A Coke & Conversation with Frisch’s CEO Jason Vaughn
Welcome to a new series from Cincinnati People called “A Coke & Conversation with …” where our Betsy Ross will interview Cincinnati people so they can share their interesting stories over a Coke at a local Frisch’s.
By Betsy Ross, Contributing Writer
Video by Madison Schmidt
Welcome to a new series from Cincinnati People called “A Coke & Conversation with …” where our Betsy Ross will interview Cincinnati people so they can share their interesting stories over a Coke at a local Frisch’s.
This week, we begin with Frisch’s CEO Jason Vaughn who shares his story andthe story of how he and his team worked to bring Coke back to Frisch’s.
If you have an idea for a Coke & Conversation, drop us a note.
Catching Up with Cincinnati Reds Legend Dave Parker
One of the beauties of public speaking is the insights that come directly from the horse's mouth, in this case Dave Parker's, talking to fans who visited City Gospel Mission recently as part of the Reds Hall of Famer series.
By John Erardi, Contributing Writer
Since April is also Parkinson's Awareness Month, the Reds Hall of Famer and his Dave Parker 39 Foundation is reaching out to patients and their caregivers with practical tips on managing the debilitating disease. His next event is Saturday, April 7 from 1-3 p.m. at Chesterwood Village in West Chester. The Foundation's Doug King is taking reservations at dougking51@msn.com.
One of the beauties of public speaking is the insights that come directly from the horse's mouth, in this case Dave Parker's, talking to fans who visited City Gospel Mission last year as part of the Reds Hall of Famer series.
City Gospel Mission is located on the former grounds of the Crosley Field, the Reds ballpark at “Findlay and Western” from 1912-1970. CGM does a wonderful job of showcasing elements of the Reds longtime venue.
Parker's golf tournament – this year at Glenview Golf Course on October 6 raises money for Parkinson's research. Parker was diagnosed in 2013 as having the disease, and soon thereafter became a local spokesman and fundraiser for the cause.
I can tell you from personal experience that Glenview Golf Course is great shape, and should be an outstanding first-year host of the event. (Past tourneys were held at Avon Fields.) I played Glenview this week with Reds historian Greg Rhodes and Greg Gajus, a master numbers' cruncher and our longtime collaborator. We’ll be teeing up for the first time at the Cobra Classic. (See end of this story for entry details.)
The golf tournament is among the reasons why I'm writing about Parker today. But I’m also writing about him because of I learned a lot from the question-and-answer program at City Gospel Mission, conducted by Rick Walls, executive director of the Reds Hall of Fame. (Parker was inducted in 2014 with fellow Cincinnatians Ron Oester and Ken Griffey Jr.)
I thought I’d knew almost everything there was to know about Parker, having covered him as a Red from 1985 through 1987. (His first season here was 1984.) I’d written a half-dozen columns and two big profiles of him over the years.
But he -- and Walls -- came up with some gems.
I can make a good case that Parker, who was born in Mississippi but moved here at a young age, is the greatest all-around athlete to come out of Cincinnati, outdistancing even those favorite sons of Silverton, Roger Staubach and Barry Larkin, who are in the Halls of Fames of their respective sports, football and baseball. And DeHart Hubbard, the former Olympic and world-record setting sprinter and multi-sport star at Walnut Hills High School (class of 1921), has to be in the mix as well.
“I grew up three streets over from here (old Crosley Field),” Parker told the full house at CGM. “I used to hustle cab doors, open cab doors for 50-cents or a dollar, whatever people would give me. One day I opened the door, and out walked Chuck Connors and Mickey Rooney. I said, ‘Hey, you look just like Mickey Rooney.’ They got a good laugh at that, especially (former Dodgers first baseman) Chuck Connors, who played ‘The Rifleman’ on TV.”
Parker’s idols were Reds outfielders Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson, who drove to the ballpark in their matching white Thunderbirds, red interiors, port holes on the side.
Recalled Parker: “I said to Frank one day, ‘Give me something to play ball with. I don’t have a glove.’ He opened his car trunk and pulled out a glove. I wished I knew where that glove was now! Later, when I made it to the big leagues I tried to get Frank to remember me, but he couldn’t. Vada remembered me, though. He said, ‘I remember you, little green-eyed boy!’ ”
As a teenager, Parker worked inside the park selling peanuts and ice cream.
Parker was a three-sport star at the now-extinct Courter Tech, which was located where Cincinnati State is located today, on that promontory on Central Parkway overlooking I-75/I-74. Parker attended a workout at Crosley Field in 1967 with some buddies from Courter Tech, something I never knew until his talk at City Gospel Mission.
“I hit a couple balls out of the ballpark, you know, into the Sun Deck,” Parker recalled. “Nobody said anything to us afterward, so I just walked away with my buddies. As I was leaving, some guy said to me, ‘Hey, hey! Where you going? We want to sign you!” I said, ‘I’m only in the 10th grade.’ ”
That brought a hearty laugh from the crowd.
Parker said his favorite sport in high school was football. His football idol was the great Cleveland Browns fullback, Jim Brown.
“Jim Brown used to run over 10 of the 11 defensive guys and he’d get up slow and it took him five minutes to walk back to the huddle,” Parker recalled. “I said, ‘Hey, I want to be like that guy.’ ”
He apparently was. A person in the crowd told Parker he had played against him in pee-wee football. The person said he could still recall – with terror -- the sound Parker’s cleats made on the concrete walking to the field.
“You all had a good program outside of us,” recalled Parker, drawing another good laugh.
He tore up his knee playing football as a high school senior, couldn’t play basketball team and unleashed himself on baseball, which he also loved. He dropped to the 14th round of the Major League Baseball Draft in early June 1970.
My favorite story about Parker isn’t one he told me, but rather is one that originated with late manager Leo Durocher, a former Red himself. Picture this: “Parkway,” as all of us former Reds writers called the big fella (the 6-foot-5’er has since slimmed down from his 230-pound, prime-time playing weight ), was a true specimen by the time he appeared in his first spring training as a 19-year-old in 1971. Under the watchful eye of opposing manager Durocher of the Chicago Cubs, Parker put on a show in batting and fielding practice one day, standing out even among his accomplished teammates, future Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell.
At home plate that day, the umpires and Durocher and Pittsburgh Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh gathered to exchange lineups. Durocher said: “Let me ask you guys a question: You mean to tell me that all the scouts in the country decided there were 200 (expletive-deleted) better than him?”
Parkway then told another story I hadn’t heard. That question that elicited it came from the audience: “Where’d you get that nickname, Cobra?”
“One of the trainers in Pittsburgh,” Parker answered. “Tony the trainer was a big fight fan. So he associated Cincinnati with Ezzard Charles, the great boxer whose nickname was 'The Cincinnati Cobra' because of his flicking jab and sharp, stinging punches. I had that little coil at the start of my swing, waiting to the last second to swing, and that’s how I got the nickname, 'Cobra.’”
I talked with Parker’s wife, Kellye, after the event, and she said Dave is doing a good job coping with Parkinson’s, having good days and bad days, but always maintaining his famous sense of humor, which made him a favorite in the clubhouse. He eats right and exercises regularly. He loves golf, but Kellye told me he’d probably only putt at his golf tournament.
I asked the big fella about that, and he clearly has his own ideas.
“I’m going to hit the ball,” he boomed, with a smile.
Dave Parker with wife, Kellye, at Reds Hall of Fame Gala, 2014
Dave Parker in the National Baseball of Fame? Yes, Sir says Erardi.
In my opinion, Dave Parker has a good case for the National Baseball of Fame. As a voting member of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), I voted for him all 15 years he was on ballot. But I am in the minority; 75 percent of the vote is needed, and 25 percent is the most he received in any one year.
His fate is now in the hands of the veterans’ committee.
