% placement from those students in the logistics area.

How has the pandemic shifted your operations? What kind of impact will it have on your projections for this year?

There’s been a dramatic increase in demand. Seventy-five percent of the families being served right now are coming to food lines for the first time. These are families that were volunteers for us, families that were donors.

One thing we’re very proud of is the fact that, during this pandemic, we continued to maintain our benefits call center. Our caseworkers are meeting with folks via Zoom, via Skype, over the phone. Those individuals are getting signed up for SNAP benefits. They’re getting signed up for Medicaid. We can help them sign up for unemployment. We’re not going to “food bank” our way out of this pandemic. We can leverage those resources for families.

We’re also advocating for a 15% increase in SNAP benefits. I didn’t realize when I left banking that there’d be so much advocacy work to be done. That’s something that’s really critical, because we really are a voice for the voiceless.

Your leap into the nonprofit sector has been called your second act. It follows a 28year career at Key. What’s the long-term plan for you? Is this your “last act”?

The National Guard has been helping the Freestore Foodbank distribute food during the pandemic.

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When I turned 50, my kids gave me a book called Halftime by Bob Buford, and it talks about moving from success to significance.

I told the board when I came on that I would like to be here for 15 years. After that, I don’t see myself just going on long walks on the beach. I can’t see myself ever not doing something that gives back to this community. It’s been so generous to me. n

A magazine dedicated exclusively to Cincy: Its arts, businesses, communities, entertainment and most of all its people.

Visit us at WWW.CINCYMAGAZINE.COM for a complimentary subscription

At-Home Support St. Ursula Academy’s counseling department moved online to help students while learning at home

By Corinne Minard

S

t. Ursula Academy (SUA) student Lauren Fletcher found herself feeling a bit lost when the school moved to at-home learning in March. The graduating senior was always busy before—she was the leader of two clubs and an active rower in addition to having a part-time job—and now found herself with little on her schedule.

“The hardest part was I didn’t know what to do with my time anymore,” says Fletcher.

She turned to Laura Roman, chair of the counseling department for the all-girls Catholic high school in East Walnut Hills, for help and advice. Luckily, the department had found ways to shift its services online while providing new ones needed for this unique moment in time.

“We wanted to make sure that we had a balance of doing all the things that we need to do to support our students but not overwhelming them because the whole situation in and of itself is overwhelming,” says Roman.

Within the first three weeks of at-home learning, Roman and the department’s seven other counselors had scheduled virtual meetings via Google Hangouts with every SUA student. Students were asked about their learning environment, how

St. Ursula Academy graduating senior Lauren Fletcher they felt and how their family was doing.

Each student was also invited to contact a counselor whenever they felt they needed help—which is exactly what Fletcher did.

“Ms. Roman and I, we connected over Google Hangouts and talked a little bit

GRADUATE SPOTLIGHT Alyssa graduated with High Honors and will attend the University of Alabama majoring in Political Science.

Following college, she intends to go to law school. Roll Tide!

Alyssa Phelan

Lakota West High School 12

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about that, just because I was like, ‘I don’t even know what to do with my time.’

Afterwards I kind of got a grip on things and I tried to make a semi-class schedule where I would try to do some sort of exercise or get outside or work on studying for my AP exams, and I always try to get in on the [events] the school is offering,” says Fletcher.

Roman says that many students have contacted counselors for help, and that even parents and teachers have contacted the department when they felt students needed some assistance.

Laura Roman, chair of St. Ursula Academy’s Counseling Department

But in addition to helping students manage their time and mental health during quarantine, the counseling department a lso fou nd new way s to support students going through the college process. The school gave students access to a document that was constantly updated w it h col lege information, opportuni- St. Ursula Academy’s Counseling Department in a virtual ties and webinars, and meeting. Top, from left: Cindy Nelson, Cathy Sherrick and Laura Roman. Middle, from left: Wendy Long, Jenna counselors were just an Wilker and Jill Minor. And Bottom, from left: Vikki Rose email away for students and Annie Juergenson. with questions. The department also developed a special College tion about what her next year will look like.

Connection Day for graduating seniors to Events like the College Connection Day, replace the traditional declaration day. The as well as the counseling department’s counselors set up virtual meetings with advice, helped students like Fletcher end colleges that had SUA students attending in their school year on a positive note. the fall so that the students could meet with “The counseling department has really others who would be going there as well helped me. Instead of not knowing what as an admissions representative so they to do and just kind of wasting my days could learn more about their new school. laying around trying to figure out what to Fletcher, who will be attending The Ohio do they’ve helped me kind of identify, OK, State University in the fall, attended the you can do some of this stuff and have that OSU session and gained valuable informa- structure,” she says. n

Lakota Local Schools is proud of its 1,338 graduates!

CONGRATULATIONS Lakota Local Schools 5572 Princeton Road Liberty Township, OH 45011

(513) 874-5505 lakota@lakotaonline.com lakotaonline.com

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History & Leadership

By Dan Hurley

Leading in the Face of Epidemics Cincinnati has learned from its experiences with previous pandemics

A

s I write this column, we are seven weeks into the stay-at-home orders, with the prospect of an effective vaccine 12 to 18 months away.

Normal life, the economy and time itself, seem suspended. But against the backdrop of two earlier pandemic incidents, we are responding quickly and decisively.

In the mid-19th century Cincinnati was plagued in 1832 and 1849 by major cholera epidemics. By 1849, Cincinnati was the sixth largest city in the United States with about 110,000 residents, over 40% of whom were German or Irish immigrants.

Local newspapers noted several cholera deaths of European immigrants on boats arriving in New York and New Orleans in the Fall of 1848. The first person to die of cholera in Cincinnati arrived by steamboat on Dec. 25, 1848. No other cholera death was reported until April 1849.

Cholera was dangerous. It killed quickly, often within four to eight hours after the onset of symptoms. But little action was taken, a function of ingrained attitudes.

Most importantly, contemporary medical science offered little useful direction.

The germ theory of disease was still 35 years in the future. In effect, bacteria and viruses didn’t exist in the 1840s.

Daniel Drake, one of the great physicians and scientists of the period, lived in Cincinnati in both 1832 and 1849. To avoid cholera, he recommended people avoid drafty, humid rooms, eat balanced meals, wear wool clothing and avoid alcohol. At the first onset of diarrhea, he recommended that the patient place a “poultice of mush or bitter herbs over the bowels, send for a physician or take a pill of 10 grains of calomel and one of opium.”

But none of that was very useful, and Drake lost three grandchildren and a son-in-law to cholera in 1849.

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A second problem was the widespread assumption that cholera would primarily impact people community leaders cared little about—working class immigrants. Dr. Thomas Carroll expressed the prevailing view that the “poor foreigner possesses not only filthy habits in his mode of living, but has a peculiar inclination to avoid ventilation in his dwelling. This is especially the case with the Germans.” Immigrants, in fact, accounted for 2,986 of the 4,114 (70%) of fatalities between May 1 and Aug. 30.

Third, mid-century Americans expected little from city government in the area of public health. City Council created a temporary Board of Health, but it did not meet until a prominent physician died in early June. Council also adopted a Nuisance Ordinance encouraging the draining of In this 1832 notice, Dr. Daniel Drake provided pools of stagnant water and guidance to Cincinnati citizens about what to do cleanup of filthy streets where if they contracted cholera. By 1849, he no longer recommended bleeding if the patient had fever. people threw their rotting kitchen waste and other refuse, expecting roaming hogs to consume the authorities was dramatically different than in 1849. waste and leave behind manure.

Between April and October of 1849, By 1918 germ theory was well established, more than 4,700 Cincinnati residents suc- but, with no vaccine or pharmaceutical cumbed to cholera. According to historian treatments, the only defense was isolaTheodore Eversole, city government not tion, quarantine and personal hygiene. only failed to take effective action during Complicating the situation, America was the epidemic, it learned nothing. Unlike in the midst of World War I and the federal a number of other cities, Cincinnati did government not only had no interest in a not even get rid of its dependence on pigs national policy of isolation, it was shipping soldiers, and the infection, around as the garbage system.

Sixty years later, Cincinnati was caught the world. Preventative measures were up in one of the most vicious and wide- left to localities. spread pandemics in history. The 1918-19 The 1918-19 flu came in multiple waves.

Influenza killed between 50 and 70 mil- The second and most lethal wave, inacculion people worldwide and 675,000 in rately dubbed the “Spanish Flu,” arrived in the United States. The response of local greater Cincinnati on Sept. 25, 1918, when

On New Year’s Eve, as the Spanish Flu was ending in Cincinnati, Ruth Schneider, the grandmother of the columnist Dan Hurley’s wife fell ill of the flu. She died the next day.

Mrs. George Topmiller fell ill after visiting her husband at Camp Lee in Virginia.

Dr. William Peters, the Cincinnati health officer, acted quickly, quarantining Topmiller, closing local hospitals to most visitors and warning the public to stay away from theaters and public meetings.

On Oct. 5, at a point when on ly a handful of cases ex isted, Peters and

Mayor John Galvin met with business, civic and religious leaders. They agreed to support a closure order for schools, theaters, movie houses, churches and public meetings. Saloons remained open until 7 p.m., but could only sell alcohol or beer in containers, which had to be carried home.

Ten days later, with the number of cases growing quickly, which included Peters himself, officials recognized the hardship the closure had on the poor and opened penny lunchrooms in vacant schools. They also encouraged citizens to flush residential streets while the Street Cleaning Department used disinfectant on downtown streets.

By Oct. 30, anxious business owners and clergymen appealed for a relaxation of the rules, but the Board of Health held firm.

Finally, the orders were lifted on Nov. 11 (Armistice Day). Mayor Galvin declared, “The people are tired of hearing of influenza and want to forget it.”

Theaters, churches and schools reopened, but within a week the number of cases among children rose and, after the Thanksgiving break, the schools were again shuttered. On Dec. 12 the Board of

Health adopted a gradual reopening plan and by the last week of the year schools were allowed to reopen.

The Health Department estimated 100,000 Cincinnatians contracted the flu and 1,700 died between Oct. 10 and Dec. 31. A 2007 study by the Federal Reserve of St. Louis ranked Cincinnati as one of the cities that came through the second wave relatively well both medically and economically because of its quick action and willingness to sustain its lockdown in the face of pressure.

Today, we may not yet have a vaccine or totally effective treatments, but two things indicate progress over the last century in confronting epidemics. First, scientists sequenced the genome (a reality totally unknown in 1918) of the novel coronavirus within a month of the first case, speeding the hope of developing an effective vaccine in record time. Second, the leadership of governors DeWine and Beshear and their Public Health advisers has made state and local governments effective in way that formerly unimaginable. n Dan Hurley is the president of Applied History Associates.

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Another View

By Don Mooney

What We Don’t Know About Our COVID “Escape” Cincinnati left with many unknowns as we head into the second half of the year

the timing of that escape and our return to normal remains uncertain. Paraphrasing former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, there are “known unknowns” and also “unknown unknowns.” We have plenty of both:

T

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he last time my words appeared here, in the April edition, Cincy’s cover touted “6 Great Escapes.” As I write today, our community is struggling to escape the grip of a pandemic that has left thousands without paychecks, others fearful of infection and all of us wondering when we can get back to “normal.”

Without any apparent COVID cure, or a broadly available preventative vaccine,

About 90% of families rely on public schools to educate their kids. Most working parents rely on schools to care for their children during the day when they head to work. But plans for opening schools safely, and keeping them open through a potential second wave of infections, are deeply uncertain. When Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent Laura Mitchell

These are extraordinary times.

publicly speculated about limiting students’ school week to 1-3 days to allow for distancing, parents howled. Balancing parental expectations with the need to keep students and staff healthy, while absorbing big state funding cuts, will be a huge challenge for local school leaders.

Sports and Other Public Events Reds and Bengals fans were unusually optimistic about the 2020 season. Meanwhile, new outdoor concert venues are sprouting on both sides of the Ohio River, Music Hall only recently reopened after its renovation and FC Cincinnati’s new stadium rises in

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the West End. Now guidelines about social distancing have the Reds, Bengals and FC Cincinnati talking about how and when they can play again, possibly in front of empty stands. When large gatherings are allowed, how many of us will buy sports, concert or theater tickets? Can arts and culture venues survive until we come back?

Working Stay at home orders created a new social divide: Those with essential jobs—medical and grocery store workers, delivery drivers, police and fire—were expected to keep slogging to work and assume the risk of infection. Non-essential restaurant and retail workers were laid off, accounting for those mindboggling unemployment num-

bers. Others—lawyers, college professors, journalists, accountants, office workers and teachers—could work from home.

Many bosses have learned that some of us are expendable, and that their expensive office space could be a huge waste of money. That portends big changes for working life, as some employers tell more of us to just keep working from home. That’s not good news for office building landlords.

Cincinnati’s Urban Renaissance The last decade has seen a surge of development in Cincinnati’s central business district (CBD) and Over-the-Rhine. New hotels, restaurants, retail and apartment units have opened or are under construc-

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Young professionals and older empty nesters moved closer to the river into apartments and condos. Business and leisure travelers have filled new hotel rooms and restaurants. The streetcar connected it all.

But a pandemic can quickly change your perspective on where to live or travel. Will proximity to hip bars and restaurants be as appealing in the age of social distancing? Will anyone want to board airplanes to come to The Queen City any time soon?

Will some of us look for more wide-open spaces if all you need is reliable Wi-Fi to earn a living? The civil unrest and vandalism of late May, following the Minneapolis death of George Floyd, will make any CBD rebound that much harder.

One thing I can predict: when all these unknowns become known, hopefully by 2022, the new normal for Cincinnati will not be the normal we remember before COVID-19.

Good luck to us all in getting there safely. n Don Mooney is an attorney, a past member of the Cincinnati Planning Commission and is active in local politics.

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Scene

Keller, Barrett and Higgins, LLC hosted a Memoir Writing Workshop Jan. 25 at its offices in Madeira. Participants at the Memoir Writing Workshop wrote mini memoirs in response to workshop leader Barbara Morgenstern’s prompts. Morgenstern offers these workshops throughout the year.

1 Eric Price, a Cincinnatian who is bound for law school in the fall, attended the event. 2 Another participant was Lowanne E. Jones, a retired associate professor emerita and former head of Romance Languages and Literature at the University of Cincinnati. 3 The second floor of Keller, Barrett and Higgins was also used by those looking for a comfortable space to write.

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Seasons’ Drive-Thru Celebration Residents’ families and staff came out in droves in order to honk their support for Seasons retirement community April 21.

Over 180 cars took part in the first parade for this senior living community located in Kenwood.

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1 Executive Director Nick Carson dressed in costume to add even more fun to the festivities. 2 Many residents came outside to wave to the visitors. 3 Dining Manager Dave Lewis was all smiles in his luau attire.

4 Parade signs featured messages of encouragement for both residents and staff.

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The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra’s CCO2GO has included live pop-up performances by its musicians at locations like Woodside Cemetery.

Keeping the Arts Cincinnati’s arts organizations may have had to cancel events and close their doors, but many have found new ways to connect with their audiences during this time

By Corinne Minard

T

hey say the only constant in life is change. But it’s probably fair to say no one was expecting such a big change when we entered spring 2020.

