Spring 2015
Traevon Jackson Summer Fun Uptown Business
Karen Kasich on politics, the first family and using her role to raise awareness of tough social topics
Westerville365.com
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Discover Uptown Westerville An original town center since 1858, Uptown Westerville offers a unique shopping experience nestled between Polaris and Easton on Route 3. Visit our eclectic shops and restaurants and discover a piece of history. shopuptownwesterville.com
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CONTENTS
Spring 2015 14 Leveraging the Limelight Karen Kasich has used her post to raise awareness of problems such as human trafficking and drug abuse. But for the mother of teenage daughters, family comes first.
ON THE COVER Photo by Lorrie Cecil
19 The Son Also Rises Westerville South’s Traevon Jackson shares his father’s love of basketball, but has come into his own as a point guard for Wisconsin.
26 A Fab-ulous Future Westerville is among a group of central Ohio school districts giving students hands-on training for the careers of tomorrow.
30 Campus Partners Otterbein has teamed up with two other universities and local organizations to advance women’s issues on campus and in the community.
33 Summer Fun Looking to liven up the lazy days of the season? Westerville offers numerous activities to keep kids and adults entertained and happy.
39 Artistic Outlet The annual Music & Arts Festival transforms Heritage Park and draws return vendors and customers alike.
42 French Evolution
Former city councilwoman Jenifer French is settling in to her role as a judge in Courtroom 6A. Colleagues say her move to the bench is a natural fit.
Westerville365 | Spring 2015
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6 From the Publisher 7 A Look Inside, and Online 8 Events Calendar 45 Library Notes The Westerville Public Library now offers Freegal for music-loving patrons.
46 Healthy Living Don’t miss the next edition:
SUMMER 2015 Back to School Economic Development Space close: June 16 Materials close: June 23 Delivered: July 26, 2015
Advice from Nationwide Children’s Hospital on keeping children safe as they enjoy the outdoors
48 Outtakes A look inside the LeVeque estate
BUILDING BUSINESS
22 Uptown’s Uptick
Call (614) 583-5793 for advertising information and submit your events at Westerville365.com
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Spring 2015 | Westerville365
The central business district is drawing more investment and more foot traffic. Officials want to build on that growth while keeping the style and charm intact.
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staff has over 150 years of experience. We believe in the hometown Barbershop. A place for people of all ages. Ladies, we have two staff members to handle all your needs. Stop in! You’ll be glad you did! Full Line of Cut and Color Services for both Men and Women WE ALSO OFFER STRAIGHT RAZOR SHAVES WITH HOT STEAM TOWELS AND AN AFTERSHAVE TREATMENT ALL FOR $15
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PUBLISHER Roy Biondi EDITORIAL Editor: Julanne Hohbach Contributors: Lee Cochran, Thomas Gallick, Jane Hawes, Andrew King, Jackie Mantey, Joe Meyer, Mary Posani, Lisa Proctor and Jarrod Ulrey
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PHOTOGRAPHY Chief Photographer: Joshua A. Bickel Contributors: Lorrie Cecil, Chris Parker and Ryan M.L. Young
DESIGN/PRODUCTION Production Manager: Rebecca Zimmer Design: Annie Steel Web Producer: Scott Hummel ADVERTISING Director: Doug Dixon Retail Manager: Heather Kritter Classified Manager: Terri Tribbie Account Executives: Brendon Byers Chris McMillen Marketing & Promotions: Annie Steel CIRCULATION Home Delivery & Business Distribution Customer Service: 888-837-4342 Retail advertising: 614-583-5793 advertising@westerville365.com Classified advertising: 614-785-1200 Editorial: 740-888-6000 editorial@westerville365.com Westerville365 is published quarterly by ThisWeek Community News with Sunday distribution by Consumer News Services Inc., a subsidiary of The Dispatch Printing Company. Consumer News Services Inc. reserves the right to reject, cancel or edit any advertisement at any time. If we make a substantiative error in news coverage, we want to correct it. If you believe an error has been made, call 740-888-6000. CNS is not responsible for unsolicited photographs, manuscripts, press releases, etc. Š Copyright 2015, The Dispatch Printing Company
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From the Publisher
Introducing Westerville365
W
elcome to Westerville365! This exciting new magazine is the newest editorial offering from ThisWeek Community News. Westerville is a growing community, and Westerville365 taps into that essence and vitality with a four-color glossy magazine and related website, Westerville365.com. The magazine you’re holding is the culmination of many months of work by numerous departments. We’re excited to finally show you, our readers, the results. Content will include features on local newsmakers, education, arts and entertainment, business and economic development, health and wellness, parks and recreation, sports, dining, shopping and much more. ThisWeek publishes 25 community newspapers around central Ohio. No one covers community news like we do. Our weekly newspapers are longtime, trusted resources, and ThisWeek Westerville News & Public Opinion is no exception. The publication’s roots date back to June 27, 1867, the founding date of the newspaper that became The Public Opinion. Westerville365 will augment the award-winning journalism the News & Public Opinion is known for, offering fresh content and insight as well as captivating photos and design to readers and advertisers. You’ll find in-depth features as well as stories on the people, places and events that impact local residents. Westerville365.com will offer the unique content of Westerville365, original online stories, news updates, photography, links to city, school, civic and other resources, and more. Our online calendar of events is growing and includes area arts, business, civic, entertainment, health and wellness, music and other gatherings.
We hope you’ll add your events to the site, too. Listings are free and easy to submit. Just click the icon on our website. Looking for a place to dine? You’ll find a wealth of restaurant information and reviews from Columbus Crave, one of our sister publications within The Dispatch Printing Company. The database includes establishments in Westerville as well as surrounding areas. Our goal is for Westerville365. com to become a hub of local news and happenings, where you can read compelling stories, find out about upcoming events, learn something new about the community, have conversations and participate through social media channels. The magazine will be delivered quarterly to about 30,000 homes in the Westerville City School District and a few surrounding neighborhoods. Look for Westerville365 to arrive with TheBag. You’ll also find copies at a few select distribution points around the community. I hope you’ll take the time to explore the magazine and website and let us know what you think. As Westerville365 and its readership evolve, so will we. What types of content are important to you? What would you like to see more (or less) of? We’d love to hear your opinions so we can maximize the usefulness of this new publication. You can reach us at editorial@ westerville365.com. Sincerely,
Roy Biondi Vice President and Group Publisher ThisWeek Community News
Your neighborhood. Your life.
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Spring 2015 | Westerville365
only TO JOIN
MON T T H MONO TH $19 A MONT TH - Hurry! Offer Expires 5-28-15 Join online at Fitness19.com/centers/westerville • • • • • • • •
A Look Inside, and Online
I
t’s always exciting to launch a new publication. Westerville365 is the newest title for ThisWeek Community News and our first fourcolor glossy community magazine. We started Westerville365 in response to readers and local officials who wanted to read more coverage of the community they call home. Our goal is to cover the stories that matter to local residents, to provide illuminating features and new insight on issues that affect the community. For our debut, you’ll find our cover story on Ohio’s first lady, Karen Waldbillig Kasich. The first family eschewed moving to the governor’s residence in Bexley for their own Westerville-area home, in large part because of their twin daughters. It’s one of several compelling features in the Spring issue, along with photos, columns and more. Looking for something to do with the family as the weather warms up? You’ll find numerous options both in our Summer Fun story and our Events Calendar. The latter will be a regular staple in the magazine. To add an event to the calendar, go to Westerville365.com. Listings are free, and you don’t have to create a user account. All events will appear online, and select events also will appear in print. Speaking of the website, while we’ve just recently launched it, we expect it to change and grow as the publication evolves. We want to build a place where readers can find all manner of information—from events listings to news updates, content from the print publication and more. We’re still growing, but our goal is to make it a one-stop, online shop for all things related to your community. You’ll find us on social media channels as well, and we hope you’ll join the conversation. We welcome your feedback as we launch and grow this new publication. Share your thoughts at editorial@westerville365.com.
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Upcoming
To submit an item for the calendar, go to Westerville365.com. All events will run online and select listings also will appear in the magazine.
Events
MAY May 23 Sailing Open House Hoover Sailing Club will host an open house with sailboat rides and information about classes and memberships. 1-4 p.m. Hoover Sailing Club, 4250 Smothers Road. Free. hooversailingclub.com
File/Chris Parker
May 7 13th Annual Westerville Community Prayer Breakfast Sponsored by the Westerville Area Resource Ministry. Registration 6:30 a.m., event 7-8:30 a.m. Westerville Community Center, 350 N. Cleveland Ave. $25. Reservations: 614-899-0196. warmwesterville.org May 9 Concord Counseling Services’ Third Annual 5K Run, Walk & Mutt Strut First race steps off at 8 a.m. Heritage Park, 60 N. Cleveland Ave. $30. concordcounseling.org May 14 Women in Business Spring Networking Event Hosted by the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce. 3-5 p.m. Cantina Laredo, 8791 Lyra Drive, Columbus. $15 for chamber members, $25 for nonmembers. westervillechamber.com May 14 YP Mixer The Westerville Young Professionals Network event includes a beer tasting from Zaftig Brewery and appetizers from Short North Piece of Cake. 6-8 p.m. KEMBA Financial Credit Union, 622 N. State St. Free. westervillechamber.com
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Spring 2015 | Westerville365
May 15 Fresh Fish to the Front The Westerville Historical Society presents a story of the Civil War’s 95th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. 7:30 p.m. Westerville Public Library, 126 S. State St. Free. westervillehistory.org May 15-17, 22-23, 29-31 Harvey Elwood P. Dowd is an affable man who claims to have an unseen friend Harvey, a 6-foot, 3.5inch tall anthropomorphic rabbit. Suitable for all ages. Times vary. Curtain Players Theatre, 5691 Harlem Road, Galena. $15 students and seniors, $17 adults. curtainplayers.org May 16 Bike Safe Westerville Open House The event will include informational tables, demonstrations, hands-on stations for youth, a screening of “Bike Safe Westerville” videos and a ride along the bike path. 10 a.m. to noon. Everal Barn at Heritage Park, 60 N. Cleveland Ave. Free. westerville.org May 17 Westerville Community Band Spring Concert With guest soloist Jim Masters. 3 p.m. Westerville Central High School, 7118 Mount Royal Ave. Free. westervillebands.org
For more events—
including July 4, the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce Music & Arts Festival, Westerflora and more—see stories on pages 33 and 39.
Celebrating over 25 years of beautiful gardens
Choose QUALITY, Choose CIMINELLO’S!
567 Lazelle Road (Near the corner of Sancus Blvd. & Lazelle Rd.) File/LORRIE CECIL
May 16 16th Annual Wetlands Workshop This family-oriented, hands-on event from Westerville Parks and Recreation and MAD Scientist & Associates will offer lessons on wetland ecology and wildlife. 10 a.m. to noon. Highlands Wetlands, 245 S. Spring Road. Free. All ages welcome. westerville.org
JUNE
May 2 & 3 10 am-6 pm
Hartford Rd.