I tend to be a "comet" rather than "compiler" voter; I love the guys who were among the very best players in their league for a five-year stretch or more and made big splashes. To me, Parker qualifies as a Hall of Famer using this as primary criteria; plus, he was productive into his late 30s.
The objective numbers analysts don't consider Parker's Hall of Fame case to be anywhere near a lock. They cite mainly his career value number (known as WAR, Wins Above Replacement; Parker achieved a "40" WAR). Although it is true that according to the "similarity scores" method developed by numbers’ guru Bill James that three of the top eight “most similar” players to Parker are Hall of Famers Andre Dawson, Billy Williams and Tony Perez -- it is also true that their career WARs are significantly better: 65, 54 and 54, respectively.
Parker accumulated 28 of 40 WAR from 1975-79.
The mid-20s to low-40s career WAR Hall of Fame hitters either had short, glittery careers (Roy Campanella) or were good offensive players but great defensive ones (Bill Mazeroski, Red Schoendienst, Pie Traynor, Lloyd Waner) or benefitted from a mega-market bias (Yankees Phil Rizzuto and Earle Combs). I regarded Parker as a great right fielder in his prime, but the defensive numbers don't support me on that.
I always wondered if Parker might have come considerably closer to the 75 percent electoral support needed for Cooperstown, and thus made his case for the upcoming veterans' committee stronger, had he won a second Most Valuable Player Award as a Red in 1985 (league-leader in RBI, doubles and total bases) instead of finishing second to the St. Louis Cardinals Willie McGee.
Parker was the first major free-agent acquisition in Reds history, signing in December of 1983. He played here from 1984 through 1987, averaging 158 games over the course of the four 162-game seasons. He was the Reds’ Most Valuable Player from 1984 through 1986. In his career, he was a seven-time All-Star, and two-time batting champ. He led the league twice in slugging, twice in doubles and three times in total bases.
Study on 2017 Cincinnati Music Festival reveals annual event is the largest driver of tri-state tourism
A study conducted by the UC Economics Center and commissioned by the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau announced this week that the Cincinnati Music Festival presented by P&G provides a $107.5 million economic impact to the region, making it the largest annual weekend driver of tourism in the tri-state.
A study conducted by the UC Economics Center and commissioned by the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau announced this week that the Cincinnati Music Festival presented by P&G provides a $107.5 million economic impact to the region, making it the largest annual weekend driver of tourism in the tri-state.
In 2017, the Cincinnati Music Festival drew an audience of 83,200 with 79.8% of those attendees from out-of-town with each spending an average of $692 on lodging, food/beverage and retail, and traveling from as far as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
Additionally, the impact of the Cincinnati Music Festival supported 1,557 tri-state jobs with $24.8 million in total earnings. During the weekend of the Festival, hotel tax revenues were $2.1 million ($1.3 million in Hamilton County and $829,000 in the City of Cincinnati) whereas sales tax revenue in Hamilton County was $530,000 and $363,000 to adjacent local counties.
By comparison, the $107.5 million economic impact of the Cincinnati Music Festival is the equivalent of hosting one-and-a-half Major League Baseball All Star Games ($65 million), seven Flying Pig Marathon weekends ($15 million) and one-and-a-half Western & Southern Open tennis tournaments ($62.5 million).
“The Cincinnati Music Festival is the biggest hotel weekend of the year in the Cincinnati region and is vital to the success of our visitor economy,” said Jason Dunn, Vice President of Multicultural Sales and Community Development for the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It’s more than just a music festival. The Cincinnati Music Festival drives our regional and national reputation around diversity and inclusion as well as cultural vibrancy and entertainment power.”
The 2018 Cincinnati Music Festival, which will be held July 26-28 at Paul Brown Stadium, will feature Charlie Wilson and Jill Scott as headliners at Paul Brown Stadium. For more information and ticket options, visit www.cincymusicfestival.com.
2018 Cincinnati Music Festival Schedule of Performances
Thursday, July 26: MC Lyte, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Shingo Fashion Show, and Cincinnati's own DJ Vader
Friday, July 27: Charlie Wilson, Xscape, Boyz II Men, Fantasia, After 7
Saturday, July 28: Jill Scott, The Roots, Common, Keith Sweat, The O’Jays, Bootsy Collins
“This year as we put together our lineup, we wanted even our opening acts to be impressive and I think we achieved just that,” said Joe Santangelo, owner of the Santangelo Group and co-promoter of the Cincinnati Music Festival. “From the second the fans come through the Stadium doors, they're going to be on their feet dancing to so many great legends of R&B and Hip Hop. We take the advice of our audience to heart and so we're keeping it up tempo and featuring all artists that have been heavily requested to perform. We can't wait for this year's showcase of talent - it's going to be legendary.”
The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is proud to be the presenting sponsor of the Cincinnati Music Festival for the fourth consecutive year. Procter & Gamble believes supporting events such as the Cincinnati Music Festival draws people from around the nation to experience what the great city of Cincinnati has to offer.
“As an employer, neighbor and responsible corporate citizen, it is important that we create strong connections throughout our community. Music and the arts provide a platform to foster engagement across cultures,” said William P. Gipson, Chief Diversity Officer, P&G. “Importantly, events such as this provide an inclusive spirit that reflects the strength and value of the African-American buying power contributing to the progress and growth of our community.”
Procter & Gamble believes diversity is essential and inclusion is a game-changer, which is why the company upholds the certainty that all people should be valued, both inside and outside the company. According to Nielsen, Black-buying power is expected to reach $1.2 trillion this year. The popular buying categories include personal health and beauty products, fragrances, food and beverage, as well as, family planning, household care and cleaning products.
Over the past few years, prominent national publications such as Billboard, Vibe, AM New York, Upscale Magazine, and the LA Daily News, have visited the Cincinnati region to experience the Cincinnati Music Festival and feature stories showcasing the region, and the festival, as one of the premier music events in the United States.
“As the Cincinnati Music Festival has grown to become one of the premier events in the country, so too has Cincinnati's national reputation soared,” said Julie Calvert, Executive Director of Source Cincinnati, the group charged to lead national media efforts for the region. “That's not a coincidence. The Festival has changed the way people think about Cincinnati, and sparked our credibility and appeal as a world-class region for music, culture and the arts. National media is watching what happens here, as are music lovers, visitors and business leaders, entrepreneurs and more. The ripple effect from the Cincinnati Music Festival has been, and will continue to be, incredible.”
Steve Hampton: Making beer a tourist attraction
Steve Hampton, the driving force behind next week’s Bockfest celebration, knows a good beer when he sees—and tastes—one. And he knows that good beer draws a crowd. He’s hoping that this city’s brewing heritage will become a major tourist attraction through the Brewing Heritage Trail.
Steve Hampton, the driving force behind next week’s Bockfest celebration, knows a good beer when he sees—and tastes—one. And he knows that good beer draws a crowd. He’s hoping that this city’s brewing heritage will become a major tourist attraction through the Brewing Heritage Trail.
The Brewing Heritage Trail is an urban walking trail that, by the summer, will combine physical installations with digital and audio content. Iconic markers and the Brewing Heritage Trail app (under beta testing now) provide additional stories, photos and augmented reality experiences. Visitors can access self-guided tours, or guided tours.
Bockfest gives visitors a preview of the full-blown Heritage trail with the new “Brushes and Beer” tour. “It celebrates and talks about some of the public art we’ve been installing along the trail through the neighborhood as part of the Brewing Heritage Trail,” said Hampton. “There’s almost a dozen public art pieces and you’ll get to hear some of those stories and learn how they’re tied to our brewing heritage.”
That’s in addition to the usual Bockfest tours that are scheduled throughout Bockfest weekend, including the new “Mishaps, Malfeasance and Murder Tour,” and the “Dr. Morgan’s Hangover Relief Tour,” both offered Saturday, March 3 and Sunday, March 4, and the “Below Bockfest Tour,” Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3, billed as the introduction to Cincinnati’s brewing heritage.