More than three months after Governor Mike DeWine issued his first stay-at-home order due to COVID-19, businesses, organizations and individuals are adapting to changing regulations and attitudes.

While everyone has been impacted, Cincinnati’s arts organizations have been particularly hard hit. Most of them were designed specifically for bringing 20

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Alive

together large numbers of people into a small space—something that can no longer be done safely. These organizations have been asking themselves the same question—Andrew J. Hungerford, producing artistic director for the Know Theatre of Cincinnati, asked it best: “How do we maintain the core values of our mission when we’re not actually able to gather together?”

Cincinnati’s arts groups have answered this question in many ways. Virtual classes, pop-up performances, online events, audio plays—they did all of these things and more. Local organizations have found a variety of ways to connect with audiences both in the Tristate and around the world, even in the midst of the coronavirus.

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra

The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (CCO) was one of the first organizations in town to officially cancel its summer events. Summermusik, the CCO’s monthlong music festival, is typically held in August. On March 27, CCO announced that the festival would be postponed until 2021.

The event’s early cancellation allowed CCO to quickly approach donors for operational funding and set up the Musicians Relief Fund. That assistance, along with the Paycheck Protection Program loan the orchestra received from the U.S. Small Business Administration, has enabled CCO to find new ways to bring music to the community.

“We realized we had eight weeks to keep everybody employed at their regular fulltime rates and we had eight weeks to hire a lot of musicians,” says LeAnne Anklan, executive director of CCO. Anklan and her team decided it was time to go all in on its new virtual program, CCO@Home. With CCO@Home, the organization has been able to post all sorts of content online—musicians have showed viewers how their instruments work, given private solo performances and interviewed each other as well as acclaimed international artists.

Once stay-at-home orders were lifted, CCO moved to expand a program that had already been in place—CCO2GO, which includes all of the orchestra’s community outreach and engagement.

“We don’t want to encourage any unsafe gatherings, so we’re being really cautious and we’re calling them pop-ups. If you see us, you’re lucky,” says Anklan.

During these pop-up performances, CCO musicians have performed at Wood-

side Cemetery, Cincinnati parks and on streets downtown. No advance warnings are given, making the performances into special surprises for whoever walks by.

“I’ve received several notes asking me if there is a schedule of our CCO2GO events because [our fans] are so excited,” says Anklan. “But we’re not trying to encourage gatherings so that’s been really important to us and the way that we’re talking about these events.”

This unusual time has also enabled CCO to do something it’s always wanted to do—collaborate with other organizations.

With SPCA Cincinnati, CCO created the Summer Barkestra Concert Series. Performed live on Facebook, the streaming concerts feature CCO musicians performing for animals at SPCA adoption facilities throughout the region. Then, between songs, SPCA staff introduce local adoptable animals to viewers.

CCO has also partnered with the Cincinnati Art Museum—where musician ensembles performed on the stairs of the

museum’s Art Climb when the museum reopened June 20—and with Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum, where musician ensembles performed alongside the sculptures for a special evening event June 25.

Cincinnati Art Museum When the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM) in Eden Park closed its doors, its Learning and Interpretation department, along with marketing and communications, quickly moved to create an online community for its fans.

“We closed to the public on Friday, March 13, and CAM Connect was up and running by Tuesday, March 17,” says Emily Holtrop, director of Learning and Interpretation for CAM. CAM Connect is a new Facebook group created by the museum that hosts the many, many pieces of content CAM has been creating during the pandemic. In the group, members can participate in CAMCMCReads, a free book club hosted with the Cincinnati Museum Center that

The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra’s Summer Barkestra Concert Series features CCO musicians playing for adoptable cats and dogs.

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features public domain novels; watch CAM Look, daily videos in which CAM staff introduce and describe pieces from the museum’s collection, including ones that aren’t on display; make a craft with CAMDo, which shows viewers how to make art with household items; or take a yoga class with CAM Breathe.

“We just looked at what our strengths were as far as staff, and said, ‘OK, we can create a program around that or a program around that,’” says Holtrop.

For example, the museum’s move into video games was inspired by Russell Ihrig, the associate director of interpretive programming, a self-described gamer. The museum used that passion to create a new YouTube series, A Curator Reacts…, in which an art museum curator and video game novice gives their thoughts while watching someone play a popular video game, and upload pieces from CAM’s collection in the game Animal Crossing so players could feature those works in their virtual homes.

“That’s Russell being a video gamer person and understanding how to do that,” says Holtrop.

The Facebook group has proven to be popular with art fans, with the group

Cincinnati Art Museum’s CAMDo videos are art tutorials that show you how to create something at home, such as your own cubist still life. growing from one member March 17 to over 3,000 members by May 22.

Cincinnati Ballet While COVID-19 forced the Cincinnati Ballet to reschedule its spring performances (they’re now part of next season) and move

all its ballet academy classes online, Scott Altman, president and CEO of the ballet, feels the organization as a whole didn’t skip a beat.

“We’ve actually found some really great new avenues and new content by going virtual,” he says.

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Nicole Doll, director of Communications and Public Relations for the ballet, says that people from all over the world have been viewing their online content. The ballet’s online content has included streaming recordings of past performances, barre and Pilates classes, and live streams of group classes taken by current Cincinnati Ballet dancers. But more atypical content has been offered as well, with the ballet making videos about how to make a bun on top of your head and activities, such as a choreography cube, that can be printed out at home.

“Almost every posting we put out will have a little category of comments back and forth of ‘I miss Cincinnati Ballet,’ or ‘I love this piece,’ or they’ll call out a particular dancer,” says Altman. “It’s happening with every post... People are asking for more.

Keeping up with the content is a big part of our conversation now.”

That content conversation includes discussions about collaboration, both locally and internationally. The ballet has started to have artistic directors and choreographers from around the world lead virtual classes for its dancers, classes that can then be viewed online by the ballet-loving public.

“I think everybody in the artform really kind of linked arms over the last couple of months and realized just how important it was for us to able to use this as a way to spread joy to our own local communities as well across the country and across the world. And I hope and I believe that that spirit will continue as we move into the next normal,” says Altman.

Know Theatre For the Know Theatre in Over-the-Rhine, the coronavirus meant rethinking how people can experience theater while still supporting local artists.

“We fairly rapidly started putting up some archival recordings of performances with the intention of doing a revenue split with all the artists involved. Every quarter we’ll pay residuals to all of the artists that were in the show just as though it were a TV show,” says Hungerford.

Those who buy a streaming pass, which range from $5 to $20, to a show are able to watch the recording through a certain date at any time that is convenient for them.

New recordings have also been added every couple weeks, allowing the Know to support more artists while giving theater lovers more options.

In addition, the Know has started offering downloadable audio plays on its website.

“Essentially, it’s just a $5 purchase for a brand-new audio play featuring a cast of local artists. I think it’s been a really great way to keep people engaged and to continue producing the kind of work that we love to do and which our audience expects from us,” says Hungerford.

The biggest impact COVID-19 had on the Know Theatre, though, was on its annual Fringe Festival, held May 29-June 13 this year. The 14-day festival usually encompasses more than 200 performances of around 40 productions of new works in 10 venues in OTR. With social distancing guidelines still in place, the event became an all-virtual one this year.

“It’s such a big part of what we do that scaling that back was pretty dramatic,” says Hungerford. While only 50 events this year, the Know still made sure to include versions of the community gatherings for which the festival has become known. In addition to its 20 on-demand shows, five ticketed special events and free family shows, the festival featured a nightly Fringe Bar Series. Those who tuned in for the free events could see live concerts and even

The Cincinnati Ballet’s wardrobe department made masks during the stay-at-home order. w w w.

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have a bartender help them make a drink with what they had at home.

“The marketing challenge is how do we convince people to switch to this rather than Netflix. Of course, that’s one of the ongoing challenges with live theater in general—one of our big marketing challenges is how do we convince people to put on pants and go outside. So at least now they don’t have to worry about those two pieces, it’s just going to the website,” laughs Hungerford.

Cincinnati Opera

The Cincinnati Ballet has been posting archival 11:30 recordings of its past performances Cincy 7.5x4.874_June_v2.pdf 1 6/19/20 AM online on Thursdays and Saturdays.

The Cincinnati Opera, which was planning to celebrate its 100th season this year, instead had to cancel all of its shows due to the coronavirus.

“But our board president, our wonderful Liz Grubow, counseled all of us to say, ‘Don’t announce what you are canceling without figuring out what you can do,’” says Evans Mirageas, artistic director for the opera. While understandable from a public relations point of view, Mirageas says this statement encouraged the opera to be creative in new ways.

“We realized … two things: First of all, that good ideas would come from every

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corner of our company because everyone who works for an opera company is passionate about opera—you don’t work for an opera company to get rich, you work for an opera company because you love the artform—and, secondly, that there is plenty that we could be doing virtually,” he says.

Everyone in the opera was asked to come up with ideas, leading to the variety of content that can now be seen online. There are the Apartment Arias, in which Cincinnati Opera singers perform songs that are meaningful to them from home; Opera Raps, a to-go version of the company’s lecture series, featuring short interviews with opera performers, supporters and staff; Opera Storybook Hour, where opera artists read an opera-themed book and perform a song; virtual Opera Chats, in which fans are invited to watch a streamed opera performance and then discuss it with other fans and opera staff; and Opera & Yoga at Home, in which an opera singer performs during a Zoom session of yoga.

And then there are the events and community outreach. A singer serenaded a local firehouse and the opera bought pizza

for first responders at a local firehouse. The organization started a socially distanced event series called Share the Love Truck Tour, in which an opera singer performs in neighborhoods from the back of a pick-up truck with just a PA system and a piano. The Cheers to Opera series had the opera team up with local breweries and wineries for streaming events that showcase local libations and talks with opera singers.

“Both virtually and physically we’re staying in touch with the audience in every way that we do opera—whether it’s mainstage type events, which we transfer online; education and engagement, which we either do online or live; [or] being a good partner in the community,” says Mirageas.

Going Forward While the pandemic has been challenging for us all, all of the arts organizations that we spoke with felt that they had gained something during this time as well.

The CCO’s musicians have learned how to film and record themselves, a skill the organization can use for more online content and which will be put to use for

the digital version of Summermusik CCO plans to put on this August.

CAM is also committing more of its resources toward digital.

“When the museum opens the physical doors, we can’t close our virtual doors,” says Holtrop. “CAM Connect will continue.”

As the museum looks at fall, it’s already thinking of ways its regular programs, like lectures and art classes, can be done online or implemented safely.

The Cincinnati Ballet is looking to further invest in technology, with the possibility of recording shows specifically for online audiences.

The Know Theatre is working with artist organizations to find a way to allow future performances to be recorded for online, which could make theater more accessible for those who are hard of hearing or unable to go to the theater.

And the Cincinnati Opera already has plans underway for more event throughout the summer and beyond.

“What we have learned is that we can do anything we put our minds to and that we can pivot and get content out immediately in the turn of a dime,” says Altman. n

Saturdays at 6pm on CET Sundays at 8pm on CET Arts Anytime on YouTube and the PBS Video App CETconnect.org w w w.

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Plan your Perfect Escape

Visit midwesterntraveler.com to plan your next getaway

Midwestern Traveler: Indiana

A Day in Indiana

Fort Wayne’s Promenade Park opened last year and features a splashpad, accessible playground, treetop canopy trail and more.

Nearby cities in the Hoosier State are great for families looking for a day or weekend trip

By Corinne Minard

A

fter months of staying home, even something simple like a day or overnight trip sounds like a wonderful escape. With many Indiana cities only 1 to 3 hours away by car, the state is ideal for this type of trip. The state is also packed with entertainment and recreation opportunities for those looking for some time away.

Fort Wayne Those who want to enjoy the outdoors will find plenty to do in Fort Wayne. Promenade Park, a park that sits on the three rivers that flow through downtown Fort Wayne, opened last August and features recreational opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. The park has a treetop canopy trail, kids’ canal, playground, accessible ramps for kayaking and paddleboarding, and even a riverboat cruise on a replica canal boat.

“The three rivers are natural but you can see the city from them, so it’s a cool combo, kind of like nature in an urban environment,” says Kristen Guthrie, vice president of marketing and communications for Visit Fort Wayne.

Families can take self-guided tours of Fort Wayne’s many murals.

The park’s location also makes it easy to jump from walking the treetop trail to exploring the city. Within just a few blocks, visitors can explore local museums and attractions, like the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, or stop by one of the 50 nearby restaurants.

In addition, just a block away is a new area called The Landing, which is a recently updated historical street that features restaurants and retail.

“I think the convenience is something people love about Fort Wayne—stay downtown and walk to all of these great places. it’s just really easy to enjoy nature and fine dining and museums and all that just within steps of each other,” says Guthrie.

Other outdoor recreation options in Fort Wayne include 120 miles of trails, the Eagle Marsh wetland nature preserve, a self-guided public art tour and the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo. w w w.

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Midwestern Traveler: Indiana Richmond Families that want to enjoy a variety of experiences while social distancing will easily be able to do so in Richmond.

The region’s Antique Alley, for instance, features more than 1,200 antique dealers along two loop trails.

“All the trails start in Richmond and then meet back to Richmond,” says Nancy Sartain, leisure marketing director for the Richmond Wayne County Convention & Tourism Bureau. “And you can’t do the trails of the antiquing in one day. You either spend the night or you come out and do one and then come up another time and do the other.”

Another popular activity is the Chocolate Trail. After picking up their passport at The Old National Road Welcome Center, chocolate lovers can receive free samples from 10 locations on the trail. Sartain says that Abbott’s Candies in Hagerstown, which has been making chocolate since 1890, is a must-visit stop. Other stops of note include Warm Glow Candle Company, where those following the trail receive a

In Richmond’s Glen Miller Park, visitors can explore the E.G. Hill Rose Garden, go fishing or play in the splashpad.

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fossil hunting at Thistlethwaite Falls and take part in a scavenger hunt at Hayes Arboretum.

Carmel

Hamilton County Tourism

Carmel has a mixture of both outdoor and indoor activities that are safe and fun for the whole family.

Outside, families can take in some fresh air on the paved, 20-mile Monon Trail. “It goes north up to Westfield, it goes down through Carmel and then it does connect to Indianapolis if people want to make a long ride of it,” says Katie Utken, digital marketing manager for Visit Hamilton County Indiana. “It’s completely paved

Abbott’s Candy has been making chocolates since the late 1800s and is just one of the stops on the Richmond Chocolate Trail. chocolate-scented votive candle, and Ullery’s Homemade Ice Cream.

Sartain adds that it’s easy to incorporate the county’s mural trail into the chocolate trail, too, as there are more than 80 in the county.

There are also plenty of outdoor recreation opportunities. Visitors can take special night hikes and bird watching tours at Cope Environmental Center, go

Cool Creek Park and Nature Center in Carmel, Indiana, has 4 miles of woodland trails alongside its namesake creek.

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Hamilton County Tourism

Midwestern Traveler: Indiana

The Monon Trail is a 20-mile paved trail that connects Carmel to the town of Sheridan.

so it’s great for strollers, bicycles, walkers and joggers, and the great thing is that they are some scenic nature areas but then it also goes right through our downtown in Carmel.”