SUNBURY Rt. hn 37 sto wn
Jo
Rt. 605 New Albany
.3 Rt
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Rt. 36/37 Delaware
High
Gallery open most days by chance or appointment for those special gifts. Please call ahead. .6
June 6 Local Author Book Festival Multiple genres will be highlighted as writers from around central Ohio are stationed throughout the library for casual meet-and-greets. Attendees can hear author talks, purchase books for signing and enter door-prize raffles. Follow along at #wplbookfestival. 1-4 p.m. Westerville Public Library, 126 S. State St. Free. westervillelibrary.org
Spring Open House Rt
June 5 Lions Club Chicken Dinner A Westerville tradition for more than 30 years, proceeds help fund eye exams and glasses for children in need. 4-8 p.m. American Legion Hall, 393 E. College Ave. $10 cost includes a raffle ticket to win two tickets to the Ohio State University-Northern Illinois game Sept. 19. westervillelions.org
June 5 YP Uptown Shuffle Coordinated by the Westerville Young Professionals Network, the Amazing Race-style scavenger hunt is for ages 21 and older. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Westerville Area Resource Ministry. Pre-party 5:30 p.m. Old Bag of Nails Pub, 24 N. State St. $25. westervillechamber.org
Rt. 3
June 4-7, 11-13 Clybourne Park Otterbein Summer Theatre presents a funny and provocative play about race, real estate and the volatile values of each. The play won the Tony Award, the Olivier Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Times vary. Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St. $25. otterbein.edu
Handmade Fine Art Porcelain Studio/Gallery
Westerville
May 23 Skate Late Showcase Participants can enjoy a night under the lights on their skateboards and Best Trick from Grom. 7:30-11 p.m. Alum Creek Park South, 535 Park Meadow Road. Free. westerville.org
May 27 National Senior Health & Fitness Day Westerville Parks and Recreation will join more than 1,000 locations around the country to celebrate the 22nd Annual National Senior Health & Fitness Day. Activities include a health exhibition, outdoor sports, Zenith Climbing Wall Adventure, entertainment, food and giveaways. 9-11 a.m. Westerville Community Center, 350 N. Cleveland Ave. Free. Ages 55 and up. westerville.org
I-71 Columbus
May 21 Business After Hours Sponsored by the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce. 5:30-7:30 p.m. HW&Co., 460 Polaris Parkway, Suite 300. Free for chamber members, $5 for nonmembers. westervillechamber.com
614-885-3779 Ciminellos.com
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File/Chris Parker
June 20-21 American Cancer Society Relay for Life The fundraiser will be held from 3 p.m. June 20 to 9 a.m. June 21. Westerville Central High School track, 7118 Mount Royal Ave. relay.acsevents.org June 9 Quarterly Membership Luncheon The Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce will host Alex Fischer, president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership. Registration 11 a.m., event 11:35 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Embassy Suites Hotel, 2700 Corporate Exchange Drive, Columbus. $25 for chamber members, $35 for nonmembers. westervillechamber.com June 18-21, 25-28; July 2-3 The Nerd Otterbein Summer Theatre stages a comedy that was first presented by the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, then produced in Great Britain, then went on to Broadway. The action centers on the dilemma of a young architect who is visited by a man he’s never met but who saved his life in Vietnam—and who outstays his welcome with a vengeance. Times vary. Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St. $25. otterbein.edu
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Spring 2015 | Westerville365
June 20 Honor Flight Pancake Breakfast Proceeds send military veterans on a trip to Washington, D.C. 7:30-10:30 a.m. American Legion Hall, 393 E. College Ave. $6. Raffle tickets for two round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines will be sold for $10. honorflightcolumbus.org June 21 Father’s Day Bike and Breakfast This family bike ride will start at Highlands Park Aquatics Center and travel north on the bike path to Millstone Creek Park, where riders can take a snack break and play on the playground. A grilled breakfast and pool time will be provided after the trip back. 9:30-11:30 a.m. Highlands Park Aquatics Center, 245 S. Spring Road. Residents $10, $15 all others, 2 and under free. westerville.org
JULY
2015
Summer Theatre Subscriptions are on sale now! July 9-25 July 9 Ice Cream Social The 22nd Annual Ice Cream Social and Storytimes will also include live music and face painting. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library. 7-8:30 p.m. Westerville Public Library front lawn, 126 S. State St. $1 donation for ice cream. westervillelibrary.org
July 9-12, 16-18, 23-25 The All Night Strut Otterbein Summer Theatre presents a two-act musical celebration of the 1930s and ’40s filled with jazz, blues, bebop and American songbook standards from songwriters such as Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Cab Calloway and the Gershwins. Times vary. Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St. $35. otterbein.edu July 15 Women in Business Luncheon The Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce will host a program titled “You Don’t Know Jack!” featuring Suzi Rapp of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Registration 11 a.m., luncheon 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Medallion Club, 5000 Club Drive. $25 for chamber members, $35 for nonmembers. westervillechamber.com July 23 Business After Hours Sponsored by the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce. 5:30-7:30 p.m. The Middlefield Banking Co., 17 N. State St. Free for chamber members, $5 for nonmembers. westervillechamber.com Sources: city of Westerville, Otterbein University, Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce, Westerville Public Library, Westerville Visitors & Convention Bureau
June 18-July 3
June 4-13 ONSTAGE in the Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall Box Office: 614-823-1109 • www.otterbein.edu/theatre
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Around Town
Party Like It’s 1920 Photos by Chris Parker Leadership Westerville hosted this temperancethemed event, taking visitors back in time to visit a jazz concert in a speakeasy, hear a debate about the evils of liquor and more. The event, held March 18 at the Westerville Area Resource Ministry facility on Heatherdown Drive, was supported by the Westerville Public Library and the Arts Council of Westerville. Proceeds benefited the Westerville Leadership Scholarship Fund. 1 Phyllis Self, executive director of Leadership Westerville 2 Sherry Birchem, Laura Ehninger and Cynthia DeVese 3 Laura Poland and Martha Jagucki 4 Bill Sieck and David Villwock 5 The Fred Astaire Dancers perform 6 Jerry Tarr and Reed Fogle 7 Ruth Stenberg and Mike Herron 8 Larry Jenkins, Brian Miller and Jason Bechtold 9 WARM Executive Director Scott Marier 10 Phyllis Self, Sandra Brogdon and Cynthia DeVese 11 Members of the Jazz Men Band: Larry Leffert, David Villwock and Al Fontaine
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“Westerville is our sanctuary. That’s our home. It’s where we go to be normal and hang out and be with the kids.”
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Leveraging the Limelight Karen Kasich has used her post to raise awareness of problems such as human trafficking and drug abuse. But for the mother of teenage daughters, family comes first. By Thomas Gallick • PHOTOS BY LORRIE CECIL
I
f choosing her family’s home near Westerville over the governor’s residence in Bexley was supposed to be a complicated, controversial and politically vexing issue, someone forgot to tell Ohio’s first lady, Karen Waldbillig Kasich. Kasich says the decision, made in 2010 after Gov. John Kasich won his first term in office, was simple. She and her husband decided it would be better for the family to stay in the Westerville area—Genoa Township, just north of city limits, to be precise—than move to an unfamiliar environment. “Westerville is our sanctuary,” she says. “That’s our home. It’s where we go to be normal and hang out and be with the kids.” Kasich says the potential for negative feedback from the decision to break slightly with tradition—former Gov. James A. Rhodes eschewed the residence for his third and fourth terms, after all— did not play into the family’s decision. “Whatever you do, there’s going to be detractors,” she says. “You just have to make the choice that’s right for you.” Speaking in late March, the same week
her husband visited New Hampshire, home of the nation’s first presidential primary, the first lady assured that no similar decision had been made about the possibility of moving from central Ohio to Washington, D.C. “That better be a family meeting,” she says. “I don’t want to wake up and read that in the paper.”
Familiar Environs
For Kasich, an extended stay outside the Buckeye State certainly would represent a change. She grew up in Upper Arlington, leaving briefly to spend her freshman year of college at the University of Kentucky before transferring to Ohio State University, never really taking her parents’ advice to get out of central Ohio and see the world. She says she also never got the chance to argue Upper Arlington’s merits as a place to settle down and raise a family due to her husband’s role in Congress at the time of their marriage. Still, she says she’s developed a great deal of affection for the Westerville area over the years. “I think Westerville and I have adopted each other,” she says. “I’m an Upper
Arlington girl, but I moved to Westerville when I married my husband 18 years ago, and I love the town. “I love the people, the bike trails, the parks.” The community is perfect for a fitness fiend like herself, Kasich says. The only difference between her and anyone else running along the city’s trails is the added security precautions. She declines to comment on how the detail of state troopers keeps up with her, adding, “They’re nearby. We’ll just say that. “There (are) a few places where they prefer I don’t go, but fortunately anywhere in Westerville is fair game,” she says. Along with running, biking, swimming and snowshoeing are among her outdoor hobbies. She says she’s not particularly competitive—swimming was her lone high school sport—she just likes the health benefits exercise provides. Aside from local parks and trails, residents shouldn’t be surprised to encounter Kasich at the supermarket or shopping around Uptown. “I go to the Giant Eagle and the Kroger in Westerville Westerville365 | Spring 2015
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John and Karen Kasich with daughters Emma (left) and Reese at the Governor’s Gala Jan. 12. just like everybody else, in my gym clothes with my ball cap,” she says. Her favorite local small businesses include A Twist on Olives, where she completed much of her Christmas shopping last year, and the vintage store A Gal Named Cinda Lou. She says the family stops by Monte Carlo Italian Kitchen for a nice dinner from time to time. While well-maintained parks and a quaint Uptown are nice, Kasich says keeping her children in a familiar environment was the most important factor in the decision not to move. She says she wanted their twin daughters, Emma and Reese, now 15, to continue leading as normal a life as possible. “They feel less like the governor’s children and more like neighbors in Westerville,” she says. Seeking the best path for their daughters, without considering politics, has been a theme for the Kasichs. The girls have attended Worthington Christian Schools since preschool. Kasich says they wanted their children to go to school in a Christian environment. Whether her husband would face slings and arrows when discussing public-education issues never played into the decision, she says. “We really felt the kids would be supported there, both emotionally and educationally, and we’ve really found that to be true,” she says. 16
Spring 2015 | Westerville365
Troy McIntosh, head of school at Worthington Christian, says the Kasichs have been a welcome addition to the Warrior family. He says the first lady drops off and picks up her children just like everyone else—with a little extra security provided by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “It can be a little intimidating for teachers to have the governor’s kids in (their) classes, but what I’ve told them is ... they’re just regular parents,” he says. “They’re parents who love their kids.” McIntosh describes the Kasichs as involved—the first lady started and led a Spanish language club when her daughters were in elementary school— but is quick to add that they’re not “helicopter parents.” Kasich laughs when she hears that description. “That’s what I strive for: involved but not helicoptering. That’s perfect.” Kasich says she’s fortunate that her duties as first lady and as a mom don’t come into conflict too often. “Being first lady is a nice bridge between working full time and being a stay-at-home mom,” she says. “I’m very lucky in that I control my own schedule.”
Chance Meeting
Being first lady also gives Kasich plenty of practice honing the communications skills that she previously used as a
Courtesy Karen Waldbillig Kasich
public relations professional. Kasich, who worked mostly with health-care industry clients, says she stopped working full time in the early 2000s to focus on her family. She last served as a vice president for GSW Worldwide, an advertising and marketing agency based in Westerville. “I felt like (when) I was trying to do both, I was half as good at each,” she says. “That just didn’t really work for me. I was lucky enough to be able to stay home with Emma and Reese when they were young and that was a blessing.” Kasich met her future husband through her PR work. She and thencongressman Kasich met a few years after she graduated from Ohio State in 1985, at a work-related photo shoot for an OSU football program. The meeting apparently made more of an impression on the future governor than the future first lady. Kasich, 51, says she never would have dreamed the congressman, almost 12 years her senior, had a romantic interest in her. When he called to congratulate her after the program came out, Kasich says she just assumed he was a really nice guy. “I definitely wasn’t thinking about some congressman asking me out to lunch or anything,” she says with a laugh. Her mother worried about her daughter’s ability to make a connection with Kasich. “She said, ‘You don’t pay
any attention to what’s going on in the world. How are you going to have lunch with this man? You need to go get Newsweek “They’re just magazine and start reading,’ ” Kasich recounts. “Until the day regular parents. she died, she sent me Newsweek They’re parents magazine every Christmas.” who love their While Kasich grew up in a kids.” conservative household, she says she has never involved herself in Republican Party politics. Clearly, Troy McIntosh head of school, she says, her lack of political Worthington knowledge didn’t hold her back Christian Schools too much in her then-budding relationship. In fact, she says she might not have met up with Kasich a second time if he spent host events and complete other duties the entirety of their first date boring her traditionally associated the first lady’s with D.C. drama. Instead, years of lunch office, she says she never wanted to limit dates in Columbus, Upper Arlington herself to the path former first ladies and Westerville followed, and the pair have taken. married in 1997. “I knew whatever I did, I was going Kasich says the governor at home to make it my own,” she says. “I wasn’t is not too different from the governor going to follow what anybody else had the public sees on TV or at a press done.” conference. He’s the same straightOften, Kasich’s efforts mirror her talking, sometimes intense personality. passions: art, education and fitness. “He’s very strong, but he has a softer For instance, the first lady made a side,” she says. “His kids know how to high-profile appearance in August get to that, that’s for sure.” 2011 running through Uptown with an Olympic torch to kick off the Westerville Olympic Experience, a fundraiser for Westerville Special Olympics. Giving Back But she has not been afraid to delve Kasich says she tries to use her position, into less comfortable topics, from as well as the skills she learned in PR, human trafficking and prostitution to to bolster organizations that make a prescription drug abuse. positive impact in the state. While she is Franklin County Municipal Court expected to make public appearances,
Kasich speaks to guests during a reception for the Friends of the Ohio Governor’s Residence and Heritage Garden in November 2012.