Also new this year to Bockfest weekend is the “Beer and Bygone Days” celebration on Saturday, March 3. “That’s a whole afternoon of not only the historic brewery tours but speakers, presentations, beer brewing demonstrations, everything good about beer and the history we have here in Cincinnati,” Hampton said.
Bockfest, Cincinnati’s annual celebration of Spring and the area’s brewing heritage, kicks off its 26th year with free activities through Bockfest weekend, March 2-4 throughout downtown Cincinnati and the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.
The full schedule is available at www.bockfest.com, along with ticket and package purchase details for tours, food, and additional fun. Entrance to Bockfest is free to enjoy great Bock Beer, Music, and Entertainment.
Bockfest weekend begins Friday, March 2 with the Bockfest Parade, which steps off at 6 p.m. and winds its way up Main Street to Bockfest Hall at the Christian Moerlein Brewery, 1621 Moore Street, where the ceremonial keg of bock beer is blessed and the party continues with live music, food, and cold bock beer. A free shuttle takes Bockfest-goers to the more than a dozen establishments participating in Bockfest Friday and Saturday night.
The weekend continues Saturday morning with the Bockfest 5K that runs through Over-the-Rhine and past historic brewery sites. Register at www.runbeerseries.com. After the 5K, dive deep into Beer & Bygone Days with local bock beer tappings, history speakers, beer homebrew competitions, stein and breweriana displays, and historic brewery tours.
Saturday night is the finals of the Bockfest Beard Baron and Sausage Queen competitions at Bockfest Hall. Winners of the five preliminary gender-neutral Sausage Queen rounds held at local bars compete in a rowdy pageant, led off by the Beard Baron competition. The night continues with the Billygoat Ball with live music, DJ dance party, and plenty of cold bock beer.
Sunday is a family friendly day at Bockfest Hall. Games, Germans, & Gemütlichkeit kicks off with the new Little Links kids pageant and features kid-friendly games, goat yoga, and music plus Bockfeast Dinner and Bock Bloody Mary Bar. Continental Sunday showcases our heritage with live German music and dancing, steins and breweriana, and historic brewery tours. In addition, participating bars and restaurants will be offering special deals all weekend long.
Take a tour and get a preview of the upcoming Brewing Heritage Trail with a historic brewery tour available all weekend long. Friday and Saturday evenings the Below Bockfest Tour celebrates how beer was made and consumed in pre-Prohibition times. Saturday and Sunday feature the Mishaps Malfeasance and Murder Tour with the stories behind the beer, including corruption, accidents, even murder. Saturday and Sunday also feature the Brushes and Beer tour celebrating art and beer, touring the public art along the Brewing Heritage Trail. Get tickets to all the tours at http://www.bockfest.com/historic-tours.html.
There is also a number of preliminary events in the weeks leading up to Bockfest weekend, including five Sausage Queen preliminary rounds at local bars, the Precipitation Retaliation Happy Hour where a snowman is burned in effigy, and the Schoenling Bock Keg Tapping. Visit www.bockfest.com for additional details.
The non-profit Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation is the organizer of Bockfest. All of the proceeds of Bockfest support the non-profit Brewery District CURC and its mission to preserve, promote, and redevelop Cincinnati’s brewing heritage, including the building of the Brewing Heritage Trail. Presenting sponsors are Christian Moerlein Brewing Company, Arnold’s Bar & Grill, Brew City Sausage, Servatii, Decal Impressions, and The Johnson Foundation.
Want to learn more about the Bockfest celebration and the Brewing Heritage Trail? Go to www.bockfest.com and brewingheritagetrail.org for trail information.
Cincinnati People in review: 2017
Thank you to our loyal readership which we have cultivated over the past year. This week, we celebrate the first anniversary of Cincinnati People, a project we started at Game Day Communications to shine a light on those Cincinnati people doing interesting and important things in our community.
Thank you to our loyal readership which we have cultivated over the past year. This week, we celebrate the first anniversary of Cincinnati People, a project we started at Game Day Communications to shine a light on those Cincinnati people doing interesting and important things in our community.
This week, we take a look back at our featured profiles and say thank you to them for all they do.
Salome Tregre stars as Clara in Cincinnati Ballet’s Nutcracker
Walnut Hills student Salome Tregre, who has been a student of the Cincinnati Ballet’s Academy since 2007, will dance the lead role of Clara in Frisch’s Big Boy Presents The Nutcracker, which opens December 14 at Music Hall. It will be the first time in the history of the Cincinnati Ballet that Clara will be portrayed by an African-American youth dancer.
Video and photos by Madison Schmidt
Walnut Hills student Salome Tregre, who has been a student of the Cincinnati Ballet’s Academy since 2007, will dance the lead role of Clara in Frisch’s Big Boy Presents The Nutcracker, which opens December 14 at Music Hall. It will be the first time in the history of the Cincinnati Ballet that Clara will be portrayed by an African-American youth dancer.
Frisch’s Big Boy Presents The Nutcracker returns to Music Hall for 14 performances from December 14-24.
Frisch’s Big Boy Presents The Nutcracker, now in its 44th annual season, returns to the newly-renovated Music Hall from December 14 through 24, 2017 with even more performances. The stunning production is set to the Tchaikovsky’s sensational holiday score performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Carmon DeLeone. It also features more than 100 children from the tristate dancing alongside Cincinnati Ballet’s professional company, bringing even more energy and enthusiasm to this classic holiday tale.
The Nutcracker is the beloved holiday story of Clara, a little girl who embarks on a fantastical journey after she receives a nutcracker as a gift on Christmas Eve. With her Nutcracker Prince, Clara travels through the Land of Sweets, meeting colorful and exciting characters along the way.
Catching up with Olympic Gold Medalist Mary Wineberg
Mary Wineberg used to run track around the world: Now she runs around her classroom at Hyde Park Elementary, chasing down her room of second graders. To the rest of us, she’s a gold medal Olympian. To her kids, she’s Mrs. Wineberg. And that’s OK with her. It may be a different venue, but the same goal: To help her kids do their best.
By Betsy Ross, Contributing Writer
Photos and video by Madison Schmidt
Mary Wineberg used to run track around the world: Now she runs around her classroom at Hyde Park Elementary, chasing down her room of second graders. To the rest of us, she’s a gold medal Olympian. To her kids, she’s Mrs. Wineberg. And that’s OK with her. It may be a different venue, but the same goal: To help her kids do their best.
The Monday through Friday of teaching is a far cry from Mary’s previous career of running at world-class track events across the globe. But being a teacher was always in the back of her mind, even before she reached Olympic stardom.
“I remember my days in elementary school just thinking, ‘What teacher do I want to be like?’ I had no idea that I wanted to be a teacher, but I looked around and thought, ‘Oh, I want to be a teacher when I grow up.’”
The idea to be a teacher came even before the idea of being in sports. It’s a story Mary tells often: At age 4 she took part in a fun run during a neighborhood block party against the other kids. And beat them—handily. “But I honestly never thought to participate in sports like I did. I just enjoyed being a child.”
Later that year, she moved from New York to Cincinnati with my step-grandmother (more on her family later). “I didn’t know what kind of life the move would bring, but I felt it would be a little bit better than what I had in New York.”
Mary enjoyed running, like most kids, but she can thank her coaches at Walnut Hills and her best friend for convincing her to take up track in high school.
“I wanted to do it just to be cool, not thinking that I had a talent, not thinking anything of that nature until my coaches said ‘Wow this girl, I think she can be really quick.’ And even then I’m thinking well, I don’t understand anything about running. But it was really about having confidence in me.”
Her track career led her to the University of Cincinnati on scholarship, where she excelled, but Mary had a hard time believing in her own success.
