Three Days, Three Big Kent Events...

Posted by dave in General on April 30, 2007 | No Comments

Friday’s Inauguration of Dr. Lefton

I am embarrassed to admit that I didn’t really know what the whole “inauguration” thing was all about. I was lucky enough to have been part of the selection team that was first impressed with Dr. Lefton’s passion, common sense and academic credentials 12 months ago, so I couldn’t really understand what all the fuss was about now since he’d been on the job for the last 9 months.

But sitting in the hallowed halls of campus the better part of Friday, I got educated, and now I know better – inaugurations of university presidents are a big deal. It’s the ceremonial yin to the personnel hiring yang. It’s the day when the university celebrates its history and its future through the coronation of the present, as expressed in the wit and wisdom of the institution’s newest leader.

Dr. Lefton acknowledged that his inauguration may be later than most, but he wanted to wait until winter was firmly behind us so that the many dignitaries, alumni, friends and family could enjoy Kent State in the glory of spring. More good thinking from a guy that makes his living thinking.

The inaugural events lasted over 8 hours, but in compressed form they were speeches with interludes of good food. The day was well planned, well organized and well executed, which should come as no surprise given the importance of inaugurations to the institution. In nearly 100 years (centennial in 2010), there have only been 10 presidents prior to Dr. Lefton. That’s actually impressive tenure for a job that is typically only slightly more secure than city managers.

The inauguration itself was replete with gonfalons (don’t worry, I didn’t know what they were either – they’re flags), an official mace bearer (aka decorative stick with university seal at the top), and the President’s medallion (major blingage hanging from the presidents neck reminded me of a rapper).

It was a good show and great theater. The MAC center was packed full of impressive people from all over the country that have ties to Dr. Lefton or Kent State. I didn’t tell anyone but I kept hoping they’d be interested in spending a little of their own blingage in downtown Kent.

To read the President’s inaugural speech click here.

Saturday’s King James “Shooting Stars” Classic

My son and I have a regular date Saturday and Sunday up at the Wellness Center where we play hoops or racquetball depending upon the crowd. It’s something we both look forward to each week. Well, this week we were in for a surprise, King James was in the house.

That’s right, the LaBron James youth basketball tournament had kids ages 12 to 17 balling on every court between Akron and Kent. I talked with the Kent High School Athletic Director and he said that the tournament had all of Kent’s courts running full throttle as kids from all over the country vying for the top prize in their age brackets. (click here for scouting reports of the talent on display)

Kent State facilities were also in full swing with games going on in every gym on campus including the Wellness Center. So no, that wasn’t cumulus nimbus thunder you heard on Saturday, that was the thunder of monstrous dunks being thrown down by 17 year olds that look to be ready for the NBA. I’m not kidding, we watched a winner’s bracket game that featured the AAU Team from Indiana that last year had Greg Oden and Conley (both of whom are jumping to the NBA next year) and judging from the caliber of their play they hadn’t lost a step with this year’s talent either.

I told my son I’d tell the coaches “we got next game” but for obvious reasons we settled for racquetball instead. As we drove out I saw license plates from all over the country and I hoped they filled up a lot of gas tanks and hungry bellies in Kent after the games. (Akron Beacon article estimates the tournament brings in $5 million to our region, read more)

Sunday Opening Ceremonies

Mayor Fender has still got it. He told me before the Parks and Recreation Department’s Opening Ceremonies that in his day he was a fire-baller. He said he could throw a rope from the outfield to home plate but put him on the mound and he was reminiscent of Charley Sheen’s “Wild Thing” character bouncing balls off the umpire, the catcher and occasionally the batters between the rare strike.

Well, I don’t have to doubt him any longer as I (and a couple hundred of Kent moms, dads and youth ball players) watched him fire the honorary first pitch well wide of the catcher and bounce a one-hopper off John Idone’s (Parks and Rec Director) shin bone as John was trying to photograph the pitch. To the Mayor’s credit he reared back and fired another a little high, but close enough to the strike zone that the crowd erupted in applause. The Mayor’s a good sport and took it all in stride with a smile and a few apologies to John Idone.

It’s been 35 years since the last Opening Day Ceremony in Kent but it was worth the wait. With blue skies and green grass in full bloom, all the boys baseball and girls softball players and their coaches paraded down from Fred Fuller Park to the ballfield complex. Each team and their coach was personally introduced and cheered on by friends and family gathered in the stadium.

The event lasted about an hour and it was immediately followed by a hit, pitch, and run competition, and of course a barbeque. With smiles as the barometer, this was definitely an event worth bringing back.

What a great weekend in Kent Ohio!

Kent Police Statistics...

Posted by dave in Services News on April 29, 2007 | No Comments

Each year the Police Chief puts together an annual report of Kent Police activities for the past year. He gathers the data, compares the numbers and reports trends.

