July 2021

ARTS & CULTURE | COMMUNITY | PHILANTHROPY

July 2021

Elevating our youth FC Cincinnati, Reds, Bengals On producing major league citizens

Super to CEO Laura Mitchell is on a mission

PLUS

Cincinnati Opera: al fresco in Blue Ash

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Informed. Inspired. Involved.

Movers&Makers July 2021

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Publishers’ Letter 4 Arts/Culture 5 Quilt exhibit offers racial healing, storytelling 5 Grand opera in the great outdoors at Summit Park | By David Lyman 6 Two new choral organizations break silence 7 The A/C List: Music, film, lectures, visual art and more 8 Taft Museum offers special exhibits during restoration 12

The Datebook 13 Walks and runs and hikes and races and rides, oh my!

And don’t forget a blindfolded beer tasting, Paddlefest at 20 or the inexorable return of Danger Wheel.

Did we mention beer tasting?

Profile: Laura Mitchell 18 Superintendent leaves CPS to become leader at Beech Acres | By Shauna Steigerwald

In the News 20 Giving USA says 2020 set record for charitable giving 20 The art of the turnover: Platow, Langrée set departures 21 Names in the News 22

Gifts/Grants 23 Deaconess Foundation awards $635K to 18 agencies 23 Horizon creates new fund partnerships with nonprofits 23 NEA grant supports Art Museum’s ‘Monuments Men’ 24

Focus on: Major League Philanthropy 25 FCC’s long-range goal – kids’ future | By Madeline Anderson 25 Reds build back baseball with focus on youth | By Grace Hill 26 Bengals earn their stripes by improving lives | By Gail Paul 27

Snapshots 28 Dragonfly welcomes supporters back with Grand Gala 28 St. Rita’s honors Dorward family at Dream Makers 29

Fine art photography portraiture – above or below the water.

St. Joseph Home Walk & Roll exceeds goal 30 Redwood Express raises $125K for residents 31

Tina Gutierrez Arts Photography

Beech Acres honors retiring leader Mason at gala 34

tinagutierrezartsphotography.com tinagutierrezarts.photoshelter.com/portfolio tango@fuse.net 513.446.1903

Ribbon-cutting opens CAT counseling center 35

On the cover: Laura Mitchell, photo by Tina Gutierrez

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JULY 2021 3

 PUBLISHERS’ LETTER

C

an you feel it? Can you sense what’s coming just over the horizon?

Look at our A/C List of events or our Fundraisers Datebook in this issue and you might think things are quiet in the world of nonprofits. You would be mistaken. While the remnants of pandemic disruption have left big holes in midsummer event scheduling, we invite you to peruse those same listings into August and September and see how they begin to hit full stride in October. Organizations are busy planning how to quickly rebound and activate their supporters.

It just takes time to get up to speed.

A word of caution: Where appropriate or requested, please continue to practice the basic public health guidelines we have learned over the past year – masking, hand-washing and social distancing – to reduce the possibility of a resurgence. We encourage everyone eligible to get vaccinated. And remember, the elbow bump is the new handshake.

The publishers would like to thank:

In this issue Truth be told, we have been looking for an opportunity to become better acquainted with Laura Mitchell for several years now, in her role as Cincinnati Public Schools superintendent. Her recent move to lead Beech Acres Parenting Center gave us the perfect opportunity to put her in our spotlight. Get to know Laura, care of Shauna Steigerwald, on page 18.

And thanks to Tina Gutierrez and Laura for braving peak cicada season in order to make beautiful outdoor images.

Speaking of braving the great outdoors, Cincinnati Opera has returned to al fresco performances (at Summit Park in Blue Ash) for the first time since leaving the Cincinnati Zoo in the 1970s. David Lyman shares the story of how this COVID-induced compromise came to life on page 6.

July marks the beginning of the annual intersection of our three professional sports teams. Our writers profiled how each team’s philanthropic

CincinnatiCares.org

efforts support the Greater Cincinnati community (page 25): Gail Paul (Bengals), Madeline Anderson (FCC) and Grace Hill (Reds).

Lastly, may we ask a favor?

Our mission at Movers & Makers is to inform and inspire people to involve themselves in supporting nonprofits. If you have read a story in M&M that inspired you to take some sort of action, would you please share it with us? Email Thom (tmariner@moversmakers.org) with your story and you may see it referenced in a future issue of M&M. Be well and thanks for reading!

Elizabeth & Thom Mariner, co-publishers

Deadline Available July 2

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Sept. 3

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NOVEMBER

Oct. 1

Oct. 27

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DEC ’21 / JAN ’22

Oct. 29

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Advertising & distribution Thom Mariner, 513-543-0890 or tmariner@moversmakers.org Creative & accounting Elizabeth Mariner, 513-771-5088 or emariner@moversmakers.org Send news/photos to: editor@moversmakers.org Free direct mail subscriptions and email newsletter sign up www.moversmakers.org/subscribe

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Publishing schedule

AUGUST

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JULY 2021

• Our Cincinnati Cares colleagues: Doug Bolton, Katie Fiorelli and Carol Rountree.

Issue

Digital edition & daily posts

Movers & Makers Magazine

4

• The volunteers who helped write, edit and proofread this issue: Shasta Taber, Tamara Behrens, Jennifer Shupert and Edwin Clements.

Thom and Elizabeth Mariner, co-publishers

Social media:

Part of Inspiring Service, the nation’s leading provider of community and state based guides for connecting people with active nonprofits to help meet their needs.

• Ray Cooklis and Phil Fisher for returning this month to edit our print publication.

Ray is managing editor and chief hunter/gatherer.

Phil is copy editor and wields a big pair of scissors. Their expertise and patience are invaluable to us.

Also at www.moversmakers.org/publishing-schedule

© Copyright 2021 Movers & Makers Publishing We make every effort to verify information submitted for publication (print and online), but are not responsible for incorrect information or misidentified photos provided to us.

Readers are advised to confirm event dates and other important details and check for last-minute changes with the organizations or advertisers involved.

Publication of this magazine and its website (www.MoversMakers.org) does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of any information contained within, including advertisements and links.

Movers & Makers Publishing is a nonprofit with fiscal sponsorship provided by Inspiring Service.

Arts/Culture Freedom Center exhibition uses quilts for racial healing, storytelling The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is turning to a familiar but perhaps unexpected item – quilts – to confront the issue of racism in America. “We Are the Story: A Visual Response to Racism,” a quilt exhibit curated by Carolyn L. Mazloomi, opens July 2 at the center.

The exhibit is courtesy of the Women of Color Quilters Network and is a part of Story Quilts, a program created by Kathy Wade, executive director of Learning Through Art. “We Are the Story” showcases 53 quilts highlighting the history of civil rights, police brutality and racism. Mazloomi curated the exhibition in response to the murder of George Floyd in 2020. The quilts present an alternative visual medium to approach sensitive social issues in American memory, in a way that emphasizes storytelling and encourages healing.

Wade’s Learning Through Art sponsors the exhibit with the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr. Foundation.

The exhibit is free for Freedom Center members, but requires a $5 add-on ($3 for children) to general admission for non-members. It is free for all on Wednesdays and Sundays, courtesy of the sponsors. The center is using timed ticketing to ensure social distancing, and visitors “Cracked Justice,” quilt are encouraged to buy tickets created by Carolyn Crump online in advance.  www.freedomcenter.org FOMusicHall-ExploreAd_8x3.125_FNL.pdf

1

6/3/21

Photo by William Jones

Opens July 2, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Brandon Hawkins, “Revelation,” oil on canvas

Adoria Maxberry, “Eyes on Me,” acrylic on canvas

‘Undermining Silence’ outdoor exhibit at Kennedy Heights center Through Aug. 28, Kennedy Heights Arts Center, 6546 Montgomery Road The Kennedy Heights Arts Center hosts an outdoor exhibition, “Undermining Silence: The Language of Change,” in partnership with Black Art Speaks.

The 10 new works are by nine members of Black Art Speaks, a collective that emerged from work on Cincinnati’s Black Lives Matter! mural. Their pieces are reproduced as large panels, installed

around the center’s grounds.

The artists are Brent Billingsley, Michael Coppage, Cedric Michael Cox, Latausha Cox, Ke’Monte’ Figgs, Brandon Hawkins, Adoria Maxberry, Annie Ruth and Asha White.

An Artist Talk will be held outside 4-6 p.m. Aug. 21.

The free exhibition can be a drive-through experience, or guests may park and explore on foot.  www.kennedyarts.org

1:57 PM

Explore The History preserve. engage. celebrate.

Indoor Tours of Music Hall Return!

TOUR through private and public spaces in this majestic structure led by our knowledgeable guides. SEE for yourself how it reflects the spirit of both past and present. DISCOVER our work to restore the finial ornamentations.

Tickets Available Weekly: Online @ Friendsof MusicHall.org –or– 513-621-ARTS

Movers & Makers

JULY 2021 5

ARTS/CULTURE Aerial view of the stage and lawn at Summit Park Summit Park tower and stage at night

By David Lyman

Opera al fresco

Season saved with move to Summit Park

E

vans Mirageas can’t remember precisely when he turned to Plan B for Cincinnati Opera’s 2021 summer festival.

The company was well into finalizing Plan A – a “normal” opera season.

You know, big operas at Music Hall, smaller ones at SCPA and perhaps a world premiere (or two) in Music Hall’s Wilks Rehearsal Hall. After having to cancel the company’s 100th anniversary season in 2020, the 2021 season would be a chance to pick up the pieces and move forward.

But as we learned last year, things don’t always work out the way we expect. Sometime after Thanksgiving, Mirageas, the opera’s artistic director, came to understand that the summer of 2021 might be too soon for “normal.”

“That’s about the time when we realized they were not making as much progress in dealing with the pandemic as we had hoped they would,” said Mirageas. “The vaccination they had hoped for in November was not going to materialize. So in our season planning meetings we began to have a very different set of conversations.”

Mirageas and company were determined to go ahead with a season, but there were several key questions that needed to be answered.

What would they sing? With singers regarded as “super-spreaders,” could they possibly stage grand operas with choruses? And whatever repertoire they decided to do, was there a venue where audiences could feel safe? At that point, very few people were eager to sit down in a theater crowded with 6

JULY 2021

Movers & Makers

strangers.

“Thanks to Opera America, I was able to have regular Zoom meetings with leaders of other companies,” said Christopher Milligan, the opera’s general director and CEO. “We talked about all sorts of approaches to getting ourselves back on the stage.

Sometimes, it seemed that streaming was the only option. But there was no one who really wanted that. We wanted our performers and audiences to be in the same place together.”

Milligan and his staff looked into all manner of venues. Arenas were big enough for the largest of operas, but since they were enclosed buildings, capacities were strictly limited.

Facilities like Paul Brown Stadium are outdoors and large. They’d proved workable for spectacles like the Three Tenors. But even the grandest of operas calls for slightly more intimacy than stadiums offer.

“So we considered going back to our roots,” said Milligan. Remember, the opera’s home for its first 50 years was a covered pavilion at the Cincinnati Zoo, but the pavilion was long gone. The only other large, open space at the Zoo is being converted into an open-air elephant habitat.

Seeking an outdoor venue Performing outside still seemed like the ideal solution, one with plenty of precedent in the opera world. Since 1913, for instance, the Arena di Verona Festival in Italy has hosted opera for audiences of 30,000 or more. In New York City, Central Park’s Sheep Meadow is home to

annual Metropolitan Opera presentations attended by as many as 75,000.

Surely, there must be some Greater Cincinnati park that would fit the bill.

“The first places that sprang to mind were wonderful, but were too small,” said Mirageas, mentioning the stages at Tower Park in Fort Thomas, Devou Park in Covington and Eden Park in Cincinnati.

“We looked at other parks too – Washington Park, for instance – but there were problems with parking or capacity or other amenities at all of them,” said Mirageas. “It’s difficult to create an opera house in the middle of a city park.”

Then someone in the office asked Mirageas if he had looked at Summit Park in Blue Ash. He knew where it was. Indeed, he drove past it all the time. But he had never had the occasion to pull in and see what was there.

“So one rather chilly day in the middle of the winter, several of us went to Blue Ash,” recalled Mirageas.

“I’ll tell you – the second I stepped onto that three-acre lawn, I knew that we had found our new home.

It had everything. That ginormous platform – it’s almost the same size as the Music Hall stage. And there was space for at least 1,500 people on the lawn.”

But what about the singers? Would today’s singers be willing to brave Cincinnati’s summer weather? What about the cicadas?

“The cicadas will be gone,” said Mirageas. “That was one of the first things we confirmed before deciding on our dates.”

And the singers?

“Yes, I know it is hot in Cincinnati in July,” said Rihab Chaieb, who will sing Rosina in Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” “But audiences need live art again. I’ve only done two small concerts in the past year and a half.

So this …” She pauses, as the emotions briefly get the best of her. “I need this for my soul.”

Turning an idea into reality For Mirageas and Milligan, though, there were still many hurdles to get past. It was one thing to have a good idea. It was another to turn that idea into reality.

“That’s when things got really interesting,” said Mirageas. “How on earth could we do opera in three acres of city park that basically has a slab of concrete at the end?”

No problem. After all, the opera’s designers and technical staff have proven to be theatrical wizards. After all, turning a stage into 19th-century Paris or a rock star’s drug-addled hallucination is pretty miraculous, too.

They created a canopy to cover the stage and house lighting instruments.

With no orchestra pit, there would have to be a dedicated space at the rear of the stage for the orchestra.

Since COVID precautions preclude the chorus from mingling onstage with the principal singers, they’ll be located on both sides of the stage.

And even though COVID restrictions would permit audience members to sit closer together, feedback from opera patrons suggested that they still wanted social distancing enforced.

ARTS/CULTURE To help with that, Mirageas decided to trim the operas to just 90 intermission-less minutes.

“It has been done very skillfully, I assure you,” said Mirageas. “It required a lot of back and forth, but in the end, we have been able to preserve the essential musical numbers that people adore about all three of these operas.”

Suddenly, he grows reflective.

“You know, there was always the option of canceling the season.

But it was too heartbreaking to consider. We weren’t going to put ourselves or our audience through that again. I was determined that we would sing in 2021. And so we shall.” 