In addition, the city has dozens of wellmaintained city parks and 600 miles of trails. While there are many great parks, Utken recommends families stop by Coxhall Gardens because of all it has to offer.

At the park, visitors can find recreation lakes, paved sidewalks and trails, a children’s play area, lots of nature elements 30

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and two 90-foot bell towers that chime every hour.

When it’s time to head indoors, you can head to the Museum of Miniature Houses & Other Collections. The small museum is already contactless, as visitors can’t touch the displays. “If you’ve ever seen one of those miniature houses, where the chairs are teeny tiny… this little museum is filled with glass panels where you can look into all of these different miniature displays,” says Utken. While looking into these displays, families can take part

in the museum’s scavenger hunt, which encourages visitors to scour the displays for specific tiny items.

Another indoor option that’s ideal for k ids is Sprouts Cook ing School, Indiana’s only cooking school for kids.

“During quarantine they’ve been awesome, offering virtual classes online and I know they’re excited to get back in the kitchen,” says Utken. She adds that they offer classes throughout the summer that visiting families can book before making their trip.

Kokomo In Kokomo, visitors can explore both history and art in safe, socially distant ways.

The city’s star attraction, the Kokomo Opalescent Glass Co., is open again for tours at the end of June. The company is America’s oldest glass company and makes special pieces for installations around the work, from Disney World to the Naval Academy to the Vatican. The tour shows visitors the behind the scenes work.

“They have artists there that do demonstrations of blowing glass, they give demonstrations of their restoration work, it’s pretty extensive all that they do even though they’re quite a small business in comparison to a lot of manufacturers,” says Sherry Matlock, manager of the Greater Kokomo Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The company is limiting the size of the touring groups to allow for social distancing.

For more art, families can explore Kokomo’s downtown art scene. Special attractions include All Alleys Lead to Art, which are specific downtown alleys that have been turned into outdoor art galleries; self-guide mural tours; the Kokomo Sculpture Walk, which has nine large-scale sculptures; DIY art studios like Fired Arts Studio; and downtown art galleries. Matlock says that maps of the Sculpture Walk are available for free on the Visit Kokomo app.

For some history, Matlock recommends visiting the Seiberling Mansion, which is also the home of the Howard County Museum. Built in the late 1800s, the three-story home has been restored, with many rooms staged to look as they would have when the Seiberling family lived there.

But for something off the beaten pat h, Mat lock says families should go see Old Ben in Highland Park.

“Old Ben is a stuffed steer. He was alive at one time, and he is the world’s largest steer,” says Matlock. The steer was 6.5 feet tall, 16.25 feet long and weighed more than 4,500 pounds. Born and raised in the Kokomo area, the original owner refused to sell him. He’s now a permanent resident of the region in the park. n

ABOVE: Kokomo Opalescent Glass Company has created everything from small vases to large glass installations for Disney World.

LEFT: The Kokomo Opalescent Glass Factory, which has been manufacturing products since 1888, offers tours of its facilities.

BELOW: Kokomo’s Artist Alley is an alley that has been turned into a yearround outdoor art gallery.

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Dining

A New Kind of Dinner Party The At Home Chef is designed to bring renowned epicurean means to guests’ dining room

By Jessica Baltzersen

F

or Ken Durbin, the six-hour drive to his grandmother’s tiny apartment in Pennsylvania, was worth it. It was more than a place he called home; it was the first place he learned to love food.

There, he’d watch his grandma use her bare hands, thin from age, work ingredients from a simple grocery list into “sumptuous feasts” that transformed family Sunday dinners into intimate experiences of bonding over memorable food and conversation.

While his culinary school background helped Durbin develop essential skills, the

heart of his cooking and business model comes from his grandmother and the time spent in her kitchen.

“From how and where my ingredients grow to the ways they can be meticulously prepared into beautiful plates of food, I wanted to make each dinner I prepared a unique culinary experience,” he adds.

It was through this mindset that The At Home Chef was born.

“Even before COVID-19, we were so separated from our friends and families.

Between putting off catching up with your best friend to overcommitting to other priorities, it’s easy to accidentally self-isolate.

But since the pandemic, we’ve learned so much about the importance of intimate connections, haven’t we? We need those genuinely warm smiles. We need fits of laughter and rounds of champagne while gobbling gouda from gourmet cheese boards. And we need to find togetherness

Ken Durbin, chef and owner of The At Home Chef again, even if that means we’re all 6 feet apart,” adds Durbin.

In an era of new dinner parties and a renewed appreciation for in-person gatherings, The At Home Chef continues

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menu is designed to the guests’ personal taste a nd d iet a r y rest r ictions. The initial meal preparation takes place of f-site in a gourmet kitchen equipped with professional-grade culinary tools. Then, the meal is cooked in-home, plated and served from the guests’ kitchen to their table.

The star ingredients in Durbin’s meals are t he i ng red ient s a nd where they’re sourced.

Durbin plans his menu with the tastes of his clients in mind. He believes local, fresh ingredients can change a meal, and that “the to achieve what it’s always set out to do— closer the source, the better the food will help diners bond over exquisite cuisine taste.” in an intimate setting that’s sometimes He’s embraced sourcing from local farms unattainable in restaurants. and markets while educating clients on The At Home Chef curates dinner parties where the food he uses comes from and designed for small groups of less than 20 how to avoid ingredients that they don’t guests, though, at the moment, because want or need (like added hormones that of COVID-19, parties are being kept to have been injected into meat or pesticides four or less. Once the date is set, a custom that cover produce).

While the food is a main staple to the dinner, the core of the experience comes from the moments shared with those around the table.

“It was over breaking bread with my grandmother that I learned that no matter what’s on the menu, it’s truly the family and friends that surround you that make the food taste better,” says Durbin.

“Cooking is who I am and there is no better thing than to get up each day and work doing something you enjoy. And if that weren’t enough, I get to watch my clients as they enjoy food and laugh with their friends.

Is there anything better than that?” n

Durbin uses local ingredients when crafting his menus.

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Inside: 34 Top 10 Communities 37 Inside the Data 38 How We Did It 39 Top 75 Communities In our 14th annual Rating the Burbs feature, we look at our local communities to see how they stack up against each other.

Where did your community fall in this year’s list?

Compiled by Bill Ferguson Jr.

1 Terrace Park

Terrace Park, ranking in the top five in three categories, took the top spot in this year’s Rating the Burbs. The village of 2,297 tallied its second No. 1 ranking (the other in 2013), led by a low crime rate (second in the area), a strong education system (Mariemont City Schools) and a high homeownership rate (94.4%). Settlers began arriving in the area in the late 1700s, but it wasn’t until 1893 that the village incorporated. Terrace Park was the winter home of the popular touring John Robinson Circus until 1916; it became part of the American Circus Corp., which was bought by John Ringling in 1929. Terrace Park began an urban forestry initiative in the late 1890s with the planting of 1,600 trees, and its urban forester maintains a database of more than 3,300 street trees.

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Terrace Park

46 Education Chart 48 Crime Chart

Madeira

named for Gen. Daniel Morgan, an American Revolutionary War officer. The mostly rural community of 5,839 is located in the southwestern corner of Butler County on the state line with Indiana.

Montgomery

6 Montgomery 2 Madeira

With high rankings across several categories, Madeira finished just behind Terrace Park in the No. 2 spot. The city of 9,219 residents is a regular top community in Rating the Burbs, finishing at No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 every year since 2010. Median home-sale prices soared 51% from five years earlier, to $347,450. Madeira City Schools provide a strong education for the city’s children, and crime remains low.

More than 90% of Madeira’s land is zoned residential, and the Madeira Chamber of Commerce lists more than 120 retailers and service providers, offering shopping, dining and many services.

when its population reached 5,000 in the late 1960s but changed its official name to “City of The Village of Indian Hill”—has a police department, the Indian Hill Rangers, that dates to 1903 and helps maintain a relatively low crime rate. Indian Hill was settled as a farming community in 1795 and prospered as the Little Miami Railroad provided good transportation for its products.

Township 4 Milford (Butler County)

Milford Township improved its ranking this year to No. 4 from No. 9 last year. The Butler County township has placed in the Top 50 in all but two years since 2010 with a good school system (primarily the Talawanda City School District), a high median-home-sale gain (up 96% in 2019 to $241,500 from five years earlier) and a high rate of homeownership. The township expects to pave all public roads there this year after replacing all road signs in 2018-19 and upgrading the Somerville Fire Station.

Township 5 Morgan (Butler County)

3

The Village of Indian Hill

With one of the top school systems in the state and the highest homeownership rate in the area (98.7%), the Village of Indian Hill made its eighth appearance in the Top 10 since 2010. The almost-20square-mile city—yes, it became a city

High homeownership (92.6%), a low crime rate and good schools (primarily Ross Local School District) helped this Butler County community rank No. 5 this year.

The township has placed in the Top 50 every year since 2011. Immigrants from Llanbrynmair, Montgomeryshire, Wales, settled in the area in 1801, and the township began March 4, 1811, when county commissioners divided it from Ross Township. It is

Continued high homeownership and a strong education system were the primary reasons that Montgomery recorded its sixth straight year in the Top 10.

The city’s median-home-sale price last year was up 33% to $447,500, compared with five years earlier. In the spring of 1795, six families from Orange County, New York, arrived as the first settlers in what became Montgomery. The 5.3-square-mile city of 10,805 offers eight parks with 96-plus acres of protected green space, playgrounds, ball fields, picnic shelters, a pool, and tennis, basketball and volleyball courts.

7 Hidden Valley Lake, Ind.

Located about 30 minutes west of downtown Cincinnati just across the OhioIndiana border, Hidden Valley Lake is a planned residential community that was originally designed as a weekend getaway.

High homeownership (96%, second in the area), good schools (primarily SunmanDearborn Community School Corporation, with a part in Lawrenceburg Community School Corporation) and low crime overall were the primary drivers behind the community making its first Top 10 appearance.

The community is built around its 150-acre namesake deep-water lake, which has a marina, and six smaller lakes

8 Morrow

Residents in this Warren County village experienced strong gains in home-sale prices, low crime and a good education, placing Morrow in the Top 10 Greater Cincinnati communities for the first time. The median price for homes almost doubled to $204,450 from 2014 to 2019. The comw w w.

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munity’s crime rate was the third lowest, and the Little Miami Local School District was 18th among the 70 districts area wide.

The 1.97-square-mile village of 1,312 residents is named for Jeremiah Morrow, the ninth governor of Ohio. A popular nearby destination is the Christmas Ranch, which opens in November with lights, shops, bonfires and train and wagon rides.

Clearcreek Township

Township 9 Clearcreek (Warren County)

Clearcreek Township registered its ninth appearance in 11 years in the Top 10, primarily behind a low crime rate, homeownership and strong schools (Springboro Community City Schools, along with the Wayne Local School District and the Lebanon City School District). The 44.7-square-mile township added almost 450 residents in 2018, the latest Census data available, and totaled 33,292.

The township was created in 1815 from portions of Franklin and Wayne townships, two of the original four political subdivisions in Warren County, which itself was one of Ohio’s original 17 counties, according to the township’s website.

Township 10 Wayne (Warren County)

This Warren County township, which was No. 4 last year, dropped a few notches but remained in the Top 10. Wayne Township has appeared in the Top 50 all but one year since 2010. The 46.3-square-mile community is one of the original townships

in Warren County, created May 10, 1803, just nine days after the county started.

The township has strong schools (primarily the Wayne Local School District) and relatively low crime. The Little Miami River flows through the township, and the Little Miami Scenic Trail passes through the township as well.

Honorable Mentions

Downtown Milford

The Honorable Mentions category shows

Evendale

communities that did not place among the

Milford

Top 75 Communities but did place in the top 25 in at least two categories among the 138

36

Norwood

communities of 1,000 or more population.

Oxford

This year, those communities are:

Woodlawn

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Pre-virus, Area Home Sales Kept Soaring; Terrace Park Moves to No. 1 Ranking

By Bill Ferguson Jr.

L

Highest-priced Burbs, 2019 n ia ed M le Sa e- e c om ri H P 9 1 20

COMMUNITY

ld So es 19 om 20

H

et’s face it: Things have changed.

Big time. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the onset of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic earlier this year while the economic fallout continues.

Because the data for the 2020 version of Rating the Burbs come from 2018 and 2019, the pandemic has no effect on this year’s rankings. Next year could be a different story.

With the economy rolling along until March this year, red-hot home sales across Greater Cincinnati continued to push prices up. In 2019, median home-sale prices more than doubled in seven of the 138 communities of 1,000 or more population in the eight-county region, according to data collected from the three Realtors associations covering the area. Lincoln Heights led the list with a 352% gain in median price, going from $11,500 in 2014 to $52,000 in 2019.

In Southwest Ohio, 25,751 closings were recorded in 2019, up 110 from the previous year. The median price was $184,000, up 6.36%. Northern Kentucky reported 7,266 sales for 2019, down slightly from 7,339 in 2018, which was a record. The median price was $179,000, up 7.19%.

Only four communities experienced a drop in median prices in the five-year period. Seventy-four communities saw gains of one-third or more.

Meanwhile, Terrace Park took the No. 1 position overall this year, placing among the top five spots in several categories.

Madeira (last year’s No. 1), The Village of Indian Hill and two Butler County townships—Milford and Morgan—rounded out the Top 5. It was Terrace Park’s third time in the top spot since the ratings began in 2007.

Terrace Park, with about 2,300 residents, is a quiet, walkable community in a good school system (Mariemont City School District). Last year, the village took advantage of a new state law allowing low-speed vehicles—primarily golf carts—to traverse its streets. The law allows communities to set up an inspection-and-licensing process for three- or four-wheeled vehicles to be driven on roads of up to 35 miles an hour.

With the exception of U.S. 50 (Wooster Pike), which runs through Terrace Park, all of the other 16 miles of roadway in the village (32 “lane miles”) have a speed limit of 25 miles an hour, Police Chief Gerald Hayhow says.

Hayhow, who also serves as village administrator, says Terrace Park was among the first places in the state to pass an ordinance to allow such a process for low-speed vehicles.

Terrace Park “is an ideal place to have them,” Hayhow says. “There are so many good reasons for t hem.

K nock on wood, I never want to jinx it, but we have St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Terrace Park yet to have a problem since we initiated this.” Hayhow worked with a might not be the main reason, but it was sign company and the Ohio Department the deciding factor.” He says grandparents of Transportation to design a low-speed- have moved to the area to be closer to their grandchildren and that the grandparents vehicle roadway safety sign.

Hayhow says the village issued 88 per- enjoy carting around their grandkids. mits as of June 4 and that people are driving “Kids love it.” the carts to specific places or just riding Even though Terrace Park’s median around, enjoying the open-air aspect, home-sale price fell slightly in 2019 from and looking for relief from being cooped 2014, it still ranks as the second highest among all communities at $485,750, behind up by COVID-19.