Here’s what the Chief had to say in summary for 2006:

“The City of Kent experienced a slight decrease in the number of major criminal offenses reported in 2006. There was a significant drop in Auto Theft (-51%), Rape (-31%), Arson (-29%),and Burglary (-10%).”

So the burglary spree reported in the paper was an isolated incident that I consider one of those times when “bad things happen to good places” rather than a big picture trend.

Here’s a look at some more of the Chief’s data for 2006.

Number of Calls Received in 2006: 19,500
Average 10 calls per officer per shift

Top 5 Types of Calls

Traffic Violations
Suspicious Situation
Disorderly Conduct
Unlawful Noise
Theft

Number of Arrests in 2006: 2,973
Adult Arrests: 2,744 (92%)
Juvenile Arrests: 299 (8%)
1 Arrest for Every 15 Calls Received

The numbers tell the story of a very busy, and frankly exceptionally good Police force. Every community is at risk for criminal activity, but as the numbers tell, your Kent Police force walks the line between harm and safety for all of us in Kent every day — and they do their job very well.

Street Walking...

Posted by dave in City University Stuff on April 26, 2007 | No Comments

back to blog

Street Walking

April 26, 2007

The Mayor and I went out this afternoon knocking on doors and shaking hands. He’s really good at it. Actually, he’s great at it — it’s no wonder he’s been such a successful Mayor. But we weren’t out campaigning. We were out talking with students along College Street, urging them to take care and remember their neighbors as they head into the last couple of weekends of the semester which is prime time for parties. College Street will be busy this weekend as the students have planned “College Fest.” We just wanted to make sure they had fun in a safe and respectful way for them and their neighborhood. You learn a lot when you make an effort to reach out and connect with people, and I’m really glad we did it.

After spending a couple of hours hoofing the sidewalk, I felt pretty good about what we had tried to do yesterday afternoon. We weren’t out preaching — we were just extending a hand and a few thoughts about how to celebrate the end of the semester. The message was not anti-fun, it was party smart. We didn’t climb up on any morale high ground, we just wanted to take a few minutes to let them know how some students have ended the year with fond memories of best friends on the back porch while others are still trying to forget making that one phone call to ask mom and dad to come bail them out.

To be honest, I was unsure about what kind of reaction we’d get, and frankly whether this would worth the time we were putting into it. But you know what, we kept a good sense of humor and honesty about what we were doing and what we were asking of Kent State students, and I think they appreciated that enough to listen and ask a few questions about the city’s new ordinances.

A couple of students let us know that they were discouraged by the restraints imposed by city ordinances and used the phrase “it’s a college town” to justify their position. A few others had already been cited under the city’s noise ordinance and they genuinely seemed to not want to go down that path again.

But despite the prevailing perception of the irresponsible animal house college student, most of the ones we talked with laughed when we asked if they were planning parties for this weekend. They laughed because they had classes during the day and worked most of the night at part time jobs so no, they would be working, not partying.

I’ve come to discover that’s a pretty common story among Kent State students. As a group they’re a pretty hard working, blue collar, work your way through college type of student. These are young people that understand the value of their education because they already know what it’s like to work. That’s not always true on a lot of campuses, but it’s true in Kent.

I’ve come to really appreciate those students who are pulling double duty, juggling jobs and school. Sure, they still find time to enjoy themselves, but for anyone that questions the discipline of “this generation” I’d suggest walking a mile in their shoes — or better yet, walk a mile with the Mayor and I as we knock on their doors and meet them in person.

The Mayor and I were also joined by the Student Senator for Community Affairs from Kent State and he did a great job too. The Senator talked peer-to-peer and handed out materials about partying smart. And this isn’t a one time, flash-in-the-pan act of civic duty, the Student Senate advocates responsible behavior all year long, both in words and in action.

Here’s a few excerpts from the Student Senate web site:

Hello Students,

As this year and my term come to an end, I encourage you to stay smart when it comes to offcampus partying. When the warm weather arrives, please celebrate responsibly and keep in mind your non-student neighbors.

Two of my last goals are to set the framework for the University Community Task Force and to work with COSO to create a Apartment/Renters Grade Card.

I am thankful that I had the opportunity to serve you as Senator for Community Affairs and hope you all have a great semester and for those like me who will be graduating, congrats! and best of luck!

——

Hello and Welcome Back!!

I am excited to serve you this year as Senator for Community Affairs.

Welcome back to our returning students, I hope you get to visit the new additions to the community: Sheetz, Bar Code, and soon Jimmy Johns and the new Kent Free Library.

If you are a freshman or new to the Kent campus I hope you spend a little time getting to know this city we all call home, and to explore its wonderful stores, parks and attractions.

As always, Senate stresses the importance to be safe and make wise decisions when you are on and off campus.

I also ask that you remain respectful to the city and its residents at all times.

With 23,000 students on campus, there’s going to be some bad apples in the lot, but that’s no different than anything else in life. I’m glad I had a chance to meet a few more students yesterday who did a great job representing the best that Kent State has to offer.