2021 Summer Festival at Summit Park, Blue Ash “Opera in the Park” – July 11 “Carmen” – July 17, 22, 26, 30 “Tosca” – July 23, 27, 31 “The Barber of Seville”– July 24, 29

 www.cincinnatiopera.org

Two new choral organizations give voice to silenced singers Singers, silent due to their status as the ultimate super spreaders during the pandemic, are plotting their return over the coming months.

Two new organizations are forming to fill the sonic void.  The Union The Union is a new vocal ensemble for singers who “have ideas, are invested in process, and believe that rehearsal is the laboratory of creativity,” says its website. Founded by a nonprofit named Breath Collective, the ensemble is being led

by Alexandra Schoeny, a singer, and Trevor Kroeger, a conductor. Their promise is to put the interests of the singer first: “a fully professional vocal ensemble founded on musical excellence, artistic empowerment and servant leadership.”

The organization is planning several concerts for 2021-22, as ensemble-in-residence at St. Rose Church on Riverside Drive (where Kroeger is organist and music director), plus a plan for eventual touring

Trevor Kroeger

Alexandra Schoeny

and recording opportunities.

• Gala and Kickoff: October TBA • Christmas Concert: Dec. 16, 17, 19 • Bach’s St. John Passion: March 13 Applications are closed and auditions are in process.  www.breathcollective.org  Viva Voices Just south, across the Ohio, conductor/singer Tony Burdette has founded Viva Voices, a tiered choral organization planning to serve multiple generations of singers, from elementary-age children through adulthood, and drawing from both Kentucky and Ohio. The aim is to be inclusive of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds.

• Children’s Choir: grades 4-7

Tony Burdette

• Youth Chorus: grades 8-12 • Chorale: a community choir for adults who love to sing • Chamber Ensemble: small, select choir of singers from the Chorale • Singers: a new professional choir coming in 2022 Burdette spent 10 years as conductor of the Northern Kentucky-based Voices of the Commonwealth, is a member of Cincinnati Opera Chorus, and is a busy freelance soloist, outside of pandemic years.

Performances will be announced this summer. Rehearsals begin in the fall.  www.vivavoices.net

Friday, November 19, 2021 Cincinnati Museum Center

Raise a toast to invention, ingenuity and innovation during an adults-only night at the museum!

For tickets and more information, visit cincymuseum.org/layers

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JULY 2021 7

The A/C List Cultural Exhibits/Tours American Legacy Tours | Over-the-Rhine. 859-951-8560. americanlegacytours.com Historic tours in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Saturdays, 10:30 a.m.

1919 Baseball Tour American Sign Museum | Camp Washington. 513-541-6366. americansignmuseum.org Permanent collection July 7, 2-4 p.m. Craft & Snack: “Glue Chipped” Signs, featuring a snack representing Zimbabwe from chef Madeline Ndambakuwa of The Welcome Project (free, registration required) ArtWorks Mural Tours | artworkscincinnati.org Thru October. Walking tours of Pendleton, Over-the-Rhine and Downtown Behringer-Crawford Museum | Devou Park, Covington.

859-491-4003. bcmuseum.org Permanent exhibit. “Mrs. White’s Kindergarten” Betts House | West End. 513-651-0734. thebettshouse.org Permanent exhibit. “History at Home: The Story of the Betts Family, the West End and Cincinnati” Cincinnati Food Tours | Over-the-Rhine. 513-602-5602 Tuesday-Sunday, “Self-Guided Tasting Tour at Findlay Market” Saturdays, 3 p.m. “The Original Findlay Market Tour,” learn more about Findlay Market Fridays, 1 p.m. “The All-American Food Tour in Pendleton” Saturdays, 11 a.m. “Signature Over-the-Rhine Tour,” discover OTR One Sunday per month, noon.

“Beyond the Market,” explore the history of Over-the-Rhine Wednesdays, 11 a.m.

“Cincinnati Streetcar Food Tour” Cincinnati Museum Center | Union Terminal, Queensgate.

513-287-7000. cincymuseum.org 8

JULY 2021

Also online at moversmakers.org

Current exhibit. “A Year on the Edge” Current exhibit. “An Unfinished Revolution: Women and the Vote” Current exhibit. “Inspired by Nature: The Art and Activism of Charley Harper” July 1. Children’s Museum re-opens Friends of Music Hall | Washington Park, Over-the-Rhine.

513-621-2787. friendsofmusichall.org Indoor and outdoor tours of Music Hall Harriet Beecher Stowe House | Walnut Hills. 513-751-0651. stowehousecincy.org Current exhibit. “The Cause Dearer to Me Than Any Other in the World”: Isabella Beecher Hooker and Suffrage • “Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence” July 10, 10 a.m. Walking Tour: African Americans and Abolitionists in Walnut Hills: A Diverse and Changing Neighborhood Heritage Village Museum | Sharon Woods. 513-563-9484. heritagevillagecincinnati.org Thru Aug. 15. Nancy Ford Cones photography exhibit Thru August. Transferware exhibit Holocaust & Humanity Center | Union Terminal. 513-487-3055. holocaustandhumanity.org Current exhibit. “Dimensions in Testimony” Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati | West Chester. icgc.us First Saturday, 11 a.m. “Know Your Neighbors” (KYN) RAPTOR, Inc. | Milford. raptorinc.org July 25, 1-4 p.m. Open House: See birds of prey up close.

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum | Great American Ballpark. mlb.com/reds/hall-of-fame Permanent collection. History of and memorabilia from baseball’s first professional team

Movers & Makers

COVID ALERT: PLEASE VERIFY ALL DATES AND LOCATIONS WITH EVENT ORGANIZERS. THINGS CHANGE.

Skirball Museum | Hebrew Union College, Clifton.

513-221-1875. huc.edu Ongoing. “Opening the Ark: Bringing a Lost Jewish Synagogue to Life”

Fairs/Festivals/Markets Bacon Bourbon and Brew Festival | Newport’s Festival Park. cincinnatifestivalsandevents.com July 8-11 City Flea | Washington Park, Over-the-Rhine. thecityflea.com July 10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Eclectic arts and crafts fair Glier’s Goettafest | Newport’s Festival Park. goettafest.com July 29-Aug. 1 & Aug. 5-8 Hyde Park Farmers’ Market | Hyde Park Square. hydeparkfarmersmarket.com Sundays, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Regional food and beverage market Italian Festival | Newport on the Levee cincinnatifestivalsandevents.com July 15-18 Madeira Farmers Market | Silverwood Presbyterian Church. madeirafarmersmarket.com Thursdays, 4-7 p.m.

Northside Farmers Market | North Church. northsidefm.org Wednesdays, 4-7 p.m. Regional food and beverage market Price Hill Will | ARCO, Price Hill. 513-251-3800. creativecommunityfestival.org July 23-24. Creative Community Festival Second Sunday on Main | Main Street, Over-the-Rhine. facebook.com/OTRSSOM July 11, noon-5 p.m. Eclectic street festival Taps Tastes & Tunes Festival | National Voice of America Museum, West Chester. cincinnatifestivalsandevents.com July 2-4

Film Cincinnati World Cinema | Garfield Theatre, downtown. 859957-3456. cincyworldcinema.org July 9-11 & 16-18. The Sundance Film Festival Short Films Tour Cindependent Film Fest | 214-843-6781. cindependentfilmfest.org Reels of Wheels, 7 & 8 p.m.

July 10. Bramble Park, Madisonville July 17. CampSITE, Camp Washington July 24. Findlay Park July 31. Oakley Recreation Center Great Parks of Hamilton County | greatparks.org July 1, 7 p.m. Movies in the Park: “Dolittle” (at Glenwood Gardens) July 9, 9:30 p.m. Float-In Movies at Lake Isabella: “Moana” OTR International Film Festival | otrfilmfest.org July 8-11. Cinematic celebration of our shared humanity Washington Park Summer Cinema | Over-the-Rhine. washingtonpark.org July 14. “Love & Basketball” July 28. “National Treasure”

Literary/Lectures Joseph-Beth Booksellers | Rookwood Commons, Norwood.

513-396-8960. josephbeth.com July 6, 7 p.m. Discussion: David Bell “Kill All Your Darlings” (Virtual) July 7, 7 p.m. Discussion: Christina Baker Kline w/ John Searles “The Exiles” (Virtual) Lloyd Library and Museum | Downtown. 513-721-3707. lloydlibrary.org July 15, 7 p.m. Dominique Peebles, Cedric Rose, Scott Beuerlein, “Friend or Foe: Bugs in Your Sustainable Garden” July 28, 7 p.m. Dr. Gene Kritsky “Searching for Ancient Egypt’s Beekeepers” (Virtual)

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center | The Banks, Downtown. 513333-7500. freedomcenter.org July 10, 10 a.m. “Summer Youth Summit: A Path to Prevail” Free.

(Virtual)

Music ArtsConnect | Springfield Township Civic Center. theartsconnect.us July 23, 7-10 p.m. Doc Galahan’s Holographic Music Experience ArtsWave | artswave.org Enjoy the Arts @ Parks Series: July 31, 1-5 p.m. Mike Oberst Duo, Taylor Alexander, Taifa Music (at Woodland Mound) Behringer-Crawford Museum | Devou Park. Covington.

859-491-4003. bcmuseum.org Thursdays, 7 p.m., Music@BCM Summer Concert Series July 1. Ben Levin & the Heaters July 8. Cheryl Renee July 15. Bam Powell and the Troublemakers July 22. Magnolia Vale July 29. Mike Wade Blue Ash/Montgomery Symphony | 513-549-2197. bamso.org July 2, 7:30 p.m. Michael Chertock, conductor. Patriotic Concert (at Montgomery Park) Butler Philharmonic | Pyramid Hill Pavilion. butlerphil.org July 11, 2-4 p.m. Fitton on the Hill: BPO Pops Chamber Music Cincinnati | 513-342-6870. cincychamber.org Online Concert Series: July 11, 4 p.m. Ana Kavafian July 25, 4 p.m. Gilbert Kalish Cincinnati Pops | Riverbend. 513-381-3300. cincinnatisymphony.org July 4, 8 p.m. “Red, White & BOOM!” John Morris Russell, conductor. (at Riverbend)

Continued on page 10.

ARTS/CULTURE

Over-the-Rhine Museum tour group

Walking tours celebrate residents of historic neighborhood Through September, Over-the-Rhine, various locations The Over-the-Rhine Museum has begun its 2021 Walking Tour program. The guided tours take guests on a deep dive into the various histories of Over-the-Rhine.

The mission of the Over-the-Rhine Museum is to build respect and understanding for those who have lived and worked in this historic district.

Walking tours preserve and celebrate stories of real people who lived and worked in the neighborhood from the early 1800s to the present.

Tours cost $15 per person and last approximately two hours. Tickets must be purchased online in advance, and will not be sold at the tour. More dates and tours will be added. Tours: • Tenement Life North of Liberty: Focuses on the built environment including daily living conditions in crowded tenement apartments. Begins by Findlay Market Beer Garden.

• Tenement Life South of Liberty: Stories of Over-theRhine’s earliest residents up to recent stories of housing activism. Begins at Music Hall.

• Women’s History: Explores women’s lives and work in Overthe-Rhine, and topics important to women’s history. Begins at Washington Park.

• Labor History: A deep dive into working conditions and labor organizing efforts in Over-theRhine around the turn of the 20th century. Begins at 12th and Elm streets.

• African American History: Highlights the active role of African Americans in shaping Over-the-Rhine beginning in the early 19th century, including recent social activism. Begins near Ziegler Park.  www.otrmuseum.org/ walking-the-stories

Love history?

The OTR Museum is looking for tour guides. Learn more about history, meet new people, and share your love of Over-the Rhine.  To learn more: Donna at donna.harris@otrmuseum.org

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JULY 2021 9

ARTS/CULTURE | The List Clifton Cultural Arts Center | Burnet Woods. 513-497-2860. cliftonculturalarts.org Wednesdays in the Woods, 7 p.m: July 7. Natural Progression July 14. Jess Lamb & The Factory July 21. RubyGreen July 28. The Pancaribbean Trio Crown Jewels of Jazz | St. Aloysius Lawn, Bond Hill. learningthroughart.com.

July 21, 5:30 p.m. Myles Twitty Quartet, Trilogy (Nancy James, Dixie Karas, Mandy Gaines) and Soul Pocket Fountain Square | Downtown. 513-621-4400. myfountainsquare.com Wednesdays. 7-10 p.m.

Reggae Wednesday Thursdays. 7-10 p.m.

Salsa on the Square Fridays-Saturdays. 7-11 p.m.

Fifth and Vine Live Kentucky Symphony Orchestra | 859-431-6216. kyso.org July 10, 7:30 p.m. “Hornucopia:” A 70’s Trumpet Palooza (at Devou Park) July 11, 7:30 p.m. Encore of previous (at Tower Park) Memorial Hall | Washington Park, Over-the-Rhine. 513-9778838. memorialhallotr.com July 10, 8 p.m. Thee Phantom & The Illharmonic Orchestra July 17, 8 p.m. TUSK The World’s No. 1 Tribute to Fleetwood Mac July 29, 8 p.m. Paul Thorn with Scott Miller

Oxford Community Arts Center | Oxford. 513-524-8506. oxarts.org July 9, 7:30 p.m. Second Friday concert: The Mackey Brothers Riverbend Music Center | Coney Island. 513-232-6220. riverbend.org July 13, 8 p.m. Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band July 22, 7 p.m. Luke Bryan: Proud To Be Right Here Tour JULY 2021

RiversEdge | Marcum Park, Hamilton. riversedgelive.com July 4, 7 p.m. That Arena Rock Show July 9, 7:30 p.m. Check Your Head July 16, 7:30 p.m. Aaron Lee Tasjan July 23, 7:30 p.m. Arlo McKinley Rockin’ the Roebling | Smale Riverfront Park. facebook.com Thursdays, 6-10 p.m.

July 1. Push Play July 8. Tyler Moore Band July 15. Marty Connor Band July 22. Marsha Brady July 29. Noah Wotherspoon Band Taft Theatre | Downtown. tafttheatre.org July 29, 7:30 p.m.