“We’ve had people who’ve moved here Indian Hill. The village consistently ranks for this,” Hayhow says, citing what he’s among the top three in safest communities, heard from people during inspections. “It with few incidents. n

1

The Village of Indian Hill

115

$1,015,000

2

Terrace Park

58

$485,750

3

Montgomery

152

$447,500

4

Symmes Township (Hamilton)

184

$386,500

5

Mason

445

$370,000

6

Mariemont

70

$357,250

7

Clearcreek Township (Warren)

144

$355,000

8

Madeira

180

$347,450

9

Amberley Village

52

$342,500

10

Turtlecreek Township (Warren)

174

$333,049

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Annual Data-Driven Project Ranks 130-plus Suburban Communities

By Bill Ferguson Jr.

G

reater Cincinnati communities all have their pluses. Each year, our Rating the Burbs project gathers thousands of data points to highlight some of those key positives.

Cincy’s 14th annual Rating the Burbs project examined hundreds of spreadsheets and websites to gather data in various topics in determining the Top 50 Communities, 35 Top Public School Systems and 50 Safest Neighborhoods in the eight-county region.

We start with U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and Population Estimates Program, which update the 2010 decennial census annually. This year, most data were updated through 2018.

More than 270 villages, cities, townships, Census County Divisions and Census

Designated Places are located in Boone, Butler, Campbell, Clermont, Dearborn, Hamilton, Kenton and Warren counties.

A total of 138 jurisdictions of 1,000 or more population are included in this year’s Rating the Burbs survey.

The Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati, the Northern Kentucky Association of Realtors and the Southeastern Indiana Board of Realtors provide median home-sale prices. For a few communities unavailable through those three organizations, sales are gathered from county auditors.

Crime statistics are based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program. The FBI lists four categories of property crime and four categories of violent crime; the latest breakdown of numbers is from

2018. Reporting to the FBI is voluntary, so for areas not reporting to the bureau, we check community and state websites, and contact our county sheriffs’ offices and township, city and village police departments.

County auditors, treasurers and property valuation administrators supply propertytax data; we break down the tax charts to individual localities and compare taxes in each area for a $100,000 house.

Seventy school districts serve students in at least some part of the eight-county area, and we scoured state report cards, state education department websites and school district websites for data, and we also made public-records requests to the state departments of education themselves. n

City Again Registers Strong 5-Year Home-Price Gains

By Bill Ferguson Jr.

ge an Ch e % om ar n H ice Ye ia Pr 5- ed le M Sa in

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The Evanston, Price Hill, Madisonville and Carthage neighborhoods in the city of Cincinnati all at least tripled in median home-sale prices from 2014 to 2019, leading a list in which all but one city area experienced gains in prices.

Evanston far and away led the list with a 706% increase, based on a $130,000 median price last year, compared with $16,138 five years earlier, the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati (MLS) reported.

MLS each year provides home sales for the city for our Rating the Burbs cover story/project. Most statistics that we use to evaluate the suburbs—all areas outside the city limits—are not readily available on the micro level for the 52 city neighborhoods. The MLS breakdown covers 38 areas, which do not correspond exactly to the 52 neighborhoods, but some areas are true neighborhoods.

The pricier neighborhoods, such as Hyde Park ($398,000 last year), Mount Adams ($556,250) and Mount Lookout ($445,000) all gained, but not as much as other areas.

The only area that declined was Walnut Hills, going from a median-sale price of $244,500 to $240,750, a 1.5% drop, in the five-year period. n

15 city areas with the largest price gains from 2014 to 2019

Evanston

90

$130,000

$16,138

705.55%

Price Hill

230

$71,345

$21,250

235.74%

Madisonville

164

$152,150

$46,000

230.76%

Carthage

30

$71,450

$22,150

222.57%

Kennedy Heights

67

$157,900

$55,000

187.09%

Mount Auburn

45

$222,000

$77,500

186.45%

Roselawn

39

$120,000

$42,000

185.71%

Avondale

63

$205,000

$72,404

183.13%

Fairmount

28

$16,250

$6,000

170.83%

Hartwell

33

$127,500

$48,500

162.89%

Bond Hill

70

$91,200

$35,000

160.57%

City

53

$375,000

$197,500

89.87%

Northside

153

$187,000

$99,000

88.89%

College Hill

139

$132,000

$70,000

88.57%

Covedale

135

$115,300

$65,000

77.38%

(Downtown / OTR / Pendleton / Queensgate / West End)

Source: Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati

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Morgan Township (Butler)

Montgomery

Hidden Valley Lake, Ind.

Morrow

Clearcreek Township (Warren)

Wayne Township (Warren)

Amberley Village

Fort Thomas, Ky.

Hamilton Township (Warren)

Union, Ky.

Wyoming

Oxford Township (Butler)

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Springboro

Milford Township (Butler)

4

18

The Village of Indian Hill

3

Villa Hills, Ky.

Madeira

2

17

Terrace Park

18

1

COMMUNITY

20

n

et

Sa f y

18,794

7,448

25,296

8,576

5,930

26,493

16,364

3,786

9,174

33,292

1,312

5,449

10,805

5,839

3,736

5,887

9,219

an k

R

2,297

la tio

pu

Po

SAFETY

g

in

18

8

1

38

14

11

13

4

6

12

3

17

39

15

9

30

10

2

Talawanda (also Edgewood)

Springboro (also Franklin)

Kenton County

13

36

21

3

Wyoming (also Cincinnati, Finneytown, Winton Woods) Talawanda (also College Corner)

32

18

15

Boone County

Little Miami (also Goshen, Kings, Loveland)

Fort Thomas Independent

58

8

Wayne (also Clinton-Massie, Lebanon, Bellbrook-Sugarcreek, Xenia) Cincinnati

13

18

27

5

Springboro (also Lebanon, Wayne)

Little Miami

Sunman-Dearborn (also Lawrenceburg)

Sycamore

14

21

1

Indian Hill (also Cincinnati, Madeira, Mariemont, Sycamore)

2 4

H

Madeira (also Cincinnati, Indian Hill)

Ross (also Southwest)

HOUSING

OTHER

113

136

28

152

549

562

188

52

72

144

50

98

152

36

22

115

180

58

M

$307,000

$229,250

$205,600

$330,000

$300,000

$251,000

$221,200

$342,500

$207,450

$355,000

$204,450

$229,000

$447,500

$232,500

$241,500

$1,015,000

$347,450

$485,750

M

$239,500

$174,900

$137,750

$301,500

$252,529

$189,700

$170,000

$264,500

$190,000

$288,450

$106,000

$163,900

$337,250

$169,000

$123,000

$985,000

$230,000

$500,500

28.18%

31.07%

49.26%

9.45%

18.80%

32.31%

30.12%

29.49%

9.18%

23.07%

92.88%

39.72%

32.69%

37.57%

96.34%

3.05%

51.07%

-2.95%

32.17

$1,448$1,826

22.57 22.68

$1,428 $1,438$1,637

16.36

$1,360$1,464

25.90

$1,158$1,374

21.67

31.79

$1,381$1,985

$2,502$3,692

19.33

23.16

25.11

$1,653

$2,635

$1,148$1,793

23.86

21.84

$2,263$2,538

$1,524$1,795

32.21

$1,366$1,412

33.73

30.94

$1,438$1,650

$1,968

23.55

20.06

$1,577$2,435 $1,379$2,615

25.64

$1,749$3,002

C ONTINUED ON NE X T PAGE

82.45%

87.44%

36.59%

85.22%

95.07%

90.14%

70.24%

93.43%

83.34%

89.34%

70.95%

96.06%

88.74%

92.62%

86.93%

98.65%

90.75%

94.42%

20 20 18 19 to A om ed ed in 5-y O uc W ver P pe r w ia ia M ea es at ne 20 or ag r op ed r Pr n H Pr n H io k e S $ r 1 e S n -O 8 ol (in C 10 rt ic om ic om a l ia n % C R d e e c y e m om H an 0, T cu o H ha 20 20 e 20 e in P ax 0 S S o m ut mu p ki r n 19 19 al 14 al ie e 00 e ic m g es ng te d s e e e e e s )

Ed

Mariemont (also Indian Hill)

Pr im D ar is y tr S ic ch t( o s) ol

EDUCATION

THE TOP 75 COMMUNITIES

40

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Mason

Union Township (Warren)

Liberty Township (Butler)

Harrison Township (Hamilton)

Harlan Township (Warren)

Anderson Township (Hamilton)

Loveland

Washington Township (Warren)

Ross Township (Butler)

Blue Ash

Greenhills

Deer Park

Miami Township (Hamilton)

Mariemont

Edgewood, Ky.

Maineville

Jackson Township (Clermont)

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

n

et

Sa f y

3,097

1,090

8,733

3,464

16,079

5,663

3,593

12,274

8,885

3,042

13,107

44,081

5,247

15,863

39,639

5,276

33,586

an k

R

2,764

la tio

pu

Po

Reily Township (Butler)

18

19

COMMUNITY

20

SAFETY

g

in

60

21

35

40

16

20

7

87

53

28

34

46

36

5

41

19

22

25

H

Kings, Lebanon (also Little Miami, Mason)

Clermont Northeastern, Williamsburg

39

18

36

Kenton County (also Erlanger-Elsmere Independent) Little Miami

2

40

25

62

5

14

26

7

Mariemont (also Cincinnati)

Three Rivers

Deer Park

Winton Woods

Sycamore (also Princeton)

Ross

Clinton-Massie, Little Miami (also Lebanon)

Loveland (also Little Miami, Sycamore)

11

18

Little Miami (also Blanchester, Clinton-Massie, Goshen) Forest Hills (also Cincinnati)

30

19

20

6

21

Southwest

Lakota

HOUSING

OTHER

(CONTINUED)

33

6

115

70

135

104

59

188

79

41

163

694

48

32

666

36

445

21

M

$195,000

$198,000

$229,000

$357,250

$255,000

$163,000

$135,000

$291,500

$249,900

$256,000

$230,000

$258,500

$223,398

$206,000

$300,000

$248,750

$370,000

$200,000

M

$81,750

$167,500

$180,000

$317,000

$190,500

$114,750

$70,500

$187,500

$182,450

$163,500

$180,000

$198,450

$158,500

$199,000

$250,000

$197,500

$313,740

$162,250

138.53%

18.21%

27.22%

12.70%

33.86%

42.05%

91.49%

55.47%

36.97%

56.57%

27.78%

30.26%

40.95%

3.52%

20.00%

25.95%

17.93%

23.27%

81.24%

75.31%

87.41%

62.47%

84.10%

65.28%

69.52%

72.49%

85.16%

79.74%

68.15%

84.28%

85.75%

77.32%

90.84%

83.41%

80.45%

92.04%

25.60

$1,805$1,962

26.51 32.19

$1,773 $1,250$1,408

22.04

22.07

$2,447$2,833 $1,382$1,685

27.17

20.52

20.44

$2,206

$2,842

$3,263

20.57

29.06

$1,091$1,767

$1,912$1,981

22.81

$1,877$2,605

31.88

25.34

$2,465$2,687

$1,471

36.33

26.75 $1,144$1,765

$1,614

26.88

24.80

$1,659$2,102

$1,883

27.10

$1,388

20 20 18 19 to A om ed ed in 5-y O uc W ver pe Pr w ia ia M ea es at ne 20 or ag r op ed r Pr n H Pr n H io k e S $ r 1 Sa ia % n -O 8 ol (in C 10 ert ic om ic om R n d e e c l C y e m om H an 0 c h H 20 20 e 20 e T in up om Pr o a , a 0 S S ut mu ki 19 19 al 14 al ie e 00 xe ic m ng es ng te d s e e e e e s )

Ed

Mason (also Kings, Lebanon)

Talawanda

Pr im D ar is y tr S ic ch t( o s) ol

EDUCATION

THE TOP 75 COMMUNITIES

Cold Spring, Ky. Salem Township (Warren) Delhi Township (Hamilton) Miami Township (Clermont) Alexandria, Ky. Lakeside Park, Ky. Goshen Township (Clermont) Symmes Township (Hamilton) Carlisle Waynesville Hanover Township (Butler) Independence, Ky. Fort Mitchell, Ky. Highland Heights, Ky. Turtlecreek Township (Warren) Glendale Wayne Township (Butler) Madison Township (Butler) Washington Township (Clermont) Newtown Monroe Township (Clermont) Green Township (Hamilton) Ryland Heights, Ky. Fairfax Deerfield Township (Warren) Franklin Township (Warren) Massie Township (Warren) Harrison Tate Township (Clermont) Williamsburg Township (Clermont) Trenton Cleves West Chester Township (Butler) Pierce Township (Clermont) Crosby Township (Hamilton) Lemon Township (Butler) Wayne Township (Clermont) Taylor Mill, Ky. Park Hills, Ky.

37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 (tie) 45 (tie) 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 (tie) 71 (tie) 73 74 75

2,981

6,792

5,110

15,338

2,822

14,957

64,516

3,427

13,012

5,938

9,705

11,608

1,224

32,061

40,489

1,708

1,052

59,175

8,204

2,664

2,374

8,934

4,692

2,182

15,811

7,103

8,242

28,109

8,735

3,136

5,399

14,913

16,213

2,744

9,549

42,554

29,786

4,913

6,446

48

44

71

43

90

80

84

49

32

54

68

51

79

23

74

138

67

77

82

33

64

66

29

27

56

47

42

37

55

45

24

70

58

26

61

50

57

31

76

Kenton County

36

36

49

Blanchester, Clermont Northeastern (also Goshen) Kenton County

61

30

37

19

40

41

Middletown (also Monroe)

Southwest

New Richmond (also West Clermont)

Lakota (also Mason, Princeton)

Three Rivers (also Southwest)

Edgewood (also Madison)

26

22

Bethel-Tate (also Felicity-Franklin, New Richmond, Western Brown) Williamsburg (also Batavia)

30

Southwest

33

42

Franklin (also Carlisle, Middletown, Springboro) Clinton-Massie (also Wayne)

9

2

36

17

37

Kings, Mason (also Princeton)

Mariemont (also Cincinnati)

Kenton County

Oak Hills (also Cincinnati, Northwest)

New Richmond (also West Clermont)

11

48

Felicity-Franklin (also Bethel-Tate, New Richmond) Forest Hills

35

41

Madison (also Edgewood)

Edgewood (also Preble Shawnee)

54

28

Lebanon (also Little Miami, Mason, Middletown, Springboro) Princeton

24

9

36

21

8

29

4

31

36

Campbell County

Beechwood Independent (also Kenton County)

Kenton County

Talawanda (also Edgewood, Hamilton, Ross)

Wayne

Carlisle (also Franklin)

Indian Hill, Loveland, Sycamore

Goshen (also Little Miami, Loveland)

Kenton County (also Beechwood Independent)

24

16

Milford (also Clermont Northeastern, Goshen, Loveland) Campbell County

17

18

24

Oak Hills (also Cincinnati)

Little Miami (also Lebanon)