Also filed in: City University Stuff

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TAG you’re it....

Posted by dave in General on April 24, 2007 | No Comments

As I sat down to type this story about Kent’s new anti-graffiti campaign T.A.G. (Together Against Graffiti) I had one of those moments where all of a sudden I realized that my kids have outgrown the old game of tag. Wow, where does the time go? But thanks to community volunteers in Kent, there’s a new game of tag in town, and just like the original — it can be physically exhausting but it’s also very rewarding. But don’t take my word for it, just look at the happy faces of the 100 volunteers that showed up in downtown Kent this weekend armed with scrub brushes and trash bags. This may be a grass roots effort but it’s no “fly by night” operation — and as a matter of fact, we’ve added a graffiti link to the Kent360 site (select “graffiti” from links in upper right column) to report graffiti all year long.

Residents, students volunteer to clean up

By: Joe Harrington

Posted: 4/23/07

It is a special day when college students voluntarily wear neon green vests, carry shovels and sweep up trash in downtown Kent on a Saturday morning.

Saturday was Earth Day, and Brad Slease, treasurer of the Human Service Management Student Association, Kent State graduate student and Kent resident for more than 40 years, said “Mother Nature said to go out and clean today.”

With clear skies and a 70-degree temperature, around 100 volunteers gathered at the Rock CafÉ in downtown Kent at 10 a.m. From there, the volunteers went across the city in groups of five to pick up trash, remove graffiti and sweep up broken glass on the sidewalks. Volunteers were then treated to free food from Jimmy John’s and Franklin Square Deli.

The groups cleaned streets from Haymaker Parkway to Crain Avenue, cleaning alley ways, parks and sidewalks.

The event featured several different organizations: Human Service Management Student Association, Center for Student Involvement and the AmeriCorps VISTA Program, along with members of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Community members also volunteered, fulfilling one of the main project goals of getting Kent State students and area residents working together, Slease said.

Each group had planned to do some sort of activity for Earth Day; some began planning in January. Paul Myers, a Kent resident who has been involved in many community activities in the past, began working on combining the campus and community groups for a massive spring cleaning on Earth Day. Myers said events like these will build a stronger bond and relationship with Kent State students and the community.

Slease and Myers plan on organizing clean-up days, such as the one on Saturday, twice a year.

“Once before the snow, and once after the snow,” Slease said.

Students involved in the clean-up represented a wide variety of majors and programs.

Pam Daly, senior human development and family studies major, is the president of the Human Service Management Student Association. Daly said the collaboration of students and groups made the event more important and special.

The Human Service Management Student Association, a student group open to all majors, provides students with opportunities to provide community service and learn about careers in the non-profit sector. The student group has worked with UNICEF, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

Matt Haramis, who graduated last May from Kent State and now works for the AmeriCorps VISTA program, said Earth Day was an important day for students to volunteer.

“We are the fosters of the Earth, and we need to make sure we take care of it for future generations,” Haramis said.

Delta Tau Delta became involved when Haramis talked to members of the fraternity’s philanthropy group. Sophomore photography major Max Recker said the group has been involved with Habitat for Humanity and is signed up for the Rely for Life this weekend.

“Earth Day is a great cause,” Recker said. “I wish more people would get involved.”

Cleanup of downtown Kent planned Saturday Organizer hopes to hold event twice a year

Matthew Fredmonsky

April 19, 2007

By Matt Fredmonsky

Record-Courier staff writer

After a year off, city residents and officials are organizing a cleanup of downtown Kent from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Kent resident Brad Slease, who also is a student at Kent State University, worked with members of the city government, downtown business owners and organizations at KSU to help bring people together to clean up trash and debris throughout downtown.

Slease said he is expecting about 100 people will participate.

“It’s going to be incredible,” Slease said.

This is Slease’s second effort at clearing downtown streets and sidewalks of cigarette butts, broken glass and other litter. A small effort took place in 2005, but he did not have the time to organize the cleanup last year. Slease is hopeful to begin organizing the event twice a year — before and after the summer months.

“This thing has blown up in the last two days right in front of me,” Slease said. “It’s not just Kent but KSU people coming together and that’s been long overdue.”

Those people who wish to participate in this weekend’s cleanup can meet at The Rock Cafe, located at 257 S. Water St. Serving as the cleanup headquarters, the cafe will stock environmentally safe paint remover, trash bags and brooms along with refreshments.

Paul Myers, owner of the cafe, said he also will be kicking off the TAG program, which stands for Together Against Graffiti, this Saturday.

“We’re literally going to be cleaning graffiti off where we find it,” Myers said. He plans to help educate students at KSU and Kent City Schools on the ramifications of graffiti. Myers also is working with Sherwin Williams and is hopeful to launch a Web site in the future to help clean up and prevent graffiti.

“Not just from the vandalism side of it, but just the whole morale,” Myers said. “The looks of a downtown area, and what do you do to report it.”