Whiskey Myers Warren County Historical Museum | Lebanon. wchsmuseums.org July 8, 7:30 p.m. L​ afferty Pike Washington Park | Over-theRhine. washingtonpark.org/events Mondays, 6-9 p.m. Jazz at the Park July 5. The Midwestern Swing July 12. Mambo Combo July 19. Spherical Agenda July 26. Rick VanMatre Quartet Westwood Second Saturdays | Westwood Town Hall District. westwoodworks.org July 10, 4 p.m. Music and more

Opera

Musicians for Health | facebook.com July 5, 8 p.m. 5 for 5: Live Streamed Concert Series: Nora Germain

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w/ Caylee Hammack July 30, 6:30 p.m. An Evening with Chicago

Cincinnati Opera | 513-241-2742. cincinnatiopera.org Cincinnati Opera Summer Festival (at Summit Park) July 11, 7:30 p.m. “Opera in the Park” July 17, 22, 26 & 30, 8:30 p.m. “Carmen” July 23, 27 & 31, 8:30 p.m.

“Tosca” July 24 & 29, 8:30 p.m.

“The Barber of Seville”

Theater Cincinnati Landmark Productions | 513-241-6550.

Movers & Makers

cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com July 21-Aug. 8. “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” (Covedale Theater) Commonwealth Artists Student Theater | Highlands High School. 859-474-2811. caststages.org July 1-11. “Indecent” (at The Carnegie) July 16-25. “Big Fish” East Side Players | Blue Ash Amphitheater. esptheater.org July 1-3. ESP Showcase July 29-Aug. 1, Aug. 4-7.

“Seussical” InBocca Performance | facebook.com July 29-Aug. 1. “The Book of Monsters,” children’s play Kincaid Regional Theatre | Griffin Center, Falmouth.

859-654-2636. krtshows.com July 9-16. “Peter Pan” by KRT Kids Memorial Hall | Washington Park, Over-the-Rhine. memorialhallotr.com July 10, noon and 2 p.m.

The Dino Encounters Show with Rocky The T-rex Middletown Lyric Theatre | Finkelman Auditorium, Middletown. 513-425-7140. middletownlyric.org July 2-17. “All-American Cabaret” Sorg Opera House | Middletown. sorgoperahouse.org July 9-18. “Children of Eden”

Visual Art The Annex Gallery | The Pendleton Art Center. facebook.com Thru July 31. “For a Better World 2019, 2020 & 2021” Art Design Consultants East | O’Bryonville. 513-723-1222. adcfineart.com Thru July 2. Diane Harm, T Barny and Cheryl Hrudka July 2-July 23. Melanie Brannan and Christina Sodano. Reception: July 2, 4-6 p.m.

July 30-Aug. 20. Lynne Meade. Reception: July 30, 4-6 p.m.

Art Design Consultants West | West End. adcfineart.com Thru July 16. Howard Bollinger and Talley Fisher. Reception: June 25, 4-7 p.m.

July 29, 6-9 p.m. The Collective, fashion launch party.

(Model fittings, 9 a.m.-noon)

Middletown Arts Center | Middletown. 513-424-2417. middletownartscenter.com Thru July 29. Oil Paintings

by Ben Frederick July 26-Aug. 26. 10th Annual Photography and Digital Art Competition

ArtScape Lebanon | Lebanon. artscapelebanon.org Thru July 14. Juneteenth celebration: “Art In Color: Celebrating Black Artists”

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center | The Banks, Downtown.

513-333-7500. freedomcenter.org July 2-Sept. 24. “We Are the Story: A Visual Response to Racism,” thematic quilts

ArtWorks | Peebles Corner, Walnut Hills. 513-333-0388. artworkscincinnati.org Thru July 31. “Student Power” The Barn | Mariemont.

513-272-3700. artatthebarn.org July 9-21. Boone County Painters. Reception: July 11, 1-4 p.m.

Caza Sikes | Oakley.

513-290-3127. cazasikes.com Thru July 31. Hiep van Nguyen: “From Saigon to Cincinnati,” over 50 works from Vietnamese American Cincinnati-based artist Cincinnati Museum Center | Union Terminal, Queensgate.

513-287-7000. cincymuseum.org July 23-Feb. 21. “Borrowed Gems from the Taft Museum of Art” Clifton Cultural Arts Center | Short Vine St., Corryville. 513497-2860. cliftonculturalarts.org Thru July 16. Community Art Show July 23-Aug. 20. Shelby Alexander Solo Exhibition. Reception: TBA Manifest Gallery | East Walnut Hills. 513-861-3638. manifestgallery.com July 9-Aug. 6. “Semblance” • “Pattern” • “Cherished” • “Master Pieces 15” Reception: July 9, 6-9 p.m.

Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights.

859-572-5148. nku.edu/gallery Thru July 30. Juried Student Exhibition (Virtual) Save Our Souls Art | sosartcincinnati.com Thru July 3. “InsideOut: An Affirming Epiphany” (at Price Hill Branch Public Library) Thru Aug. 31. SOS ART 2021: online exhibit Taft Museum of Art | Lytle Park, Downtown.

513-241-0343. taftmuseum.org July 3-Jan. 2. “In a New Light – Treasures from the Taft” Warren County Historical Museum | Lebanon. wchsmuseum.org Thru July 23. Sylvia Thompson Outland: Drawings and Paintings Wave Pool Gallery | Camp Washington. wavepoolgallery.org July 3-Aug. 7. “Breathe!: Artists Respond to the Crises of Our Age” Reception: July 3, 6-9 p.m.

Weston Art Gallery | Aronoff Center, Downtown. 513-977-4165. cincinnatiarts.org July 10-Aug. 28. Eric S. England: “25¢ Gods” • Paul Thie: “Copy Cave – Cincinnati” • Breanne Trammell: “Slow Burn” 

Get listed Arts/Culture listings are free.* Send event details and photos to: editor@moversmakers.org * See page 4 for print deadlines.

ARTS/CULTURE

Cincinnati Museum Center reopens Children’s Museum and more this summer Cincinnati Museum Center has reopened the Children’s Museum after a 16-month closure due to the pandemic.

“We’ve been working closely with healthcare professionals and following CDC guidelines over the past several months to determine when we can responsibly reopen,” said Elizabeth Pierce, president & CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center.

CMC will limit guest capacity and is implementing the same cleaning protocols

”The Woods” play area inside the Children’s Museum

it has been following in its other museums.

Guests will be required to wear masks to protect those who are not vaccinated.

CMC also anticipates reopening its STEM-in-action Science Interactives Gallery, presented by Procter & Gamble, this summer. The updated Ice Age Gallery, closed since the start of Union Terminal’s restoration in July 2016, also is reopening.

For ticketing details, member benefits and availability, check the center’s web site.  www.cincymuseum.org

Visitors playing and learning at the Children’s Museum

Elizabeth Pierce

Kim Anno, “H/our Breath,” video installation, 2021

Wave Pool artists explore current crises in ‘Breathe!’

July 5-Aug. 7, Wave Pool Contemporary Art Fulfillment Center “Breathe!: Artists Respond to the Crises of Our Age” is an art exhibition/dialogue that asks: How can we recover from the past year, find resilience and breathe again?

Artists Erika Nj Allen, Kim Anno, Sharareh Khosravani and Stephen Slaughter explore physical, emotional, and political approaches. Each artist examines a different strategy.

“Breathing has grabbed the world’s attention over the past two years,” says guest curator Andrea Torrice. “I invited these four talented artists to create work that responds to the question, how can we breathe freely?”

The exhibition kicks off with a community conversation featuring guest speakers Flavia Bastos, James P. Buchanan and Renee Mahaffey Harris.

If You Go: • Opening night special community event, 6-9 p.m. July 3, Wave Pool. Free.

• Erika Nj Allen’s “Respira” participatory installation, 6-8 p.m. July 10, Wave Pool. Free.  www.wavepoolgallery.org

Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men July 9–October 3, 2021 | Ticketed. Free for members.

This exhibition was organized with the generous support of the Harold C. Schott Foundation.

Presented by:

Additional support:

Generously supported by: August A. Rendigs, Jr. Foundation, Charles Scott Riley III Foundation, Lee Carter Family Fund, Marnick Foundation, Jack and Joyce Steinman, The Wieler Family Foundation Sandro Botticelli (Italian, 1445–1510), Ideal Portrait of a Lady (“Simonetta Vespucci”) (detail), 1475–80, tempera on poplar panel, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, 106 A

Movers & Makers

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ARTS/CULTURE

Art Museum to display prized artworks recovered in World War II Cincinnati man played central role in restoration July 9-Oct. 3, Cincinnati Art Museum “Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces in America,” a new exhibit at Cincinnati Art Museum, tells the story of how and why some of the world’s most famous European paintings left Germany immediately after World War II and toured the United States in what became the first blockbuster art exhibition of the time.

Walter Farmer, Cincinnati’s own “Monuments Man,” played a central role in this story.

During the final years of World War II, Allied forces endeavored to protect artworks, archives and monuments across Europe, and they worked to return works looted by the Nazis to their rightful owners after the war.

These efforts were led by the “Monuments Men,” the men and women of the Monuments, Fine Art, and Archives program, established in 1943 by the Allied armies. They included museum curators, art historians, and others trained to identify and care for works of art.

CAM visitors will see four of the original paintings lent by the State Museums of Berlin, including Sandro Botticelli’s “Ideal Portrait of a Lady,” paired with paintings from CAM’s permanent collection.

The exhibition also addresses Farmer, first director of the Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point, where artworks were prepared for return to their rightful owners. Farmer assembled “Monuments Men” to draft the Wiesbaden Manifesto, protesting the shipment of paintings to the U.S. Following the war, he was a Cincinnati resident and arts supporter for almost 50 years.

Tickets to this special exhibition are free for museum members, and range from $5 to $10 for the general public. All active-duty military, reserves and veterans can receive a complimentary three-month CAM membership during this exhibition.  www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org The US Third Army discovers Édouard Manet’s “In The Winter Garden” in the salt mines at Merkers, April 25, 1945.

Image courtesy of National Archives at College Park, Md.

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JULY 2021

Movers & Makers

John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925), “Robert Louis Stevenson,” 1887, oil on canvas. Taft Museum of Art, bequest of Charles Phelps Taft and Anna Sinton Taft

Two new exhibits draw focus as Taft Museum of Art starts major infrastructure project For only the second time since the museum’s creation a century ago, the Taft Museum’s prized artworks will be temporarily removed to prepare for the Bicentennial Infrastructure Project, set to begin in August. Supported by the Love This House capital campaign, the renovation project is intended to ensure the future stability of the 200-year-old historic house.

To prepare for rehabilitation, the Taft began deinstalling the permanent collection in late May and shutting down galleries during the process. The deinstallation also includes caring for objects such as the custom window treatments found throughout the home, protecting the 150-year-old Duncanson murals, and monitoring the home’s environment.

New exhibitions from the collection: “In a New Light | Treasures from the Taft” will be a focal point July 3 to May 1, 2022, at the Taft and will highlight Anna and Charles Taft’s vision as art collectors, representing their legacy to the people of Cincinnati.

“Borrowed Gems from the Taft Museum of Art” – will be on display at the Cincinnati Museum Center from July 23 to Feb. 21, 2022. About 40 prized “gems” of the Taft are being loaned – portraits and landscape paintings from masters such as Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Charles François Daubigny and Thomas Gainsborough, plus decorative arts featuring Qing dynasty ceramics and 18th-century golden watches.

13 The Datebook COVID ALERT: PLEASE VERIFY ALL DATES AND LOCATIONS WITH EVENT ORGANIZERS. THINGS CHANGE. JULY 8, THURSDAY Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired, Braille Ale | 6-9 p.m. West Side Brewing. DETAILS: Small silent auction (West Side businesses), celebrity MC (TBD), split the pot, blindfolded beer-tasting contest, light snacks. ¼www.cincyblind.org

Cincinnati Nature Center, Hoots & Hops | 6-10 p.m.

Krippendorf Lodge, Cincinnati Nature Center. DETAILS: Beer and dessert samples from local craft brewers and area restaurants and caterers, food trucks, live music, plus education stations along the hiking trails. Tickets: $45/person. ¼www.cincynature.org

JULY 12, MONDAY Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 2021 CF Golf Classic | 11:30 a.m. Traditions Golf Club, Hebron.

DETAILS: Boxed lunch, golfer gift, 18-holes with cart, beverages and snack, to-go dinner. ¼https://events.cff.org/

cincygolfclassic JULY 17, SATURDAY FC Cincinnati Foundation, FCC3 Walk/Run |  See Spotlight, page 13.J

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With a Spotlight on the Movers and Makers behind Greater Cincinnati’s Fundraisers, Friend-Raisers and Community Events

JULY 19, MONDAY New Life Furniture Bank, Golf Classic | 10 a.m. Oasis Golf Club in Loveland. DETAILS: Outdoors with food, drinks, raffle, silent auction, hole challenges and more. A cocktail reception and awards ceremony in the clubhouse will follow. ¼www.nlfurniture.org

JULY 21, WEDNESDAY Clermont Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 2021 Salute to Leaders Awards |  See Spotlight, page 15.

JULY 25, SUNDAY Ken Anderson Alliance, Annual Ride for Autism |  See Spotlight, page 15.

JULY 29, THURSDAY Jewish Community Relations Council, Annual Meeting “The Crisis of Extremism” | 7 p.m. Virtual. DETAILS: Celebrate outgoing President Ronna Greff Schneider, and meet incoming President Mark Barsman.

Speakers: Integrity First for America Executive Director Amy Spitalnick and Lead Counsel Robbie Kaplan. ¼www.jewishcincinnati.org/jcrc

Scene from the FCC3 race in July 2019

Flying Pig events resume with FCC3 benefit Saturday, July 17, downtown Cincinnati Flying Pig racing returns with the FCC3 to benefit the FC Cincinnati Foundation, the charitable arm of FC Cincinnati, and Flying Pig Marathon Charities.

The FCC3, presented by Medpace, will start with a 3-mile walk/run, finishing at TQL Stadium.

After the race there will be a watch party at the stadium, presented by TQL, as FC Cincinnati takes on CF Montreal on the road.

Participants will receive a shirt and a medal, and access to the watch party. Time and course details will be released closer to the date.  Registration: www.fccrace.com

Envision’s ‘Hot Cars Raffle’ ends Aug. 31 Envision’s “Hot Cars Raffle” was launched on May 1 to raise money to provide services to more than 600 children and adults with developmental disabilities in Greater Cincinnati. Only 1,500 tickets will be sold at $100 each. A $500 bonus drawing (the last of three) will be held Aug. 1, with the grand prize drawing Aug. 31. The grand prize winner will have the choice of one of three “hot cars” or up to $50,000 in cash.

“The odds of winning are so much better than the lottery and we hope that the local community – and beyond – will support this important fundraiser for Envision,” said President & CEO Jim Steffey.