Campbell County

57

97

46

7

49

157

770

49

197

27

84

137

11

132

497

40

12

825

70

31

21

69

40

41

174

100

92

586

112

62

45

184

211

37

318

609

423

39

188

$237,500

$153,500

$165,500

$59,500

$261,000

$253,000

$270,000

$137,000

$163,500

$143,500

$148,700

$177,900

$225,000

$157,250

$317,000

$178,000

$158,500

$165,900

$188,205

$219,900

$140,000

$176,000

$175,750

$320,000

$333,049

$102,800

$252,250

$205,825

$179,950

$179,450

$179,900

$386,500

$183,000

$197,500

$211,950

$259,000

$142,900

$233,000

$168,000

$181,500

$140,000

$102,500

$42,150

$282,845

$182,000

$220,000

$94,000

$121,500

$101,000

$113,000

$136,750

$125,000

$126,500

$245,000

$105,000

$67,500

$127,000

$95,750

$280,000

$71,382

$124,400

$193,000

$259,900

$245,000

$79,500

$190,000

$153,500

$152,000

$147,750

$139,900

$351,250

$116,250

$148,000

$149,900

$207,450

$105,000

$190,000

$128,950

30.85%

9.64%

61.46%

41.16%

-7.72%

39.01%

22.73%

45.74%

34.57%

42.08%

31.59%

30.09%

80.00%

24.31%

29.39%

69.52%

134.81%

30.63%

96.56%

-21.46%

96.13%

41.48%

-8.94%

23.12%

35.94%

29.31%

32.76%

34.09%

18.39%

21.46%

28.59%

10.04%

57.42%

33.45%

41.39%

24.85%

36.10%

22.63%

30.28%

53.39%

66.50%

82.62%

75.62%

90.79%

83.05%

76.63%

69.29%

66.25%

64.97%

76.73%

72.93%

82.26%

69.37%

68.91%

75.03%

74.12%

82.25%

85.21%

65.45%

87.54%

87.04%

89.05%

86.10%

83.73%

59.85%

50.03%

82.68%

87.75%

65.19%

71.26%

71.51%

84.29%

67.20%

83.58%

83.07%

80.19%

79.89%

91.04%

24.26

$2,520$2,995

30.07 24.50

$1,642$2,231 $1,663$2,311

27.27 33.11 28.15 27.47 26.36 23.55 28.91

$1,873$2,014 $1,318$1,528 $1,409$1,700 $1,765$1,806 $2,080$2,506 $1,920$2,017 $1,531$1,859

19.87

22.34

$1,589$1,789 $1,340

33.73

25.49 $1,269$1,328

$1,912$2,135

25.94

29.50

$1,112$1,671

$1,762

22.64

24.58

$1,837$1,967 $1,420$2,016

20.83

$2,676$3,062

24.46

$2,084$2,559

31.29

34.34

$1,408$1,736

$1,462

26.89

$2,363$2,695

26.17

$1,539$1,641

39.59

35.24

$1,179$1,573

$1,140$1,350

21.67

28.89 $2,534

$1,450$2,047

19.10

21.68

$1,267$1,558 $1,638

28.25

29.51

$1,355$1,703 $1,602

23.02

$1,917

23.26

19.70

$1,440$1,731

$1,594$1,642

25.04

$1,425

25.73

28.69

$1,850$1,968

$1,560$2,208

22.90

$1,397

EDUCATION

PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS l/

R

ng

g in at

i nd pe

r he ac Te

lS

e at St

pi s ol ho Sc

ed ag nt va ad is D r he ac y te r e ala ag s er Av ith w rs ve he bo ac A Te or r’s io te at R

pi

as M

Pu

Pu rPe

(Top 35 of 70) (2018 -19 data)

t en llm ro En

District 1

Indian Hill

2,003

4

$15,686

A

12.29

91.3%

$79,884

5.0%

2

Mariemont

1,616

4

$12,786

A

13.36

83.0%

$73,204

10.5%

3

Wyoming

1,971

5

$11,989

A

14.39

75.0%

$78,242

7.0%

4

Madeira

1,475

3

$11,573

A

15.86

76.5%

$80,131

6.3%

5

Sycamore

5,399

7

$12,015

B

14.10

69.4%

$72,714

13.7%

6

Mason

10,096

5

$10,157

A

18.63

81.7%

$79,871

8.6%

7

Loveland

4,428

6

$10,689

B

17.57

86.5%

$78,248

13.1%

8

Wayne

1,389

3

$9,132

B

17.81

70.7%

$62,671

17.9%

9

Beechwood Independent, Ky.

1,384

3

$14,052

Elem (4 stars) / Middle (4) / High (5)

16.57

57.8%

$55,000

20.5%

10

Bellbrook-Sugarcreek

2,634

4

$9,834

B

17.68

73.8%

$70,622

13.4%

11

Forest Hills

7,262

9

$10,194

B

16.43

73.8%

$73,582

10.0%

12

Kings

4,703

6

$9,275

B

17.16

64.4%

$70,833

15.2%

13

Springboro Community City

5,832

6

$7,696

B

19.25

70.7%

$61,668

7.2%

14

Ross

2,598

4

$9,154

B

16.55

68.1%

$62,435

25.7%

15

Fort Thomas Independent, Ky.

3,057

5

$22,948

Elem (4 stars) / Middle (4) / High (4)

16.57

51.4%

$62,217

9.0%

16

Milford

6,345

8

$9,434

C

17.24

75.8%

$69,328

18.7%

17

Oak Hills

7,397

9

$8,820

B

16.81

80.5%

$71,775

21.2%

18

Little Miami

4,606

6

$9,183

B

16.45

58.6%

$56,325

17.6%

19

Lakota

15,603

20

$9,888

B

19.93

69.2%

$72,037

19.9%

20

Monroe

2,728

4

$7,678

B

17.83

57.4%

$54,720

25.1%

21

Talawanda

2,883

5

$11,068

C

15.17

65.0%

$67,512

33.3%

22

Bethel-Tate

1,498

4

$7,666

B

14.27

67.6%

$54,617

36.8%

23

Walton-Verona, Ky.

1,685

3

$14,626

Elem (3 stars) / Middle (3) / High (5)

16.05

56.9%

$51,658

42.1%

24

Campbell County, Ky.

4,735

8

$15,101

Elem (3 stars) / Middle (2) / High (3)

15.27

58.2%

$53,187

49.4%

25

Deer Park Community

1,217

2

$10,246

B

14.15

68.4%

$62,874

40.8%

26

Williamsburg

997

2

$7,801

C

16.08

75.5%

$63,524

39.7%

27

Sunman-Dearborn, Ind.

3,680

5

$9,196

B

18.04

58.7%

$56,214

23.6%

28

Lebanon

5,289

5

$8,368

B

18.96

60.1%

$64,028

20.9%

29

Carlisle

1,531

4

$10,473

C

15.78

68.7%

$61,096

31.7%

30

Southwest

3,619

6

$8,806

C

17.48

63.4%

$68,874

42.4%

31

Goshen

2,778

4

$8,823

C

15.97

70.9%

$63,342

52.0%

32

Boone County, Ky.

20,290

26

$14,612

Elem (3 stars) / Middle (3) / High (3)

15.28

61.6%

$54,749

40.4%

33

Clinton-Massie

1,650

3

$8,345

C

18.33

54.5%

$56,347

20.1%

34

Lawrenceburg, Ind.

2,077

4

$8,738

B

17.60

55.4%

$53,884

37.8%

35

Madison

1,445

3

$9,330

B

14.03

43.9%

$50,889

30.9%

N/A — Not available or not calculated. *About academic ratings: Ohio and Ketucky use different scoring systems to rank their schools, and the systems are weighted differently, so the states’ scores do not compare directly. Kentucky uses 100 as a top score; Ohio uses 120. Indiana did not publish scores for its A-to-F state ratings system in 2018-19. **About ACT and SAT averages: Ohio did not report ACT or SAT scores for 2018-19 on the School Report Cards. Through a publicrecords request, Cincy obtained scores from the Ohio Department of Education; however, the department provided only scores it received from ACT and the College Board (SAT). It said the scores were not for all students and should not be compared with previous years’ scores. SAT scores, but not ACT scores, were provided for Indian Hill and Princeton. Kentucky students take the ACT; some take the SAT, and the state does not report SAT scores.

46

w w w.

maga zine.com

2019 BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program began in 1982 and honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools throughout the U.S. Recognition is based on schools’ overall academic excellence or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups, demonstrating that all students can achieve at high levels. Schools are honored in one of two categories—Exemplary High Performing Schools or Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools, each of which include several criteria. A total of 312 public and 50 private schools nationwide were honored in 2019. Each school was recognized at a November ceremony in Washington, D.C. The schools serve as models of achievement for schools throughout the U.S. Locally, three schools were selected: • Boyd E. Smith Elementary School (Milford Exempted Village), 1052 Jer Les St., Milford.

• Notre Dame Academy (Diocese of Covington), 1699 Hilton Drive, Park Hills, Ky. • St. Thomas School (Diocese of Covington), 428 S. Fort Thomas Ave., Fort Thomas, Ky. Source: U.S. Department of Education

Information for the education chart was collected primarily from the 2018-19 Ohio School Report Cards, 201819 Kentucky School Report Cards, Indiana’s school-data reporting system and data available from the state departments of education websites or public-records requests. N/A means the data were not available, not calculated, not reported or not applicable. For academic ratings, Ohio uses 120 as a top score, and Kentucky uses 100. Indiana did not report academic-rating scores for 2018-19; instead, it issued an overall A-to-F grade for district corporations.

d ca

ic em

da an St rd s et M

ed ift G

rs ke Ta * * st * Te ve o P A ab r % r be o 3 um g N ting in or a or s cip * te rti ** Sc ua a st P ad s Te Gr ent P A s of tud n se % S na i as of Cl ** P * A 9) of -1 # 18 0 (2 * e* or Sc CT A e ag * er e* Av or Sc T SA e ag ) er (% Av e at R n io at du ra ) G (% e at R e nc ol da ho en sc ndtt A gh e hi ng lish of ssi ng % pa E e ol ts rs ho en ou sc ndud f-c st o gh e hi ng ath of ssi M % pa se r ts u o en f-c ud o g* st in at R

A

e at St 48.0%

23 out of 24

107.96

87.7%

90.7%

95.7%

98.1%

1221.74

N/A

36

82.3%

77.4%

23.6%

24 out of 25

107.391

91.0%

91.9%

95.2%

95.7%

N/A

23.83

24

63.4%

43.8%

41.2%

23 out of 24

105.901

93.8%

90.8%

95.7%

98.0%

N/A

26.60

35

87.4%

79.7%

42.2%

24 out of 24

109.171

89.9%

93.4%

96.1%

95.6%

N/A

24.93

22

84.9%

58.0%

40.6%

22 out of 24

105.731

90.2%

88.6%

95.9%

94.9%

N/A

23.99

43

60.3%

52.4%

35.3%

23 out of 24

104.54

90.2%

87.9%

95.9%

96.3%

N/A

24.25

42

78.1%

57.4%

32.5%

19 out of 25

101.111

86.2%

87.7%

95.4%

94.3%

N/A

22.78

26

46.8%

36.0%

31.5%

22 out of 24

105.221

98.3%

79.0%

96.0%

93.4%

N/A

20.8

16

17.6%

26.8%

19.6%

N/A

79.433

80.7%

82.5%

96.8%

99.0%

N/A

25.10

20

261

55.6%

31.9%

20 out of 24

102.553

87.7%

80.7%

96.1%

94.2%

N/A

22.43

18

32.1%

32.1%

26.1%

17 out of 25

100.806

79.3%

87.9%

95.3%

95.5%

N/A

22.82

54

65.7%

47.2%

24.5%

18 out of 24

100.688

90.5%

84.3%

95.3%

95.0%

N/A

21.43

28

39.3%

45.1%

36.5%

18 out of 24

100.353

81.4%

89.9%

96.9%

96.8%

N/A

22.91

26

40.2%

31.4%

23.5%

16 out of 24

98.452

85.7%

84.0%

95.4%

99.5%

N/A

20.05

13

27.3%

24.3%

15.0%

N/A

79.3

71.0%

76.0%

96.9%

99.2%

N/A

23.50

34

500

75.2%

24.6%

13 out of 25

96.933

70.9%

84.5%

95.0%

98.5%

N/A

21.34

46

54.9%

39.4%

18.6%

13 out of 24

96.424

76.3%

80.5%

93.6%

93.8%

N/A

19.29

41

53.3%

34.2%

23.4%

11 out of 24

96.018

84.6%

78.6%

95.7%

97.0%

N/A

20.25

10

31.6%

22.5%

37.5%

13 out of 24

97.117

76.3%

83.8%

95.7%

94.4%

N/A

21.11

53

40.2%

30.1%

16.2%

14 out of 24

97.182

78.2%

81.3%

95.0%

94.9%

N/A

19.32

3

39.9%

21.2%

23.2%

10 out of 24

93.634

77.4%

80.5%

94.4%

93.5%

N/A

20.54

9

32.3%

20.7%

19.0%

6 out of 24

91.139

71.9%

76.9%

94.4%

97.6%

N/A

18.22

0

7.5%

1.3%

12.2%

N/A

71.333

48.1%

62.7%

96.3%

95.3%

N/A

21

1

6

83.3%

15.9%

N/A

69.267

55.0%

60.1%

95.6%

97.2%

N/A

21.00

26

502

62.2%

16.3%

8 out of 24

90.689

64.5%

84.0%

93.3%

93.8%

N/A

18.31

10

28.2%

17.8%

9.1%

4 out of 24

90.805

72.8%

70.2%

94.3%

98.8%

N/A

18.43

6

29.4%

10.0%

8.5%

N/A

N/A

48.9%

74.1%

95.2%

96.5%

1090.3

22.00

13

25.5%

16.1%

22.2%

9 out of 24

92.746

72.7%

75.2%

95.5%

97.2%

N/A

20.26

16

49.8%

27.8%

16.1%

6 out of 24

91.047

68.4%

72.1%

95.3%

99.0%

N/A

18.54

2

9.3%

0.0%

16.1%

10 out of 24

95.007

61.0%

75.0%

93.9%

91.0%

N/A

18.49

22

40.2%

24.9%

24.3%

12 out of 24

93.568

57.3%

64.9%

94.2%

98.4%

N/A

19.15

13

27.8%

20.4%

11.0%

N/A

68.233

52.3%

55.6%

95.5%

94.1%

N/A

20.70

81

1,181

59.8%

24.8%

8 out of 24

92.234

73.4%

74.5%

95.3%

96.2%

N/A

19.31

0

0.3%

0.0%

16.7%

N/A

N/A

46.2%

69.2%

95.7%

93.8%

1096.2

22.00

1

4.9%

0.7%

16.9%

7 out of 24

92.06

90.8%

50.5%

94.9%

93.5%

N/A

18.07

2

13.2%

0.0%

***About Advanced Placement: Some schools have quit offering AP classes, replacing them with other dual-credit options. Kentucky provides numbers of students taking AP courses, not percentages of graduates. Indiana data are for school year 2016-17, the latest available. Data anomalies exist for some districts on Ohio report cards, and the Department of Education has indicated that some students could be taking Advanced Placement courses/tests even if a district has no AP classes. The number of AP classes are collected from test provider College Board. w w w.

maga zine.com

47

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COMMUNITY

t en lig r eg te nn gh no au sl & an r e/ de m im ur cr op M ty p er 00 op 10

CRIME SAFEST COMMUNITIES 1

Oxford Township (Butler)

25,296

7

17

1

0

0.988

0

0

0

1

0.040

2

Terrace Park

2,297

1

0

1

0

0.871

0

0

0

0

0.000

3

Morrow

1,312

1

2

0

0

2.287

0

0

0

0

0.000

4

Amberley Village

3,786

0

15

0

0

3.962

0

0

0

0

0.000

5

Harrison Township (Hamilton)

15,863

6

22

3

0

1.954

0

3

0

3

0.378

6

Wayne Township (Warren)

9,174

7

23

0

0

3.270

0

0

0

2

0.218

7

Greenhills

3,593

2

12

0

0

3.896

0

0

0

1

0.278

8

Villa Hills, Ky.