Kent Service Director Gene Roberts said the city has arranged for a large trash bin to be placed on West Main Street near Home Savings Plaza for the cleanup. The city also coordinated with the Portage County Solid Waste Management District to obtain recycling bins for glass, plastic and paper to be on hand at the event.

Slease said he plans to send people out in one large group to scour downtown from Crain Avenue south to Haymaker Parkway, and from Depeyster Street west to the parks along the Cuyahoga River.

“It’s just going to make a better place to live,” he said.

SCORE for Kent...

Posted by dave in Taking Care of Business on April 23, 2007 | No Comments

SCORE offers several services to help start a small business or to make a small business more profitable including individual counseling, mentoring, workshops, and seminars. We are marking our chapter’s 40th anniversary in 2005

Our Counselors are all experienced and successful executives, managers, and business owners who at this time in their life want to give back to the community and people like you, the benefit of their years of experience. They come from a broad variety of professions and business interests. They represent a wealth of information available to you at no cost. That’s right, the service is free!

If you think we can be of help, and if you’re willing to invest your time and effort in working with SCORE to help you help yourself, please contact us.

Along the left of these pages are many topics of interest to our clients. We hope these will be helpful to you. However, we are always interested in improving our Web site’s value to our clients, so please let us know if you have any suggestions.

How about it? We look forward to your call today…330-379-3163.

Small Town Dreaming Big...

Posted by dave in Taking Care of Business on April 20, 2007 | No Comments

Small-town Clarkston rolls out big redevelopment plans

By Maria Saporta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/09/07 If Joyce Wade has her way, the small city of Clarkston will re-create its town center, with a florist, a hardware store, a drugstore with a full soda fountain and a gathering place for all its residents —- much like the city used to be when she moved there in 1966.

“A town center makes for such a nice communications point,” says Wade, who has served as Clarkston’s vice mayor since 2004. “I miss that small-town flavor. We had that once, and we don’t any more.”

Clarkston, however, is developing a strategy to rediscover and redevelop its downtown area and the rest of the town, which is only 1.1 square miles.

Later this month, a revamped zoning ordinance —- which will promote smart growth development practices —- is up for adoption before City Council. It is the latest piece of a multi-year effort that Clarkston has undertaken to redefine and revitalize itself.

Back in 2004, Clarkston was awarded a $65,000 Livable Communities Initiative grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission to plan for its future. It then adopted a new comprehensive development plan for the entire city. Now the new zoning ordinance would help implement that plan.

The changes proposed in the new zoning ordinance include more mixed-uses —- people living above stores or offices; higher density; smaller lot sizes; as well as requirements for sidewalks. The plan also respects the integrity of the city’s historic street grid system, which parallels the railroad line that goes through the middle of town. The city also is in line to receive a $5 million federal grant to help upgrade its sidewalks, lighting and downtown area. Those funds would help developers improve the area around their project.

Clarkston Mayor Lee Swaney believes his city has a natural advantage —- location. It is about 10 miles east of downtown Atlanta, five miles east of downtown Decatur and five miles west of Stone Mountain.

Swaney moved to Clarkston in 1970 after looking for the best place to live and start his heating and air-conditioning business. Clarkston’s easy access to I-285, the Stone Mountain Freeway and I-20 made it ideal.

‘It was a stable community in the ’70s,” Swaney says. “It was slow-paced. Council members many times went to sleep during the meetings.”

That has changed. Clarkston, once designated as a Federal Refugee Destination Center, received an influx of immigrants from around the world.

It went from having a population that was 90 percent white in 1980 to one that is less than 20 percent white. Most of the city’s 7,200 residents are African-American, and the second-largest group is a wide array other ethnicities. More than 50 languages are spoken among the students attending Clarkston’s high school. The town’s rich mix of ethnic restaurants also reflects that diversity.

The six-member Clarkston City Council now has two African-American members and one Vietnamese, and Swaney said council meetings today are “really vibrant.”

“The diversity that the city has here is good,” Swaney says. “These people are only looking for a better way of life, and I want to help them in any way I can.”

Swaney believes that attracting new development and re-creating a town center will help bring the community together. One advantage Clarkston has, Swaney says, is that people can walk to most places in town.

The city also has several major green spaces, including Friendship Forest, Milam Park, Armistead Field and Forty Oaks Nature Preserve. There is a PATH bicycle trail that runs right through town, another amenity that has helped draw attention to the city.

“We’ve got a city prime for development,” says Harry Housen, a landscape architect with Wood + Partners Inc., who has been working with Clarkston through its planning process. “The street network is already there, and we are trying to come back and stitch it together.”

A key piece, in his mind, will be the redevelopment of Thriftown, a seven-acre strip shopping center that is centrally located in the city. Because Clarkston does not have a wealth of historic buildings, Housen believes that the greatest potential will be redeveloping existing properties and creating a live, work, play environment with artists, lofts, apartments, condos and neighborhood-friendly retail.