“I struggled with being the athlete that my coaches wanted me to be,” she said, “or believing I could be the athlete that everyone else wanted me to be. When I look back, I’m winning all these races and I’m doing great and I think why would this girl struggle with believing in herself?
“I could get out on the track and I could race, but I would get so nervous when I would get into the big competitions, because then I would be the underdog. For me I had to learn not only to believe in myself, but I had to really think that I know I can do this because they said I can do this and I know I can do this because I’ve been training to do this.
“It really hit me my senior year. I’m standing at the University of Louisville track and getting ready to go, because I’m expected to win the women’s 400. I was very stressed because I didn’t want to let my team down. And I’m thinking, I can’t do this, I can’t run this race, and my roommate at the time, she kind of looked at me and said, ‘Mary, you can do this, you have this.’ And I’m crying now, and I said, ‘I’m not going to the start line.’
“I look back and think, ‘did I really believe I wasn’t going to the start line for this race that I’d been training for four years in college?’ But for me, being at the conference meet in front of all those other girls, that’s where I didn’t think I was good enough. I didn’t deserve to be there. But that day I had to learn, I did deserve to be there. And I ended up running a personal best.”
Mary was at the peak of her profession when she left U.C., so it was only natural that she would take her track career to the next level. “After college I thought I could just say I could do anything and it would just happen. I graduated in 2002 and I had the chance to go to the Olympic training center and train for the Olympics. So I think ‘Wow, I’m at the Olympic training center, I’m going to make the Olympic team, it’s that easy.’”
The truth was, it wasn’t easy and at her first try at going to the Olympics in 2004, she didn’t make it. But instead of discouraging her, it encouraged her to change her tactics and work harder, and in 2008 she represented the United States in track and field in Beijing, winning gold in the 4 x 400 meters.
Her journey to the Games, her ups and downs in the sport, her private battles with self-confidence are all included in her new book, Unwavering Perseverance. Also included in her book are her first public comments about her adoption. “I had talked about it a little, mostly with close friends and family members. People in my close circle knew I was adopted.
“After losing my (adoptive) mom in 2012, I struggled with wanting to know where I came from. I didn’t really know about my background and history, and so I wanted to know and have some sense of closure.
“At first I thought ‘I don’t want to do this, I don’t know what I’m going to open up.’ After doing the search, I was very happy for making my peace with my mother and talking with her and hearing her side, because of course there are always two sides to the story. But it was also for me nice to know where I came from.”
From modest beginnings in Brooklyn to the top of the podium at the Olympics, to a school desk at Hyde Park Elementary, it’s been quite a journey for Mary Wineberg, now with a family of her own with husband Chris and her two daughters. She found stardom on the international stage, but now she’s just as happy in front of her second graders.
“A lot of people ask, ‘Do you like teaching? Is this really your passion?’ And I tell them yes. I knew when I was done running, some athletes always struggle with what they want to do next. What’s the next step. And for me, I knew. I wanted to be a teacher.
“I tell my students, I’m their mom away from home. They kind of laugh and then say, ‘You are mom away from home.’ It gives me great pleasure to be able to just inspire them and show them what they can be. It makes me happy.
“I used to run, it made me happy. And now teaching makes me happy.”
Mary Wineberg’s book, Unwavering Perseverance is available at http://marywineberg.com/shop/.
Her book release event is scheduled for this Saturday, November 18 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Walnut Hills High School. It’s free and open to the public.
Bengals Great Ken Anderson and His Work for Adults with Developmental Disabilities
If you know anything about former Bengals QB Ken Anderson, you know he gets things completed; passes, yes, but also major initiatives like his work with adults with developmental disabilities.
By Betsy Ross, Contributing Writer
Video by Madison Schmidt
Register for the Stadium Stride on October 22.
If you know anything about former Bengals QB Ken Anderson, you know he gets things completed; passes, yes, but also major initiatives like his work with adults with developmental disabilities.
In fact, Anderson, who still holds the Bengals career record for completions at 2,654, is now dedicating his time to a group called the Ken Anderson Alliance whose objective is to build living, working and playing options for adults with disabilities in our area.
The Alliance is an outgrowth of the Ken Anderson Foundation and Lighthouse Landing, both working toward the goal of making the lives of adults with developmental disabilities more productive. Ken’s nephew, Drew, was diagnosed with autism at 18 months old but as he grew to adulthood, his parents found there were no facilities other than state mental institutions that could take in Drew and other adults like him.
On Sunday, October 22, Anderson & Friends will be the hosts for the second annual Stadium Stride, a unique event for the entire family. The day starts with a 1.5 mile walk inside and around Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park, followed by watching the Bengals play the Steelers on the Reds outdoor viewing screen. It’s the biggest fundraiser of the year for the charity.
It’s an ambitious model that the Alliance has developed, with a template being built in Cincinnati that can be replicated across America to allow adults with disabilities to “live, work, play, socialize, recreate, love, learn and worship” in the settings and manner of their choosing with support from families, friends and caregivers.
The goal is for the model to grow so that by the year 2021 the Alliance will be able to build a residential community that can provide affordable housing for adults with developmental disabilities.
To find out more about the Ken Anderson Alliance and to register for the Stadium Stride, visit www.kenandersonalliance.org.
Kristin Ropp makes hockey fun at U.S. Bank Arena
It’s not every day you can take your passion and make it happen, as Irene Cara sang, but for Kristin Ropp, Vice President and General Manager of U.S. Bank Arena and the Cincinnati Cyclones, that’s exactly how her career led her to planning parties for thousands of her closest friends 90+ times a year at Cincinnati’s downtown arena.
It’s not every day you can take your passion and make it happen, as Irene Cara sang, but for Kristin Ropp, Vice President and General Manager of U.S. Bank Arena and the Cincinnati Cyclones, that’s exactly how her career led her to planning parties for thousands of her closest friends 90+ times a year at Cincinnati’s downtown arena.
A graduate of Ohio University, Ropp got started in college booking musical acts and bringing entertainment to campus. And she thought that would be a pretty cool way to make a living. But not everyone had the same mindset.
“I was probably in my junior or senior year in college, loving Ohio University, and my father said, ‘You need to hone in, you can see the finish line, you need to figure out what you want to be when you grow up.’ And I said, ‘Well, I like to plan events, I like parties,’ and of course I got the eyeroll.”
“Then he said, ‘Listen, you need to find something you have a passion for, or it won’t get you out of bed in the morning. Because if you do something for the money, believe it or not, it won’t get you out of bed in the morning.’ And that was the best advice I was ever given.”
Knowing her passion was events, she was able to land a job with Nederlander Entertainment, one of the largest and most experienced managers of venues and entertainment properties in the country, and came to Cincinnati. She managed acts at Bogart’s, answered phones at Riverbend, booked entertainment at the Taft Theater and helped produce Pepsi Jammin’ on Main.
“I worked in every possible position from marketing to operations. I wanted to get into production,” she said. “I wanted to be with the bands. That’s what I thought I wanted.”
Her production background brought her in 2002 to U.S. Bank Arena, where she worked as production manager and director of operations for about six years.
“And that’s when I realized, I don’t really want that. But I was fortunate enough to work for this company that had a lot of faith in me, and very quickly I was getting more management responsibility.”
In 2005, Ropp became Vice President and General Manager of U.S. Bank Arena, plus general manager of the newly-reincarnated Cincinnati Cyclones. Being from Pittsburgh, she knows a good hockey crowd when she sees one. And she didn’t see one in the early days before Nederlander took control of the team.
“You’d come to an event and it was just a lackluster crowd. There was no marketing, no promotions, it was such a great product, and it was frustrating.
“And then they came back, and Ray Harris (COO of Nederlander Entertainment) bought the team. He called me and said—I’ll never forget this conversation—he called me and said, ‘Well, kid, you’ve got yourself a hockey team. You need to pack your bags, there’s a Board of Governors meeting in Pittsburgh in two days.’