7,448

8

19

1

0

3.759

0

0

0

0

0.000

9

Milford Township (Butler)

3,736

2

9

1

0

3.212

0

1

0

0

0.268

10

Madeira

9,219

5

41

2

0

5.207

0

0

0

0

0.000

11

Hamilton Township (Warren)

26,493

8

74

9

1

3.473

0

6

0

5

0.415

12

Clearcreek Township (Warren)

33,292

20

100

1

0

3.635

0

0

1

22

0.691

13

Fort Thomas, Ky.

16,364

8

56

4

0

4.155

0

3

1

2

0.367

14

Union, Ky.

5,930

3

13

1

0

2.867

0

2

1

1

0.675

15

Morgan Township (Butler)

5,839

4

27

1

0

5.480

0

1

0

0

0.171

16

Miami Township (Hamilton)

16,079

14

62

7

2

5.286

0

0

1

0

0.062

17

Hidden Valley Lake, Ind.

5,449

1

24

0

0

4.588

1

2

0

0

0.551

18

Springboro

18,794

17

76

8

1

5.427

0

1

0

3

0.213

19

Union Township (Warren)

5,276

5

14

4

0

4.359

0

1

0

0

0.190

20

Deer Park

5,663

2

33

2

0

6.534

0

0

1

1

0.353

21

Maineville

1,090

1

2

0

0

2.752

0

0

0

2

1.835

22

Mason

33,586

21

235

8

0

7.860

0

1

2

3

0.179

23

Franklin Township (Warren)

32,061

25

79

14

0

3.680

0

13

0

16

0.905

Sources: FBI; state criminal justice departments; local police and sheriff’s departments

48

w w w.

maga zine.com

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(2018 statistics)

or ot M

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18 20

COMMUNITY 24

Carlisle

5,399

6

13

4

0

4.260

0

0

1

3

0.741

25

Reily Township (Butler)

2,764

3

15

1

0

6.874

0

0

0

1

0.362

26

Lakeside Park, Ky.

2,744

4

15

1

0

7.289

0

0

0

0

0.000

27

Glendale

2,182

4

7

2

0

5.958

0

0

0

0

0.000

28

Washington Township (Warren)

3,042

1

10

3

0

4.602

0

1

0

2

0.986

29

Wayne Township (Butler)

4,692

6

26

1

0

7.033

0

1

0

0

0.213

30

The Village of Indian Hill

5,887

8

28

3

0

6.625

0

1

0

0

0.170

31

Salem Township (Warren)

4,913

5

13

2

0

4.071

0

2

0

3

1.018

32

Trenton

13,012

8

46

1

0

4.227

1

7

3

5

1.230

33

Newtown

2,664

2

24

1

0

10.135

0

0

0

0

0.000

34

Loveland

13,107

17

81

4

0

7.782

0

1

0

4

0.381

35

Edgewood, Ky.

8,733

6

54

1

0

6.985

0

3

2

1

0.687

36

Harlan Township (Warren)

5,247

5

17

3

0

4.765

0

3

0

2

0.953

37

Independence, Ky.

28,109

30

109

15

0

5.479

0

13

1

9

0.818

38

Wyoming

8,576

8

65

3

0

8.862

0

0

2

2

0.466

39

Montgomery

10,805

6

88

3

0

8.977

0

2

1

4

0.648

40

Mariemont

3,464

1

26

3

0

8.661

0

0

0

3

0.866

41

Liberty Township (Butler)

39,639

20

324

3

0

8.754

0

17

4

5

0.656

42

Fort Mitchell, Ky.

8,242

12

45

5

0

7.522

0

2

1

1

0.485

43

Lemon Township (Butler)

15,338

11

130

7

2

9.780

0

1

1

6

0.522

44

Taylor Mill, Ky.

6,792

6

37

8

0

7.509

0

2

1

1

0.589

45

Waynesville

3,136

3

23

1

0

8.610

0

1

1

0

0.638

46

Anderson Township (Hamilton)

44,081

49

282

30

1

8.212

0

14

4

17

0.794

47

Highland Heights, Ky.

7,103

16

47

3

0

9.292

0

1

1

0

0.282

48

Park Hills, Ky.

2,981

4

15

4

0

7.716

0

1

0

1

0.671

49

Cleves

3,427

0

32

6

0

11.088

0

1

0

0

0.292

50

Miami Township (Clermont)

42,554

48

392

8

0

10.528

0

13

3

18

0.799

w w w.

maga zine.com

49

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

CINCINNATI'S

2020 FIVE STAR AWARD WINNERS REAL ESTATE AGENTS

MORTGAGE PROFESSIONALS

Five Star Professional partnered with Cincy Magazine to identify real estate, mor tgage and insurance professionals in the Cincinnati area who deliver outstanding service and client satisfaction. The Five Star Professional research team surveyed homebuyers, home sellers and industry peers, and analyzed online consumer evaluations. Survey respondents rated their service professional on criteria such as overall satisfaction and whether they would recommend the provider to a friend. The research methodology allows no more than 7% of professionals in each category to receive the award.

Recognizing Outstanding Real Estate Agents, Mortgage Professionals and Home/Auto Insurance Professionals

HOME/AUTO INSURANCE PROFESSIONALS

FIVE STAR PROFESSIONAL

Proprietary Research Process Nomination of Candidates The Five Star Professional research team surveyed homebuyers, home sellers and industry peers, and analyzed online consumer evaluations to identify professionals that excel in key attributes of customer service.

Evaluation Score Using our scoring algorithm, each nominee is given an evaluation score based on surveys in our database.

High scorers are named candidates.

RISING STAR AWARD WINNERS Meet the next wave of outstanding real estate agents in the Cincinnati area! Five Star Professional’s research team contacted branch managers, real estate veterans and consumers to identify up-and-coming real estate agents in the industry. Rising Star award winners are held in high regard by their peers and mentors and have received a qualifying nomination for the award. Evaluators were asked to identify an agent who has been in the industry for five years or less and embodies professional excellence, exhibits superior customer service and shows great potential to excel in their profession. All Rising Star award winners must be actively licensed, satisfy minimum production criteria and have a favorable regulatory history to be eligible for award consideration.

RESEARCH — How Our Winners Are Chosen • The 2020 Five Star Real Estate Agents, Mortgage Professionals and Home/Auto Insurance Professionals do not pay a fee to be included in the research or the final lists.

• Each professional is screened against state governing bodies to verify that licenses are current and no disciplinary actions are pending.

• The inclusion of a real estate agent, mortgage professional or insurance professional on the final list should not be construed as an endorsement by Five Star Professional or Cincy Magazine.

Determination of Award Winners Professionals who satisfied each of the following objective criteria were named a 2020 Cincinnati-area Five Star Real Estate Agent, Five Star Mortgage Professional or Five Star Home/Auto Insurance Professional: 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint Evaluation Criteria: history review.

1. Qualifying rating.

4.

Satisfies minimum production on a Eligibility Criteria: one-year and three-year basis.

2. Holds an active license and employed in their 5. Successful completion of a Blue Ribbon Panel field for a minimum of three years. review.

Real estate agents, mortgage professionals and home/auto insurance professionals are pooled only with other candidates from their profession.

The final list of 2020 Cincinnati-area Five Star award winners is a select group, representing approximately 1% of real estate agents, 1% of mortgage professionals and 1% of home/auto insurance professionals in the area. To see the full list of winners, visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.

Candidate Submission of Business Information Candidates must complete either an online or over-the-phone interview.

Eligibility Criteria Candidates must be in the industry for at least five years, have a favorable regulatory history and meet minimum production thresholds.

Blue Ribbon Panel A Blue Ribbon panel of industry experts reviews the final list of candidates.

Final Selection Less than 7% of professionals in the market are selected.

2020 FS • 1

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

REAL ESTATE AGENTS

Shifali Rouse Realtor, ABR®, CRS

Going the Extra Mile to Get the Results You Want ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙

Buyer’s agent, listing agent, relocation, property management, landlord, staging Born in India, raised in Cincinnati and speaks Hindi and Punjabi fluently Eight-year Five Star Real Estate Agent award winner RE/MAX Hall of Fame recipient

As a local expert and one of only 1% of Ohio agents to receive the Five Star Real Estate Agent award in 2019, Shifali Rouse has a wealth of knowledge and expertise about buying and selling real estate in the area. Raised in Cincinnati, Shifali is familiar with all of the surrounding communities, which allows her to provide her clients with a high level of expertise in the local market. She has 16 years of professional real estate experience, including corporate relocation, residential sales, multifamily sales, commercial properties, leasing, estate settlements and investment properties.

As your selling agent, Shifali will prepare a competitive market analysis, recommend pricing strategies and develop and implement comprehensive marketing programs to secure the highest possible price for your property in the shortest possible marketing time. As your buying agent, she will listen carefully to your dreams and desires to guide you through the search for your perfect home, from the loan process and house inspections to the closing.

8

YEAR WINNER

9313 S Mason Montgomery Road, Suite 120 • Mason, OH 45040 Phone: 513-602-1400 • shifali.rouse@me.com

Eight-year winner Shifali Rouse, Realtor, ABR®, CRS Real Estate Agent Award Winner

Gail Caines

Robyn Clifton

Realtor, Sales Vice President, ABR®, GRI, MRP, SRES®, SRS

Vice President, Realtor

Peelle & Lundy, Realtors Head and Shoulders photo 1.7” wide by 1.8” high at 300 dpi

2

YEAR WINNER

8145 Beechmont Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45255 Phone: 859-462-9889 gcaines@sibcycline.com www.sibcycline.com/gcaines My Accent Is on You

Head and Shoulders photo 1.7” wide by 1.8” high at 300 dpi

3

YEAR WINNER

822 Rombach Avenue Wilmington, OH 45177 Cell: 937-725-7253 Office: 937-382-5538 rclifton21@frontier.com www.peelle-lundy.com Experience, Service, Results

∙ Passionate about relocation ∙ Four-year recipient of the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors Circle of Excellence award ∙ Licensed in Kentucky and Ohio

∙ Vice president of Clinton County Board of Realtors ∙ 26 years of real estate experience ∙ Included in Five Star Professional’s Forbes Market Leaders list in February 2019 and 2020

I work with buyers, sellers and investors in all aspects of real estate. I’ve moved 15 times, so I know what you are going through and how to achieve your goals. I am honest and hardworking, and I go above and beyond for my clients. I will always be there for you when you need me — before, during and after your purchase. If you want a Realtor who not only sells houses but has also been in your shoes time and time again, please contact me.

As vice president of Peelle & Lundy, Realtors, Robyn Clifton approaches her work with a high level of honesty and integrity. A lifelong resident of Clinton County, she provides her clients with inside knowledge of the local real estate market.

Even as a little girl growing up on a farm in southern Ohio, she knew it was the little things that make a difference and understood the importance of old-fashioned values, which she uses to make transactions as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Real Estate Agent Award Winner

Real Estate Agent Award Winner

FS • 2

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

REAL ESTATE AGENTS

MORTGAGE PROFESSIONALS

Karen Kelley

Judy McCoy

Realtor, ABR®, SRS

Realtor

2716 Observatory Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45208 Phone: 513-260-2223 karenk@comey.com • karenkelley.comey.com karenkelley@premiereagent.com #heavyliftingteamcincy

9

YEAR WINNER

Our Team Thanks You for a Great 2019!

Head and Shoulders photo 1.7” wide by 1.8” high at 300 dpi

6

7590 Tylers Place Boulevard West Chester, OH 45069 Phone: 513-766-0889 JudyRealEstateMcCoy@gmail.com www.JudyMcCoy.com Twitter: @RealEstateMcCoy Your Real Estate Consultant for Life

YEAR WINNER

∙ 2011 – 2019 Circle of Excellence award winner ∙ Accredited Home-Staging Specialist ∙ BBA — marketing ∙ Individual attention with team support

∙ Knowledgeable: going on 35 years of seasoned expertise in real estate ∙ Tech-savvy: serving Greater Cincinnati with cutting-edge technology ∙ Straight-talking: promises made, promises kept ∙ Warm-hearted: down-to-earth, enthusiastic and people oriented ∙ All-around nice gal: tough but fair — honors the golden rule

What a great 2019, made even better with the best client and the support of the Heavy Lifting Team Cincy! We are full-time real estate and staging professionals that can help you sell, buy and invest. Cincinnati is our home ... we work and live in your neighborhoods! As a team, we give individual attention and always make sure you are covered every step of the way!

Buying or selling a home is a very emotional, personal journey, and I’m honored when I’m invited to be the guide. I strive to exceed my clients’ expectations and to make their experiences as stress-free as possible. It is with gratitude that I accept this honor.

A huge thank-you to my clients for recognizing me as a Five Star Real Estate Agent!

Real Estate Agent Award Winner

Real Estate Agent Award Winner

Jan Bryan-Sharp

Mindy Lakes

Real Estate Agent, ABR®, CRS, GRI, SRES®

10

YEAR WINNER

Branch Manager, NMLS 39661

∙ Committed to my clients’ best interests ∙ Over 25 years of experience in the real estate field ∙ Licensed in both Ohio and Kentucky I work with both buyers and sellers throughout the Greater Cincinnati area and Northern Kentucky by assisting them with all of their real estate needs. I love what I do, and my goal is to consistently do an excellent job so my clients can make a happy, stress-free transition into their new homes.

Head and Shoulders photo 1.7” wide by 1.8” high at 300 dpi

3522 Erie Avenue • Cincinnati, OH 45208 Phone: 513-602-5756 jan@jansharp.com • jansharp.com Real Estate Agent Award Winner

Sandra Jewell Real Estate Agent

∙ 30 years of award-winning customer service ∙ Always serves in the clients’ best interests ∙ 2019 Ohio Realtors President’s Sales Club I am dedicated, knowledgeable and committed to finding dream homes for my clients. I’m very passionate about my career, always seeking to stay ahead of the game when it comes to market education and real estate trends. My focus will always be on bringing homebuyers and sellers together within communities throughout Ohio.

309 N High Street • Mount Orab, OH 45154 Phone: 513-284-4742 • sandra.jewell@herrealtors.com www.sandrajewell.herrealtors.com Rising Star Real Estate Agent Award Winner

4

YEAR WINNER

West Chester, OH 45069 Harrison, OH 45030 Cell: 513-312-3457 mlakes@envoymortgage.com www.envoymortgage.com/loan-officer/ mindy-lakes-harrison-oh/ Top 50 for Customer Satisfaction — Envoy Mortgage

∙ Top Producer and Circle of Excellence Winner — Envoy Mortgage ∙ 23 years of experience As a dedicated mortgage professional, my purpose is to fulfill your dreams of homeownership. Our company doesn’t simply offer some of the most competitive rates in the mortgage industry; we provide impeccable service from start to close.