FILE/JOSHUA A. BICKEL
Judge Paul Herbert says Kasich has been a key supporter of his CATCH (Changing Actions to Change Habits) Court program. The program’s participants, former prostitutes who are often drug addicts and humantrafficking victims, meet weekly in court chambers as part of their probation. The program acts as a more therapeutic setting than a traditional courtroom, which Herbert says can be beneficial for women who have been victimized, sold and silenced over the course of their lives. If it surprises people that the first lady visits the program multiple times per year, offering each woman encouragement and, sometimes, needed supplies, it shouldn’t, Herbert says. “Once you meet Karen Kasich, you’ll know that’s where she feels most comfortable: helping those in need,” he says. CATCH Court participants are invited to the governor’s residence in Bexley each September for the group’s graduation ceremony. While the venue makes them feel significant, Herbert says it is Kasich’s connections with each participant that mean the most to the women. “She cares about each and every one of them individually and they know it,” he says. Kasich says it’s important to her to use her role to contribute to a dialogue about important problems facing the state. In that vein, the Kasichs helped launch the “Start Talking!” campaign, which urges parents, teachers and other authority figures to have open, honest conversations with children about drug addiction. Kasich says she has spoken about the program’s importance in venues as large as school auditoriums and as small as her own living room. She says she’s not naive enough to think that her daughters will somehow be protected from ever encountering drugs just because they live in a nice, suburban community. “It’s a problem for every community, even Westerville,” she says of drug abuse. “People don’t want to admit it, but Westerville has a problem just like everybody else has a problem.” Sienna Daniel, executive director of After-School All-Stars Ohio, says the Kasichs for years have been boosters of her agency, which offers out-of-school programming for low-income students in Columbus and Toledo. Along with visiting the students, the first lady also hosts an annual gathering of 10 to 12 of the program’s ambassadors each spring at the governor’s residence. The students select healthy ingredients from the gardens and help prepare the food in the kitchen before sharing a meal and Westerville365 | Spring 2015
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conversation with Kasich. Kasich says her visits with the After-School All-Stars always leave her impressed with the program and, especially, its students. “They were so earnest “Once you meet and hungry for more—whatever Karen Kasich, it was they were doing,” she says. you’ll know that’s “One class I went to they were where she feels fencing. I thought, ‘How cool is most comfortable: that? How many inner-city kids are going to learn how to fence?’ ” helping those in Daniel says Kasich was need.” instrumental in creating a connection between the program Judge Paul Herbert and the Toledo Museum of Art. Franklin County After Kasich took a group of Municipal Court Toledo-area students on a field trip to the museum in 2012, children in the program began Donna Teach, chief marketing and taking art classes there. communication officer for Nationwide “The relationship with the Toledo art Children’s Hospital, says it wasn’t museum has really turned into one of the difficult to get Kasich invested in a highlights of our program,” Daniel says. After-School All-Stars also has adopted project that involved kids and fitness. “The first lady has always been exercises taught in the “Time for 10!” amazingly energetic and committed to campaign that sprang from a partnership whatever she does,” Teach says. between Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the first lady. Kasich co-starred with students in five videos for the campaign, What the Future Holds which teaches children how they can do Whether a move to the nation’s capital is 10 minutes of exercise per day, even in in the Kasichs’ future or not, one thing is tight spaces such as classrooms. clear: Change is coming.
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The family is already planning for Emma and Reese to start driving. “I’m looking forward to them getting their driver’s licenses, but I’m not sure because I’ll miss driving them—and I’ll be nervous,” Kasich says. Maybe Emma and Reese will be allowed to drive within Westerville—but no farther—for a while, she says. Kasich recently took her daughters to a college fair at Otterbein University. Even though she’s helping them prepare for higher education, she says she’s not yet mentally prepared to be an empty nester. “I’m not thinking about that yet. That will be crazy, right?” she says. Kasich says she has thought about the situation enough to realize the start of her daughters’ college careers coincides with the end of her husband’s second and final term as governor. In other words, she may have a lot more time on her hands—something she hasn’t experienced in years and that probably would not last for long. “How do you like your job?” she asks, laughing. “Maybe I’ll come be a reporter.” Thomas Gallick is a reporter for ThisWeek Community News.
FILE/TIM JOHNSON
The Son Also Rises T Westerville South’s Traevon Jackson shares his father’s love of basketball, but has come into his own as a point guard for Wisconsin. By JARROD ULREY
he desire for success that Traevon Jackson began to cultivate almost a decade ago while growing up in Westerville hit a crescendo in recent months. In addition to helping the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team make its 16th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season, the 6-foot-3 point guard got the chance he’d long been waiting for during the Badgers’ first Final Four appearance since 2000. If the 2011 Westerville South High School graduate hit a 17-foot jumper in the closing seconds of a semifinal against the University of Kentucky in April 2014, the Badgers would reach the final for the first time since winning the national championship in 1941. His shot attempt, however, bounced off the rim with 1.7 seconds left, clinching a 74-73 win for the Wildcats. “I wanted him to make that shot so bad,” Jackson’s mother, Tami Winston, says. Fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with 16.2 seconds remaining, Jackson made two of three free throws to give the Badgers a 73-71 lead, only to see Kentucky’s Aaron Harrison hit a 3-pointer from 23 feet with 5.6 seconds left. The loss remains a driving force for Jackson, whose father, Jim, starred at Ohio State University in the early 1990s. “It’s a mentality of excellence here that we’ve tried to implement,” says Jackson, who played 40 minutes and scored 10 points in a 64-63 overtime win over Arizona in last year’s Elite Eight and was named to the West Regional all-tournament team. “I think the team the last two years, we’ve tried to push the limit. Westerville365 | Spring 2015
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That determination Why can’t we be the helped Jackson ultimate? No disrespect become one of the to the players we’ve greatest players to had, but to build on the come through the past success has been Wildcats’ program. a blessing.” He served as a After playing key role player as a sparingly as a freshman freshman in 2007-08, in 2011-12, Jackson helping South win earned the starting job its first Division I at point guard early district championship in his sophomore since 1990 and reach year and started all a regional final. The 38 games last season. Wildcats’ postseason He started the first run included a 67-59 17 games this season win over Northland— before breaking his ranked second in the right foot during a final state poll and the 67-62 loss to Rutgers district’s top seed—in Jan. 11. a district semifinal. Jackson, who Courtesy University of Wisconsin athletics As a senior in 2010was averaging 9.4 Wisconsin Badgers guard Traevon Jackson (12) leads a fast break 11, Jackson led South points and 2.9 assists, during the third-round game in the NCAA college basketball to another district title underwent surgery Jan. and regional runner-up 15. He returned to action tournament against the Oregon Ducks April 22, 2014 in Milwaukee. The Badgers won 85-77. finish. That season, he during Wisconsin’s 79averaged 18.5 points, 72 victory over North 7.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.3 steals and was Carolina in the West Regional semifinal March named OCC-Cardinal Division Player of the Year, 26, playing nine minutes and making a 3-pointer second-team all-state and first-team all-district as shortly after getting back on the court. the Wildcats finished 24-2. He then played seven minutes in the “He’s probably the most competitive kid I’ve Badgers’ 85-78 win over Arizona March 28 as ever coached,” says Calo, who is in his 28th his team advanced to its second consecutive season leading the South program. “Every drill Final Four. was like a grudge match. He was absolutely a Wisconsin went on to reach the national great player.” championship game but lost to Duke 68-63 April Jackson closed his prep career as South’s all7 in Indianapolis. Along the way, the Badgers time leading scorer with 1,388 points. avenged last year’s loss to Kentucky by knocking “He’s probably “High school was fun,” he says. “(Those were) off the Wildcats 71-64 April 4 in the Final Four. It the most some of the best years of my life. There were not ended the Wildcats’ hopes of a perfect season as too many worries at all. South was the best school they finished 38-1. competitive kid Injury aside, he wouldn’t trade the experiences I’ve ever coached. ever. I just remember the people and the culture and just the people of Westerville. There’s nothing he’s had since moving to Madison, Wis., for Every drill was like being from the ’Ville. college. like a grudge “I didn’t necessarily implement everything “Madison is an interesting city and I’ve really match. He was coach Calo suggested, but I listened. I really loved grown so much and learned how to overcome adversity,” says Jackson, who had 25 points in an absolutely a great being around my team. My favorite team ever was probably my freshman year. Coach Calo cared so 80-70 loss to Duke Dec. 3. player.” much about us and he instilled so many values, “I’ve grown in my relationship with Christ, and Christ-like values, and it spoke to me so much.” God has been more of a centerpiece of my life. Ed Calo Jackson had grown to 6-foot-2 by his junior It’s become like a bigger Westerville. Madison’s a Westerville SoutH year, when he averaged 19.6 points, 8.1 rebounds city where the community is amazing. I’m going to coach and 4.1 steals. miss Madison. That season also saw him emerge as a strong “One thing I did in high school and here is that college prospect, with Arizona State and Dayton I wanted to have no regrets, and I wanted to take being high on his radar. Although his father had full advantage of what I have. I’ve enjoyed my time starred at Ohio State, the Buckeyes didn’t heavily here.” pursue him. “I committed (to Wisconsin) the day I took Driven to Succeed my ACT test in the spring (of 2010), right before When Westerville South coach Ed Calo thinks of the summer circuit,” Jackson says. “It was really the impact Jackson had on his program from 2007between Arizona State and Dayton and I was 11, one image continually stands out. really close to going to Arizona State, but then “He was a special kid, very determined and very (Wisconsin) coach (Bo) Ryan called me and focused,” Calo says. “When he was a freshman, persuaded me not to go.” he’d come to the 6:45 workouts in the morning. Jackson, whose parents never married, credits And in the summertime, he would ride his bike his mother for being “my rock my whole life.” because he didn’t want to miss a workout and Winston, who worked as a UPS carrier, set a wanted to make the team so bad.” 20
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foundation for her son when he was young by teaching him the importance of having a strong work ethic. “He’s always been a perfectionist,” Winston says. “He’s always tried to be the best and do the best. We couldn’t have a pet because (I worked long) hours, but he wanted to get a pet and actually wanted a snake. I said that you have to bring home straight A’s for two years in a row to get that, and he did. What kid does that?”