“I said OK and then said, “I have to be clear, I don’t know anything about hockey. I don’t want to mislead you.’ And he said, ‘That’s OK, you’ll figure it out.’ And that was it.”
The first thing the Arena staff needed to figure out is how to get people back to see the Cyclones, one of the big success stories in minor league hockey in the ‘90s.
“The first year we operated the team, we threw a lot of things at the wall to see what would stick. We went heavy marketing to reach single males. We thought they were low hanging fruit because that was stereotypical NHL.”
Instead, families started showing up. So the marketing plan went hors piste from the traditional hockey template.
“We pumped the brakes, said, no, we need to switch this up. The turning point of this organization is when we realized the competition was not the Bengals, the Reds, UC or Xavier, our competition was the bowling alley, the movies, the Zoo, anything else you would take your family to.
“Because we didn’t come up through a traditional sports marketing background, I think we approached it as a live entertainment event. And I think that’s served us well in a non-traditional hockey market.”
So when the season starts this Saturday you’ll see new glass around the rink and a new Buffalo Sabres affiliation, and continue to see dollar beer, dollar hot dogs, dollar pizza and a calendar giveaway. You’ll see noisemakers, mascots and a party atmosphere. And, oh, by the way, there’s a hockey game going on.
“We love to say you can bring your children here and you never have to say, ‘shhh.’ You can be loud, you can jump up and down, you can scream your head off and dance. We love it and encourage it. That was the turning point.”
Ropp is truly a hockey mom, and not just to the Cyclones players. Her son, Henry, has been playing youth hockey since he was 4, and he’s now 11. But he’s one of the few in his school.
“There are two kids in his school that play hockey. That’s a real shame. And that’s why we started the Cincinnati Cyclones Foundation. The whole intent is to give children the opportunity, if they want to try and play hockey, to play hockey.”
“There are a lot of roadblocks to that in the market. We’re going to do our best to take those away and work with CCM and Reebok to buy equipment to get to these kids to instill a love of the game.”
As GM of the Cyclones, she’s earned the ECHL Executive of the Year award twice, and twice was honored with the ECHL Award of Marketing Excellence. Ropp may be the only female General Manager of an ECHL hockey team, but she doesn’t let her gender define her job.
“Once you get past being the only woman at the Board of Governors meetings, I never think of myself as a ‘female general manager.’ I just always thought of myself as a person doing a job.”
“I’ve been singled out a few times being a woman doing this job, but I always shy away from it. Pat me on the back and highlight me if you think I’m doing a good job, but don’t highlight me because I use a different bathroom. I’m proud that I could kick that door open a little bit, but I still come here every day to sell tickets.”
No discussion surrounding U.S. Bank Arena would be complete without a look into its future, which could include a major renovation designed to bring more events and bigger acts to downtown.
“I feel that is the last piece of the puzzle for Cincinnati, for the riverfront. I feel it would be a huge misfortune for the city as a whole not to do it.”
The proposal would turn ownership of the renovated building over to Hamilton County, so that future profits would go directly to the county. Nederlander estimates event nights would jump from 90 to more than 120 a year, with an extra $9 million in revenue for Hamilton County.
“The new building would position us to host major NCAA events, basketball and volleyball, which bring in so many people from all over the country,” Ropp said.
“Listen, I love this old white elephant, and I’ll stay here as long as Ray Harris will have me. But I think it would be a shortcoming to the city of Cincinnati if we didn’t see this new building come to fruition.”
The Cincinnati Cyclones open the 2017-18 season at home Saturday against the Kalamazoo Wings. Check out the Cyclones schedule at www.cycloneshockey.com and the U.S. Bank Arena entertainment schedule at www.usbankarena.com.
Dolores Lindsay: Keeping the “Care” in The HealthCare Connection
It all started simply enough. Dolores Lindsay was recruited by her daughter’s kindergarten school PTA to serve on a committee to assess the needs of local residents. That committee sparked a passion that eventually turned into The HealthCare Connection of which Dolores is founder, president and one of the longest-serving CEOs in the country.
By Betsy Ross, Contributing Writer
Photos and video by Madison Schmidt
It all started simply enough. Dolores Lindsay was recruited by her daughter’s kindergarten school PTA to serve on a committee to assess the needs of local residents. That committee sparked a passion that eventually turned into The HealthCare Connection of which Dolores is founder, president and one of the longest-serving CEOs in the country.
Because one thing that she found out on that committee was that access to quality health care for the underserved was at the top of the list of residents’ needs. At that time, Lincoln Heights was the largest self-governed African-American city in the nation but with no physicians or dentists. To try to fill that need, Dolores started the Lincoln Heights Health Center in 1967 in a four-room apartment with volunteer nurses, doctors and staff.
From that modest beginning, the Center has grown to 10 neighborhoods, including primary care and behavioral health co-locations and two school-based health centers in Princeton City Schools. In 2016 alone the offices served more than 18,000 patients in more than 45,000 visits.
Her leadership in the health care field has earned Dolores the title “dean of community health centers in Ohio.” She manages nearly 100 staffers at the 10 THCC neighborhood sites, while raising funds to keep the doors open.
“Our success is the result of many people who recognized the lack of access to health care in Lincoln Heights and came together to make The HealthCare Connection what it is today, including our honorees,” said Dolores. “They stepped up in our formative years to build a solid foundation.”
To celebrate Dolores and her work, The HealthCare Connection is holding its 50th anniversary gala on Saturday, October 14 at the Sharonville Convention Center. The theme, “It Takes a Village,” represents the efforts of many toward one cause.
Tickets are available for $150/person, or Host/Hostess tickets for $250/person (includes Legends reception, VIP seating and name recognition). To purchase tickets, visit www.healthcare-connection.org/50th-anniversary-gala/ or call (513) 483-3081.
Of the many contributors to THCC’s success, five are being honored at the gala for their commitment in helping launch and sustain the health center in its early years. They include: Rev. Canon James W. Francis Sr.; Marilyn H. Gaston, M.D.; Rep. Willis (Bill) D. Gradison Jr.; Marva Graham Moore; and Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr.
“Our gala celebration is befitting of 50 years of progress and success,” says J. Phillip Holloman, Chairman, 50th Anniversary Planning Committee. “What started in a four-room apartment has become a 42,000 square-foot facility with 10 neighborhood sites helping more than 18,000 patients annually,” he added.
About The HealthCare Connection
Despite the challenging financial reality faced by Community Health Centers, The HealthCare Connection has operated without interruption and has been the only safety net provider of primary care services in northern Hamilton County for 50 years. It was founded in 1967 as the very first community health center in the state of Ohio to provide quality health care for the underserved of Cincinnati. Neighborhood sites are located in Lincoln Heights, Mt. Healthy and Forest Park, as well as five co-located behavioral health centers and two school-based health centers.
Bengals Great Ken Anderson and His Work for Adults with Developmental Disabilities
If you know anything about former Bengals QB Ken Anderson, you know he gets things completed; passes, yes, but also major initiatives like his work with adults with developmental disabilities.
By Betsy Ross, Contributing Writer
Video by Madison Schmidt
Register for the Stadium Stride on October 22.
If you know anything about former Bengals QB Ken Anderson, you know he gets things completed; passes, yes, but also major initiatives like his work with adults with developmental disabilities.
In fact, Anderson, who still holds the Bengals career record for completions at 2,654, is now dedicating his time to a group called the Ken Anderson Alliance whose objective is to build living, working and playing options for adults with disabilities in our area.
The Alliance is an outgrowth of the Ken Anderson Foundation and Lighthouse Landing, both working toward the goal of making the lives of adults with developmental disabilities more productive. Ken’s nephew, Drew, was diagnosed with autism at 18 months old but as he grew to adulthood, his parents found there were no facilities other than state mental institutions that could take in Drew and other adults like him.