Clarkston is one of a half-dozen small cities in metro Atlanta that is considering smart growth zoning guidelines to revitalize their communities. It is part of a metrowide trend to redevelop healthy town centers with existing infrastructure —- steering growth to occur without contributing to sprawl and traffic congestion.

Clarkston’s proposed new zoning guidelines were written to help create that kind of place, according to Dan Cohen, director of planning for Pond & Co. firm who actually drafted the new ordinance.

“We want a mixed-use feel with more public spaces,” he says, adding that the proposed zoning ordinance included input from residents, council members and outside developers. “We are able to bring some developers in so we could test the regulations with the development community to make sure it makes sense.”

In the future, developers will present their projects before a soon-to-be created Planning and Development Commission, which will make sure the proposals conform to the new ordinance before getting city council approval.

By having a clearly stated comprehensive development plan and new zoning ordinance, Clarkston officials hope they will be able to attract quality developers who will buy in to their vision.

“I want Clarkston to become a showpiece,” Swaney says. I want to be able to look back and see all the work we’ve been striving for to get started.”

It’s a dream that Joyce Wade has been working on for decades —- from helping establish Friendship Forest as a public green space to saving the old Clarkston High School from demolition and raising money to turn it into a community center.

Once Clarkston’s town center is redeveloped with a true community feel, Wade has faith that the rest of the metro area will see it as she does: “a fabulous little city.” In fact, Clarkston’s slogan is “Little City. Big Heart.” And its city leaders envision their little city soon having healthy heart in its downtown area.

“We will bring the community back with a small-town flavor,” Wade says. “I get cold chills because I think it’s going to happen.”

So Easy a Kid Can Do it...

Posted by dave in Taking Care of Business on April 19, 2007 | No Comments

One of my favorite Kent entrepreneur stories was the story of Alexandra McDaniel starting her own business at age 8 (blog post on July 22, 2006). In between her duties as corporate Chairkid, product development and sales whiz, she’s found time to be featured in newspapers, business magazines and at business conferences as a shining example of the entrepreneural spirit that has no age limits. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that now that she’s a whole year older, she’s added a new line to her impressive resume — she’s teaching a course on building and managing websites for ebusiness success. I’m sure the course will be worth it but even if you can’t make it, check out the video technology she used in her introduction for the course — very cool.

Here’s the link to Alexandra’s video introduction for her ebusiness web course: Click Here

I’ve also copied a few of Alexandra’s business press highlights from the last year to give you an appreciation for how much this young lady had done (make you feel totally inadequate.)

Kids Roar owner featured in CEO Magazine in Turkey.

While Alexandra McDaniel has gotten used to getting some attention in United States, she was very surprised when she was featured in CEO Magazine in Turkey. Click here to read the whole article in Turkish.

To see her on the CEO Magazine, visit http://www.ceosdergisi.com/agustos/.

Celebrating Success! Northeast Ohio Business Conference

April 24, 2006

Celebrating Success! Northeast Ohio Business Conference is featuring several speakers, including Luis Proenza, President of the University of Akron and will feature Alexandra McDaniel, Chairkid of the Board of Directors, Kids Roar company.

Alexandra will be recognized, speak briefly, attending the workshops and networking.

Read all about it on the conference website.

http://www.neobusinessconference.org/mcdaniel.htm

Read About Kids Roar on NewsNet 5

February 08, 2006

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/6845791/detail.html#

That is the link on News Net 5 where you can read about Kids Roar. I was also on the 6:00 news tonight. We are going to try to put video up when we get it done.

8-year-old from Kent polishes her business plan

6:10 p.m.

Marcia Pledger
Plain Dealer Reporter

Like a lot of kids, Alexandra McDaniel won’t hesitate to ask her parents to buy her presents. But a few things set her apart from other 8-year-olds.

She’s home-schooled, a vegetarian and chairkid of an e-commerce business she launched last month when her parents declined to buy the horse that she really, really wants.

“I get $3 or $2 every week for allowance, but it’s not enough to buy a pony,” said Alexandra, who lives in Kent. “It would take me over a year, probably, to buy one. I told my dad I need much more money. And he said I could start a business to raise money.”

She hasn’t made a quarter yet. But she has big plans, an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to learn.

That’s why Alexandra will be one of about 500 people expected to attend the Ohio Business Women’s Conference & Expo Feb. 16 and 17 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. Sessions will deal with writing business plans, access to capital, negotiating contracts, tapping into international markets and taking advantage of opportunities that come from being certified by the city or the state as a woman-owned or a minority-owned business.

Conference organizers were expecting diversity, but they were surprised that a child would take time from school work, skating and piano lessons to attend. Alexandra said she hopes to meet women business owners willing to share tips on building a business.

At 8, she already has learned the power of brainstorming. Six months ago she thought she wanted to sell pens, pencils and notebooks online to earn money to buy her horse. But with help from her Internet marketing father, Ron McDaniel, she revised her business plan and created a Web site that links to products available on Amazon.com. She gets about 5 percent of the profit each time one of those items sells.