Founded in 1963, Envision offers five programs, including a new day program, that promote independence, healthy relationships and community inclusion.  www.envisionohio.org

Danger Wheel returns: a race to the bottom … of 12th Street Saturday, July 31, 2-8:30 p.m., 12th and Broadway, Pendleton Danger Wheel is adult downhill big wheel racing. Full-grown, well-padded adults are launched bobsled-style down a treacherous slope, attempting to steer oversized tricycles through a challenging

obstacle course. Winners/survivors go on to race in the next, even more challenging, round. (Did we forget to mention the water balloons thrown by spectators?)

All proceeds benefit beautification projects in the Pendleton neighborhood.

Register by July 20: $100 per team.  www.dangerwheel.com Movers & Makers

JULY 2021 13

DATEBOOK JULY 30-AUG. 1, FRI.-SUN.

Woods. Tickets: $45/person. ¼www.cincynature.org

Talbert House, Bang Bang in Paradise (To-Go)  See Spotlight, page 14.

AUG. 21, SATURDAY Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, Teal Power 5K Run & Walk | 8 a.m. Blue Ash Summit Park.

DETAILS: Raffle, vendor booths, fastest time winners. ¼www.runsignup.com/

tealpower5k

JULY 31, SATURDAY Danger Wheel 6 |  See Spotlight, page 13.

AUG. 6, FRIDAY St. Rita School for the Deaf, Annual Golf Outing | 9:30 a.m. Glenview Golf Course, 10965 Springfield Pike. DETAILS: Hors d’oeuvres and awards.

Honoring and remembering Mike Cappel (1947-2020). ¼www.srsdeaf.org/Golf.aspx

AUG. 7, SATURDAY Paddlefest | 7 a.m. Schmidt Recreation Complex, East End.  See Spotlight, this page.

Rotary Club of Cincinnati, Believe 2 Achieve Summer Party | 7-9:30 p.m. Brain Brew Distillery in Newtown. DETAILS: MC: Bob Herzog, Local 12.

Cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, buffet dinner, live and silent auctions.

Sponsor pre-party at 6 p.m. with mixologist Molly Wellmann. ¼www.cincinnatirotary.org

AUG. 22-29, SUNDAY EquaSion, Annual Cincinnati Festival of Faiths |  See Spotlight, page 17.

AUG. 24, TUESDAY

Easterseals, Honor Ride | DETAILS: Show support for America’s veterans with a 6-mile or 22-mile bike ride. May be completed with a group led by the Wyoming Ohio Cycling Foundation or on a route of your choice. ¼www.eastersealshonorride.com

May We Help, “Reach Beyond”  See Spotlight, page 17.

SEPT. 9, THURSDAY

AUG. 12, THURSDAY Companions on a Journey, Annual Celebrity Classic | 10:30 a.m. Glenview Golf Course.  See Spotlight, page 17.

AUG. 13, FRIDAY Cincinnati Nature Center, Hoots & Hops | 6-10 p.m.

Krippendorf Lodge, Cincinnati Nature Center. DETAILS: Beer and dessert samples from local craft brewers and area restaurants and caterers, food trucks, live music, and nature education stations along the hiking trails at Rowe

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JULY 2021

Friday-Sunday, July 30-Aug. 1, pickup at Bonefish Grill, Hyde Park, 11:00 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

Each year, Talbert House partners with Bonefish Grill in Hyde Park for a Bang Bang in Paradise benefit.

Participants can pick up a custom package of Bonefish favorites, including Bang Bang Shrimp.

Each $50 Paradise Party Pack includes a three-course meal for one and a donation to Talbert House. Kids meals are available for $7. Orders must be placed by July 25.

Talbert House empowers children, adults and families to live healthy, safe and productive lives.  www.talberthouse.org

Cancer Family Care, Joslin Haggart Yeiser Unsung Hero Awards | 6-9 p.m.

Hilton Netherland Plaza Pavilion.

DETAILS: Cocktails, dinner, and awards program. Tickets start at $45. Children’s tickets $15. ¼513-731-3346

AUG. 11, WEDNESDAY Pro Seniors, Inc., Seniors Who Rock 2021 | DETAILS: TBA ¼www.proseniors.org

Bonefish reels in tasty help for Talbert House

Findlay Market, Flavor of Findlay | 6:30 p.m.

DETAILS: Top local chefs paired with market merchants to create delicious, one-of-a-kind dishes.

Each tasting station has a wine pairing. Silent auction. ¼www.findlaymarket.org

SEPT. 11, SATURDAY The Cure Starts Now, Once in a Lifetime Gala | Duke Convention Center. DETAILS: Auction, dinner and program.

Includes complimentary beer, wine and soft drinks. Tickets: $100. ¼www.thecurestartsnow.org

Movers & Makers

Tamie Sullivan picks up Party Packs at last year’s Bang Bang in Paradise.

The 9-mile trek down the Ohio River takes paddlers past Cincinnati’s bridges.

Paddlefest, at 20, celebrates with new features Saturday, Aug. 7, Ohio River Ohio River Paddlefest returns to the water for its 20th year. To mark the anniversary, event organizers are adding new features.

Dreamed up by friends who wanted to paddle together, the first Paddlefest took place in 2001 with 275 paddlers. It is now the nation’s largest paddling celebration, attracting 2,000 paddlers for a 9-mile float down the Ohio River the first Saturday in August. The paddle is bookended by a Friday night pre-party and Saturday postpaddle Finish Line Festival.

This year’s event will feature a half-distance (approximately 4.5-mile) paddle for those who’d like to try paddling the Ohio without committing to the full distance.

• Friday night pre-party – The Outdoors for All Expo, at Schmidt Recreation Complex 4-9:30 p.m., is free to the public. Enjoy exhibits and demos from local parks, outdoor outfitters, adventure experts and environmental organizations, plus live music, local beer and food trucks. Attendees can ride in a voyageur canoe, hang out in the hammock lounge or test ride a bike.

• Saturday paddle and post-paddle party – Both routes start at Schmidt Recreation Complex in the East End. The 9-mile paddle, launching 7-8:30 a.m., ends at Gilday Recreation Complex in Riverside, where paddlers can enjoy the post-paddle Finish Line Festival, with exhibits, food trucks and local beer. Free shuttles return to Schmidt until 1 p.m.

The 4.5-mile paddle launches 8:40-9:30 a.m and finishes at the Public Landing downtown.

Cost for the 9-mile paddle is $65 adult, $25 youth 17 and under; the 4.5mile paddle is $60 adult, $20 youth.

Prices increase Aug. 1. Use your boat, or rent a kayak or canoe with advance registration.

Proceeds benefit Adventure Crew, which provides free outdoor recreation opportunities to city teens in 24 area high schools. St. Elizabeth Healthcare returns as presenting sponsor.  www.ohioriverpaddlefest.org

DATEBOOK

Salute to Leaders co-hosts Bob Pautke and Cyndy Wright Sellers with Clermont Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Joy Lytle

presents:

Clermont Chamber honors volunteers with Salute to Leaders Awards Wednesday, July 21, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Oasis Conference Center, Loveland Shining a spotlight on exceptional volunteers in Clermont County, the Clermont Chamber of Commerce Foundation announced recipients of the 2021 Salute to Leaders Awards.

The honorees will be recognized with a dinner and awards ceremony.

“Salute to Leaders is an extra-special, long-standing tradition of honoring our unsung heroes in Clermont County,” said Park National Bank assistant vice president and event

committee member Cyndy Wright Sellers. “Sharing the good news of amazing volunteers gives us a chance to pause and appreciate how blessed we are.”

Since 1994, Salute to Leaders Awards have honored volunteers for their contributions to the community. Tickets are $30. Presenting sponsor is Park National Bank.  Full list of honorees: www.moversmakers.org/ clermont-chamber-honors  Registration: 513-576-5000 or www.clermontchamber.com

Ken Anderson Alliance hosts Ridin’ and Rockin’ for Autism

BENEFITING

The Christ Hospital Heart & Vascular Institute

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2021 VIP Reception Sponsor:

July 25, 1-4 p.m., Queen City Harley-Davidson, Fairfield The Ken Anderson Alliance is hosting the eighth annual Ridin’ and Rockin’ for Autism in Fairfield, with Mayor Steve Miller giving the official call to start the ride.

Music will be provided by Sweet Sister Mercy after the ride, which will be escorted by the Butler County Sheriff's Department.

The alliance, founded by Bengals great Ken Anderson, is a nonprofit dedicated to providing opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities.

Early bird prices for the ride are in effect until July 15. Participants are encouraged to pre-register online to make the event contactfree, and pre-registration includes the official ride T-shirt. Call 513-831-8321 for more information.  www.kenandersonalliance.org

Celebration Party Sponsor:

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE Ken Anderson with Parker Kahle, whose father, David Kahle, started Autism Rocks to help pay Parker’s medical expenses and now uses the events to benefit the Ken Anderson Alliance.

For more information, including health & safety measures being taken, call 513.585.2904 or visit TheChristHospital.com/Gala

GALA Imagine Movers&Makers ad r3.indd 1

Movers & Makers

JULY 2021 15

6/1/21 1:59 PM

DATEBOOK SEPT. 11, SATURDAY (CONT.) Stepping Stones, Bloom: Boots & Bourbon | 7 p.m. Valley View Foundation.

DETAILS: Bourbon tastings, silent auction, dinner, live music by Catalina Wine Mixer. Tickets $150/person. ¼www.cincybloom.org

SEPT. 15, WEDNESDAY Comboni Missionaries, Love Thy Neighbor: Immigration Talk with Su Casa | 6 p.m.

Cincinnati Mission Center, 1318 Nagel Road. DETAILS: Lite bites and drinks. Experts from Su Casa discuss important issues surrounding immigration, both locally and nationally. ¼RSVP

nolan@combonimissionaries.org or 513-474-4997 ¼www.combonimissionaries.org

SEPT. 23, THURSDAY Impact 100, Annual Awards Celebration | DETAILS: TBA ¼www.impact100.org

Hearing Speech + Deaf Center, Annual Laura and Richard Kretschmer Service Award Gala | 6 p.m. Bell Event Centre, 444 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH. DETAILS: Honoring Donna Mayerson, Ph.D. ¼www.hearingspeechdeaf.org

SEPT. 24, FRIDAY Big Brothers Big Sisters, The BIG Breakfast |  See Spotlight, this page.

SEPT. 30, THURSDAY Center for Respite Care, Transformation Awards |  See Spotlight, this page.

Local CEOs are keynote speakers for Big Brothers Big Sisters BIG Breakfast Friday, Sept. 24, 7:30-9 a.m.

Hyatt Regency Cincinnati, downtown “Together We Are Defenders of Potential” is the theme of the third annual BIG Breakfast benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati.

Keynote speakers are Procter & Gamble Chairman, President and CEO David Taylor and Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen. They will share their insights on the importance of mentoring.

Both will be honored for their actions during the health crisis.

Space is limited to 440 guests to offer social distancing, and only table sponsorships are available currently. Previous events have sold out. Presenting sponsor is Kraft Heinz.

Dave Taylor of Procter & Gamble

Rodney McMullen of Kroger

For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has made meaningful matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), forging positive relationships that have a lasting effect on the lives of young people.  www.bigsforkids.org

SEPT 16, THURSDAY Horizon Community Funds, Give Where You Live NKY | 6-7 p.m. Wooden Cask Brewery.

DETAILS: A fun, casual way for community members to give back in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties. Participating members nominate a nonprofit, and three names are randomly selected and briefly discussed. Members then vote on their favorite, and each member contributes $100 for the grant to the winning organization. ¼www.horizonfunds.org

SEPT. 20, MONDAY Clermont Chamber of Commerce, Golf for Kids | 10 a.m. Oasis Golf Club, 902 Loveland Miamiville Road.

DETAILS: Contest holes, raffles, bottle pull. Lunch, dinner, awards. ¼www.clermontchamber.com

Santa Maria Community Services, The Sharing Table | ARCO/Price Hill Will, 3301 Price Ave. DETAILS: TBA OCT. 1, FRIDAY Cincinnati Parks Foundation, Hats Off Luncheon | DETAILS: Take a small group of friends or family to your favorite neighborhood Cincinnati Park to partake in a community picnic. ¼cincinnatiparksfoundation.org

Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, Jeans & Jewels Gala | 6-10 p.m.

Fairfield Receptions. DETAILS: Hors d’oeuvres, open bar during cocktail hour, dinner, dessert, wine with dinner, silent and live auctions. ¼www.cincyovariancancer.org

See into the future with our Datebook online www.moversmakers.org/datebook NPOs may send event details and photos to: editor@moversmakers.org *See Page 4 for print deadlines. Events that are featured are chosen at the discretion of editorial staff.

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JULY 2021

Movers & Makers

Center for Respite Care staying virtual for Transformational Awards Sept. 30, virtual The Center for Respite Care is sticking with a virtual fundraising format in September based on its 2020 success.

The center’s Transformational Awards will be held Sept. 30. Each year the center recognizes individuals and organizations who have contributed to the betterment and quality of life in our region. This includes a tribute to those who have improved life for our less fortunate. The event will last less than an hour, with highly produced videos of each honoree, and host Liz Bonis of Local 12 WKRC-TV. Bonis has been a longtime friend of the center.

This year’s honorees: • Impact 100. This all-women giving society has awarded more than $5.12 million to local nonprofit organizations, funding 47 breakthrough initiatives in culture, education, environmental preservation and recreation, family and health, and wellness.

• Our Daily Bread. Staff and volunteers serve 300 to 400 meals daily, five days a week.

• The Chertock Family. Pianist Michael Chertock is keyboardist for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Michael and Maaike Chertock

Mary Ellen Tobe-Roberts

and chair of the piano department of the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music. Michael Chertock and Friends Holiday Concerts on behalf of Center for Respite Care have been held since 2014, and have included his three children.

• Mary Ellen Tobe-Roberts. Her involvement with the center began in 2016, when Roberts returned to Cincinnati.

Introduced through her parish, St. Francis De Sales Church, Roberts’ time commitment and gifts to the center have made her a key volunteer.  www.centerforrespitecare.org

DATEBOOK

May We Help gala a chance to ‘reach beyond’ Saturday, Aug. 28, 6:30 p.m., 7967 Ayers Road, Cincinnati OH 45255

In 2015, Companions on a Journey board member Mike Munafo with mother and COJ founder, Sheila Munafo-Kanoza and brother Tony Munafo

COVID-19 losses deepen golf event need Thursday, Aug. 12, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

More than 61,000 children and youth under the age of 25 are currently grieving the death of at least one parent in the six counties surrounding Cincinnati, and many are grieving more losses due to COVID-19.