After his junior season, Jim declared himself eligible for the NBA draft and was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the fourth overall pick. He would go on to play for 12 teams during a 14-year NBA career in which he averaged 14.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He retired after the 2005-06 season and currently works as an analyst for the Big Ten Network. “He was a ball boy when (I was in the NBA) and he would FILE PHOTO play around with the More Than Just While playing for Westerville South, Jackson drives to the basket guys,” Jim says of Jimmy’s Son during the boys division I regional finals in March 2008 at the Ohio Traevon. “He saw the State Fairgrounds Coliseum. best of the best of the In addition to last year’s NBA. I just wanted run, Wisconsin made an him to be a kid. Elite Eight appearance in 2004-05 and had four “Taking basketball out of the equation and other Sweet Sixteen appearances under Ryan, seeing where he was spiritually three or who is in his 14th season with the Badgers. four years ago, he’s in a really good place. It was Wisconsin has made the NCAA Tournament in tough growing up as a son in my shadow, and each of Ryan’s first 14 seasons. This season, the what ends up happening is he wanted to create Badgers won the Big Ten at 16-2 and finished 36-4 his own identity. Maybe he’s not the quickest overall. at his position, but his teammates trust him in In the national semifinal win over Kentucky, crucial situations. He’s not afraid of the big Jackson scored six points in 12 minutes. He then moment. His game from a mental aspect played 13 minutes, contributing two assists and “Trae has turned has improved.” scoring two points, in the national championship himself into a Traevon is expected to graduate from game. leader. He gets all Wisconsin in May with a degree in marketing Jackson saw limited action as a freshman the credit for how and communication and has hopes of playing in 2011-12 when Wisconsin reached the Sweet he has become professionally. Sixteen, but averaged 6.9 points and 2.8 assists as “I’m still going to play basketball when I’m a sophomore when the Badgers lost their opening a guy that his done,” he says. “My goal is to play at the highest game of the NCAA Tournament. teammates level. I love the game of basketball. My plan is to Last season, he averaged 10.7 points and 4.0 will follow. His use the platform I’ve been given to glorify God and assists as the starting point guard. teammates look further his kingdom. “Trae’s decision-making and leadership are to him for how “My dad has been a great dad in general. When invaluable to our team,” Badgers assistant coach he was still playing, I was the biggest fan. He Lamont Paris says. “He has matured emotionally he acts and how helped me further my passion for the game. As and as a player. From his freshman and he plays, not just I’ve gotten older, he’s stepped back and just been a sophomore year until now, everything from the because he is dad, just talking and being a great friend.” passes he makes to his shot selection and when the team’s point For Winston and Calo, watching Traevon to push and when not to push has evolved and guard.” succeed collegiately is something they believe improved. continues to create excitement in Westerville. “Trae has turned himself into a leader. He gets “It’s always fun to watch him,” Calo says. “It’s a all the credit for how he has become a guy that Lamont Paris great feeling to see him out there and develop his his teammates will follow. His teammates look to Badgers assistant craft, and he gives us somebody to root for.” him for how he acts and how he plays, not just coach “It’s amazing to see him go (to Wisconsin) because he is the team’s point guard.” and do what he’s done and that he’s grown from It’s been a much different path than the one a young man into a grown man,” Winston says. taken by his father. “People always compare him to his dad, but he’s After being named a McDonald’s All-American a guard and his dad was a forward. Now you’ll and leading Toledo Macomber to the 1989 Division hear instead of him just being the son of Jimmy I state championship as a senior, Jim “Jimmy” Jackson, now it’s that Jim is his dad.” Jackson started as a freshman for Ohio State in the 1989-90 season and was a consensus First Team All-American in 1991 and ’92. He helped the Buckeyes reach the Sweet Jarrod Ulrey is a sportswriter for Sixteen in 1991 and the Elite Eight the next season. ThisWeek Community News. Westerville365 | Spring 2015
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Building Business
Uptown’s
UPTICK The central business district is drawing more investment and more foot traffic. Officials want to build on that growth while keeping the style and charm intact.
D
By Andrew King PHOTOS BY CHRIS PARKER
avid Talbott doesn’t have a lengthy business plan for Talbott’s Flowers. The shop doesn’t have a Facebook page or a Twitter feed, and its only paid advertising is an $8 ad in the Yellow Pages each year. In 2015, that lack of connectivity “That’s the beauty of would doom most businesses. the small-town feel; But Talbott doesn’t rely on the Internet for his customers; his network is that’s the beauty of Uptown Westerville, where his Uptown. It’s still the business—started by his father, Willard, same small town that I in 1947—has resided since 1963. grew up in.” Talbott estimates 75 to 80 percent of his business comes from returning customers. Over the years, he and David Talbott his wife, Renea, have built a loyal Owner, Talbott’s Flowers following. Those customers, who are treated more like friends, have kept the doors open and the lights on. “We’ve got a lot of longtime customers and we’re pretty well-known,” says Talbott, the shop’s owner. “For other people, those ads go into their cost. For us, that savings goes into value for the customer. … That’s the beauty of the small-town feel; that’s the beauty of Uptown. It’s still the same small town that I grew up in.” Westerville was home to Talbott and his family while he grew up. He remembers riding his bike around Uptown with his older brother, John, while all the shop owners seemingly documented their movements to their father. “The next day, our dad would come home and tell us everything we did that day,” he recalled. While it might feel similar to the small town Talbott remembers, Uptown Westerville is no longer a quaint neighborhood. The district now has about 30 businesses, houses the city’s multimillion-dollar Municipal Building and is growing at a decent clip. Westerville’s economic development TOP: David and Renea Talbott of Talbott’s Flowers, which has been in administrator Jason Bechtold says since 2012, Uptown Westerville since 1963. The business, located at 22 N. State the district has seen more than $1.8 million in St., offers a variety of gifts and seasonal merchandise. 22
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Building Business
private investment. His office expects another $3.7 million, including funds from the planned Northstar Café, in the near future. The Uptown Review Board, which was created in 1973, is charged with protecting the area’s historic character. Its seven members review changes such as construction, additions, renovations and signs for both new and existing homes and businesses. In the 1960s, when Talbott’s moved into Uptown, it wasn’t the bustling place that many know today. “That was when Uptown was glad to have anyone,” Talbott says. “It was almost a ghost town back then.” But the area enjoyed a bit of a renaissance toward the end of the 20th century, and has continued to grow in recent years. Even since Uptown Merchants Association President Debbie Bennati opened her shop, A Gal Named Cinda Lou, in 2006, the landscape has evolved. “Just since I’ve been in business, it’s changed a lot,” she says. “There are a lot more people who were hobbyists back then, retired people who were just doing what they enjoyed. They opened their little antique shops or lace shops or pottery stores and it ended up being almost all shops. Now there are a lot more business owners as opposed to the “Now there’s an hobbyists. “It was good, but I didn’t prefer openness for people it that way at all. Now there’s an to stay open later. openness for people to stay open They want to be open later. They want to be open when when their customers their customers are here and take are here and take advantage of that and work together with the other businesses.” advantage of that and The willingness to extend hours work together with the has helped create a nightlife in other businesses.” Westerville that didn’t exist before. When Bennati first arrived, most Debbie Bennati shops closed at 5 p.m. each night, president, Uptown leaving Uptown quiet. But extended Merchants Association hours eventually turned into the hugely successful 4th Fridays celebrations in Uptown. The monthly block parties occur from 6 to 9 p.m. April through September and feature bands, activities and a variety of themes. Since the Westerville Visitors & Convention Bureau began keeping “extremely conservative” visitor counts in 2007, visitors to 4th Fridays have grown from about 2,000 to nearly 10,000 people each month. For Janet Tressler-Davis, president and CEO of the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce, that shift has been crucial in revitalizing the area. “It’s energizing,” she says. “At night you see the hustle and bustle and people going places. A lot of people talk about it and visiting it. It drives people to the center, the heart of our TOP: Debbie Bennati, owner of A Gal Named Cinda Lou, is also communities. Now you have people talking about president of the Westerville Uptown Merchants Association. Her having an evening in Westerville. Years ago, that business offers an eclectic mix of merchandise, including vinyl, and is didn’t happen. People went to Polaris or Morse located at 20 N. State St. Road when they were having a night out.” Westerville365 | Spring 2015
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Building Business
FILE/Ryan M.L. Young
8 State Bistro owner Kevin Campbell hopes to open later this year in the historic State Theater.
Local Investment
Another assist has been a renewed commitment from the city to maintain the area. The Westerville Industry and Commerce Corp. has had a facade improvement program since 2012 that matches the costs of improving Uptown structures to help encourage upkeep. The program is financed by an appropriation made by City Council to the tune of $100,000 a year. Grants made through the program do not have to be repaid. Bechtold says the program has been a success so far. “These buildings need constant care, and it’s great to see that private investment,” he says. “We’re seeing significant investment to that program … and we’re seeing a lot of energy looking at the historic character of these buildings. It makes it attractive for businesses to come in.” As they demonstrated with the shift in business hours, the focus of Uptown’s merchants remains on customers. While efficiency and variety rule the big-box retail world, Uptown merchants are united in the belief that helping the customer— 24
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whether it makes them money or not—is the ultimate goal. “You’re not just going in to purchase something. You go in and have a conversation with a person. Service is paramount; it comes before sales,” Talbott says. “You can try to sell someone something or you can have a conversation with them, find out what they need and guide them to find what they’re looking for, even if you have to tell them to go somewhere else. It might not end up in a sale, but you’ve helped someone who reached out to you.” That mentality extends to new residents of Westerville, a group made up largely of neighboring Otterbein students, who frequent many of the merchants’ shops. For Bennati, the bond with those nearby customers begins when they arrive. “We’re usually the first ones in town that new people meet,” she says. “We’re very important to the parents, especially. They drop their kids off and they know there are friendly, good people nearby. They say things like, ‘I know my daughter will come here.’ ”
“There are more and more people going to look for a place that they can go to get a nice dinner without going too far away or battling a bunch of traffic.” Kevin Campbell owner, 8 State Bistro
Building Business
“Now you have people talking about having an evening in Westerville. Years ago, that didn’t happen. People went to Polaris or Morse Road when they were having a night out.” Janet Tressler-Davis president and CEO, Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce
“We’re seeing a lot of energy looking at the historic character of these buildings. It makes it attractive for businesses to come in.” Jason Bechtold economic development administrator, city of Westerville
FILE/JOSHUA A. BICKEL
Vendors line Winter Street in Uptown Westerville during a past 4th Fridays event.
Uptown Renaissance
Uptown’s current trend is dining. While the likes of Pasquale’s and Dairy Queen have been in the area for years, 2014 marked something of a restaurant revolution. Regional hit Northstar Café purchased the site of the former Kyoto Tea House and Shinto Shrine for a new restaurant, for which an opening date has not been set. The recently opened Uptown Deli and Brew serves two purposes, as its name indicates, while Koble Greek-Italian Grill has offered a unique menu combination on State Street since opening this year. But perhaps the most high-profile addition comes at the historic State Theater building, where new tenant Kevin Campbell plans to open high-class restaurant concept 8 State Bistro. For the 10-year Westerville resident, the choice to locate in Uptown made sense. And Campbell hopes he can be part of the area’s new mentality. He hopes to open the business at 8 N. State St. later this year. “As I looked for a site for the restaurant, that space appealed to me more than anything else. The ability to create a theme that could be built around the space was really great,” he says. “As I was putting a business plan together, I recognized how congested Polaris Parkway becomes every night. There are more and more people going to look for a place that they can go to get a nice dinner without going too far away or battling a bunch of traffic.” Business owners such as Talbott and Bennati are protective of the merchants and don’t want restaurants to overwhelm the small shops that
4TH FRIDAYS The popular 4th Fridays events will return to Uptown Westerville again this year. They run from 6-9 p.m. the fourth Friday of each month, April through September. More than 100 street vendors, food carts, children’s activities and live entertainment will be offered each week, in addition to extended shopping hours at merchants. Themes are: May 22 Back to Nature June 26 Safety Fest July 24 World Bazaar Aug. 28 Dog Days of Summer Sept. 25 Fall Fest
have given Uptown its reputation and ambiance. But the eateries will bring customers to town, a positive for everyone. Just as Westerville bucked its long-running “dry” status in 2004 by passing liquor options for Uptown’s Old Bag of Nails, many believe restaurants can continue to boost business. “People like to relax and have a beverage and walk around,” Talbott says. “You’ve got to have a good mix (of food and retail) … and right now I think that mix is as good as it’s ever been.” “This market’s average income is much higher than most people think, so the market for good food and a unique menu is there,” Campbell says. “It gives people another reason to be here in Uptown. They won’t have to go to Polaris or Easton or the Short North.” While other central Ohio neighborhoods such as the Short North and Grandview Heights are thriving as well, Bennati believes Uptown Westerville will ultimately have the edge. “We’re more family-friendly than the Short North. We don’t want too many restaurants (like the Short North) because people will just come for dinner and leave. The family-friendly crowd will walk around and come in and say hello,” she says. “I know a few couples who have moved from the Short North back to Uptown to raise their families. They’re finding out that we can be cool, too.” Andrew King is a reporter for ThisWeek Community News. Westerville365 | Spring 2015
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A Fab-ulo Westerville is among a group of central Ohio school districts giving students hands-on training for the careers of tomorrow. By Mary Posani • Photos by Joshua A. Bickel
a design , 13, prepares lp of Emma Meyer he ing with the e Baldwin for laser-cutt nn A r to ordina career tech co b Lab at Blendon Fa (right) in the ol. Middle Scho
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I
n the next decade, many of today’s manufacturing workers will retire, leaving a void in central Ohio counties. The Westerville City School District has found one way to introduce manufacturing and engineering skills into middle school classrooms—and maybe even inspire a new workforce. Woodshop and home economics classes are things of the past. Today’s students swap circular saws and needles and thread for more complex machinery and technical programs. School districts around Franklin County are implementing programs that jump-start students’ learning with practical career training before graduation. And in Westerville, it starts in the seventh grade. Starting this year, seventh-graders at Blendon, Genoa, Heritage and Walnut Springs middle schools are required to take an introduction to engineering and manufacturing course. The objective is to show students what a career in manufacturing is like, and possibly spark an interest in the field. “I want them to have exposure to the different career opportunities they are able to pursue,” says Anne Baldwin, a career tech coordinator for Westerville schools. “Giving students these experiences early on, too, helps them decide their path through high school and then develop what kind of pathway they want after high school.” A key part of the instruction is a new mobile fabrication laboratory, dubbed the Fab Lab. The 40-foot trailer holds various machines, computers and robots used by today’s industry professionals. For four weeks total per semester, each middle school uses the tools in the lab to learn manufacturing from concept to construction. “They talk about the design and modeling and they have to create multiple versions of a design and then they actually get to produce it,” Baldwin says. “That’s the neat part of the lab is that they get to produce the design.” 28
Spring 2015 | Westerville365
Teacher Valerie Lakes helps Zack Bashir, 13, find a picture to convert into a vector graphic.
