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benefit for brett Final ‘Fireside Chat’ Fundraiser to support motorcycle accident survivor, family
Mayor, Caz College president share stories Kate Hill
Pictured left to right: Jenn Farwell, former IC community lead and current IC program manager, Caz College President Dave Bergh, and Village Mayor Kurt Wheeler. By kate hill Staff writer
Submitted photos
On Saturday, July 23, a group of Cazenovia area residents is presenting a fundraiser at the Coal Yard bar and grill in DeRuyter to benefit Brett Johnson, a local resident and former Cazenovia business owner who was in a major motorcycle accident on March 26. By kate Hill Staff Writer This summer, a group of Cazenovia area residents is planning a fundraiser to benefit Brett Johnson, a local resident and former Cazenovia business owner who was in a major motorcycle accident on March 26 in Florida. The incident resulted in seven surgeries in 11 days, three weeks in intensive care, and months in the hospital. The fundraiser will be held on Saturday, July 23, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Coal Yard (720 Railroad Street) bar and grill in DeRuyter. An entrance donation fee will include a meal of pulled pork, ziti, baked beans, and assorted salads and desserts. The event will also feature live music, 50/50 raffles, a silent auction and raffles for larger items, and a corn hole tournament. The raffle and auction items include golf passes at four to five local courses, an Alexandria Bay overnight package, half day kayak rentals, a Syracuse Mets family pack, a Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology (MOST) family pack, a wine refrigerator, various baskets and local gift certificates, a Vernon Downs overnight package, a Syracuse Pedal Tours package, a kayak, and several meat packages from local farmers. Starting at noon, up to 20 teams will compete in the double-elimination corn hole tournament. The cost is $60 per team and includes dinner. Prizes will be awarded to the first, second, and third place
teams. Teams can sign up at the bar. Call 315-8529932 for more information. “The money will go toward Brett’s medical expenses, transport, housing adaptations, and equipment,” said Event Co-Chair Pam Washbon. Washbon and Allison Rainbow are coordinating the event with help from several other friends of the Johnson family, including Christine June, Nancy Haws, Honey-Beth Nelson, Patty Slocum, and Ruthanne Stone, owner of the Coal Yard. Benefit l Page 13
On July 13, Innovation Collective (IC), in partnership with Cazenovia College, presented its final “Fireside Chat” at the Lincklaen House. This session highlighted the stories of two local leaders, Village Mayor Kurt Wheeler and Cazenovia College President Dave Bergh. IC is an Idaho-based grass roots startup community with a goal of “creating ecosystems that activate human flourishing.” Through curated events, mentorship, skills training, corporate partnerships, placemaking, and software, IC works to help individuals start and grow innovative businesses. Cazenovia College partnered with IC in 2021 to tap into its network of entrepreneurial and business innovators and experts, access to financial investors for business ventures, and ability to help people make connections for mutual benefit. According to the college’s website, the institution sponsored IC’s presence in Cazenovia with the goal of generating ideas for new academic offerings, unique educational enrichment experiences, and potential business endeavors to benefit both the college and the surrounding community. “These include helping students get their business ideas off the ground, exposing them to new industry mentors, and assisting in bringing topnotch resources and information to community-based business startups,” the website states. As part of its multi-faceted work within the community, IC organized a series of monthly Fireside Chats, evenings of storytelling and inspiration intended to serve as a connection point for community members, to provide a consistent message of hope and encouragement, and to make an innovation economy feel accessible. Typical Fireside Chat speakers are local entrepreneurs, civic leaders, politicians, and even unknown citizens. During the July 13 event, Wheeler and Bergh shared insight into everything from their childhoods and first jobs, to their successes, setbacks, and visions for Cazenovia’s future. The conversation was facilitated by Jenn Farwell, who served as IC community lead throughout the college’s one-year partnership with IC. Seated on stools in front of a dining room fireplace, Wheeler and Bergh took turns responding to a series of questions posed by Farwell.
Personal background
The son of a firefighter and a nurse, Wheeler was raised in New Woodstock, attended New Wood-
stock Elementary School, and graduated from Cazenovia High School. He studied at Harvard College on a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps scholarship and then served four years on active duty in the United States Marine Corps. After spending some time in the business world, he decided to go back to school to pursue a master’s degree in teaching. After about 11 years away from home, Wheeler returned to Cazenovia in 1996 and began teaching at Cazenovia High School. Bergh was born in an Elmira hospital to a United Methodist minister and a high school English teacher who, at the time, resided in Watkins Glen. “I consider myself a Central New York native, [but] being a minister’s family meant that we moved periodically,” said Bergh. His formative years were spent in Jamesville, and the bulk of his schooling years were spent in the JamesvilleDeWitt Central School District. A year of his adolescence, however, was spent in southwest rural Georgia, where his parents were on sabbatical, volunteering with the then-fledgling organization Habitat for Humanity International. Stationed in Americus, GA, his parents were part of a group tasked with meeting with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter — who resided in the nearby Plains, GA — to convince them to engage with Habitat for Humanity, with the goal of raising the organization’s profile. After the year in Georgia, Bergh and his family moved to Malone, NY, in the northernmost part of the state, where he graduated from high school. He has been at Cazenovia College for six years and held his current position for the past six months.
First jobs
Wheeler’s first paid job was unloading wagons of hay at age eight for 25 cents per load. His most interesting job as a young man was hand-digging graves in the New Woodstock Cemetery. “It paid $35 per grave, and it went up to $40,” Wheeler recalled. “If I worked really hard, I could do it in about four hours, and at that time $8 or $10 an hour was a fortune. [It was especially interesting] when you had to go there after your full day of haying and do it at night with a kerosene lantern at the head of the grave. . . I’ve always told people that all the jobs I’ve ever had since then, nothing compares to working on a farm or digging graves when it comes to level of difficulty.” Bergh said his first job was mowing lawns as a pre-teen for eight hours a day over his summer vacations. He also had summer jobs working in a Fireside l Page 14
Volume 213, Number 29 The Cazenovia Republican is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 35 Albany St., Second Floor, Cazenovia, NY 13035. Periodical Postage Paid at Cazenovia, NY 13035, USPS 095-260. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Cazenovia Republican, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206.
community: Street dedicated to distillery co-founder, retired lieutenant general.
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community calendar: Activities, events for the whole family.
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letters ������������������������ 7
Editorial ��������������������� 6
Obituaries ��������������� 5,7
history ������������������������ 6
PennySaver ���������������� 8