That’s the “why” of the Companions on a Journey golf outing, now in its seventh year of benefiting bereaved children, teens and adults.

The day begins with registration and lunch, followed by a shotgun start. Non-golfers can join the fun by attending the 19th hole reception, dinner and awards at 4:30 p.m.  513-479-3834, jeanne@companionsonajourney.org, www.cojclassic.eventbrite.com

This year’s May We Help gala will be held outside at the home of Joe and Lorraine Mayernik, with social media sensation Grace Anna as the keynote speaker.

The gala theme of “Reach Beyond” supports May We Help. Often a device is all that stands in the way of an individual with a disability achieving independence. A team of volunteers – engineers, industrial designers, inventors, welders, woodworkers, seamstresses, doctors, and occupational and physical therapists – design, build and deliver custom devices at no cost to hundreds of clients every year.

The evening will feature live music by the Just Strange Brothers, food, and award-winning beer by Big Ash Brewing. The cost is $150 per person.  www.maywehelp.org Keynote speaker Grace Anna

(Top) Afreen Asif, Bishop Marvin F. Thomas Sr., (bottom) Jaipal Singh, Penny Pensak

Festival of Faiths to be held virtually August 22-29, 2021, online EquaSion’s 4th annual Cincinnati Festival of Faiths will mostly be held virtually. The festival is the community’s most inclusive gathering of religious groups, involving more than 30 faith traditions representing 14 world religions.

The festival theme is “Compassion Through Action: We Are In It Together.” Its purpose is to showcase the community’s rich religious diversity and religion’s contributions to its quality of life, and to demonstrate the unity of the interfaith community.

More than 50 civic leaders and representatives of faith traditions are festival planners. Co-chairs are Afreen Asif, Penny Pensak, Jaipal Singh and Bishop Marvin F. Thomas Sr.  www.equasion.org

of Jazz

JULY 21, 5:30 p.m.

Presented by Learning Through Art, Inc. In partnership with Jazz Alive and St. Aloysius

AUGUST 10, 6:30 p.m.

Myles Twitty Quartet Trilogy featuring Nancy James, Dixie Karas and Mandy Gaines

Cincinnati Pops Orchestra with Conductor John Morris Russell

Soul Pocket

St. Aloysius Lawn, 4721 Reading Road | Free Admission SPONSORS Ruby: First Financial Bank | Procter & Gamble | Greater Cincinnati Foundation Sapphire: Bon Secours Mercy Health

Movers & Makers

JULY 2021 17

PROFILE

Her mission: Elevating others Laura Mitchell leaves CPS to take over at Beech Acres

A

fter a long and successful career in education, Laura Mitchell has taken her first steps down a new path. Mitchell, superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools since 2017, became president and CEO of Beech Acres Parenting Center in June.

Although the move marks a departure from the school district where the Walnut Hills resident spent most of her career, it’s a continuation of what she sees as her life’s mission.

“I want to elevate the human condition of people,” she said. “Elevating people is what gives me energy. It excites me and inspires me.

“When I think about kids graduating from high school and from college; when I think about young people starting their own businesses; when I think about families owning their first home, that gives me so much excitement, because that’s what I really want to do with my life.

“That’s how I want to spend every day, elevating the people not only around me, but in our broader community.”

and we had school.”

Mitchell’s first teaching job after graduating from North Carolina’s Bennett College was in Athens, Ga. But it wasn’t long before she returned to her hometown and Cincinnati Public Schools, the district she had attended. Mitchell is a School for Creative and Performing Arts grad and still harbors a love of the arts.

Other than working at a San Francisco-based foundation in the mid-2000s, she has spent her career at CPS, starting as a teacher in 1993 and then rising to assistant principal, principal, deputy superintendent and then superintendent in 2017.

“It was never my deep desire to be a principal or a superintendent,” she reflected. “I’ve never been one to chase ambitions. It just isn’t who I am. I do things because I feel it is the thing I’m supposed to do at the time to make a difference.”

She took each step in her career at CPS because she saw that opportunity. With three years left on her contract there, she wasn’t necessarily looking for a change.

A born teacher

Answering a call

Teaching was one way to fulfill that mission.

“I understand how education is a social justice issue, and it helps to elevate people and it gives them opportunity and access,” she said.

A Bond Hill native, Mitchell, 52, comes from a long line of educators, including her mother.

“I have wanted to be in education since the age of 4,” she said. “I was the kid who gathered all the kids in the neighborhood; we went down to the basement and set up TV trays,

Then Beech Acres’ President and CEO, Jim Mason, who’d served in that role for 31 of his 42 years with the organization, announced his impending retirement. During his tenure, Beech Acres grew from an orphanage with 60 children living on site to a parenting center that served more than 20,000 parents, children and teachers. Its mindset is to help children in their natural environments, which starts with parents but includes schools, healthcare and kinship care.

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By Shauna Steigerwald

“I think what is so much needed in our society is a sense of belonging …

‘Belonging’ means I’m a part of the change and a part of the decisions. I’m helping to set the table.”

– Laura Mitchell

Mitchell had been on the center’s board since 2016. (It was one of 13 boards on which she served while superintendent.) She saw stepping into Beech Acres’ top role as an opportunity to work toward her mission of elevating people and creating social change.

“I think that to change our society and to change culture in a positive way in neighborhoods and cities and states, it’s through our young people and our families,” she said.

She is attracted to Beech Acres’ Natural Strength Parenting approach, which focuses on identifying children’s strengths, parenting with intention and practicing mindfulness. Mitchell appreciates that it’s an asset-based model rather than a deficit-based one.

“People are so angry right now.

They’re hurting so much. There’s so

much blame and pointing the finger and so much identifying what’s wrong,” she said. “We need to, as a society, look for the strengths in ourselves and look for the strengths in other people.”

Mitchell also views Beech Acres’ programs – those related to foster care and adoption, kinship and parenting support, and school and healthcare – as critical for helping communities.

The challenge of kinship care is something she understands on a personal level. Married with three adult stepchildren, she and her husband have raised their 10-year-old granddaughter for the last seven years.

“Raising a child is the absolutely toughest job I’ve ever had – far harder than being a superintendent,” she said.

Another aspect of Beech Acres she appreciates is that the organization strives to create a sense of belonging.

“I think what is so much needed in our society is a sense of belonging,” she said. “True, authentic belonging is different than diversity, inclusion and equity … ‘Diversity’ says that I’m represented at the table. ‘Inclusion’ says that I have a seat, that I’ve been included. ‘Equity’ says there’s a distribution of power and resources.

‘Belonging’ means I’m a part of the change and a part of the decisions.

I’m helping to set the table.”

Although Mitchell said the pandemic wasn’t the reason for her move, it did bring some things into clearer focus.

PROFILE “I felt called to do the work that Beech Acres is doing because of the disparities I’m seeing in our schools right now – specifically as it relates to social and emotional learning as a result of COVID and the civil unrest that has taken place across this nation.”

Some of those disparities existed but were exacerbated during the pandemic, according to Mitchell. For example, during distance and blended learning, she saw students suffering without social and emotional learning that came from connecting with other students and teachers.

“I am convinced that academic achievement will only go so far without this social and emotional learning component,” she said.

Mitchell also saw firsthand the struggles families faced while trying to meet kids’ educational needs during COVID-19, illustrating that families often need the kind of support Beech Acres provides.

Checking every box As much as the new role is a fit for Mitchell’s goals, Beech Acres’ board saw her as a fit with theirs.

Jenny Franta, a board member since 2013 (she wrapped up her term as chair June 30), said the board had five major criteria for the new CEO: a passion for children and families; business acumen and leading a complex organization; a strategic thinker; interpersonal and communications skills; and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Laura really checked every single one of those boxes,” Franta said.

“The other thing that Laura added … is just her inspirational executive leadership,” she added. “She just does a phenomenal job inspiring others.”

Mason, who’s worked closely with Mitchell on the transition, cites a long list of qualities that make her right for the role, from her passion and compassion for children to her calm demeanor, analytical and problemsolving skills, and her humility.

“Laura puts the mission first and sees herself as a key leader, as a servant to the mission and a servant to those people whom she is leading,” he said.

She does hope to bring a new perspective, one that’s filtered through the lens of having seen what kids and families need from a classroom, school and district perspective. After all, her work as superintendent at CPS exposed her to some 36,000 kids.

But Mitchell also anticipates having a lot to learn about the nonprofit world – and she’s excited to learn it.

“I’m a good learner,” she said.

“I listen, I learn and then I put the information together to be able to generate action.”

She hopes she accomplishes that quickly at Beech Acres, because she sees the disruption of COVID-19 as an opportunity for positive change.

“There’s a sense of urgency in terms of the system that’s been disrupted,” she said. “Our window for change may be a relatively short window.”

Mitchell has big goals for Beech Acres. She wants the organization to be “the region’s first choice” for the services it offers.

From there, she hopes to broaden the reach beyond Cincinnati. Beech Acres already does some work in Texas and Tennessee. Mitchell would like to see it go nationwide.

“When you love what you’re doing, there’s never a perfect time to leave,” Mason said of his retirement. “But ... it is just so great to be able to hand this off and to have a level of confidence that (Mitchell’s) not only going to be able to do the job – and what I’ve done won’t be lost – but she’ll be able to take it to another level.”

For Mitchell, retirement is a long way off, yet as someone who loves nature and spends her free time on outdoor activities such as hiking, canoeing and horseback riding, she knows how she’d love to spend it.

“My dream retirement job is to be a forest ranger at a national park out west somewhere,” she said. “A small cabin amongst the mountains … getting back to the simple things in life.”

But for now, she still has a lot of work she wants to do as she leads Beech Acres in its mission, while at the same time fulfilling her own.

“When we elevate our kids and our families, then we elevate the entire culture and our communities and our society. That’s, to me, what it’s about.” 

Wildly Entertaining THANK YOU!

To our generous Guests, Lead Sponsors and Restaurants for their support of Zoo La La 2021!

Presenting Sponsor

Vehicle Sponsor

Education Access Sponsor

Entertainment Sponsor

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CINCINNATI ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDEN

Movers & Makers

JULY 2021 19

In the News

Dress for Success’ new site in Norwood

Luke Jones and nanny Anie Gundrum at CABVI Meet and Play at West Fork Park

Dress for Success moves operations to Norwood

CABVI holds accessible playground event

Dress for Success has moved from its downtown location and now is located at 4623 Wesley Ave. in Norwood, not far from the Board of Elections. The more central location, access to free parking, and proximity to the bus line will make it easier for clients, volunteers and supporters to visit. Clothing donations are accepted 10 a.m.-5 -p.m.

Monday-Thursday. The drop-off is on the back side of the building. The Portaluca boutique will be open 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Thursdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays.

Applications open for EXCEL leadership program The Nonprofit Leadership Institute of Greater Cincinnati (NLIGC) is accepting applications for the 2021-22 EXCEL program, which starts in September. EXCEL is a nine-month leadership development and skills training program for nonprofit executive directors and high-level managers. It is designed to enrich the management capabilities of individuals leading or preparing to lead nonprofit organizations in the region. To apply, visit nligc. com. For questions about the program, contact John Hauck at john.hauck@ talberthouse.org or 513-313-6977.

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Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired (CABVI) held a Meet and Play, an accessible playground event, at West Fork Park. Families with blind or visually impaired children were able to meet other families in similar situations, while being introduced to an inclusive playground for their children. Staff from CABVI’s Early Childhood and Youth Services provided additional information about community resources for families.

GE volunteers work to improve parks For the 30th consecutive year, General Electric employees volunteered their time to beautify areas of Great Parks of Hamilton County. GE employees have given close to 2,000 hours of service at Glenwood Gardens and Winton Woods. For 2021, nearly 20 GE volunteers engaged in Adopt a Park at Glenwood Gardens, planting and mulching 150-200 shrubs and trees, plus 3,000-4,000 annuals.

First Step Home celebration honors three, raises $95K First Step Home raised $95,000 during its annual Awards Celebration, broadcast on WCPO Channel 9.

The program celebrated First Step Home success stories as well as honorees Dr. O’dell Moreno Owens, Dr. Kathy Wedig Stevie, and Bill and Polly Molony.

Funds raised will help programs and services of First Step Home provide treatment to women as they seek sobriety.  www.firststephome.org

GE employees Elise King and Brock Wagehoft help with the planting at Glenwood Gardens.

Giving USA announces record-breaking charitable giving for 2020 For the 18th consecutive year, Jim Yunker and The Yunker Group organized the Giving USA Cincinnati Briefing, which was presented online again this year. Melissa S. Brown, former editor of the report, provided commentary and fielded questions. Presenting sponsors were BBB Center for Ethics, Clark Schaefer Hackett, Community Shares, Fifth Third Foundation, Graydon, Greater Cincinnati Foundation and Three Corners Capital. Movers & Makers served as media sponsor.

“Giving USA 2021: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2020” reported that individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations gave an estimated $471.44 billion to U.S. charities in 2020, the highest total in U.S. history. Total charitable giving grew 5.1% in current dollars over the revised total of $448.66 billion contributed in 2019. Adjusted for inflation, total giving increased 3.8%.

“Giving USA,” the longest-running, most comprehensive report on charitable giving in America, is published by Giving USA Foundation, a public service initiative of The Giving Institute. It is researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI.  To purchase full report: www.givingusa.org

NAMES IN THE NEWS

Platow leaves as director of CAC for Louisville’s Speed Art Museum Raphaela Platow, director of the Contemporary Arts Center since 2007, leaves the CAC July 9 to become director of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, CAC has announced.

During Platow’s 14 years at CAC, annual attendance increased more than fourfold, following two of her major initiatives: The lobby of the Zaha Hadid-designed building was redesigned in 2015, and free admission was implemented in 2016. She also brought together stakeholders from the community, local artists and the board to reenvision the CAC’s 10,000 squarefoot interactive learning space.

“It was my privilege to help shape the vision and program for the CAC over the last 14 years,” said Platow, a renowned curator and art historian. “I am extremely grateful to my colleagues and our board

Raphaela Platow

for their support, and I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished to make the CAC a creative beacon for our community.”