I’m committed to delivering each borrower a hassle-free mortgage experience by providing breakthrough technology, transparent communication, unparalleled turntimes and, most importantly, around the clock attention to your loan. The home buying process can seem challenging, but having the right people and resources by your side can make all the difference. Contact me today to learn more!

OH - Envoy Mortgage Ltd – Mortgage Lending Act Certificate Registration Law MB.804190.000, 10496 Katy Freeway, Suite 250, Houston, TX 77043.

Mortgage Professional Award Winner

FS • 3

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

REAL ESTATE AGENTS

MORTGAGE PROFESSIONALS

HOME/AUTO INSURANCE PROFESSIONALS

Ginger Vining

Kevin Ary

Vice President and Mortgage Lender, NMLS 744164

President, NMLS 4599

∙ Over 27 years of experience with Park National Bank ∙ FHA, VA, USDA, construction and land loans ∙ Down payment assistance

5

YEAR WINNER

Consistency, capability and expertise with customized loans that fit your lifestyle. Count on it when you bank with Park National Bank. Contact Ginger Vining today at 513-624-2220, or visit ParkNationalBank.com.

∙ Mortgage consultants for your life ∙ Helping customers afford the home of their dreams ∙ We strive to provide you the ultimate in customer service

9

YEAR WINNER

Franklin Financial Group

1075 Nimitzview Drive • Cincinnati, OH 45230 • Phone: 513-624-2220 gvining@parknationalbank.com • ParkNationalBank.com

At Franklin Financial Group, we operate under the highest standards of honesty, integrity and fairness, providing you with a mortgage to meet your unique needs. We are able to shop our nationwide lenders in order to find your perfect mortgage solution.

755 Maidstone Court • Cincinnati, OH 45230 Phone: 513-231-4927 kevin@goffg.com • www.goffg.com

Member FDIC.

Mortgage Professional Award Winner

Mortgage Professional Award Winner

To see the full list of winners, visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.

Real Estate Agents All Areas

Cincinnati

Shifali Rouse · RE/MAX Page 2

Stephanie McCready · First Financial Bank

Tony Auciello · RE/MAX

Oxford

Susan Morgan · American Mortgage

Gail Caines · Sibcy Cline Realtors Page 2

Tina A. Burton · Sibcy Cline Realtors/Tina & Candace Burton Team

Donna Deaton · RE/MAX Victory

Patricia Chrysler · Comey & Shepherd Realtors

Micha Gleisinger · Comey & Shepherd Realtors Kimberly Lenzo · Coldwell Banker Erin Luedeke · Plum Tree Realty Judy McCoy · Comey & Shepherd Realtors Page 3

Susan Dudek · Comey & Shepherd Realtors Karen Kelley · Comey & Shepherd Realtors Page 3 Bob Nyswonger · Comey & Shepherd Realtors

Kelly D. Umbstead · Coldwell Banker

Colleen Rene Parsons · American Mortgage

Wilmington

Shannon Edward Scott · First Financial Bank

Robyn Clifton · Peelle & Lundy, Realtors Page 2

Rising Star Real Estate Agents All Areas

Ginger Vining · Park National Bank Page 4 Aaron Williams · Chemical Bank

Home/Auto Insurance Professionals

Carol Rod · Sibcy Cline Realtors

Erin Abbott · InFocus Real Estate Group

Jan Bryan-Sharp · RE/MAX Page 3

Brittney Holland · Coldwell Banker

David C. Doyle · Wilber-Price Insurance Group

Mike Parker · Huff Realty

Jeff Allen Williamson · OwnerLand Realty

Sandra Jewell · HER Realtors Page 3

Brian Fey · Fey Bruder Insurance Advisors

Kimberly Stonecipher · RE/MAX Preferred Group

Michael Wright · Hoeting Realtors

Mortgage Professionals

Anne Levy · Personal Lines Account Managers

Greg Tassone · Coldwell Banker

Hamilton Roxane Leitsch · Martha Baker Realty

Kevin Ary · Franklin Financial Group Page 4

Douglas J. Smithson · Doug Smithson Insurance

Jeff Aubrey · American Mortgage

Robert Will · Lauber & Will Insurance

Christopher Owens · Coldwell Banker College Real Estate

Anne Wagner · Comey & Shepherd Realtors

Mason Jackie Quigley · Comey & Shepherd Realtors

Mindy Lakes · Envoy Mortgage Page 3

REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a Member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

Looking for Other Great Professionals?

Go to www.fivestarprofessional.com · Wealth Managers · Investment Professionals · Real Estate Agents · Mortgage Professionals · Home/Auto Insurance Professionals Professionals interested in learning more about Five Star Professional, please call 888-438-5782

FS • 4

Live Well Cincy brings you balanced, health-related editorial content to help you discover wellness in multiple aspects of life.

CincyMagazine.com/LiveWellCincy

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@ LiveWell_Cincy

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Cincinnati & COVID-19

Making Cincinnatus

Proud I

n these times of pandemic and protests, we need truth and understanding as well as communication and transparency. But it seems the more communication platforms we possess, the more tools we have at our disposal, the more elusive truth and understanding become.

Despite these most difficult times, the city has given birth to a new generation of community leaders. And like the Roman patrician Cincinnati is named after, these leaders have stepped out from behind the daily plow to achieve victories on all fronts while displaying civic virtue, humility and modesty—at a time when most folks are more concerned with themselves than the greater good.

Their efforts have not gone unnoticed.

“Ye shall know them by their fruits,” the Good Book tells us. If that is true, Cincinnati has had a bumper crop at a time when the entire nation is reeling. So stand up and take a bow, Cincinnati, you have given birth to a whole new generation of leaders whose actions speak much louder than words.

Facing Down a Pandemic Not too surprisingly, community leadership during these times starts with the

Community leaders emerge in times of crisis

By Terry Troy In Partnership with The Voice for Community Progress—Cincinnati

medical community. Its ties to academia have placed the entire region ahead of other major metropolitan areas in the state. Indeed, the individual hospitals, health care organizations and health care systems in the Greater Cincinnati region have taken a lead when it comes to developing programs, protocols and initiatives that will combat the coronavirus not only here, but across the nation and around the world.

For its part, UC Health, the University of Cincinnati’s affiliated health care system, is currently involved with more 28 different trials and initiatives involved with combating the novel coronavirus. But it’s also played a key role in bringing the entire region together.

“Early on, we were really just trying to understand the level of how contagious this was and how far and quickly this would spread,” says Dr. Richard P. Lofgren, president and CEO of UC Health.

“By February, we realized that this was a contagion that fulfilled all the concerns of a pandemic: meaning that it is new, everybody is susceptible and there are a large number of people that don’t get sick at all from it—which makes it easier to spread because you have a large number

of people who are infected that are just not that sick.”

However, there are a large number of people who can get very sick from the virus, says Lofgren.

“We saw that emerge and kick into gear late February, so our COVID-19 team went into full operation on March 3,” he adds.

But it wasn’t just about what UC Health was doing, he stresses.

“It was really about the whole health care community coming together and saying, ‘Listen, if there is an onslaught of patients, what are we going to do? How do we prepare so we can meet the needs of all patients in our area?’”

As an academic health care system with a lot of preparedness, UC Health activated plans it already had in place.

“We didn’t reinvent them, we activated them,” says Lofgren. “We had huddles in a tiered discipline process to communicate, develop and understand our practices in identifying the cascade, of how we would create capacity both in terms of physical capacity as well as people capacity to manage any kind of onslaught.”

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issues such as sharing information, says Lofgren, who adds that he was impressed in the way the separate health care systems developed their own internal surge plans, “but then we got together and said, ‘We are no longer competitors, we are collaborators,’” Lofgren says. “It galvanized around three basic principles: First, that we would keep our workforce safe at all times; second, that everybody in the Greater Cincinnati area would have access to high quality care; and third, that we would function with transparency in terms of data, learning and resourcing.”

So if one hospital looked like it would be overwhelmed, the collaborating health systems would be able to activate another hospital that had capacity.

“So in relatively short order, we identified all the resources we had in the Greater Cincinnati area to prepare for the pandemic, and we were functioning in a very collaborative way,” he adds.

Lofgren who also serves on the governor’s pandemic advisory board, also credits Governor Mike DeWine for helping the community and the whole state of Ohio stay ahead of the curve.

“Governor DeWine took some obviously unpopular actions, but they were actions that were very effective in dampening the potential onslaught of the virus,” says Lofgren. “But I also think our community really responded. That really put us ahead of the curve.”

Business Leaders Rise Up On top of the medical response by the community, business leaders across the Tristate area have also risen to the occasion and are actively formulating plans to help reignite the regional economy.

“The work of all the CEOs of our region has been equally impressive,” says Lofgren.

“One of the lessons we learned is that we might not be able to totally eradicate the virus right now, so we have to learn to live with it safely. And that is where the work of the RESTART Group out of the chamber and REDI Cincinnati has been so important.”

Major corporations in the Tristate like Kroger and P&G have taken strides in their workplaces to make sure their workforce and customers are safe: disinfecting workstations, washing hands, ensuring social distancing and stressing the importance of wearing masks. Many corporations are also realizing and rewarding the efforts of frontline workers.

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“The momentum that our community had leading into this crisis provides us a path to more quickly spring back—but only if we have all core parts rowing together” —Jill P. Meyer, president and CEO of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Kroger extended its “thank you” pay to frontline workers through mid-June. The grocer estimates the additional bonus to be approximately $130 million to its workers.

“Our associates have been instrumental in feeding America while also helping to flatten the curve during the initial phases of the pandemic,” said Rodney McMullen,

CEO of the grocer, in a prepared statement.

“To recognize and thank our associates for their incredible work during this historic time, we offered special pay in March, April and May.” And now June. During all this, the company also announced a plan called Zero Waste/Zero Hunger, a program designed

to end hunger in the communities it serves and eliminate waste across the company by 2025.

While such individual corporate initiatives are commendable, it’s really the partnership among government, business and nonprofits that will keep the virus in check and open the regional economy back up.

Started in March, the RESTART Task Force is working to rebuild the region’s economy. It’s a partnership among the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, the Cincinnati Business Committee, Cincinnati Regional Business Committee and REDI Cincinnati.

The task force includes more than two dozen business and community leaders.

Its goal is to make sure the region recovers economically and regains the momentum it had before the coronavirus outbreak.

“Public-private partnerships are crucial when tackling challenges that can’t be solved by one organization,” says Kimm

Lauterbach, president and CEO of REDI Cincinnati. “The pandemic stands out as a prime example of a challenge that requires a shared effort. Different partners offer different resources and expertise, which is much more effective as a whole.

“What makes the Cincinnati region special is that our business and community leaders have a history of working together.

Public and private organizations quickly came together to form the RESTART Task Force in response to the pandemic.”

REDI Cincinnati has a role on four of the RESTART Task Force’s subcommittees, as well as a continued focus on and commitment to its core work of attracting new companies and helping local companies expand and grow. REDI Cincinnati is continuing its five-year mission that includes attracting new investment from outside the region, which in turn will help the region overcome the challenges presented

by COVID-19.

Lest We Forget While we celebrate on these pages the health care organizations and private/public partnerships that have made a difference, we must not forget the thousands of health care professionals and frontline workers across the region who also stepped up. That includes everyone from doctors and nurses through maintenance and sanitation personnel to cafeteria and food service workers. Not to mention the thousands of grocery store workers, truckers and farmers in the food supply chain who all played an essential role in keeping the community running during the shutdown. Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t include all the first responders, EMTs, firemen and police.

Each day these brave warriors risked their lives, facing possible infection from an unseen enemy. Each played a significant, yet often unheralded, role in helping the community flatten the coronavirus curve. Their contributions, made on a daily basis, are often overlooked, but should never be forgotten.

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber is also playing a key role in the region’s recovery, working through the RESTART Task Force with business partners, including P&G, CVG and Brain Brew to name but a few, to provide free kits that include masks, sanitizers and disinfectants to help local businesses restart businesses responsibly. The chamber has also shifted its programming to focus on issues related to business continuity, finances and restart issues.

“In short, we will do everything we can to be the most comprehensive and reliable source for businesses to gain the information, connections and other resources they will need to restart their economics,” says Jill P. Meyer, president and CEO of the chamber. “Similarly, we will continue to convene the RESTART Task Force and various workstreams that flow from it to move our local economy forward in both the short and long term.

“Partnerships like RESTART define the Cincinnati region,” adds Meyer. “Numerous past examples evidence, like this one, that when big community challenges need to be solved, business, community and government leaders run toward the problems and dig in together to solve them. That’s the mentality that built our community and has given us the strong base we have today.”

According to Meyer, the current economic challenge is no different. For the Cincinnati region to emerge strongly from this crisis, restarted and rebuilt, it will also need to be reimagined because of the diversity of thoughts, opinions, skillsets and resources.

“The momentum that our community had leading into this crisis provides us a path to more quickly spring back—but only if we have all core parts rowing together,” says Meyer. “We’re living through the most recent example of the innate interconnectedness of government and business and people.

Each part has been majorly impacted and each part has a critical role to play in leading us through it. It’s our opportunity to strengthen bonds, reconnect with the core of what makes this whole community tick, and reimagine how we can drive even stronger economics moving forward.

“That requires partnership of every kind and, given the diversity of our business landscape, we luckily can build on many opportunities… but it takes all viewpoints and angles and resources to bring a wide array of economics to fruition.” n w w w.

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Cincinnati & COVID-19

Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Oh and Mollie Bell in the Hoxworth Laboratory

A Continuum Community-based health care shows it is truly world class

By Terry Troy

T

he partnerships formed among government ent it ies, pr ivate businesses and civic and nonprofit organizations have been essential in flattening the curve of the first wave of the coronavirus. However, Cincinnati has also emerged as one of the leading health care centers in the nation for programs, initiatives and protocols to help fight the pandemic.

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just two of the health care organizations that have excelled during the pandemic.

According to its website, Cincinnati Children’s is one of four sites in the U.S. participating in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the BNT162 vaccine program to prevent COVID-19. The trial, part of a global development, began in Germany where the dosing of the first participants was completed last month.

For its part, Hoxworth Blood Center, which supplies the entire Cincinnati Metropolitan and the surrounding Tristate

area with blood and plasma products, has been at the forefront of collecting and processing COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma (CCP), which is vital as a therapeutic treatment for medium-to-severe coronavirus cases.