Eventually, she said, she would like to offer her own line of animal decorations on the site. But her immediate goal is to assemble a board of 8- to 12-year-old directors who can bring seed money to the table. She also wants to create a separate board of kid advisers who wont be investors but will have lots of ideas to offer.

8 YEAR OLD ENTREPRENEUR TO ATTEND THE 2006 OHIO BUSINESS WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

January 24, 2006

With women business owners from all ages and minority groups registering to attend daily, the event promises to be a success. The 2 day conference and expo will take place February 16 & 17, 2006 at the historic Cleveland Renaissance Hotel & Conference Center.

Ask, Alexandra McDaniel the 8 year old Chairkid of kidsroar.biz what drove her to register to attend the Ohio Business Women’s Conference and Expo, and she’ll start telling you about how important it is to meet other business people. “I am very excited about attending my first conference. I think I will find it very interesting. I am very excited to be going from table to table and learning about what different businesses do and going to the sessions. I hope I learn a lot so my company will grow faster. I will enjoy doing the workshops and the networking.” Mily Rodriguez – Weiss, the event chair says: “When I first got the inquiry about Alexandra attending the event, I was skeptical. Then as I learned more, It became very clear to me that this 8 year old entrepreneur should definitely be a source of inspiration to the women who every day think of starting their own businesses but can’t seem to find the right moment or time to realize their dreams”

All Alexandra wanted was to make some money to buy a horse and start a horse club. Her idea initially was to sell horse pens, pencils and notebooks online to make some money and buy her own horse at some point. Her father, an entrepreneur and a marketer knew it would be very difficult to make a profit off of her idea in its initial concept, so he asked her to spend some time brainstorming. After a couple weeks, Alexandra came back with a list of unique products she’d like to manufacture and market online.

Then, with the initial concept in place and with her consultant’s help, a plan to raise start up funds was outlined. The plan consisted of having a board of directors constituted by individuals 8-12 years of age pay to sit on the company’s board through individual or corporate sponsorships. The board members are responsible for making critical decisions, design the products, and hire and fire senior management. All meetings are video taped and will be uploaded unto the company’s web site so that other kids and adults can review and learn about business.

Adult mentors will focus on how crafting the best experience for the children and help them lead in the future. “The business is the responsibility of the kids. The experience and support the kids get are the responsibility of the mentors”, said Ron McDaniel “We want this to be the best experience possible for training future leaders”.

The 2006 Ohio Business Women Conference and Expo is being presented by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for Ohio, in collaboration with the SBA and an array of partners including, the Urban League, Northeast Ohio Minority Business Council (NOMBC), the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Cleveland and Columbus Chapters and a coalition of other Chambers of Commerce in the region; The 2 day event is expected to attract hundreds of women business owners attendees, senior corporate executives, supplier diversity procurement professionals, community leaders and government officials. Participants will make a difference by actively participating in an engaging agenda which includes networking activities, workshops, panel discussions, matchmaking procurement sessions and special events. Additionally, a highlight of the conference will be the Business Expo.

The main mission of the Conference & Expo is to promote women’s business enterprises at all stages of development, by providing an unmatched forum in the region where women business owners can find the information and the tools necessary to expand their market presence.

For additional information on the 2006 Ohio Business Women’s Conference & Expo, contact Karolin Infante at 216-281-4422 or visit http://www.hbahcco.org/conference.htm

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for Ohio (HCCO): is a non-profit organization which grew out of a task force of Hispanic business owners in 1981 alarmed over the low participation in the private and public sector. The association was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1983. And its mission is to promote Hispanic Business interest and its economic development and expansion through strategic partnerships, technical assistance and advocacy.

Celebrate Kent Grant Funds Available...

Posted by dave in Taking Care of Business on April 18, 2007 | No Comments

Each year the City budgets $10,000 to support public events in Kent, such as summer movies on the plaza, ice carving, cider fest, folk festival, etc. Local groups and event planners can apply to receive a share of the $10,000 to offset their event costs. Truth is, $10,000 doesn’t go far, so it’s a fairly competitive process, and now is the time to apply. So if you know of a worthy event, or you’ve been thinking of a new Kent event, this is the time to get your application in. For the details, read more.

Celebrate Kent! REQUEST FOR PROPOSALSThe City of Kent is accepting applications for qualified projects for the FY-2007 round of our Celebrate Kent! Grant Program. Attached is a brief program description, and application and Statement of Success forms.

Those interested in applying for funding should submit a completed application to the address listed below on or before 4:00 p.m. on May 3, 2007.

All applications received will be reviewed by the Community Development Department for eligibility and completeness. Qualified applications will then be forwarded to the Kent City Council for final approval. Qualified applicants may be invited to present their proposal to City Council at their regularly scheduled Committee meeting in late May.