Concepts Turn Concrete Seventh-graders at Blendon were the first to use the lab during the second semester this school year. The lab rotates for two-week periods among the four middle schools. But before students start using the equipment, they must first learn the software. On laptops, students learned how to use Inkscape, a vector graphics program, to design their ideas. “We spent the first two weeks learning how to save, how to get to the share drive through step-by-step PowerPoints and learn how to make things into vectors,” says Valerie Lakes, a STEMcertified course instructor at Blendon. Lakes chose to use a laser engraver and a vinyl cutter for the class’s first Fab Lab rotation. She says the machines are simple enough to learn with a few weeks of instruction. Blendon students had about two weeks of preparation before using the tools. On the last day of their rotation, Blendon’s students finished a puzzle box and created a sticker. For the puzzle project, students had to conceptualize cubes and place designs on each of
the six faces. Using the software, they carefully scaled the designs in the alotted spaces, then used a laser engraver to produce them. Emma Meyer, 13, was finishing up her puzzle. With the laser engraver reading her designs from the laptop, she watched as her hot pink piece of paper became six puzzle pieces with patterns etched on them. “The engraver is making the shapes and the little designs on the paper,” she says. “The laser is just burning the parts.” In less than 10 minutes, she walked away with her pieces and a smile on her face. She says she likes the tools and the class. “It’s a lot of fun. I like it a lot,” she says. “It’s new and a lot of technology, and you get to do fun things.” Emma isn’t alone. Classmates Connor Eastman, 12, and Jamie Stocker, 13, also like the novelty of the class. “I like getting to do the extra stuff,” says Connor, waiting for his turn to use a machine. “This is brand new to everyone and it is fun doing it. I hope we get to keep doing this.”
“It’s fun. I’ve never got to do this,” Jamie says. Jamie and several other students waited for their turns to make vinyl stickers. Similar to the laser engraver, the vinyl cutter is hooked to a computer that reads the students’ saved designs. “You pick your design from Google Images and then you put it on a document and you have to vectorize it and trace it,” Jamie explains, as a sheet of adhesive paper becomes a Emily Kin, 12 , cr sticker. “Once you trace be laser-cut on eates a design that will to a piece of it, you save it and it just paper. comes out.” Many of the young teenagers find the required math and the technology. The Fab Labs target the first vectorizing process daunting. But Jamie of those, and nine of the 15 districts are sees the process as more artistic than participating. mathematic. A fan of computers, she The effort is linked to the Central likes how she can use technology and Ohio Compact, a regional initiative that software to tap her artistic abilities. seeks to have 60 percent of adults earn “I like it better than art. I’m really degrees or postsecondary certifications bad at art but I like this,” she says. “I by 2025. never thought I would be able to make a Columbus State Community sticker and here I am making a sticker.” College is developing programs for students to achieve that goal. Steve Workforce of the Future Dackin, superintendent of school and Today, many companies find that community partnerships at Columbus students are not prepared to enter the State, says middle school is the best workforce upon graduation. The state level to start career exploration. is pushing school districts to find new “The governor and others are ways to get students ready for college or encouraging districts to develop career a career. learning opportunities at middle school In 2013, Gov. John Kasich established level,” Dackin says. “What we’re asking the Straight A Fund, a $250 million them to do is begin exploration about grant pool set aside for districts using what is out there.” new approaches to help students Ultimately, the goal is to make an stay competitive in the workforce. impact on central Ohio’s manufacturing A $14.4 million grant was awarded economy. According to Columbus 2020, to 15 central Ohio districts, including 8 percent of jobs in the 11-county region Westerville, to create the Innovation are in manufacturing. The Union County Generation program. Its goal is to Economic Development Partnership broaden postsecondary options and reports 13 percent of jobs in the state close workforce talent gaps. The are manufacturing-related. And in the other participating districts are Canal next decade, there is an anticipated Winchester, Columbus, Gahannashortage of workers: Fifty percent of Jefferson, Grandview Heights, Hilliard, today’s workforce will be eligible to Licking Heights, Marysville, New Albanyretire by 2025. Plain Local, Olentangy, Pickerington, Educators say the Fab Labs expose Reynoldsburg, South-Western, Upper students to technical equipment, build Arlington and Whitehall. crucial teamwork and critical-thinking The effort also has the backing of skills and show them jobs that could be Columbus State Community College, available by the time they finish high the Educational Services Center school. While some students might opt of Central Ohio, Battelle for Kids, for careers in manufacturing or robotics, economic-development organization others might become engineers. Columbus 2020 and community and “There is a career exploration business partners, including Honda component to the curriculum. We talk North America Inc. about what is an engineer, what do they Innovation Generation includes do,” Baldwin says. “There are so many programming related to four highdifferent types of engineers, too, and demand industries: advanced hopefully kids will get exposed to it, manufacturing/robotics, business especially if they like science and math.” logistics, health care and information
“Manufacturing is not as known and it’s not clear what that means. What is that today?” says Sherry Minton, director of career transitions at Columbus State. “That trailer can show what they really learn, what the skill set is needed in that area.” “The goal isn’t to crank out a bunch of students to become engineers,” Lakes says. “But they are getting exposure to things in the STEM field that are common procedures and practices. We are preparing them for careers that they don’t know they even exist yet.” Moving Forward Currently, the curriculum for engineering and manufacturing in Westerville is limited. Innovation Generation is one facet. Project Lead the Way, a STEM-focused initiative for students in grades K-12, offers curriculum development that could allow students to acquire professional certifications by graduation, but Westerville does not yet offer it. District officials view this year as a starting point. “We’re going to start building programming at the high school level starting (in) 2016-17,” Baldwin says. “So these students will be in high school when that begins.” Minton says Westerville is being very strategic about how it develops and builds the manufacturing program. “They truly have made thoughtful, aggressive decisions to do the right thing with the same schoolwork. They want to be strong in the middle school before moving on to the high school,” she says. District officials also want to reach out to the community for potential partnerships. Several local businesses and parents have expressed a desire to be involved with the Fab Labs. Baldwin hopes to see students get firsthand experiences with companies. Ultimately, she believes the possibilities are endless. “It’s exciting to have that support from the community,” she says. “We have the beginnings of those partnerships, but it’s about developing them.” Inside the classroom, Lakes is optimistic about the future of the Fab Labs. She hopes to tap into students’ creativity and see how the curriculum and kids evolve with the technology. “I am just really excited for future projects,” she says. “Yes, they are cutting stickers, but I want to have a design competition. This is the beginning.” Mary Posani is an associate producer with WBNS-10TV. Westerville365 | Spring 2015
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Otterbein University President Kathy Krendl addresses the audience during the Women in Philanthropy Summit.
Campus By Julanne Hohbach Photos By Joshua A. Bickel
Otterbein has teamed up with two other universities and local organizations to advance women’s issues on campus and in the community.
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Partners W
hen Otterbein University President Kathy Krendl approached the female leaders of two other Ohio institutions, she knew they should work together, but she wasn’t sure how. A few meetings, a few glasses of wine and a lot of brainstorming later, the Women in Philanthropy initiative began. The three-year effort, now in its second year, also includes Bowling Green State University and the University of Findlay. Otterbein hosted the “Women in Philanthropy Summit: Investing in Women for the Common Good” March 3-4. It was the second of three summits planned as part of the partnership. About 350 people, from Girl Scouts to middle and high school students, college students, young professionals and senior women leaders, attended. “The audience was very much intergenerational,” Krendl says. She says the younger women were inspired by the older women, and vice versa. The summit built bridges across generations, she says, and showed it doesn’t matter whether someone gives time, money or passion to a cause. “I was extremely happy with the
results,” she says. “I just felt tremendous engagement.” Krendl, Mary Ellen Mazey of Bowling Green and Katherine Fell of Findlay all are the first permanent female presidents at their schools. Krendl says all three were hired about the same time and she hoped they could come together to advance the cause of women in some way. Krendl, who has done extensive work on the topic of women in leadership, called the others and they met at Findlay. They recruit against each other and didn’t want to duplicate existing efforts, but there was interest in forging some type of relationship. Since all are involved in fundraising to some degree, they hit upon the topic of women in philanthropy. “It is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years,” Krendl says. The presidents wanted the issue to be broad enough that alumni, trustees, donors and students could be involved. “It just seemed to be the perfect sweet spot for us,” Krendl says. “It was really when our staffs got involved it began to take shape.”
Broader Impact
The purpose of the initiative, in part, is to spark discussion about the role of women in philanthropy, and to educate current and future donors about being thoughtful, intentional and missiondriven in their giving. “They will inherit wealth. They will accumulate wealth,” Krendl says. Krendl says the participants agreed on the need to address what women’s wealth will look like in the future. While the first summit, held in Findlay, went well, Krendl wanted to expand Otterbein’s summit beyond campus. “We wanted to do something that was going to have more regional impact,” she says. So Otterbein reached out to some of its existing community partners and brought on sponsors, including the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio, Philanthropy Ohio, Benefactor Group, the Nord Family Foundation, Cardinal Health, the Columbus Foundation, the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Ernst & Young and L Brands. Nichole Dunn, president and CEO of the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio, said participating in the initiative was a natural extension of existing relationships between the Women’s Fund and Otterbein. The nonprofit funds Otterbein’s women’s leadership initiative, in which Dunn also participates as a mentor, and Krendl is a Women’s Fund donor. “She
“It’s not necessarily about the dollar value or the number of zeros, but that women are making a gift.” Nichole Dunn Women’s Fund of Central Ohio president and CEO reached out to me, and it was an easy yes,” Dunn says. “One thing that the Women’s Fund is founded on is women’s philanthropy.” Speakers at the two-day event included local and international names. Musimbi Kanyoro, president and CEO of the Global Fund for Women, delivered the keynote on the role of philanthropy in social movements, and Katie Koch, managing director of global portfolio solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, discussed “Womenomics: Invest in Women, Improve the World.” “Investing in women is a global issue. It does improve the local economy,” Krendl says. The philanthropy issue is an economically significant one, particularly for younger generations. Erin Scott, director of project management at Benefactor Group, a consulting service for nonprofits, spoke at the second day of the summit. She cited statistics from Giving USA that showed in 2013, there was $335 billion worth of charitable giving in the United States. Of that total, 87 percent came from individuals, and 11 percent of that came from millennials, who contributed more than $30 billion to charity. These younger givers, Scott says, tend to favor socially conscious, globally minded charities and give to causes rather than institutions. Dunn says many nonprofits support the democratization of fundraising, which can be especially powerful for younger, less-wealthy donors. At the Women’s Fund, donors are listed in alphabetical order, not by the dollar amount they gave. Dunn says this gives women a voice because of their beliefs, not their checkbooks. “It’s not necessarily about the dollar value or the number of zeros, but that women are making a gift,” she says. Dunn says the role of women in
philanthropy is one element of a broader issue. “I really think that the topic of conversation people are hungry for is women in money,” she says.