Marcus Margerum, the CAC’s deputy director and chief business officer, becomes interim director July 12.  www.contemporaryartscenter.org

Louis Langrée

CSO’s Langreé to end music directorship Conductor Louis Langrée will leave as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra after the 2023-24 season, the CSO has announced.

That season will mark Langrée’s 11th in that post. Since taking the podium in 2013, Langrée has presided over innovations such as a Pelléas Trilogy, Beethoven [R]evolution, CSO Proof, CSO Look Around, LUMENOCITY, One City/One Symphony and MusicNOW.

“This hasn’t been an easy decision to make because this orchestra and the Cincinnati community have such a special place in my heart,” Langrée said. “But to keep the orchestra fresh, relevant and vital, new leadership with other perspectives is necessary.”

During his tenure through the coming 2021-22 season, the CSO has commissioned or co-commissioned 36 new orchestral works, with 30 world premieres.  www.cincinnatisymphony.org

Explore the world of MASTERPIECE with CET Passport on the PBS Video App.

CETconnect.org/passport

www.CETconnect.org

Movers & Makers

JULY 2021 21

NAMES IN THE NEWS

 Patti Weller-Bresler

Lee Cassiere

Joe Sgro

Antwuan Harrison

Melissa Collins

Gregory DeLong

Cody Hefner

Annemarie Barnett

Judy Racadio

Kimico Atkins

Meeta Khatri

Carol Rountree

Rasheda Cromwell

Theresa L. Gonzales

Michael Link

Lauren Elyse Jones

Donna Salyers

Ken Landon Buck

Jerry Freewalt

Tessa Castner

Matthew Erkkinen



Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI) welcomes one returning and two new board members. Patti Weller-Bresler, who first joined the board in 2011, returns. She is the creative director of PB Design. Lee Cassiere, vice president-audit at Kroger, has joined the board. So has Joe Sgro, practice administrator at Tri-State Centers for Sight.



Talbert House has honored Antwuan Harrison as Employee of the Year for 2020.

Harrison is an operations supervisor at one of the agency’s halfway houses.

Also recognized by Talbert House were Robert Hearon (Housing), Rionna Horton (Community Care), Christine Grant (Mental Health), Monica Williams (Addictions) and Karla Wilson (Central Services).



Philanthropist Melissa Collins has joined the Make-A-Wish Southern Ohio Advisory Board.

Before devoting herself to philanthropic work, she was development director of Film Cincinnati, and also was senior director of digital content and marketing for Chicago Tribune.

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WordPlay Cincy has named Michael Link its new chief storyteller, with Lauren Elyse Jones becoming interim director of development. Link has served various roles with WordPlay, and has been the publisher relations and events manager at Joseph-Beth Booksellers.

Jones has been the brand architect + engagement strategist at Architect Brand + Design Cincinnati, and has held positions with the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Public Allies Cincinnati, YWCA, United Way and Organizing for America.

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Donna Salyers, founder and owner of Donna Salyers Fabulous Furs, has joined Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky’s Council of Trustees.

Beginning in 1989 in the basement of her Cincinnati home, Salyers has grown Fabulous Furs into a majority asset of Salyers Group, a diversified investment company.

Gregory DeLong has been appointed assistant township administrator by Delhi Township.

DeLong previously oversaw Delhi’s economic development, planning and zoning. Previously, he held planning and community development roles for Dayton, Marysville, Zanesville and Washington Township.

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Cincinnati Museum Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center have added Cody Hefner to their leadership teams as vice president of marketing and communications. Hefner, who most recently served both organizations as senior director of marketing and communications, joined CMC in 2011 as visitor services manager.



Rasheda Cromwell is joining the Greater Cincinnati Foundation as new senior director of community strategies to help drive the organization’s philanthropic initiatives. She has served as program director at KnowledgeWorks, and as vice president of development at The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati.

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The Alzheimer’s Association Greater Cincinnati Chapter has appointed Annemarie Barnett as its new executive director. Barnett has led Alzheimer’s fundraising for the organization, and as development director helped drive the Cincinnati Tri-State Walk to End Alzheimer’s to become the fourth largest walk in the nation. She also was manager of women’s leadership giving for United Way of Greater Cincinnati.

Never The Less, a non-profit organization that engages 7th-12th grade girls in the Cincinnati area, has added four board members: Judy Racadio of Madeira, Kimico Atkins of North College Hill, Meeta Khatri of Columbia Tusculum and Carol Rountree of Loveland.

Design Impact has announced Theresa L. Gonzales as its new executive director. She succeeds Kate Hanisian, who co-founded Design Impact 12 years ago. Gonzales most recently served as executive director of Centro Legal de la Raza, a comprehensive legal services and advocacy organization in the San Francisco Bay area.

Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center has named Ken Landon Buck as its first artist in residence in recent history. Buck, a distinguished mixed media artist working in watercolor, pastels and acrylics, will work out of a studio space in the renovated Scudder Building on Baker Hunt’s historic campus. He began teaching classes at Baker Hunt in 2015.

Jerry Freewalt has been appointed executive director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, which is chaired by Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr. Freewalt, who has been director of social concerns for the Diocese of Columbus, succeeds Carolyn Jurkowitz, who is retiring from the conference after 34 years.

Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio has appointed two new members to its Grow PBPO Advisory Council: Tessa Castner of Frost Brown Todd LLC and Matthew Erkkinen of LexisNexis Legal & Professional.

Grow PBPO supports PBPO’s mission through service, community engagement and fundraising/special events. 

Gifts/Grants Deaconess Associations Foundation awards $635K to 18 Cincinnati agencies Deaconess Associations Foundation recently awarded $635,000 in grants to 18 organizations serving Greater Cincinnati, with a focus on improving access to behavioral health care services.

“These grants allow us to continue to deliver meaningful and measurable improvements in community health,” said Tony Woods, the foundation’s executive chairman.  For specific supported programs: www.moversmakers.org/deaconess-awards-635k  www.deaconness-healthcare.com/foundation

Recipients HealthCare Connection, $100,000 The Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky, $75,000 Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services, $65,000 Lighthouse Youth & Family Service, $50,000 IKRON, $50,000 St. Aloysius Orphanage, $50,000 Back2Back Ministries, $40,000 Mental Health America of Northern Kentucky and Southwest Ohio, $25,000

MindPeace, $25,000 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County, $20,000 Cancer Family Care, $20,000 Epilepsy Alliance Ohio, $20,000 First Step Home, $20,000 Focus on Youth, $20,000 Holly Hill Child & Family Solutions, $20,000 GLAD House, $15,000 Cincinnati Music & Wellness Coalition, $10,000 The Tri-State Peer Support Team, $10,000

Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services was able to hire David Buhl, Community Registered Nurse, thanks to the grant.

Allen Alderfer, case manager at Lighthouse Youth & Family Services; Nicole Cook, healthcare navigator; and client.

GCF awards 23 education grants totalling $620K

Horizon creates new fund partnerships with NKY nonprofits

Greater Cincinnati Foundation, in partnership with its donors, recently awarded nearly $620,000 in Educational Success grants to 23 nonprofit organizations.

The grants support in- and out-of-school educational programs that address racial and socioeconomic disparities in educational and career attainment and programs that support social emotional learning and health for students of color and those of low socioeconomic status.  For supported programs: www.moversmakers.org/gifts-grants-5  www.gcfdn.org

Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky has announced several new fund partnerships with Northern Kentucky nonprofits, bringing its total to 27 partnerships so far.

Horizon helps create the funds and manages them for nonprofits, providing a flexible way for donors to support them.

The latest fund partnerships: • Notre Dame Academy: The Sister Mary Paul Ann Hanneken and Sister Mary Rachel Nerone Building Fund, with a $3 million goal, seeks to ensure the integrity of the high school’s 60-year-old building.

• Community Montessori School: The Mary Ann Noll Endowed Scholarship Fund will offer scholarships for students to attend the new school at Fifth and Greenup streets in Covington, supplementing tuition fees for families unable to afford them.

• Family Nurturing Center: Horizon manages the center’s new fund to support its work in Northern Kentucky and Hamilton County to end the cycle of child abuse.

• Learning Grove: A new fund will support the nonprofit’s services to families. Learning Grove is the product of a merger in early 2020 of two agencies, Cincinnati Early Learning

Grantees Bonds of Union, $30,000 Breakthrough Cincinnati, $25,000 Center for Social-Emotional Learning, $29,800 CHIPs Workforce Alliance, $10,000 Cincinnati Union Bethel, $25,000 Easter Seals TriState, $25,000 Elementz, $30,000 Envision Children, $30,000 Found Village, $30,000 GRAD Cincinnati, $25,000 Groundwork Ohio River Valley, Inc., $25,000 Learning Through Art Inc., $30,000 Madisonville Education and Assistance Center, $25,000

Mount St. Joseph University, $25,000 Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission, $30,000 Northern Kentucky Education Council, $30,000 Santa Maria Community Services, $30,000 The Community Builders, $30,000 The D.A.D. Initiative, $20,000 The Gaskins Foundation, $30,000 The Health Collaborative, $30,000 UpSpring, $25,000 YWCA of Greater Cincinnati Inc., $30,000

Horizon president Nancy Grayson

Centers and Children Inc. • Bellevue Independent Schools: Horizon now manages the new Bellevue Education Foundation Fund, which supports innovative programs for students. The foundation is composed of parents, alumni, neighbors and friends who support students.

• Covington Partners: Horizon announced a new fund with this nonprofit, which works with Covington schools to support student achievement. It offers leadership, resiliency, mentorship, health and family engagement programs.

• Kenton Conservancy: Horizon now manages the Kenton Conservancy Fund, a community nonprofit focused on land conservation in Kenton County.

Landowners can use a conservation option on their own land, which may offer income, property and estate tax benefits.  www.horizonfunds.org Movers & Makers

JULY 2021 23

GIFTS/GRANTS

DAV $75k grant to Joseph House launches family support program

Matching grant offered for CF Foundation drive

NEA grant supports CAM’s ‘Monuments Men’ exhibit

Joseph House received a $75,000 grant from Disabled American Veterans (DAV) to give the families of veterans struggling with addiction the tools to support healthy and sober lives. Joseph House will use the gift to launch the Veteran Family Engagement and Education Initiative, which will include a four-week family education program.  www.josephhouse.com

Dr. Bart Barthelemy and an anonymous donor have offered a $40,000 matching gift for the Central Ohio Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. $20,000 of the match will support new or increased gifts of $1 to $9,999 to the annual fund of the Cincinnati/Dayton Office, with the other $20,000 supporting gifts to the Columbus Office. The match ends Dec. 31, or when the match is complete. Donations in excess of the matching goal will be used to support the CF Foundation’s mission.  www.cff.org/centralohio

Cincinnati Art Museum has received a $36,000 NEA Grants for Arts Projects award to support the exhibit “Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces in America” (July 9–Oct. 3). The exhibit focuses on the fate of 200 of the finest European paintings from the Berlin State Museums that traveled to the United States soon after World War II before returning to Germany.

Featuring paintings that made the journey, with artworks and historical material from CAM and other lenders, it delves into the complex role of artworks in a time of social upheaval and war and highlights the importance of tracing cultural treasures.  www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org

Foundations help Great Parks continue nature education Great Parks of Hamilton County has received two grants to help it continue nature education programming curtailed during the pandemic.

A $20,000 grant from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr. Foundation has helped support school curriculum with virtual programming. Children attending learning centers at Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC) and YMCA sites received virtual education opportunities. The grant has also allowed Great Parks to team up with other regional education and youth services organizations on nature-based education.

Also, a $25,000 donation from the John A. Schroth Family Charitable Trust, PNC Charitable Trust, has helped Great Parks to continue offering free and reduced-cost nature education to more than 4,500 children at more than 20 Cincinnati Public Schools, as well as in the Northwest, Forest Hills, Princeton and Indian Hill school districts.  www.greatparksforever.org

NEA award aids Mayerson arts education program The Mayerson Foundation’s Artistic Excellence Program has won a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for the 2021-22 program year. This is the sixth NEA award for the program, which supports world-class artists in educating students at the School for Creative & Performing Arts and the CPS Jazz Academy. The balance of the program’s $100,000 annual budget comes from the Mayerson Foundation, which started the program in 2010. The late Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson were committed to the role of the arts in education. The program has presented over 250 master classes by guest artists.  www.mayersonfoundation.org

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Grant to Health Care Access Now aids health worker program Health Care Access Now (HCAN) has received an $8,000 grant from The HealthPath Foundation of Ohio as part of its Community Connections initiative. HCAN acts as the Pathways Community Hub for the region and will apply the funds to the work it does using that program. HCAN trains and coordinates community health workers (CHWs) to visit clients. Outside health care agencies partner with HCAN to become part of the Hub, benefitting from CHW training.

Students grant funds to nonprofits through virtual Giving Ceremonies As the school year wound down, students in the Magnified Giving program rewarded their chosen local nonprofits with a $1,000 grant each. Magnified Giving has hosted 15 Giving Ceremonies so far.

Each year, students in the Magnified Giving program learn about philanthropy and how they can use their time, talent and treasure to help our community. Students explore social causes, serve and evaluate local nonprofits, and learn to advocate for causes they care about. Ultimately, students work together to choose a local nonprofit to receive a $1,000-plus grant.

With more than 100 schools in the program, there are multiple virtual Giving Ceremonies. The plan is to award funds to more than 100 nonprofit organizations – funds that are needed more than ever during hard times caused by the pandemic.

Since its inception in 2008, Magnified Giving has granted more than $1,048,000 to nonprofit agencies.  www.magnifiedgiving.org

Santa Maria receives $15K from Scripps Howard Foundation Santa Maria Community Services Inc. has received a $15,000 grant from Scripps Howard Foundation for its Promoting Our Preschoolers (POP) program. Santa Maria will offer summer reading camp groups twice a week in July, in partnership with the University of Cincinnati Speech and Pathology Department and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. The focus will be on phonological awareness, common sight words, and education of parents on the importance of home literacy.  www.santamaria-cincy.org

Seven area businesses receive JobsOhio Inclusion Grants Seven area companies have become part of the JobsOhio Inclusion Grant program, REDI Cincinnati announced. The program was established in 2020 to support businesses led by traditionally underrepresented owners, including minority-, veteran- and women-owned businesses, as well as disadvantaged communities. The grant is available for all five counties in Southwest Ohio.