On Sunday, October 22, Anderson & Friends will be the hosts for the second annual Stadium Stride, a unique event for the entire family. The day starts with a 1.5 mile walk inside and around Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park, followed by watching the Bengals play the Steelers on the Reds outdoor viewing screen. It’s the biggest fundraiser of the year for the charity.
It’s an ambitious model that the Alliance has developed, with a template being built in Cincinnati that can be replicated across America to allow adults with disabilities to “live, work, play, socialize, recreate, love, learn and worship” in the settings and manner of their choosing with support from families, friends and caregivers.
The goal is for the model to grow so that by the year 2021 the Alliance will be able to build a residential community that can provide affordable housing for adults with developmental disabilities.
To find out more about the Ken Anderson Alliance and to register for the Stadium Stride, visit www.kenandersonalliance.org.
Catching Up with Cincinnati Reds Legend Dave Parker
One of the beauties of public speaking is the insights that come directly from the horse's mouth, in this case Dave Parker's, talking to fans who visited City Gospel Mission recently as part of the Reds Hall of Famer series.
By John Erardi, Contributing Writer
One of the beauties of public speaking is the insights that come directly from the horse's mouth, in this case Dave Parker's, talking to fans who visited City Gospel Mission recently as part of the Reds Hall of Famer series.
City Gospel Mission is located on the former grounds of the Crosley Field, the Reds ballpark at “Findlay and Western” from 1912-1970. CGM does a wonderful job of showcasing elements of the Reds longtime venue. The mission hosts a Reds’ speaker series; the final one this season is George Foster on Sept. 13.
Parker's golf tournament – this year at Glenview Golf Course on October 8 raises money for Parkinson's research. Parker was diagnosed in 2013 as having the disease, and soon thereafter became a local spokesman and fundraiser for the cause.
I can tell you from personal experience that Glenview Golf Course is great shape, and should be an outstanding first-year host of the event. (Past tourneys were held at Avon Fields.) I played Glenview this week with Reds historian Greg Rhodes and Greg Gajus, a master numbers' cruncher and our longtime collaborator. We’ll be teeing up for the first time at the Cobra Classic. (See end of this story for entry details.)
The golf tournament is among the reasons why I'm writing about Parker today. But I’m also writing about him because of I learned a lot from the question-and-answer program at City Gospel Mission, conducted by Rick Walls, executive director of the Reds Hall of Fame. (Parker was inducted in 2014 with fellow Cincinnatians Ron Oester and Ken Griffey Jr.)
I thought I’d knew almost everything there was to know about Parker, having covered him as a Red from 1985 through 1987. (His first season here was 1984.) I’d written a half-dozen columns and two big profiles of him over the years.
But he -- and Walls -- came up with some gems.
I can make a good case that Parker, who was born in Mississippi but moved here at a young age, is the greatest all-around athlete to come out of Cincinnati, outdistancing even those favorite sons of Silverton, Roger Staubach and Barry Larkin, who are in the Halls of Fames of their respective sports, football and baseball. And DeHart Hubbard, the former Olympic and world-record setting sprinter and multi-sport star at Walnut Hills High School (class of 1921), has to be in the mix as well.
“I grew up three streets over from here (old Crosley Field),” Parker told the full house at CGM. “I used to hustle cab doors, open cab doors for 50-cents or a dollar, whatever people would give me. One day I opened the door, and out walked Chuck Connors and Mickey Rooney. I said, ‘Hey, you look just like Mickey Rooney.’ They got a good laugh at that, especially (former Dodgers first baseman) Chuck Connors, who played ‘The Rifleman’ on TV.”
Parker’s idols were Reds outfielders Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson, who drove to the ballpark in their matching white Thunderbirds, red interiors, port holes on the side.
Recalled Parker: “I said to Frank one day, ‘Give me something to play ball with. I don’t have a glove.’ He opened his car trunk and pulled out a glove. I wished I knew where that glove was now! Later, when I made it to the big leagues I tried to get Frank to remember me, but he couldn’t. Vada remembered me, though. He said, ‘I remember you, little green-eyed boy!’ ”
As a teenager, Parker worked inside the park selling peanuts and ice cream.
Parker was a three-sport star at the now-extinct Courter Tech, which was located where Cincinnati State is located today, on that promontory on Central Parkway overlooking I-75/I-74. Parker attended a workout at Crosley Field in 1967 with some buddies from Courter Tech, something I never knew until his talk at City Gospel Mission.
“I hit a couple balls out of the ballpark, you know, into the Sun Deck,” Parker recalled. “Nobody said anything to us afterward, so I just walked away with my buddies. As I was leaving, some guy said to me, ‘Hey, hey! Where you going? We want to sign you!” I said, ‘I’m only in the 10th grade.’ ”
That brought a hearty laugh from the crowd.
Parker said his favorite sport in high school was football. His football idol was the great Cleveland Browns fullback, Jim Brown.
“Jim Brown used to run over 10 of the 11 defensive guys and he’d get up slow and it took him five minutes to walk back to the huddle,” Parker recalled. “I said, ‘Hey, I want to be like that guy.’ ”
He apparently was. A person in the crowd told Parker he had played against him in pee-wee football. The person said he could still recall – with terror -- the sound Parker’s cleats made on the concrete walking to the field.
“You all had a good program outside of us,” recalled Parker, drawing another good laugh.
He tore up his knee playing football as a high school senior, couldn’t play basketball team and unleashed himself on baseball, which he also loved. He dropped to the 14th round of the Major League Baseball Draft in early June 1970.
My favorite story about Parker isn’t one he told me, but rather is one that originated with late manager Leo Durocher, a former Red himself. Picture this: “Parkway,” as all of us former Reds writers called the big fella (the 6-foot-5’er has since slimmed down from his 230-pound, prime-time playing weight ), was a true specimen by the time he appeared in his first spring training as a 19-year-old in 1971. Under the watchful eye of opposing manager Durocher of the Chicago Cubs, Parker put on a show in batting and fielding practice one day, standing out even among his accomplished teammates, future Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell.
At home plate that day, the umpires and Durocher and Pittsburgh Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh gathered to exchange lineups. Durocher said: “Let me ask you guys a question: You mean to tell me that all the scouts in the country decided there were 200 (expletive-deleted) better than him?”
Parkway then told another story I hadn’t heard. That question that elicited it came from the audience: “Where’d you get that nickname, Cobra?”
“One of the trainers in Pittsburgh,” Parker answered. “Tony the trainer was a big fight fan. So he associated Cincinnati with Ezzard Charles, the great boxer whose nickname was 'The Cincinnati Cobra' because of his flicking jab and sharp, stinging punches. I had that little coil at the start of my swing, waiting to the last second to swing, and that’s how I got the nickname, 'Cobra.’”
I talked with Parker’s wife, Kellye, after the event, and she said Dave is doing a good job coping with Parkinson’s, having good days and bad days, but always maintaining his famous sense of humor, which made him a favorite in the clubhouse. He eats right and exercises regularly. He loves golf, but Kellye told me he’d probably only putt at his golf tournament.
I asked the big fella about that, and he clearly has his own ideas.
“I’m going to hit the ball,” he boomed, with a smile.
Event coordinator Doug King told me that Dave takes “a very active role” in raising money to fund Parkinson’s research and giving his time to fight the disease within the community.
- Last year he was the Grand Marshal for the “SunFlower Rev it Up” run/walk/ ride against Parkinson’s, and will participate once again this year -- Sept. 10, at at Yeatman’s Cove-Sawyer Point.
- In addition, he’s been involved in the planning of the new UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute, and speaking at the UC Health/SunFlower Symposium at The Oasis Country Club.
- In June, the Dave Parker 39 Foundation held its first seminar for Parkinson’s. It concentrated on the development of Gardner Center. The next seminar is tentatively scheduled for January, and will focus on info for caregivers and families of patients.