The whole idea with the treatment is to take plasma from people who have recovered from the coronavirus, which contains antibodies that can then be used to help infected patients fight the virus. “A lot of times, people associate antibodies with bacteria, but we can use them to

help fight viruses as well,” says Dr. David in the nation,” says Dr. Nathan Timm, post-transplant follow-up,” says Kenneth Oh, chief medical officer at Hoxworth. an attending physician for the Division D. Setchell, professor and director of the “Essentially, someone who is infected with of Emergency Medicine and the medi- Clinical Mass Spectrometry Laboratory the virus develops antibodies as a part of cal director of the Office of Emergency that developed the test. the immune response that helps them fight Preparedness and Response at CincinTransplant patients have to take antioff the infecting agent. Instead of having nati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. rejection drugs to help minimize risk for a person build that defense on their own “Cincinnati Children’s has the top minds organ rejection. These immunosuppreswith a vaccine, we’re taking plasma from that can look at and really transcend all sant drugs can be toxic to the body and people who have already fought the dis- people who are impacted by this virus, blood levels must be carefully monitored. ease and developed those antibodies and not just our population or the elderly who Levels for immunosuppressant drugs transfusing the plasma to another person. are in nursing homes.” like tacrolimus, sirolimus, everolimus and Those antibodies can then help fight the While it’s participating in a clinical Cyclosporin A, are normally measured trial for a vaccine, Cincinnati Children’s in whole blood following venipuncture virus in the new person.”

The program started in mid-April, says recently developed a new mail-in blood performed at a clinic. Patients on these Oh, and by mid-May Hoxworth had dis- test for children with transplanted organs, medications are at much greater risk of tributed well over 100 units. The typical eliminating the need for vulnerable immu- COVID-19 and stay-at-home instructions patient needs one or two units of plasma nosuppressed patients to visit the hospital complicates the process of blood draw at to have blood drawn in person. as a functional dose. the hospital, according to Setchell.

“Most of the patients who are getting “Given the current pandemic, this In addition, the scientists at Cincinnati transfused are in pretty bad shape. They is game-changing for these transplant Children’s recently launched six projects have moderate to severe illness, and some- patients and it helps reduce their risk of aimed at understanding and defeating the times very severe illness,” says Oh. “Many possible COVID-19 infection. At the same virus that causes COVID-19. These projects physicians who are using this treatment time, it allows patients to maintain their received a combined $450,000 in funding. are very excited about the The six projects include results to this point.” everything from developing But CCP is only a therapy vaccine nanoparticles for poand will likely be used as a tential development of a vactreatment until a vaccine is cine, studying the effects of the fully developed, which could coronavirus on the heart and three separate data analysis be as much as a year away.

In addition to its role as one programs, which study how of four sites for a clinical trial the virus affects foster youth of a vaccine for COVID-19, and adolescents with and Cincinnati Children’s Hospiwithout ADHD and Sickle Cell disease. A sixth program studtal has emerged as a national leader in treatment, protocols ies how artificial intelligence and programs that will help can be leveraged to facilitate combat the novel virus. It has early detection of coronavirus done this while maintaining infection and deterioration in a continuum of care for its the pediatric population. young patients, creating safe “These projects were seprotocols for its health care lected by a panel of senior professionals and frontline research leaders at Cincinessential workers, and esnati Children’s from more tablishing more transparent than 35 proposals,” says Dr. communications with colHector Wong, interim chair laborating health care orgaof the Department of Pedinizations across the Tristate. atrics and interim director But doesn’t the coronavirus of the Cincinnati Children’s typically impact patients that Research Foundat ion, on are older rather than children?

Cincinnati Children’s website.

And why is a children’s hospi“We deeply appreciate the tal so involved? swift, creative and enthusi“Regardless of the impact astic response of our faculty of an illness on dif ferent to this global health crisis patient populations, Cincinand we look forward to seeing nati Children’s is one of the the results of these important leading centers for research Dr. Nathan Timm, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center research efforts.” n w w w.

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Second-chance Hiring

Hartong Digital Media

Gets a Hand

Cincinnati Works takes over operations of Beacon of Hope Business Alliance to encourage more second-chance hiring

By David Holthaus

M

ore than 10 years ago, entrepreneurs Dan Meyer and Richard Palmer started Nehemiah Manufacturing in Over-the-Rhine, naming it after the biblical leader who rebuilt the city of Jerusalem in the Old Testament days.

Their new business of packaging and distributing hand soap, wipes, dryer sheets and other consumer goods would employ those who needed a second chance in life and would help rebuild Cincinnati’s inner city.

Their mission was successful and by 2015 they were ready to spread the word and grow it. They started the Beacon of Hope Business Alliance as a way to encourage more businesses to employ people who find it difficult to find a job because they may have prison records, are recovering from addiction or have experienced homelessness.

The Alliance grew so quickly, with so many businesses signing on to the idea, that Meyer and Palmer began looking for help to manage it. Late last year, Cincinnati Works assumed operations of the Beacon of Hope Business Alliance as another part of its mission to end the cycles of poverty by helping the hard-to-employ find work.

The Alliance now has about 80 employers participating or supporting the work, says Matt Mooney, vice president of workforce connection at Cincinnati Works.

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About 60 of them have hired at least one hard-to-employ worker, he says, and about 500 people have found work through the program. Cincinnati Works wants to keep expanding the program, he says.

“We’ve got ambitions to grow that even more because the need is out there,” he says.

The need for work multiplied exponentially almost overnight when the economy virtually shut down because of the spread of the coronavirus.

In January, the unemployment rate was below 4%, the traditional marker of “full employment.” For years, businesses had been reporting difficulty finding help and Cincinnati Works was there to train and place second-chance workers at companies that may have been desperate for help.

But from January to April, about 20 million Americans lost their jobs and the unemployment rate approached 15% in April and is expected to keep climbing.

“There may be this perception that with all the layoffs and furloughs that are happening out there that the labor market has flipped,” Mooney says. “So one thing we are focusing on is to maintain the momentum that we’ve built up over the last three to five years.”

Cincinnati Works provides a suite of services to employers who want to hire

Rayshun Holt works at Nehemiah Manufacturing, the founder of the Beacon of Hope Business Alliance.

second-chance workers. His team can help front-line managers and the rest of the workforce buy in to the idea so that second-chance workers can succeed and contribute.

The training is designed to achieve “top to bottom” buy in for the concept throughout the organization, he says.

“How does managing and supervising those individuals differ from what someone from a middle-class background or even an upper-class background might experience?” Mooney says. “What assumptions or implicit bias is there that we can shine a light on?

“That needs to cascade down all the way through the organization.”

Despite the dramatic downturn in employment, the community still benefits from hiring those who may have taken a wrong turn in their lives, he says.

“People with criminal records are just as qualified for jobs as they were before,” Mooney says. “The social imperative around inclusive hiring—we need to make sure that continues.” n

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When the Law Wood Herron Evans has found ways to innovate during COVID-19

By Corinne Minard

W

Doesn’t Stop

hat do you do when everything about the way you work has changed but the demand for your services hasn’t? Many businesses, including Wood Herron & Evans LLP (WHE), a boutique intellectual property law firm located downtown, have experienced this in 2020 thanks to COVID-19.

“While some deadlines have been pulled at the patent office and the trademark office, some of them have not and then the court system really hasn’t stopped. So any active litigations or internal trademark and patent appeal board processes, those have kind of maintained the course here through the pandemic,” says David A. Fitzgerald, a partner at the firm.

And while WHE was considered an essential service as a legal services provider during the stay-at-home order (and thus able to work in their office), Fitzgerald says the firm still wanted to do its part to flatten the curve. About 70-80% of WHE’s staff worked from home, necessitating the implementation of a lot of new technology.

“Our two IT guys… had to work a lot of long days and nights over that week or two weeks leading up to the stay-at-home order, doing everything from running to Micro Center and Office Depot for various supplies in short stock to going to people’s houses and making sure that they had the internet infrastructure to get on our recently set up [virtual private network], whatever the case may be,” he adds.

Like many companies, WHE moved to virtual meetings and took advantage of programs like Microsoft Teams. As the firm adjusted to its new normal, so too did its clients.

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marketplace they’re in, so they needed us to back down on our services or delay and defer everything that we can, but then other folks in other tech sectors, they’re experiencing a boom because maybe they’re in the mask or hygiene business and so they’re really kind of needing us to do even more legwork, whether that’s worr ying about complying with new government rules or regulations, or just the standard intellectual property type practice,” says Fitzgerald.

Another way WHE worked to innovate during this time was by encouraging intellectual property lawyers throughout the country to consider a different type of dispute resolution other than litigation.

Kenneth B. Germain, senior counsel, has been a proponent of what’s called early neutral evaluation (ENE) for more than a decade.

“When people think of resolving legal disputes, the first thing they think of is going to court,” says Germain. “There’s nothing particularly wrong with that other than that it takes a long time and it’s expensive and it’s stressful on everybody.”

In ENE, both parties argue their case to a “neutral” party, someone who is an expert in the field that pertains to the suit, in front of their clients. The neutral party will then consider the arguments, read any documents and take into account what court and jurisdiction the case would take place in before providing an educated guess of what the end result of the case will be.

“I’m not guaranteeing any of these results but it’s like getting an early evaluation by somebody who knows the field,” he says.

Because it doesn’t take place in the court system, the process can be much quicker

Kenneth B. Germain, senior counsel at Wood Herron & Evans LLP

David A. Fitzgerald, a partner and executive committee member at Wood Herron & Evans LLP

Wood Herron & Evans LLP is located within Carew Tower at 441 Vine St.

and much less expensive than litigating the case in court. Getting this evaluation could cause a case to be dropped, or aspects of it, thus shortening the case. And in the era of COVID-19, Germain thinks it will become even more important to companies that lawsuits take less time and less money.

“It’s so prevalent now to see courts slowed down because of COVID-19. You want a jury trial? How about next decade because of COVID-19? Budgets are cut in law firms, just all over the place. All these indicators are [that] the usual approach to resolving disputes, which is going to court and battling it out, we may not be able to afford it,” he says.

Germain hopes that early neutral evaluation becomes more of an option for the field, which would allow law yers like Germain to use their expertise to evaluate cases before they ever go to court.

“[ENE] is embryonic. But when you read the stuff about what’s happening in the litigation landscape, you’ve got to see we need help. What we used to do is not going to solve the problems now and now means for the next couple years,” he says.

Germain thinks ENE could remain useful even after COVID-19, but that’s not the only takeaway WHE has gained over the last couple months.

“We’re trying to be very forward thinking and then let that guide the decisions on the executive committee and the management committee,” says Fitzgerald.

The firm is thinking of ways to be more efficient with its space and its supplies—for example, WHE went paperless during the coronavirus, causing the firm to question its paper usage.

Other lessons learned could also become important tools in the firm’s toolbox.

“I think there’s going to be things like Ken’s early neutral evaluation that maybe he’s highlighting right now because of the pandemic and the need for people to get their disputes resolved, but that need is always there,” says Fitzgerald. “It just might highlight that that’s a better option for clients moving forward and that we can solve their needs a little better by turning to those types of alternative dispute resolution tactics.”

To Fitzgerald, implementing early neutral evaluation and adapting how the law firm runs are just part of what makes WHE what it is.

“Wood Herron is in the innovation business. We serve inventors and artists and brand experts, that’s what we do, and so it’s fitting that we kind of have to innovate our own client services,” says Fitzgerald. n w w w.

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Taking a New Approach Southern State Community College’s computer technology program is adapting its program to give students more choice

By Corinne Minard

J

osh Montgomery, a computer science professor at Southern State Community College (SSCC), knew it was time to make some changes to the college’s computer technology program. SSCC, a community college with three locations that serve students in Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette and Highland counties, was offering a program based on computer and information technology, preparing students for careers as network technicians, server administrators and positions in help desk operations. But the 66

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changing technological landscape, as well as the changing interests of his students, meant it was time for a change.

“I was getting students to come to me who also wanted to know more of the programming aspects, that wanted to know more robotics and cybersecurity,” says Montgomery. “So we kind of retooled the degree to have these areas that focused on these as well.”

The new computer technology program that will be offered this fall allows the students to choose two of four focus areas— networking, programming, cybersecurity and robotics—to tailor their degree to their interests and career goals.

A student who chooses the cybersecurity and networking tracks, for example, could look for work as a systems analyst or doing cybersecurity work for banks.

“My focus is to try to give students the opportunity to move around and take

Josh Montgomery of Southern State Community College says that studentbuilt robots are good examples of what students can create in his classes. classes that are interesting to them,” says Montgomery.

Montgomery was inspired to make this change by a visit to Miami University. In some of its programs, Miami University was having students take the same classes the first year but then having them pick concentration areas within their major in the following years, allowing students to personalize their degree.

“I started thinking, ‘Man, what if I could have multiple of these areas?’” he says.

“I wanted to make sure that if someone wanted to have a cybersecurity degree that they could take that focus area and the networking area and be able to do the same kind of work if they wanted a full cybersecurity degree.”

Starting in the fall, students entering the computer technology program at SSCC will still have to take the same core classes, but, starting their spring semester, be able to pick and choose their focus area classes to better fit their goals.

LEFT: Southern State Community College’s new computer technology program will allow students to choose two of our four focus areas so they can personalize their degree.

RIGHT: Southern State Community College’s computer technology program encourages students to engage in hands-on work alongside typical classroom learning.

Students and other faculty members are already excited about this new program.

“The advisory team was very excited by the opportunity because then we didn’t have to have a full degree in programming or a full degree in fiber, we have these focus areas [where] we could hit all the core elements,” he says.

While students won’t experience the new program until the fall, current SSCC computer technology students have already been able to take part in another innovation at the college. Montgomery has implemented individualized projectbased instruction in several of his classes to give students a hands-on opportunity that also sparks their creativity.

“I have courses—my programming courses, my capstone courses, and some engineering courses—that I teach that all drive at a big project at the end of the course and sometimes a project may take multiple semesters for us to finish,” he says.

Students determine what the project will be on their own, making each project unique. “As long as it hits certain criteria that I need to have finished in the program and the project, then I will support them to do whatever they want to do,” adds Montgomery.

While students have created cybersecurity and programming projects, and even designed a network, the most attentiongrabbing projects are the robots. Students have built working robot replicas of the Mars Rover and droids from Star Wars, such as BB-8.

“It’s fun to engage with the students and watch them kind of grow an idea and watch them get excited about it, and it’s really my job to teach and guide them through that process,” says Montgomery.

And by incorporating this projectbased work with the new focus areas of the computer technology program, Montgomery and SSCC will be able to continue to guide students as they prepare for their future careers. n

Manufacturing Help While the governor’s stay-at-home orders were in place, Josh Montgomery, a computer science professor at Southern State Community College (SSCC), was, like many teachers, doing what he could to ensure his students were still receiving a quality education, going so far as to deliver pieces directly to his students’ homes so they could continue to work. But that wasn’t all he was up to during that time.

To help first responders and other frontline medical workers, Montgomery created the Southern Ohio Makers Against COVID Coalition (SOMACC).

Using 3D printers, Montgomery and 60 other makers across southern Ohio have made more than 4,400 face masks for 68 medical organizations in the region. Schools, such as Great Oaks Career Campuses, have participated, and SOMACC has collected donations to repay these schools for their generosity.

“We raised $12,000 and with that money I used that to basically buy filament [the product used to create 3D printed objects] for all the schools,” says Montgomery. “We had a lot of people contribute money and support and it’s been really great.” w w w.

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Love Cincy

“Single Exposure”

By Guy Kelly

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