The seven companies receiving grants: • Innovative Cleaning Services and Supply Inc. • The Voice of Your Customer LLC • Vazquez Commercial Construction LLC • Infrastructure Management and Engineering Inc. • Premiere Concrete Supply LLC • SurgiHealth Solutions LLC • Vya Inc.  www.redicincinnati.com 

MAJOR LEAGUE PHILANTHROPY

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ur professional sports teams maintain a high local profile, even in the off-season, and often through the work they do off the field to support the Greater Cincinnati community. But what is the nature of that work? How do FC Cincinnati, the Reds and Bengals contribute? Read on to learn more … After-school soccer program

West End Pride soccer practice, before the pandemic

FCC Foundation rallies around kids’ futures FC

Cincinnati is about more than players on a team.

“One of the things that I love about soccer is that the fans are so incredibly involved,” said Kate Solomon, who serves dual roles as VP of community relations for FC Cincinnati and executive director of the FC Cincinnati Foundation. According to Solomon, the fans started the cheers, they named the mascot (“Gary,” believe it or not) and supported the team enough to help it become part of Major League Soccer.

Now, the organization is working to usher in the newest generation of fans to discover the impact Cincinnati soccer can have on their lives. The FCC Foundation, which reached more than 33,000 children in 2019, aims to improve the lives of children through the game of soccer. Outreach programs continued to grow even during the pandemic.

The foundation was established in 2018, when the team moved from the United Soccer League to Major League Soccer. Solomon joined early on, drawn by previous, similar work with the Bengals and current FCC President Jeff Berding, but more so from an affection for the people.

“Watching games, being a part of games, seeing how it brings people together – that in itself is something

that I love,” she said. “From there, it was just compounded by what we saw in the community and how we saw everybody come around and support FC Cincinnati – and the idea of bringing another professional franchise, another major league franchise, to the region.”

As you might expect, most of the foundation’s programs revolve around playing soccer, but soccer is also a motivator for kids’ futures. Sports have been proven to develop vital teambuilding skills that transform kids’ performance in the classroom and beyond.

• The Soccer Unites program takes soccer to gym classes and summer camps around the region, introducing kids in underserved areas to the sport.

• West End Pride, specifically for kids in the West End neighborhood (home of FCC’s TQL Stadium), is a recreational soccer program that 170 students participated in last spring.

• Mini Pitches works to build small soccer fields throughout Cincinnati’s urban core, to give everyone safe, equal access to the game.

• Learning is Cool is an education honor roll program adapted from the Marvin Lewis Community Fund in 2019. It rewards “A”

students with a big end-of-year celebration where they can meet the players. This year’s celebration, at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens, was held June 29.

“What I think everyone here would say they’re the most proud of is the amount of children that we’ve been able to work with,” Solomon said, “either through our soccer programs or through our education program. We’re proud of the number of children that we’ve been able to reach and hopefully have an impact on in such a short amount of time.”

The foundation is looking toward the future in other areas. Its grantmaking initiatives support West End nonprofits and community-building projects in the region. Partnerships with other local organizations, such as City Link, focus on construction projects and culinary programs in the West End. One coming initiative will introduce local high school students to educational and workforce development during game times.

Enriching kids’ lives is also a focus for FCC’s players. Although MLS guidelines restricted many in-person events the past year, a few players were still able to connect with young soccer fans.

Winger Joe Gyau works closely

By Madeline Anderson

with the organization High Achievers, and defender Nick Hagglund is actively involved with many of the foundation’s initiatives. You’ll frequently see Hagglund advocating for special events, Kate Solomon or retired forward Omar Cummings teaching #TrainingTuesday lessons on the foundation’s Instagram feed.

There are many more ways to get involved with the FCC Foundation for sports fans and non-fans alike. Anyone can run in or support FCC3 on July 17, a three-mile walk/run followed by a watch party. Or, poke fun during the Celebrity Waiter event, where FCC players will be the waiters for an evening fundraiser. For women who may want to learn more about the sport, the Ladies Lace-Up fundraiser gives women close-up lessons with team coaches.

“The key thing that we look at, and really in how we’ve shaped the foundation, is we want this to be something that everyone can rally around and support,” Solomon said. “I think truly that’s what has propelled me since the beginning. How do you keep working to bring people together? To create something bigger?”  Movers & Makers

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MAJOR LEAGUE PHILANTHROPY

Reds CEO Bob Castellini and first baseman Joey Votto at the groundbreaking of the Reds Youth Academy in Roselawn.

Reds on Radio broadcaster Tommy Thrall helps at the Freestore Foodbank’s Thanksgiving food drive at Reds Youth Academy.

Reds fund works to build back baseball by investing in youth

By Grace Hill

W

hen the pandemic hit and team sports came to a screeching halt, it exacerbated an already unfortunate reality for baseball – its declining status as a team sport, both regionally and nationally.

“If you drive past ballfields in so many different neighborhoods, they’re not as active as they used to be,” said Charley Frank, director of the Reds Community Fund. “In many cases, they’re not active at all.”

It is that lack of activity that motivates the fund, whose mission bolsters baseball’s oldest team and works to preserve its time-honored place in the fabric of our region.

“No game teaches you failure quite like baseball and softball, where you can hit .300 and be an all-star, and still technically fail seven out of 10 times,” Frank said.

“As we get more kids to the game, we believe thoroughly that we’re going to get more kids to college and more kids into adulthood successfully. And by using the game to do so, we’re very confident that, at least in our region, we’re going to regain some of the market share that our sport has lost.”

To accomplish this, the fund targets youth starting at age 5, introducing these lessons early on in order to produce confident, capable kids.

Programming extends to developing and elevating their skills through age 18.

“Our goal year to year is to produce 26

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major league citizens,” Frank said. It is a goal that is shared by leaders and uniformed players alike.

Votto creates a buzz Joey Votto has recently made multiple visits to the P&G MLB Cincinnati Reds Youth Academy, making friends with a team from Cincinnati’s West End. Frank was there one Friday when Votto stopped by for a few innings, sitting on the bench, coaching first base and taking photos with fans.

“Joey showed up in uniform, and the buzz amongst the several hundred people at the park was extraordinary.

You know, it’s Joey Votto … one of the great players in Reds’ history,” Frank said.

As one of the biggest donors in the fund’s history, Votto’s name also adorns the facade of the indoor training center at the Reds Youth Academy.

The organization opened the state-of-the-art, 33,000-square-foot Joey Votto Training Center in 2014.

The academy’s full complex, which features four ballfields, including two synthetic infields and one stadium field, serves as the home to all outreach programs.

According to Frank, the academy is their greatest resource in getting the community’s kids to graduation and beyond.

During the pandemic, the hub functioned in a different capacity.

On two occasions the fund was able to partner with the Freestore Foodbank to host truck-to-trunk events, which placed food and goods directly in the hands of those in need.

“To experience that firsthand, to have to open an hour early because there were already lines forming outside of our complex going down the street in both directions ... It was very humbling and very sobering, but very fulfilling,” Frank said.

In that moment, the fund made a commitment to the Freestore.

“Anything you need, just tell us, and the answer’s yes,” Frank said. The organization also made a commitment to the Greater Cincinnati region – to expand upon its mission and directly fulfill its community’s needs.

Resources for at-risk teams When the governor declared outdoor sports could continue, Reds’ programs implemented safety protocols and provided resources to at-risk teams. The fund’s leadership collaborated with Phil Castellini, president and chief operating officer of the Reds, to quickly identify a grant that allowed them to purchase and provide thousands of helmets, batting gloves and personal gear to dozens of teams.

The community fund pivoted again as it canceled its annual Reds Community Makeover, an initiative

that began in 2010 and has since served 10 neighborhoods.

“Every year, we pick a Cincinnati neighborhood, and Charley Frank we invest thousands of volunteer hours, hundreds of thousands of cash dollars and in-kind support, with a goal of having a transformational impact,” Frank said.

The project started in partnership with Procter & Gamble and has since grown to include Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Cincinnati Zoo. But in March 2020, plans to serve Cincinnati’s Avondale neighborhood were tabled. In the face of uncertainty, the partners then raised $180,000, which they committed to Cincinnati Public Schools, the Freestore and the Urban League of Southwestern Ohio.

Now, as restrictions are gradually lifted, those 2020 plans at six sites in Avondale will finally be carried out on July 29-30.

“It is such a pleasure and a privilege for us to get to know these neighborhoods a year at a time, and to work with their leadership to leave something meaningful behind,” Frank said. “Those sorts of projects now are even more important. And those relationships are even more embedded into not just the Community Fund’s DNA, but the Reds’ DNA.” 

MAJOR LEAGUE PHILANTHROPY

 Wide receiver Tyler Boyd wearing BlaCk OWned’s “Stripes Don’t Come Easy” collection

Who Dey interacts with a young Special Olympian at the June event at Lake Isabella Park.

Bengals players, coaches, ownership and staff deliver statements in support of racial equality and social justice at the Freedom Center.

Bengals score big with commitment to improve lives

By Gail Paul

W

orking off the field and often under the radar, the Cincinnati Bengals organization contributes to the health and vibrancy of the Cincinnati region through community engagement and support for various causes and initiatives.

Among those: fighting hunger; improving access to health, education, sports competition and good nutrition for youth; funding medical research; focusing on equal opportunity; and supporting minority-owned enterprises and entrepreneurship.

“It’s a very robust list to be sure,” said Alexandra Simons, Bengals director of partner services and community engagement.

While the organization does not operate a community foundation, it lifts up hundreds of community partners, promotes dozens of player foundations, and has a centralized website to handle community requests for player appearances and charitable donations.

Last year, COVID-19 and the nation’s social unrest challenged the Bengals to pivot and help amplify emerging community priorities. By April 2020, Simons said, the Bengals marshalled a $250,000 donation to eight food banks located throughout Southern Ohio, Southeastern Indiana and Kentucky.

“The donation provided over 1 million meals,” Simons said. “I am really proud of how quickly our organization mobilized after COVID.” The pandemic’s economic fallout

has affected small and minority-owned businesses in the extreme. Last year, the Bengals forged an alliance with BlaCk OWned Outerwear, a minorityowned Over-the-Rhine enterprise founded by Means Cameron.

Patience and persistence Accessing the Bengals brand, BlaCk OWned designed a limited-series collection called “Stripes Don’t Come Easy,” a phrase coined by Cameron that proffers patience and persistence when pursuing social change. The collaboration with BlaCk OWned represents fashion with a purpose – a portion of the proceeds supports MORTAR, a nonprofit that connects non-traditional entrepreneurs to pathways enabling them to succeed.

Cameron watched Bengals players, coaches, ownership and staff walk en masse to Cincinnati’s National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in August 2020 to deliver statements in support of racial equality and social justice and found himself inspired.

“This collaboration is providing the opportunity for people to look past everything, except for those common things we are fighting for,” Cameron said, “and that’s equality, that’s healthier communities, that’s more Black businesses in Cincinnati.”

Simons said the Bengals’ quick pandemic-relief response to help alleviate hunger and its holistic approach

to equal opportunity are “two things that, as an organization, we are most proud of” from the past couple of years.

Simons said Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s intense dedication to defeating hunger and poverty in under-resourced communities of Southeastern Ohio (Burrow is from Athens) has raised the organization’s game around the issue.

“Burrow used his platform even before he was an NFL player,” Simons said. “He understood the magnitude that he would have and took advantage of his Heisman speech to raise awareness for food insecurities of Southeastern Ohio,” she said. “Because of that and all the money that little bit of outreach made, he worked with a group to start the Joe Burrow Hunger Relief Fund.”

Simons said defensive end Sam Hubbard recently launched his own foundation focused on helping Ohioans combat hunger by providing vulnerable children and families with educational, medical and athletic resources.

Giving back is a passion “Like Joe, right when COVID hit, Sam led a campaign that helped raise over $85,000 for the Freestore Foodbank in those first few weeks into the pandemic. We have a lot of players for whom giving back is a passion.” That includes former players,

Simons said, such as Anthony Munoz, Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason, who continue to lead successful foundations.

Simons said the Alexandra Simons organization is just resuming in-person events, which started June 5 with Special Olympics Hamilton County at Lake Isabella Park. “We had so much fun,” she said.

“It is so nice to get back out into the community.”

Simons said the Bengals community engagement initiatives center around helping youth through the game of football and health and wellness, but “we also cast a broad net and do a lot of work with other organizations that don’t necessarily line up with those initiatives.” The organization has donated $2.3 million to fund the installation of synthetic football fields at schools and “regularly invest over $1 million each year back into the community, through grants, cash donations, inkind donations. That’s not something a lot of people are aware of.”

“With everything that the community has been through over the last 12 to 18 months, if we can use our passion and the passion that we have for our game to bring people together and help them make memories and positively impact whatever situation that they’re in, that’s what we want to do.” 

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Snapshots SNAPSHOTS

Who, what, where & why

‘Happening’ a catalyst for fun at Art Museum The Cincinnati Art Museum’s young professionals board, the CAM Catalysts, hosted “A Happening” at the museum recently. The Catalysts welcomed more than 200 guests for the inaugural event, the group’s first in-person fundraiser in more than a year.

Guests enjoyed live music from local folk-rock band The Young Heirlooms and an interactive performance from dance group Pones, paying homage to artists including Merce Cunningham and John Cage. Presenting sponsors were The BMW Store (Gold Sponsor) and Health Carousel.

Appetizers were served in the museum’s Fountain Room.

A performer stages an homage to a 1964 performance art piece by Yoko Ono.

Guests mingle below the Alexander Caulder mobile “Twenty Leaves and an Apple” outside the museum cafe.

Cincinnati folk-rock band The Young Heirlooms perform at “A Happening."

Dragonfly welcomes supporters back with Grand Gala The Dragonfly Grand Gala raised more than $285,000 to support Dragonfly's programs, which provide comfort and support services and transformative experiences for pediatric cancer patients and their families.

The gala, presented by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, was a festive night welcoming back donors, supporters, volunteers and Dragonfly families for its first major fundraiser of 2021.

The event honored local healthcare heroes, along with Mayfield Brain and Spine, which received Dragonfly's FortyFour Award. The night's events were emceed

by WLWT news anchor Kelly Rippin and meteorologist Randi Rico.

Entertainment included local artist Cybéle, stilt walkers, a silent auction and a photo booth.