There are still spots available in the “Cobra Classic” on October 8 at Glenview. Early registration saves 10% off the $125 entry fee. So it’s $112.50 for 18 holes of golf, lunch, dinner and prizes – if you are paid and registered by September 14. Register at daveparker39foundation.com.
Dave Parker with wife, Kellye, at Reds Hall of Fame Gala, 2014
Dave Parker in the National Baseball of Fame? Yes, Sir says Erardi.
In my opinion, Dave Parker has a good case for the National Baseball of Fame. As a voting member of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), I voted for him all 15 years he was on ballot. But I am in the minority; 75 percent of the vote is needed, and 25 percent is the most he received in any one year.
His fate is now in the hands of the veterans’ committee.
I tend to be a "comet" rather than "compiler" voter; I love the guys who were among the very best players in their league for a five-year stretch or more and made big splashes. To me, Parker qualifies as a Hall of Famer using this as primary criteria; plus, he was productive into his late 30s.
The objective numbers analysts don't consider Parker's Hall of Fame case to be anywhere near a lock. They cite mainly his career value number (known as WAR, Wins Above Replacement; Parker achieved a "40" WAR). Although it is true that according to the "similarity scores" method developed by numbers’ guru Bill James that three of the top eight “most similar” players to Parker are Hall of Famers Andre Dawson, Billy Williams and Tony Perez -- it is also true that their career WARs are significantly better: 65, 54 and 54, respectively.
Parker accumulated 28 of 40 WAR from 1975-79.
The mid-20s to low-40s career WAR Hall of Fame hitters either had short, glittery careers (Roy Campanella) or were good offensive players but great defensive ones (Bill Mazeroski, Red Schoendienst, Pie Traynor, Lloyd Waner) or benefitted from a mega-market bias (Yankees Phil Rizzuto and Earle Combs). I regarded Parker as a great right fielder in his prime, but the defensive numbers don't support me on that.
I always wondered if Parker might have come considerably closer to the 75 percent electoral support needed for Cooperstown, and thus made his case for the upcoming veterans' committee stronger, had he won a second Most Valuable Player Award as a Red in 1985 (league-leader in RBI, doubles and total bases) instead of finishing second to the St. Louis Cardinals Willie McGee.
Parker was the first major free-agent acquisition in Reds history, signing in December of 1983. He played here from 1984 through 1987, averaging 158 games over the course of the four 162-game seasons. He was the Reds’ Most Valuable Player from 1984 through 1986. In his career, he was a seven-time All-Star, and two-time batting champ. He led the league twice in slugging, twice in doubles and three times in total bases.
How Chef James Major “Chopped” His Way to Celebrity Status
In our new world of celebrity chef-dom and 24-hour networks with shows dedicated to cooking, baking and eating, epicurean stars come and go as quickly as Halley’s Comet. Chef James Major, the new executive chef for Funky’s Catering Events, is the latest bright light in the city’s cooking constellation, thanks in large part to one of those afore-mentioned cooking shows.
In our new world of celebrity chef-dom and 24-hour networks with shows dedicated to cooking, baking and eating, epicurean stars come and go as quickly as Halley’s Comet. Chef James Major, the new executive chef for Funky’s Catering Events, is the latest bright light in the city’s cooking constellation, thanks in large part to one of those afore-mentioned cooking shows.
But before he was on the New York set of Food Network’s “Chopped,” Chef Major was a kid from the east side of Cleveland, learning to cook by watching his grandmothers.
“I come from two families that were Croatian and Italian, and were surrounded by food. My mom and dad both worked so I was raised by my grandmas, and I stood on a stool and cooked with them.”
Restaurant jobs followed, from washing dishes to breading KFC, through high school and into community college.
“I went to school for law enforcement, I was going to be a police officer. And for anybody that knows me, that’s the farthest thing from me I could ever be. I was in a rut and Food Network was new. I was watching that and I thought maybe I should go to school and be a chef. So I joined the Navy.
“I signed up and they told me I could pick any job I wanted. Well, I wanted to be a cook. They said, ‘Son, you can pick any job you want in the Navy, any job, nuclear sub, anything.’ And I said, no, I want to be a cook, I want to cook in the Navy.”
That decision sent him around the world for four years, cooking on board ships and throughout Europe for presidents and heads of state. Once his tour of duty wrapped up he enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated top of his class (Top Chef?), worked in NYC for a time, then came home to Cleveland.
“I was trying to find my first job back home and I was getting married two months later, so I got a job with a wonderful chef who was in the process of building a restaurant called The Harp, an upscale Irish pub.
“Catering didn’t really hit until I left there after six months and went to Johnny’s downtown where I spent five years. We had a party room so I started catering, doing parties for 25 up to 100. That was my foundation until I got an offer to run a jazz club in the university/art district. I came on as chef, and then they sold it to me so all of a sudden, I became a restaurant owner of a jazz club.
“It was the best, worst job ever. It was a lot more pressure and I was a little too young at the time, but I can say I did it and I got it out of my system. That’s where I started learning and getting the bumps and bruises of catering. Then I sold it to the hospital next door to put up a new cancer center. I like to say it was the business that paid off culinary school because I paid off all my student loans with the sale.”
Next up was Delaware North, the parent company for hospitality services at hundreds of venues around the world, including the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds ball parks. He quickly became executive chef there, introducing several culinary initiatives like Dinner on the Diamond and the Go! Foods healthy menu selections for the Indians.
Through Delaware North’s partnership with teams across the country, he directed the 2009 St. Louis MLB All-Star Gala and All-Star Pre-Game Party as well as events for the 2010 World Series at Texas Rangers ball park and the February 2014 Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium. That experience paid off when Chef Major transferred over to Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, where he organized MLB All-Star Game food festivities here in 2015 for thousands of people a night.
Sounds like a daunting task, right?
Well, for someone who is used to serving hundreds if not thousands at a time, Chef Major is methodical in his explanation on how it all happens. “It’s being organized. It’s planning, checking and double checking because there are so many check systems to go through before the party leaves the door.
“Every All-Star Game I’ve done, every Super Bowl, every World Series big event, every gala, I pull together the 50-100 chefs that work with me and I read the St. Crispin Day speech. ‘For he today that sheds his blood with me, we shall be brothers and sisters forever.’” (The entire speech is William Shakespeare’s version of ‘win one for the Gipper’ for the English army getting ready to face the French.
Want to see Kenneth Branagh’s take on the speech from Henry V? Check it out here.
Little did Chef Major know that his move to Cincinnati would open the doors to the Food Network’s popular cooking competition show, “Chopped.” “I got a phone call one day when I was with the Reds saying the Food Network wants your resume. I said, I’m not interested, I’m good.”
“And then I got a call from the president of Delaware North saying, ‘I guess you don’t understand. Send your resume to Food Network.’ I did, and they interviewed all the baseball park chefs. They narrowed it down to half, then we each did a Skype interview.
“At this point, I thought if they’re going to make me do this, let’s do it up big. So I went into what used to be the Riverfront Club, the IT guy helped me set up the computer so when they turned on the Skype they saw the GABP scoreboard and boathouse in the background. I think at that point, that’s when I got selected.”
Chef Major was one of four baseball stadium chefs picked for the “Chopped” competition. And if you’re wondering, yes, they shoot the entire episode in one day on a New York sound stage. “We start about 5 or 6 in the morning, so if you’re calling your wife at 9:30-10 o’clock at night, that’s a good thing-you either came in second or you won.”
And he won, finishing the day with popcorn ice cream for dessert.
“It was a great feeling and I felt a lot of pride for the city.”
The Reds were pretty proud of his win as well.
“I got a call from the owner of the baseball team. Now I talk to him all the time, but when you get the call saying, ‘please hold for Bob Castellini,’ you think, did I forget a lunch? Did I mess something up? I answered the phone and said, ‘Mr. C, how are you, sir?’ And he said, ‘You really did it son, way to make us proud.’ That’s probably one of the best phone calls I ever received.”