Questions related to the Celebrate Kent! Grant Program should be directed to Economic Development Coordinator, Michael Weddle at 330-678-8108 or via email at weddle@kent-ohio.org.

PROPOSALS MAY BE RETURNED TO:

THE CITY OF KENT
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
930 OVERHOLT ROAD
KENT , OHIO 44240

ATTN.: MICHAEL WEDDLE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR
PHONE: 330-678-8108
FAX : 330-678-8030
EMAIL: WEDDLE@KENT-OHIO.ORG
Celebrate Kent!

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

GOAL: To provide opportunities to celebrate the quality of life enjoyed by the residents of the City of Kent, and share with those outside of the community the attributes that make Kent a unique and exciting place to work, go to school, and to live.

OBJECTIVES:

1. Attract Kent residents, and those from other communities, to downtown activities and events.

2. Promote the City’s attributes to those outside of the city.

3. Create additional commercial opportunities for downtown retail operations.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:

1. The project should be oriented toward attracting people to downtown Kent.

2. Applicants must be, or represent, a Kent company or agency.

3. Funding is intended to support verifiable program expenses (hard costs such as materials, advertisements, flyers, printing, etc.). Funding for administrative purposes (salaries, general office supplies, agency overhead, payment for services provided by applicant employees or representatives) will not be considered.

4. At the completion of the event(s) the applicant must submit a report to the City of Kent summarizing and documenting the results of the event(s), and whether the stated program goals and objectives were met.

5. Grant funds will be disbursed on a reimbursement basis for eligible expenses as identified in the program description and backed by third-party invoices and receipts for those expenses. No disbursements will be authorized until the receipt of the report mentioned in the previous section has been received by the City of Kent.

6. Each dollar of grant funding must be matched with one-dollar from another source, or two-dollars of in-kind contribution. A combination of both cash and in-kind contributions is permissible; however, separate and distinct accounting procedures must be maintained for each of the two sources. All matching contributions must be verifiable, and accepted by the City of Kent prior to reimbursement.

In the space provided below, please respond to each of the following application components. Attachments are welcomed, however they may not be substituted for one or more of the application requirements.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 4:00 P.M., MAY 3, 2007PROPOSALS ARE TO BE RETURNED TO:

THE CITY OF KENT
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
930 OVERHOLT ROAD
KENT , OHIO 44240

ATTN.: MICHAEL WEDDLE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR
PHONE: 330-678-8108
FAX : 330-678-8030
EMAIL: WEDDLE@KENT-OHIO.ORG
Celebrate Kent!

APPLICATION

PROJECT TITLE : ______________________________________________________

APPLICANT ORGANIZATION : __________________________________________

CONTACT PERSON : ___________________________________________________

ADDRESS : ____________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

PHONE NUMBER : ______________ FAX NUMBER: ________________

EMAIL ADDRESS: _____________________________________________________

TOTAL AMOUNT OF FUNDING REQUEST: $_____________________________

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: In the space below please provide a general description of the proposed project (Attach additional sheets if necessary).

PROJECT BUDGET REQUEST: Please provide a budget for the proposed project to include: grant monies being requested; the amount and source of matching funding and in-kind contributions; and a listing of all projected expenses (Attach additional sheets if necessary).
Celebrate Kent!

STATEMENT OF SUCCESS

All grant recipients must submit a report at the end of their program activities highlighting the results of their program. Please complete the attached report and submit it to the Community Development Department, 930 Overholt Road, Kent, Ohio 44240, ATTN.: Michael Weddle. Feel free to attach additional sheets if necessary. Grant monies may not be disbursed until the attached report and verification of matching contributions have been submitted and approved. Reimbursements may take up to six-weeks to receive.

PROJECT TITLE : ______________________________________________________

APPLICANT ORGANIZATION : __________________________________________

CONTACT PERSON : ___________________________________________________

Celebrate Kent! GRANT AMOUNT AWARDED : $____________________________

STATEMENT OF GOALS ACHIEVED :

NUMBER OF PEOPLE SERVED :

ESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACT :

TYPE AND SOURCE OF MATCHING RESOURCES (Please attach verification of all matching resources):

Riding Harley’s, Reading Poetry...

Posted by dave in Taking Care of Business on April 17, 2007 | No Comments

Group gets a handle on art haunts

Renaming area underscores trend

Monday, April 16, 2007

Jesse Tinsley

Plain Dealer Reporter

A Cleveland neighborhood is gradually becoming an art district – one of those funky, vibrant enclaves of artists’ studios, galleries, bistros and live-work spaces that are spreading all over the country.

A group of artists and nonprofit groups dedicated to art and culture renamed a 22-block area straddling St. Clair and Superior avenues Friday and held a benefit to raise money for banners in the neighborhood.

The neighborhood’s new name is the Cleveland Art Quarter, which will be framed by Lake Erie, Euclid Avenue and East 18th and East 40th streets.