The Barnes  www.dragonfly.org

family

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Zack Peretzky and Sherri Peretzky, winners of the Golden Ticket drawing Kelly Rippin, gala director Mary Tignor, Angel Ho and Randi Rico

Kathryn Grant, Dragonfly executive director and founder Christine Neitzke, and Paige Grant

Susan Sayers, Michael Sayers, Jason Sayers, Shelly Kerchner and and Holly Anderson

Guests pose at the photo booth.

SNAPSHOTS

St. Rita’s honors Dorward family at Dream Makers dinner St. Rita School for the Deaf recently hosted its 45th Annual Dream Makers Scholarship Dinner. Guests attended in person and virtually to honor the Dorward Family (Bill, Debbie and Suzy Dorward and Michelle Dorward Jones). The Dorwards have been involved with the school since the mid-1970s through employment or by volunteering.

They have helped further the school’s mission and have enhanced the lives of many students.

The student choir’s performance of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and "God Bless America" was pre-recorded and is available on St. Rita’s YouTube channel. Event sponsors included Joseph J. Schott Foundation, Marty and Patty Tierney Foundation, Thomas Munninghoff, Sisters of Charity Cincinnati, KMK Law and Fifth Third Bank.  www.srsdeaf.org

The Dorward family. Back: Laura Zazanis, Liam Dorward, Bill Dorward and Karsten Dorward; front: Maripat Price, Michelle Dorward Jones, Debbie Dorward, Pat Dorward and Suzy Dorward Tom Finn and Angela Frith

Kevin Martin and Bill Cunningham

Dan Vonderhaar and Connie Vonderhaar Sr. Marianne Van Vurst, Cindy Felder, Lynn Frank and Sr. Lynn Heper

Wine Cellar Inventory Now Available Online!

JUNGLEJIMS.COM / WINECELLAR 5440 Dixie Highway Fairfield, OH 45014 & 4450 Eastgate South Drive Cincinnati, OH 45245

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SNAPSHOTS

Boys Hope Girls Hope raises funds for youth scholars

Will Volck, Abby Chermley, Chrissey Barrett Haslam, John Barrett and Missy Hendon Deters

The Boys Hope Girls Hope Cincinnati Young Professionals Advisory Board held its annual Hopefest event at the Cincinnati Zoo on the Africa Deck and Patio. The event helps support youth scholars. Guests helped raise funds by participating in a raffle, wine toss and train rides. Chemed was the platinum sponsor, Coca-Cola and United Audit Systems Inc. (UASI) were gold sponsors and EY, SSP (Stagnaro, Saba & Patterson) and Western & Southern Financial Group were silver sponsors.  bhghcincinnati.org Mike and

Will Ives, Jacob Fiore, Chase Stutenroth and Callie Reuland Sam Burchenal, Daniela Schulten and Ike Davidoski

Elizabeth Caudill

Abbie Rees and Brooke Caughran Back: Shane Geiser, Jon Deters, Louis Carraher and, Pat Berning; front: Abbie Rees, Brooke Caughran, Mackenzie Carraher, Ali Deters and Kelly Berning

St. Joseph Home Walk & Roll Invitational exceeds expectations St. Joseph Home hosted a Walk & Roll Invitational in late May instead of its 5K, which was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. The start times were staggered and the 200 participants wore masks.

The home’s residents, their families and friends – including 22 teams – traveled a 1K route on the campus via wheel and on foot.

They raised more than $46,000 for the residential, respite and day programs operated by St. Joseph Home, exceeding their goals.

The home has resumed adult day programs and opened the main residential campus to family visits. The Harold C. Schott Respite Center will also reopen later this year.

Title sponsor was Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and presenting sponsor was the Steele family.  stjosephhome.org Photos by Susan Doremus

St. Joseph Home staff and their children don matching T-shirts and tutus for Team Mo’.

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The Reddy family walks with daughter Rachel, a St. Joseph resident. Her father, Matt, is a member of the St. Joseph board.

Staffers get ready to walk with Kalisha and Melanie on the Queen Bees.

SNAPSHOTS

Post-pandemic Redwood Express raises $125,000 for center’s residents The 2021 Redwood Express raised $125,000 to benefit children and adults living with disabilities at Redwood School and Rehabilitation Center in Fort Mitchell, Ky. To allow for a large, in-person event, the event was delayed from its March date to June. But with the support of sponsors, community members, volunteers, staff and event supporters, the event proved a success, attended by approximately 400 people.

Redwood parent and board member Donna Bloemer chaired the event. “We were so grateful to the Northern Kentucky community who has been so generous to Redwood through the pandemic,” Bloemer said.

Redwood serves clients from 6 weeks to 85 years of age. The center guides children and adults with severe, multiple disabilities to achieve independence and reach their highest potential through educational, therapeutic and vocational services.  www.redwoodnky.org

Redwood CEO Sharon Fusco, Express host Jeff Piecro and Jeff Nelson Aaron Wagner and Mick Fusco

Raechel Spicer, Cheryl Haas, Katrina Proud and Maria Meade

Erin Koke, Beth Yaw and Doug Yaw

Jackie Hirt, John Haas, Cheryl Hass (front), friend of Cheryl Haas, Kevin Borowski and Michele Redden-Borowski

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SNAPSHOTS

Welcome House breaks ground on $6.4M homeless center Welcome House of Northern Kentucky broke ground on a new $6.4 million, 20,000-square foot facility that will double its capacity to serve the homeless.

The Homeless Services Center will allow Welcome House to provide safe, clean and dignified care while easing the transition into permanent, sustained housing.

In addition to more room for women and children, it will serve more two-parent families, the elderly and young adults. It will be ADA compliant with a commercial kitchen, elevators and upgraded security systems.

Scheduled to open in 2022, the center brings all Welcome House services – now offered at eight locations – under one roof, making it easier for clients to access them. The increased capacity will be needed as Northern Kentucky addresses an increase in homelessness. Since 2017, Welcome House has served 143% more clients.  www.welcomehouseky.org

Photo by Jordan Photography

At the groundbreaking ceremony for Welcome House’s new Homeless Services Center: Pastor James Duncan, Welcome House Board member Dr. Travis Taylor, Welcome House CEO Danielle Amrine, Covington Mayor Joseph Meyer and Kenton County Judge Kris Knochelmann

Rotary Club recognizes outstanding CPS educators The Rotary Club of Cincinnati honored five Cincinnati Public School teachers and administrators for excellence and innovation. This year’s event held special significance, as the pandemic required them to find new ways to connect with students and parents. The honorees: • In Sook Kim, teacher of Korean at James N. Gamble Montessori High School – Community Service Award • Eric Rozier, principal of Cincinnati Digital Academy – Administrator of the Year Award

• Jennifer Miller, teacher at Fairview-Clifton German Language School – Innovator of the Year • Natasha Taylor, English as a Second Language teacher at Pleasant Ridge Montessori School – Humanitarian of the Year • Meggan Johnson Glover, intervention specialist at Woodward Career Technical High School – Teacher of the Year  www.cincinnatirotary.org

Tianay Amat, interim superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools, announces the honorees.

NKY Chamber honors Cheser, Duke, local businesses The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce presented awards to area businesses and one individual recently.

• Karen Cheser, retiring superintendent of Fort Thomas Independent Schools, received the NKY Community Award. Cheser has been instrumental in workforce projects such as the NKY MakerSpace, Ignite Institute, Launch at 20 Grand and the NKY Entrepreneurship Council. She will become superintendent of the Durango School District in Colorado.

• The Chamber also honored Duke Energy with the NKY Community Award for its work in improving the region. Its low rates and operation costs have strengthened Northern Kentucky’s ability to attract and retain businesses, the Chamber said, and Duke has supported small businesses with grants and workforce efforts.

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Finally, the Chamber recognized area businesses with the 2021 Business Impact Awards, sponsored by Huntington Bank: • Red Hawk Technologies – Small Business Award (1-10 employees) • AquiSense Technologies –Medium Business Award (11-50 employees) • Turner Construction – Large Business Award (50+ employees) • Celanese Corporation – Community Champions (For-Profit) • BAWAC Inc. – Community Champions (Non-Profit) • Redwood School & Rehabilitation Center – Heritage Award • ASMI – Start-Up Award • TiER1 Performance – Innovation Award

 NKY Chamber President Brent Cooper presenting award to Karen Cheser

• Hub + Weber Architects – Cool Place to Work • Best Sanitizers, Gute Medical, Holistic Veterinary Care, Motus Freight, Sitetology – Growth Award  www.kychamber.com

SNAPSHOTS

Assistance League hosts Reflection and Renewal luncheon Assistance League of Greater Cincinnati hosted its Reflection and Renewal Celebration luncheon at deSha’s in Montgomery. Chapter President Audrey Stehle received the Anne Banning Leadership Award for dedication and leadership. Vice President of Hospital Services Leann Kuchenbuch received the Ada Edwards Laughlin Award for dedicated service above and beyond expectations.

The luncheon included a presentation by Aspire! Girls Group founder TJ Smith, resource coordinator for Community Learning Center Institute at Mt. Airy School. The league added basic hygiene items to their annual contribution of school uniforms in the fall. Around 250 students were aided by the donations. Smith started Aspire! to build self-esteem and teach social skills. More than 100 girls have been part of her program.  www.assistanceleaguecincinnati.org Aspire! members (back row) Khalia Green, Erica Curtis, Aspire! volunteer Tracey Brooks; (front row) Fatoumata “Fati” Doumbia, Lauren Phiffer, advisor TJ Smith, Aida Doumbia, Adrianna Schuh

AL members Karyn Lazear and Rosanna Nelson

Assistance League of Greater Cincinnati President Audrey Stehle and Vice President of Hospital Services Leann Kuchenbuch

AL member Joyce Frame, Aspire! member Lauren Phiffer and Aspire! volunteer Tracey Brooks

AL members Pat Eveslage and Jane Knowling

AL members Carolyn Lamping, Nancy Arulf, Phyllis Dix, Jan Stahl, Mo Hayward and Judy Evans Smith

Susan Wilkinson receives the Emmerling Award from Rotary Club of Cincinnati president Brett Lebhar.

SATURDAY 6:30PM CET SUNDAY 8:30PM CET ARTS Join Barbara Kellar as she showcases artists and cultural leaders from the Greater Cincinnati community.

Rotary lauds Wilkinson for service, leadership Susan Wilkinson, a leader in blood transfusion medicine and education for close to 40 years, received the The Rotary Club of Cincinnati’s top honor, recognizing service, high ethics and leadership.

Wilkinson received the 2021 Walter Emmerling Award in a ceremony at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel. She retired as associate director of the Paul Hoxworth Blood Center in 2010 and is associate professor emerita at the University of Cincinnati.

A past president of the Rotary Club of Cincinnati, she has chaired and volunteered on many projects. She will co-chair the silent auction at the Aug. 7 Believe 2 Achieve fundraiser for disabilities-related charities.  www.cincinnatirotary.org

www.CETconnect.org www.CETconnect.org

Emmy Award Winner Regional - Interview/Discussion Program

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SNAPSHOTS

Beech Acres honors retiring leader Jim Mason at gala Beech Acres Parenting Center celebrated retiring President and CEO Jim Mason’s 42-year legacy of progressive innovation for children and families with a special event at the Taft Museum of Art. The program included entertainment by jazz vocalist Kathy Wade and an announcement of the results of the Jim Mason Champion for Children Campaign: $684,584 raised from 116 donors. The fund was established to honor Mason for his visionary leadership and to provide a strong foundation for the next CEO to accelerate her vision.

Mason led the former General Protestant Orphan Home from a 19th century orphanage to the 21st century parenting center it is today. Under his guidance, Beech Acres deepened and expanded its mission, building upon children’s strengths. Jim received numerous awards for his forward-thinking approach.

With Mason’s retirement, Laura Mitchell becomes president and CEO (See story, Page 18).

Jim Mason and Laura Mitchell Norah Clark, Kerry Clark and Cindy Crilley

Tim Stautberg, with Jim Mason’s 8 grandchildren, announces the results for the Jim Mason Champion for Children Campaign. Comfort Wendell and Rich Wendell

Program presenters at Jim’s Launch Party: Tim Stautberg, Bill McCloy, Jenny Franta, Kathy Wade, Jim Mason, incoming President/CEO Laura Mitchell, Eric Bruestle, Jill Huynh and Bob Shapiro

Elaine Billmire, Bob Shapiro and Elaine Fink

Hybrid walk at Kings Island raises nearly $400K for diabetes research The annual fundraising event for type 1 diabetes research returned this year with a hybrid version that raised more than $400,000.

In the JDRF One Walk Kings Island-Your Way, participants could take part in the event virtually or visit Kings Island for “JDRF Day at Kings Island” – and complete a self-guided 5K walk. JDRF provided a scavenger hunt for walk participants.

The traditional walk, done by more than 8,000 JDRF supporters each year, has participants gather in a section of the Kings Island parking lot before the park opens, walk through the park, then return to the lot for post-walk festivities. Last year, JDRF hosted the event virtually and this year it eased back with a hybrid format.

This walk was the first to include the Columbus area, as JDRF Southwest Ohio merged with the JDRF Central Ohio chapter last year.  www.jdrf.org 34

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Sarah’s Coaster Crew: Ryan Miller

Quentin’s Warriors: Mike Rogers, Kari Rogers, Quentin Rogers and brothers

SNAPSHOTS

Center for Addiction Treatment’s new counseling center open Center for Addiction Treatment (CAT) recently hosted a ribboncutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its new Monarch Counseling Center.

The center, which houses intensive outpatient, family services and outpatient counseling programs, will increase access to treatment and recovery. CAT notes that the opioid epidemic and the pandemic have generated new treatment needs.

U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, Anthony Spaetzel on behalf of U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup, Nan Cahall on behalf of U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, Ohio Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr., and Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus were joined by CAT President/CEO Chellie McLellan, Board of Trustees President Marcus Thompson, and Lucas M., a center patient who shared his story.

McLellan and Thompson also presented JDL Warm Construction with the honorary CAT Star Fish Award for their contribution to the center’s completion.  www.catsober.org

The ribbon-cutting: Chrissey Barrett Haslam, Anthony Spaetzel, U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus, Ohio Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr., Chellie McLellan, Marcus Thompson, Nan Kohnen Cahall and Cincinnati City Councilman Steve Goodin Eric Waldmann and Jake Warm of JDL Warm Construction with Marcus Thompson and Chellie McLellan

Denise Driehaus and Chellie McLellan

PRESENTS

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