‘Think Bigger’
A “power panel” of central Ohio businesswomen convened on the summit’s second day to debate wide-ranging elements of women in philanthropy. The discussion was moderated by Lisa Schweitzer Courtice, executive vice president for community research and grants management at the Columbus Foundation, and included Shelley Bird, executive vice president, office of the CEO, Cardinal Health; TaKeysha Cheney, founder of The Women’s Book and vice president of business development for Smart Business Network; and entrepreneur Pamela Springer, founding partner of SpringerNav. They tackled such topics as building women’s confidence, inclusiveness and leveraging philanthropy in one’s career. “Think bigger, as opposed to in increments,” advised Springer, who founded tech startup Manta and grew it through venture capital and private equity funding. “Leaders typically work for something greater than themselves,” she said, encouraging attendees to find an organization that has philanthropic values, which have a positive impact on internal culture. “Culture eats strategy every day for lunch.” The panelists also suggested women use philanthropy to build their professional reputations. “It really helps to build your network,” said Bird, who chairs the Cardinal Health Foundation. “It’s a good way to feed our souls and to make us happy.” Embracing the value women bring to organizations isn’t new to Cardinal Health, ranked No. 22 on the 2014 Fortune 500. The company is known for its efforts to elevate the role of women in the workplace, both internally and in the community. In early March, the company was named one of the 2015 NAFE Top 50 Companies for Executive Women by the National Association for Female Executives. It marked the company’s fourth straight year on the list. In 2012, the company took a lead role in launching the “Widen the Circle” initiative, which aims to put more women in corporate leadership roles. The idea was embraced by leaders of the Columbus Partnership, whose 55 members are some of the largest and most influential companies in central Ohio.
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From left: Pamela Springer speaks as TaKeysha Cheney, Shelley Bird and Lisa Schweitzer Courtice listen during a “power panel” on the summit’s second day.
Paying It Forward
Cardinal Health is one of a number of central Ohio companies (including fellow summit sponsor Ernst & Young) that participate in Otterbein’s Women’s Leadership NET (Network, Educate, Transform) initiative by providing mentors for students. The program includes a freshman seminar on women’s leadership taught by Krendl. At the end of the course, students get a senior woman mentor from the workplace as well as a sister in leadership, who’s an upperclassman at Otterbein. Krendl says these students do servicelearning projects at local schools, build their confidence through networking
at YWCA luncheons and other events, and build their own leadership resumes. “They’re aspiring to be leaders,” she says. “They know what it’s going to take, and they know how to get there.” “Part of the Otterbein experience is not just learning, it’s doing,” Krendl says. The goal is for these young women to graduate and reach back to pull someone else up. What happens next? Bowling Green, which will host the 2016 summit, will theme its event around building a culture of philanthropy, Krendl says. “There will be an ongoing conversation about where do we go from here. “The big question for me is the institutionalization of all of this,” she says. That is: How can Otterbein take the idea and involve students, the community and community partners? She says all three universities will look at what’s happening at their own schools, and with donors and students. “For Otterbein, the ROI, I’m extremely happy,” she says. Julanne Hohbach edits Westerville365 and is the special projects editor for ThisWeek Community News.
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Looking to liven up the lazy days of the season? Westerville offers numerous activities to keep kids and adults entertained and happy.
By Andrew King
F
rom free celebrations to ticketed performances, Westerville has no shortage of summer events for those who enjoy the outdoors and indoors alike. It’s also a great time to simply enjoy the city’s parks. While well-known events such as the Westerville Bike Race and Rock the ’Ville have been canceled this year for budgetary reasons, plenty of others remain, including a full slate of activities curated by the Westerville Parks and Recreation Department. The list below is just a sampling of some of the most popular events going on around town. For even more warmweather happenings, including the Otterbein Summer Theatre lineup, check out the Events Calendar on page 8.
FILE/LORRIE CECIL
Hanby House volunteer Jeff Glasgow talks to visitors during a 4th Fridays event in Uptown Westerville in July 2014.
Farmers Market The Uptown Westerville Farmers Market is one of the more popular gatherings in the city during months of good weather. Held each Wednesday between May and October, the market offers a variety of local vendors and goods in the walkable Uptown district. The market takes place at the intersection of North State and East Home streets from 3 to 6 p.m. each week May 6 through Oct. 28.
FILE/LORRIE CECIL
Ella Bird walks among plants at her family’s booth, Bird Haven Farms, during an Uptown Westerville Farmers Market.
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Saturday Uptown Market Like the farmers market, the Saturday Uptown Market includes vendors selling fresh produce, but shoppers also will find arts and crafts, home parties and fundraising opportunities. The market takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Saturday from June 6 through Aug. 29. A special Mother’s Day market will be held May 9. Like the farmers market, it is centered around North State and East Home streets.
FILE/LORRIE CECIL
Westerville Sunrise Rotary member David Ray attaches a note to a flag at a Field of Heroes event.
4th Fridays/Uptown Fridays 4th Fridays has become Westerville’s premier monthly celebration. Organized by the Westerville Visitors & Convention Bureau, each event has a theme ranging from classic cars to music acts and aims to bring a crowd into Uptown for the evening. Westerville Uptown Merchants Association President Debbie Bennati says the celebrations have created a positive shift in how Uptown businesses operate. “(The) Westerville visitors bureau has done a great job of bringing people around central Ohio to Westerville,” she says. “In fact, we
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Spring 2015 | Westerville365
like 4th Fridays so much, many businesses have decided to stay open later on every Friday night May through October. With the influx of new restaurants and a brewery plus two wine shops, the evenings in Uptown are hopping.” This year’s Fourth Fridays run from 6 to 9 p.m. May 22, June 26, July 24, Aug. 28 and Sept. 25. Field of Heroes A four-day Memorial Day observance, Field of Heroes is literally a huge display of patriotism. Westerville Sunrise Rotary has filled the lawn of the community center, 350 N. Cleveland Ave., with flags each year since 2009. Recent displays have included about 3,000 flags. Many are dedicated to a fallen family member or friend. The field will be open May 22-25. The 3-by-5-foot flags stand 8 feet tall and are arranged in rows so visitors can walk through and read the dedications. Flags can be ordered at fieldofheroes.org for $30 or dedicated and placed in the field (and kept by the Sunrise Rotary) for $15. Flag sales continue on-site throughout Memorial Day weekend.
of t s i l Our etters s trend ing the g chan umbus Col ing din pe. ca s d n a l
Memorial Day Parade In contrast to the city’s more celebratory events, the American Legion Post 171’s Memorial Day Parade is a solemn remembrance. The procession steps off at 9:45 a.m. May 25 from the corner of College Avenue and State Street, and color guards and veterans march to patriotic music by a Westerville marching band. “It’s dedicated to the veterans in all different wars that have passed on,” Legion Commander and City Councilman Pete Otteson says. “It’s not like the Fourth of July. There are no floats. We don’t want floats. We don’t want bicycles. It’s a solemn parade for memorial of the veterans that gave their lives.” Ceremonies to honor fallen service members accompany the march, including a wreath-laying at the Westerville Veterans Memorial before the route concludes at the Otterbein Cemetery. Party at the Creek Part of the city’s ongoing efforts to embrace local bodies of water, Party at the Creek celebrates Alum Creek at an adjacent park. Tours of the green spaces and waterways accompany nature and environmental demonstrations and
discussions, and boats, food, canoeing and entertainment keep guests busy. The free event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. May 28 at Alum Creek Park North, 221 W. Main St. Central Ohio Senior Games The Central Ohio Senior Games isn’t new to Westerville, but this year’s event is the most important the city has held to date. Rather than one of many events in the region, the 2015 edition is the Ohio Senior Olympics State Games, the height of the competition in Ohio. This year’s games will be a “practice run” for next year, when Westerville will serve as a qualifying location for the national games. Two hundred seniors competed in 2014, and this year could see about 600. For the qualifier next year, there could be as many as 1,400 athletes in more than 20 events. But even with those numbers, Westerville Senior Center Program Supervisor and Senior Games organizer Chris Shirring says the real magic of the event comes from the participants. “There’s a woman who’s 96 and she started with us our very first year,” he says. “She started with cornhole and then she added shot put and now she’s adding five more events. She’ll have a cheering section and they’ll all have
T-shirts. It’s a really inspiring event.” While the competitors take the events very seriously, the games don’t have quite the intense rivalry of other sporting events. “It’s an opportunity for them to stay competitive and renew some friendships they’ve had for quite a long time; the exciting part is that it’s not just a competition,” Shirring says. “It’s not very cutthroat. It’s an opportunity to get out and compete in a social manner.” Registration for competitors is $25 and ends May 29. Events take place at multiple locations throughout the city June 6-27. Attendance is free for spectators. Sounds of Summer Series Westerville’s Sounds of Summer Series is a free slate of concerts scheduled each Sunday from June through August at the amphitheater in Alum Creek Park North. Laura Horton is in charge of events at the amphitheater, and says getting the right mix of performers is the key to the series. “It’s a variety,” she says. “We always have the concert band and the Westerville Symphony and try to have good mix of other things that people will be interested in. Some groups we have year after year, and we try to rotate in
Not Your Average Walk in the Park...
MAY
6, 13, 20, 27 Uptown Westerville Farmers’ Market 17 Westerville Community Band Concert 22 Mount Carmel St. Ann’s 4th Friday Celebration 22-25 Field of Heroes 25 Memorial Day Parade
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JUNE
3, 10, 17, 24 Family Concert Series 6, 13, 20, 27 Saturday Uptown Market 7, 14, 21, 28 Summer Concert Series 19 Classic Outdoor Movie Series 1 26 Mount Carmel St. Ann’s 4th Friday 2
JULY
4 Rotary Club of Westerville Independence Day Celebration 11-12 Westerville Area Chamber off Commerce Music & Arts Festival 19 Westerflora Garden Tour 24 Mount Carmel St. Ann’s 4th Friday 26 Tapestry of a Town Walking Tour
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Larry Loeffert performs with the Westerville Concert Band during a Sounds of Summer concert in the amphitheater at Alum Creek Park North.