“Art districts not only have that cultural and creative vibe that makes the city feel alive,” said Christy Gray, project coordinator of the Red Dot Project, which sponsored the fund-raiser with two other neighborhood arts groups, Zygote Press and City Artists at Work. “Art districts are economic engines, because they help support businesses and foster growth in a community,” Gray said.

Those involved chose the name of The Cleveland Art Quarter – The Quarter for short – because it includes four neighborhoods within its boundaries: the Quadrangle District, St. Clair-Superior, Asiatown and Midtown. Also considered were “The Fringe” and “Funky Town.”

“We are gradually gentrifying the neighborhood,” said Mindy Tousley, co-director of City Artists at Work.

Artists began settling in the area about 10 years ago, and more than 100 members of City Artists at Work have studios between East 18th and East 40th streets.

City officials and art groups estimate some 500 artists live and work in the area. Artists are attracted to the spacious live-work warehouse buildings throughout the community, Gray said.

Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose Ward 13 includes The Quarter, applauds the effort to bring more attention to the St. Clair-Superior area, which in 2001 became the city’s first legislatively zoned live-work district.

“It [The Quarter] is an honest and genuine reflection of the life that goes on there,” Cimperman said.

“You can’t find another area per capita in the city that has as many artists, live-work spaces, galleries and photographers making a living.”

More artists and members of the so-called “creative class” began moving to the area when live-work lofts like Loftworks on East 40th Street and Tower Press on Superior Avenue were developed about four years ago.

The Quarter joins established art districts like Soho in Manhattan and Jackson Square in San Francisco, as well as more recent arrivals like Crosslands in Kansas City, Mo., and Old City in Philadelphia.

In addition to studio artists, creative people are steadily moving into the area, said Alenca Banco, who two years ago purchased the 91-year-old St. Josephat Church and turned it into the Convivium33 Gallery on East 33rd Street off Superior Avenue.

“Finally, local governments [nationwide] are realizing that art really drives economic development,” Banco said. “They rebuild communities and business districts.”

What Cities Do To Attract Retail: Part 5...

Posted by dave in Taking Care of Business on April 12, 2007 | No Comments

Hopefully, if you’ve been reading this extended series on retail growth (and don’t worry it will eventually end), you’re starting to get a better picture of how retail decisions are made and what we’re doing to be competitive in that game. I think most people know that it’s been an uphill battle for us, but if you’ve been following what the professionals have been telling us in these articles, you may understand why it’s been so hard. For what it’s worth, I’d like to offer my take too.

Here’s the way I see it. For the last 20 to 30 years, suburban malls and big box retail had home field advantage as consumers grew tired of traditional downtown shopping venues of their mom’s and dad’s (face it, every generation has to reject whatever their parent’s made popular) and this enormous new demographic of mini-van driving surburban mom’s fell in love with the convenience of one-stop shopping being sold at the new malls.

Malls were a perfect fit for the Zeitgeist of the times and their success soon spawned the emergence of super-sized mega-malls, on the premise that if big is good, bigger is even better still. (Texans must love malls.)

I’m no sociologist but you probably don’t have to be one to see how malls changed our culture. From pop music diva Madonna and her material world, to movies that introduced a whole new valley-girl mall vocabularly, consumerism reached new highs thanks in large part to mall madness.

Sitting in Kent 20 years ago, it was probably hard to imagine that the tried-and-true retail formula that had made downtown Kent the place-to-be, was changing. So it’s no wonder Kent felt confident in rejecting the mall project that was proposed on SR 261 in favor of honoring our downtown tradition.

In hindsight today, Kent was at a retail crossroads when it considered the mall project, and we chose the path that had been heavily traveled, perhaps not realizing the force that was to be the malling of America.

Like any new movement, malls and big box retail took some time to get rolling, but roll it did, all around Kent. Kent didn’t sit idly by, it tried to buck the retail trend and keep downtown relevant, but slowly, piece by piece, the ”mainstream” downtown stores followed the national trends and found new homes in stip malls and their mega-mall cousins.

So honestly, I don’t see the last 20 years of Kent’s retail experience as a surprise. We made a decision not to play the mall game and we just have to accept those consequences.

But what goes up, must come down, and I believe we’re at another retail crossroad as a generation raised on malls is now entering it’s prime spending years and they’re looking for a new place to spend their money. To them shopping isn’t so much about buying products, as much as it is buying a shopping experience.

They want more than the mundane, falsetto muzac pumped through mall speakers; they want something with some substance, with some history, something real. And guess who can offer that – downtowns. So what was old can become new again.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not recreating exactly what we had before, it’s taking the best of what we had and adapting it to today’s consumers. That’s what we’re trying to do by seeking projects to revitalize downtown Kent.

To me, we’re at another retail crossroads today. We can choose to play or pass at the downtown redevelopment game, it’s up to us. We’ve seen what cities can do by choosing to play (look at Hudson or Medina for example) and we’ve already experienced first-hand what happens when you let retail trends pass you by.

Are we in or out? That’s a decision we have to make as a community.

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