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new groups. Lots of people contact us to play as well. There’s basically a circuit of community concerts around Columbus, so local groups try to play a lot of those.” The summer tradition has been going on for more than 25 years, but Horton says there’s still room to grow. “I wish the attendance would be a little bit more,” she says. “I don’t think people realize there’s an amphitheater there at the park. It doesn’t sit right along the road where people see it.” The free concerts begin at 6:30 p.m. Sundays from June 7 through Aug. 9 at the amphitheater at Alum Creek Park North, 221 W. Main St. Family Concert Series Similar to Sounds of Summer, the Family Concert Series is hosted at the Alum Creek Park amphitheater each Friday during the season. These concerts are geared even more toward families, though acts can sometimes overlap. They range from music to magicians, but stay focused on family-friendly entertainment. The free concerts begin at 6:30 p.m. Fridays from June 10 through July 29 at the amphitheater at Alum Creek Park North, 221 W. Main St. More Live Performances The Alum Creek Park North amphitheater also hosts a variety of other free events throughout the summer. They include: • 6:30 p.m. June 26 – Columbus Children’s Theatre production of Sleeping Beauty • 6:30 p.m. July 10 – Westerville Parks and Recreation Theater Camp production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream • 6:30 p.m. July 17 – high school
strings concert • 6:30 p.m. July 30 – improv group performance • 6:30 p.m. Aug. 7 – Westerville Parks and Recreation Theater Camp production of Alice in Wonderland • 6:30 p.m. Aug. 8 – community band festival • 6 p.m. Aug. 14 – high school band jam • 6:30 p.m. Aug. 20 – illusionist performance Classic Movie Series Curated by the Westerville Parks and Recreation Department, the Classic Movie Series shows a variety of older films outside of Everal Barn. The free movie series shows “classics” both old and new, and is geared toward families. It is held the third Friday of each month. The movies begin at dusk June 19, July 17 and Aug. 21 at Heritage Park, 60 N. Cleveland Ave. Pirate and Mermaid Day Pirates and mermaids aren’t often celebrated, but Pirate and Mermaid Day at the Highlands Park Aquatic Center aims to bring seafarers and sea creatures out of the woodwork. Different games every hour include a sea horse race, walk the plank, hook the treasure and a seashell hunt. The center’s inflatable obstacle course will also be open for intrepid guests. The event runs from 1 to 8 p.m. June 27 at the Highlands Park Aquatic Center, 245 S. Spring Road. It is free for passholders, $5.50 for residents and $8.25 for nonresidents. July 4 The city’s multifaceted Independence Day celebration is organized by the
Rotary Club of Westerville. The day begins with a 5K run and walk at 8 a.m. before a children’s run at 9 a.m., both at Alum Creek Park North, 221 W. Main St. The parade comes through town at 1 p.m. and boasts many decorative floats and other performances along its State Street route, from Heatherdown Drive to County Line Road. Music & Arts Festival Westerville’s biggest summer celebration is the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce Music & Arts Festival. The event features two stages of music over two days, with performances from both local and national acts in a plethora of styles. The festival also boasts a list of artists from Ohio and beyond. Last year’s festival drew nearly 20,000 visitors and had a budget of more than $40,000. Each year, the event grows in size. The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 11 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 12 at Heritage Park and Everal Barn, 60 N. Cleveland Ave. Admission is $1. Summer Fest Summer Fest is Highlands Park’s biggest event of the summer. Each hour of the day will have a different event, keeping visitors of all ages busy. Face painting, water games, relay races, water balloons and the ever-present obstacle course all will be available for visitors. The event runs from 1 to 8 p.m. July 18 at the Highlands Park Aquatic Center, 245 S. Spring Road. It is free for passholders, $5.50 for residents and $8.25 for nonresidents. WesterFlora Plenty of central Ohio communities have home and garden tours. But not many are free.
Need More Ideas?
Check out online events calendars from local organizations such as these for up-to-date information throughout the season: City of Westerville – westerville.org Metro Parks – metroparks.net Otterbein University – otterbein.edu Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce – westervillechamber.com Westerville Public Library – westervillelibrary.org Westerville Visitors & Convention Bureau – visitwesterville.org
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WesterFlora, Westerville’s garden tour, is in its 24th year and continues to grow. The event pairs the city’s most manicured gardens with music and art, and aims to help neighbors with their own landscaping. “The whole reason for this is to encourage the education of others on how to landscape and to get ideas,” organizer Karen Hovey says. “We have people who have been in their yards anywhere from five to 50 years. They know what they’re doing, and you can learn a lot just by asking questions.” WesterFlora organizers try to include new gardens in their lineup, which includes about 12 to 14 gardens. “We have some repeats because we have some gardens worth repeating,” Hovey says. “But we always try to get half or more each year that are new.” The event is free and runs from 1 to 7 p.m. July 19. Go to westerflora.com for locations. Tapestry of a Town For the more historically inclined, Tapestry of a Town offers a look at Westerville’s past. The tour of private homes and public landmarks is organized by the Westerville Habitat Partnership. Ticket sales raise money for the group’s efforts. The event is expected to raise about $5,000 for Habitat for Humanity. The event will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. July 26. Locations had not been determined as of press time. Tickets are $10. For more information, go to tapestryofatown.org. Kids Try-Athlon A chance for kids to flex their swimming muscles, the Try-Athlon has races including the 100-meter swim, 1-mile bike ride and 1/4-mile run. Ages 7-12 are broken into different groups and there is also a parent-andchild division. The event begins at 10 a.m. Aug. 30 at the Highlands Park Aquatic Center, 245 S. Spring Road. Admission is $5. Andrew King is a reporter for ThisWeek Community News.
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Artistic Outlet Artist Fred Horner shows one of his painted windows at the Simply Vague store at Polaris Fashion Place. The Brutus Buckeye design inside the window is his as well.
The annual Music & Arts Festival transforms Heritage Park and draws return vendors and customers alike. By JACKIE MANTEY
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sk a member of the Westerville community for a must-attend local event, and the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce Music & Arts Festival is bound to be part of the list. After all, the two-day summer showcase has been a part of the community’s entertainment landscape for 42 years, and visitors to the sprawling Heritage Park event will find themselves among nearly 20,000 other art and music fans. But perhaps the greatest testament to the success of Westerville’s largest family-friendly event is that many of the people who comprise its greatest attraction —the art sale—return year after year. “The Westerville Area Chamber, along with its community partners, such as the city of Westerville, and the many sponsors, work extremely hard to coordinate the festival,” says Erin Glaser, a coordinator for the
Julanne Hohbach
festival and its marketing manager. “The festival would not be what it is today without the support from our artisans.” Each year, about 150 artists and craftspeople from around the state participate in the event. In addition to numerous booths where experienced artists sell their pieces, the Westerville Walkway showcases local and emerging talent on the festival scene, while artisans demonstrate painting, carving and sculpting in a specially designated Heritage area. All participating artists undergo a tough jurying process. Jan Fedorenko has been involved with the festival’s jury for six years. As a local resident, adjunct professor at Otterbein University and former principal of Hanby Magnet School, Fedorenko finds the role of juror to be a great responsibility. “I believe that support for the arts, artists and the community Westerville365 | Spring 2015
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In addition to Ohio State University themes, Horner paints windows with other motifs, including flags.
“I definitely have a niche. I think my work opens a new door for guys at craft and art shows who might not be into it until they see my work.” Fred Horner
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are very important,” she says. “Exposure to the arts for community members builds a stronger understanding of and support for the arts.” When selecting artists for the festival, Fedorenko says the jury committee puts an emphasis on each artist’s skills, ideas and ability to communicate those ideas. The jury must also consider the values of the family-oriented community that the festival serves, while making the lineup well-rounded and exciting for everyone who might attend. “We like to look at the importance of the art and the uniqueness of the pieces,” she adds. A stroll through the festival’s offerings is almost a comprehensive gallery exhibit in and of itself. Photography, jewelry, woodworking, basketry, metal works and acrylic painting are just a few of the media visitors will experience.
Veteran Vendor
Fred Horner is one of the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce Music & Arts Festival’s veteran artists. The Sidney, Ohio-based painter has attended and sold his artwork at the show for four years. The genuineness of the lineup is what continues to attract him. “Everybody who shows there,” he says, “is showing their own art. It’s exciting to be a part of it.” Not to mention his art continues to attract new fans. Horner is known as the Ohio State Window Guy. He repurposes old windows from Ohio barns and houses into works of art, painting a variety of scenes onto their glass. And, as his moniker implies, he paints sports logos that especially appeal to full-fledged
Spring 2015 | Westerville365
Julanne Hohbach
members of Buckeye country. Horner is officially licensed to paint Ohio State University themes, such as the block O and Brutus Buckeye. His windows range in price from $50 to $125. He paints other sports teams’ logos as well. In addition to appearing at various festivals, Horner’s work is available at several central Ohio retail locations: Simply Vague at Polaris Fashion Place, the Morgan House in Dublin and Wren House in Worthington. He also has a website at theohiostatewindowguy.com. “I’ve had some customers tell me that my windows will be family heirlooms they pass down to their children,” Horner says. “It’s very humbling for me to hear that.” One of Horner’s pieces was recently seen in an episode of House Hunters that featured a Westerville home. Not bad for an artist who started painting on his signature medium during a day spent lounging around his family’s pool while on spring break from college, where he was studying childhood education. It’s a story he happily shares with visitors at his booth. Horner says the personal attention he can give each customer at an art festival is part of what keeps him—and them—coming back. “I definitely have a niche,” Horner says. “I think my work opens a new door for guys at craft and art shows who might not be into it until they see my work.” Organizers aim to make the Music & Arts Festival an event that attracts everyone in the central Ohio community. “The festival provides fun opportunities for all ages, from music to youth activities and entertainment and even a silent auction,” Glaser
says. “There is something there for all ages and interests.” After 42 years, organizers know they have to keep the experience fresh to attract new and longtime visitors alike. “The festival planning committee looks for new opportunities to provide to festival patrons each year,” Glaser says. In 2014, the committee introduced the Heartland Bank bike corral, which encourages festivalgoers to ride their bicycles to the event, an experience that inspired a new annual outing for several Westerville families. This year’s addition? Because no festival, even one focused on celebrating the arts, is complete without a few furry friends, a new dog area will debut. Sponsored by Captivating Canines and Red Fern Petsitting and Dog Walking, the area will offer water and treats for four-legged visitors while two-legged revelers can cozy up to a pup or two after hitting a concession stand, catching a live concert and perusing Ohio-made art. Artists for this year’s Music & Arts Festival are expected to be chosen in late April, and the entertainment lineup will be available online at westervillechamber. com in May. “It is a really authentic art show,” Horner says. “It is a great festival with a fun atmosphere everyone can enjoy.” Jackie Mantey is a freelance writer.
42nd Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce Music & Arts Festival Where: Heritage Park 60 N. Cleveland Ave. Westerville, 43081 When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 11 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 12 Cost: $1 admission, free for ages 16 and under Parking: Free in lots within walking distance of the festival. An OhioHealth trolley will transport visitors between the Westerville Sports Complex and the park’s Cleveland Avenue entrance.
FILE PHOTOS/Brooke LaValley, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Westerville365 | Spring 2015
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French Evolution Former city councilwoman Jenifer French is settling in to her role as a judge in Courtroom 6A. Colleagues say her move to the bench is a natural fit. By Andrew King | PHOTO BY Ryan M.L. Young
I
n a span of about four years, Jenifer French has been an attorney, a Westerville Recreation Advisory Board member, a city council member and now a Franklin County Court of Common Pleas judge. Even though she’s had a little time to catch her breath, she’s still adjusting to the whirlwind. “I’m still walking into the courtroom, sitting down and then realizing that everyone is standing up,” she says with a laugh. “I don’t think any differently of myself, so it’s always a little different when that happens and I have to remind myself that I can say, ‘You can be seated.’ I’m not quite used to this deference.” French, a Republican, was elected Nov. 4 to replace incumbent Judge David Fais, a Republican who had been on the bench since 1988 and did not seek re-election. She beat out Democrat Thomas F. Hayes for the six-year term that began Feb. 9. In her first months as a judge, French says she’s had a lot to learn, but is enjoying the process. “It’s very challenging,” she says. “I’m finding that it’s much more emotionally and mentally taxing than I anticipated. But I really like being in the position to make decisions and to hopefully better our communities.”
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Working to make a difference has been the hallmark of French’s time in Westerville. She graduated from Westerville North High School in 1992 and moved to San Diego but returned in 2006 with her husband, Mike, after they had their first child. Just a few years later, she was on the recreation advisory board and looking toward council while working at the law firm of Lane, Alton & Horst, handling mostly insurance-defense litigation. Council Chairman Craig Treneff says French reminded him of her predecessor on council, Anne Gonzales, who is now a state representative. For Treneff, French’s rise was far from surprising. “She had a real interest in the campaigning process, which is probably the first requirement for a higher office,” he says. “She really enjoyed her campaign, and I think she did a lot of the extensive door-to-door campaigning that Anne did when she ran for re-election on council. That was the first tip-off that this was probably not her only stop on the political ladder.” Even before French was appointed in 2011 to replace Gonzales, Treneff says her law experience helped her stand out.
Judge Jenifer French at the Franklin County Courthouse
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“We like to have a lawyer or two on council to look at ordinances or other policy matters from a legal perspective,” he says. “At that point I was the only lawyer … so I thought it was a good idea to get someone else with legal experience.” French, 41, served on council for four years, having run to retain her seat in the 2013 election. She says she misses those experiences, though she knows the city is “in good hands.” “When I read about decisions that are being made, I know things are obviously moving forward on lots of different (projects),” she says. “I miss the people and being around the staff, but I’ve maintained good friendships with all the council members, which I knew I would.”
Settling In
Perhaps foreshadowing her move to a mediatory role was French’s likability as a council member. Treneff says she fit right in with the group’s philosophies. “We have a particularly collegial group, and we always have as long as I’ve been around,” he says. “It’s kind of the political ethic of Westerville. We don’t always agree with one another, but we don’t disagree in public. Jenifer was very comfortable with that approach, and she was a constant and continual contributor to that attitude.” She brought that agreeable attitude to her race with Hayes, which impressed Lane, Alton & Horst Managing Partner Greg Rankin. “After she was nominated to run for the position, one of first things she did was reach out and call her opponent to say, ‘Let’s meet. I don’t know you, but let’s talk and agree that we’ll run civil campaigns and not malign the other,’ ” he says. “I think that’s very rare. I don’t understand why more people don’t do that. He’s probably shocked at the extent that she bent over backward to ameliorate any hard feelings.” French has moved on to more life-altering decisions than city council votes. Her rulings on the bench have a huge impact on the lives of those involved, something she’s well aware of. “I have a lot of sleepless nights,” she says. “I came from a civil background, and so the criminal docket, when I have sentencing and I’m trying to determine what’s best for a person and community and making those determinations as to whether someone goes to prison or perhaps probation instead,” she says, “it’s a big decision. When you have something where it’s completely up to me whether someone goes to prison … or not, especially when someone doesn’t necessarily have a record before but has done something fairly serious, that’s when the question comes in.” Bailiff Tim Jackson, who held the same position with Fais, says French’s transition has been graceful, and that her modest ways downplay her early success. “She’s doing great work,” he says. “She just fit right in. She walked in and has picked everything up very quickly. If she doesn’t know 44
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something, she takes the time to learn it and she asks questions of everyone. She enjoys talking to the attorneys and really brings everyone to the table to understand her decisions.”
‘A New Challenge’
French says she’s enjoyed asking questions and meeting people at the courthouse, where she presides in Courtroom 6A. And the same parts of her job that she lists as challenges one moment, she later calls “great.” “I enjoy being in a position to be able to use my skills to make decisions that I hope do better the community and to be able to have an impact on people’s lives, whether that’s the parties in front of me or the lawyers I work with,” she says. “It’s a new challenge, which is what I was looking for.” Rankin says those skills are exactly what French needs to be successful. “I have no doubts that she’ll be a great judge,” he says. “And as young as she is, I think the legal community will be well-served for the next 20 or 30 years or as long as she stays on the bench. What litigators want is not somebody that is necessarily philosophically aligned with them, but is knowledgeable and fair and will make prompt decisions. I think she has all those qualities.” Even with the challenge of her new job and three young children at home, French is feeling more relaxed than she was a year ago. After multiple campaigns in such a short time frame, French says she was exhausted when she finally won. Now, she’s “just getting back to feeling normal,” and has enjoyed the slight lull in her schedule. While she says she would like to serve on a board or commission in Westerville in the future, she’s in no hurry to fill her calendar back up. “Last year’s campaign was so taxing that I’m really focusing on doing everything I can do to be the best I can be here,” she says. “I thought I’d give myself a little of a break before I jumped into anything. I’m busy right now touring the different correctional facilities and programming that we sentence people to in the courts system, so I’ve been focusing on getting to those places and seeing them, and talking to whoever I can so I can make the best decisions I can.” In the meantime, French and her co-workers seem happy to have her undivided attention at the courthouse. “We’re having a lot of fun,” Jackson says. “It’s good energy. We’re moving things and she’s a really hard worker and I’m having a great time.” As she continues to learn, French says there’s always a new revelation. “Every day there’s probably a surprise,” she says. “You know what a judge does when you’re a lawyer, but it’s much different actually being on this side of the bench.” Andrew King is a reporter for ThisWeek Community News.
“She had a real interest in the campaigning process, which is probably the first requirement for a higher office.” Craig Treneff Westerville City Council chairman
“What litigators want is not somebody that is necessarily philosophically aligned with them, but is knowledgeable and fair and will make prompt decisions. I think she has all those qualities.” Greg Rankin managing partner at Lane, Alton & Horst
Library Notes
IMAGES Courtesy WESTERVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Freegal attuned to music-loving patrons By Jen Powers
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usic lovers take note: The Westerville Public Library has subscribed to a very cool service within the past year. Freegal (rhymes with “legal”) is a “free and legal” music service. It offers more than 7 million songs from 28,000 record labels that can be played or downloaded from any computer or device—and all that’s required is a library card number. Once you’re logged in, you’re free to start exploring. All users are entitled to three hours of streaming per day, and, unlike many other free streaming services, these three hours are ad-free. What’s more is that every week, each user may download up to five songs to keep permanently. Think about it: A library patron who regularly buys music from iTunes or Amazon can save $5 or more per week by downloading five tracks from Freegal instead. Best of all, there are no waiting lists for this virtual material, no limited loan periods and no due dates. The library added the service to offer customers convenience and choice. The music can be downloaded and/ or streamed without having to visit the library building, and the range of music
available exceeds anything the library could provide on its shelves. Of course, the library also has more than 8,000 compact discs for music fans wanting the tactile experience.
of good stuff just waiting to be watched. Freegal provides around 15,000 videos to choose from. The service says that some of them are classics, which they refer to as “historical treasures.”
Get the Party Started Freegal offers a good number of karaoke versions of popular songs. Such songs would be great for parties, whether you’re into Bob Marley, the Black Eyed Peas or Billy Joel. Try searching for “The Karaoke Factor” and perusing any of those 28 compilations. Educators can draw from Freegal’s international music collection representing 100 countries. African, Celtic, Chinese, Indian and Thai are just a few examples of genres from which users can stream to teach students about different musical cultures. There are some real gems. For examples, check out the extensive Brazilian section or search for the Pakistani legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Freegal has music videos available for streaming, too. On the first page alone on a recent search, there were videos by Aerosmith, Adele and Aretha Franklin, so patrons can be assured there’s a ton
Popular Titles Not surprisingly, pop music was last year’s most streamed and downloaded genre by Westerville library users, followed by rock, country, jazz, Christian and alternative. Local patrons’ favorite artists were Meghan Trainor, Miranda Lambert, the Glee cast, Carrie Underwood, One Direction and Hozier. But Freegal has so many other genres to explore. Whether it’s avant-garde, Bollywood, EDM, Swedish folk, trip hop or even a series of sound effects, there’s sure to be something waiting for everyone within the database. To get started, go to westervillelibrary. org/freegal and select which kind of device you’re using. The service is compatible with most computers, tablets, smartphones, MP3 players and other mobile devices. Go ahead and press “log in,” then punch in your Westerville Public Library card number—and that’s it. Happy listening!
Jen Powers is a customer services assistant at the Westerville Public Library. For more information about library programs and services, go to westervillelibrary.org. Westerville365 | Spring 2015
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Healthy Living
Keep Children Safe As They Enjoy the Outdoors By Lara B. McKenzie
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fter the long central Ohio winter, your kids may be bolting for the outdoors these days faster than you can call out, “Be Careful!” We’re all for children heading outside and burning off some energy as the weather warms up. We want them to swim and ride their bikes, and we know the adults in their lives might like a little help with the yard work, too. But when children are doing all of that, it’s important for parents and caregivers to help them stay safe. It may take a little more work than calling out “Be Careful!” but following these warm weather safety tips can help make for a healthy spring and summer:
For more information about preventing children’s injuries, visit the Center for Injury Research and Policy online at injurycenter.org.
Sun Safety • Protect children’s skin. When possible, dress children in long-sleeved shirts, widebrimmed hats and other skin-covering clothes. Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going outside, even on cloudy days. Use sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 that says it offers “broad spectrum” or UVA and UVB protection. Reapply at least every two hours, and after swimming or sweating. • Children need sunglasses. Ultraviolet light damages the eyes as well. It’s never too early to put some shades on a child. As with sunscreen, look for sunglasses that protect against UVA and UVB. • When you get out of the car, take your child out, too. Even when the outside temperature is 60 degrees, the temperature inside a car can reach 110 degrees in a short time. It’s unsafe for a child to be alone in a car, even for a minute. Water Safety • Help children learn to swim. Most children are ready to start swimming classes at 4 years old. Parents with pre-teens and teens who aren’t strong swimmers should sign them up for classes, too. • Use “touch supervision.” Adults need to be within an arm’s reach of a young child in the water. Drowning is quick, quiet and final, so being close enough to touch a small swimmer could save a life. • Drain portable pools and turn them upside down right after use. Young children can drown in just inches of water. For someone who can’t swim, a small wading pool can be as dangerous as a full-sized one.
Bike, Scooter and Skating Safety • Make helmets a rule. Any time children or adults get on something with wheels, they need to be wearing bike helmets. A helmet should be snug, sit level on the head and low on the forehead—about two finger widths above the eyebrows. • Check the equipment. Children may have grown over the winter. Does the helmet still fit? Does the seat need an adjustment? Bikes, scooters and skateboards may need some repairs, too. Do the tires have enough air? Are the brakes working? • Keep kids under 10 years old out of the street. Younger children may be comfortable riding bikes, but they often don’t have the maturity to make decisions around cars and other vehicles (even in their neighborhood). Sidewalks and bike paths are best for them. Children riding scooters and skateboards should always stay out of the street. Mowing Safety • Follow the age guidelines. Children need to be at least 12 years old before using a push mower. They need to be at least 16 years old before using a riding mower. Even at those ages, it’s important that an adult supervise until he or she is sure the child can handle the job. • Clear the area. Other people need to be at a safe distance to avoid flying objects. Sticks, rocks and toys should be cleaned up before mowing. • Wear closed-toe shoes, eye protection and ear protection. Open-toed shoes such as sandals and flip-flops can cause falls, which are particularly dangerous around a running lawn mower. Goggles protect eyes from flying objects, and ear plugs guard against hearing damage. Fireworks Safety • Avoid all backyard fireworks. There is no safe way to use them. Even sparklers, considered safe by some people, can burn at 2,000 degrees. That’s hot enough to melt metal and set clothes on fire. • Use glow sticks, or visit a professional fireworks display. Turn your personal ban on backyard fireworks into a different way to have fun. Here’s hoping for some safe and fun warm weather!
Lara B. McKenzie, Ph.D., is a principal investigator in the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine and the Division of Epidemiology, College of Public Health at Ohio State University. She is also the mother of 3-year-old triplets. 46
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Built in 1841, this historic house is owned by descendants of Katherine LeVeque. It was put on the market in late 2014 for $1.25 million.
If These Walls Could Talk Photos by Lorrie Cecil
T
he LeVeque estate off Africa Road in Orange Township once served as a stop on the Underground Railroad between Westerville and a Quaker settlement near Marengo in Morrow County. It was the home of Katherine LeVeque, a philanthropist and former owner of the LeVeque Tower, until her death in April 2014. To read more, go to Westerville365.com.
This spiral staircase was part of one of the additions built on to the home after Katherine and Fred LeVeque bought it in 1955. A skeleton key hangs in the split door in the kitchen.
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