The win led to a second appearance on “Chopped,” called “Chopped Impossible,” where he returned as a fan favorite. He won his qualifier, making him a two-time Chopped champion, before falling in the finals. Still, it’s pretty impressive adding Chopped Champion to his resume.
“Now, I’m recognized but better yet, now I’m locally recognized. I was a late bloomer in Cleveland and to be adopted by the city of Cincinnati, the city has made me their own and it’s great to be part of it.”
In his new role at Funky’s Catering Events, Chef Major not only oversees the catering for private events at venues such as The Transept and Pinecroft Mansion, he also serves the catering needs of Riverbend Music Center. (Yes, he has all kinds of backstage stories that rival Van Halen’s brown M&Ms, but he is discreet enough not to put a name to a quirky request).
Requests, though, are what he and his team try to fulfill every day from brides-to-be, event organizers and fundraising planners who have seen the latest food trend on Pinterest and want it replicated. Organic chicken? No problem. Flaming donut station? Of course—with Graeter’s ice cream, even.
“It’s when guests come to us and say this is what we’re looking for, then it’s time for us to start doing the research. As we look for menus we’re seeing what people are eating, what the trends are out there.”
Keeping up with food trends is one key to success: Another key, Chef Major says, are the men and women he works with, who he considers his family.
“In the culinary business, we don’t accept failure and we don’t like it so we strive to be great all the time. It’s a positive attitude. I say good morning to everybody, and it’s very important to me that I walk around and say ‘how are you today?’ And at the end of the day, I try to say thank you to everybody.
“In this business you’re in a hot kitchen, you’re constantly under pressure, there’s noise all day long. The best kitchen is a quiet one at the end of the day. You try to make it as wonderful of an experience while they’re here, and know that they are appreciated and that they know that I genuinely appreciate them.”
To learn more about the hospitality options by Chef Major and Funky’s Catering Events, visit www.funkyscatering.com.
Andre Silva serves up world class tennis at the Western & Southern Open
As youngster, Andre Silva once played tennis with countryman Pele -- yes, that Pele, the soccer legend because Silva's tennis coach was himself a former soccer player.
By John Erardi, Contributing Writer
Photos and video by Madison Schmidt
As youngster, Andre Silva once played tennis with countryman Pele -- yes, that Pele, the soccer legend because Silva's tennis coach was himself a former soccer player.
“Maybe that's why I wasn't that good of a tennis player," says Silva, laughing.
It's easy to see why the second-year tournament director of the Western & Southern Open is so popular with the touring tennis pros. Not only was the amiable Brazilian the ATP Chief Player Officer for seven years, he has a delightful sense of humor.
Last year – his first as Western & Southern Open tournament director – was buffeted by a rough patch of weather, not exactly what one would wish on a man who'd been on the job for only three months, making him not only new as director, but new as a director-dad, with a then three-year-old son and three-month-old daughter.
When I asked Silva on Wednesday afternoon at the Lindner Tennis Center in Mason what it is that he enjoys doing in Cincinnati on those days when he is not at the tennis center, his answer doesn't surprise me. He’s a family man through-and-through. His family is wife, LeAnn; son Tristan, the eldest, and Tristan’s sister, Harper.
“I like to take the kids to the zoo, the aquarium and, in general, get them outside,” he says. “The night-life in Cincinnati, I don’t know about much about – I know much more about the parks.”
We both laugh.
I tell him what I heard Reds announcer Marty Brennaman say unsolicited on the air last Tuesday night while I was on my way home from a family trip, at the wheel of mycar in western New York, picking up the WLW-AM signal as crisp and powerful as a Roger Federer forehand.
Marty has been "at the wheel" as Reds play-by-play man for as long as Silva's been on the planet -- 44 years. When Marty speaks, people listen. And what Marty said (I'm paraphrasing here), is that the Western & Southern Open is one of the true jewels of southern Ohio sporting events.
I tell Silva this because I figure that as tournament director only a few days away from tournament time, there is no way he would have heard it for himself.
“We’re very proud of what we do here,” Silva responds. “So, what he said is a validation of what we’ve done here, especially the last four or five years. Even though I wasn’t here then, I know there’s been tremendous growth. We need to continue to strive to be a premier event, not only in this area, but in all of the Midwest . . . We want to be the best, not only here, but everywhere.”
Silva is personable and really good at the serve-and-volley of interviews. He’s had plenty of experience at it. He grew up in tennis world, first as a player (Anderson University in South Carolina), then as a staffer (Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida). Running tournaments is in his blood (two-year director of the ATP World Tour Finals in London).
“It’s still a new position for me here,” he says. “It’s true, I think, what people say about really needing to go through a full year to be able to understand what you’re doing. It’s a very different event and setup than what I had in London. You want to try to create something new that doesn’t go against all the traditions that has been built here. It’s a balance. You want to continue to innovate, but at the same time respect what’s working. Because it’s been working.”
When I ask Silva where he expects the tennis tours to be in three years, he doesn’t answer with a platitude; he cuts to the heart of the matter.
“I’m one of those glass-half-full people,” Silva says. “A lot of people are concerned about Roger, Rafa, Serena, Maria et al. They’re getting older, as we are all. We don’t know how long they’re going to play. They are fantastic ambassadors. But I also think there is an exciting group of people who are (in the shadows) of the great legends of the sport. There are great personalities out there. Nobody goes from 0 to 19 (major championships as Federer has done) overnight.
“It will take time to build some of the stars. We went through the same thing when I was starting at the ATP. Pete (Sampras) and Andre (Agassi) were about to retire. There was a transition period where we had four or five No. 1’s. I like new. Don’t get me wrong, I love Roger and Rafa. But I don’t mind new young stars challenging them.”
One of the truly great features of the W&S Open is the closeness of the players and fans. I’ve always admired that, even though I’ve been largely a baseball writer for much of my professional career. Maybe especially because I’ve been a baseball writer. Most major league baseball teams, including the Reds, don’t have what the Western & Southern has.
“It’s one of our goals – keep the players accessible,” Silva says. “But I have to give the credit to the people who make that happen – the players. We’ve been blessed by an incredible generation of players on the men’s and women’s sides. The last 10 years, probably even more, the top players are leading the charge of being accessible. They’re setting the example. They understand the importance of the fans. We can do a tremendous job of trying to connect, but if the players don’t connect, don’t have personalities, there’s nothing we can do. But when a young player walks into the locker room and sees how, for example, Roger (Federer) treats people, treats fans, I think that has a huge impact. It happens on both tours, men’s and women’s. They (the leaders) are incredible.”
A special strength of the W&S Open is the autograph sessions – very organized, not at all chaotic – and the players know they are safe, secure and assured of pleasant and relaxed interaction.
Likewise, when I ask Silva what he is most excited about regarding the presentation of this year’s tournament, he doesn’t try to hype yet another sort of polish. He’s a nuts and bolts guy, but one who is mindful of bells and whistles.
“The parking looks a lot better,” he says. “I like having the new practice court. Last year we had a tough situation with the weather. We want to build the momentum of the new building. And I’m excited to have the digital walls on center court. I believe in entertaining the fans. This will get them more engaged. . . It’s all a lot of work, a lot of money. I realize it’s not all sexy, but there’s a lot going on.”
The late, great Paul Flory continues to be an influence.
“Paul was a player-friendly tournament director,” Silva says. “He understood that the talent is the driver for the whole event. We can put together a great stadium, a great atmosphere, but ultimately (fans) are here to watch great athletes perform on the tennis courts. We want to athletes to feel ‘at home,’ so they can perform at their best. It’s the same concept Paul created many years ago.”
After his total 14 years with the ATP, Silva did 2 ½ years as an executive at Roger Federer’s Team8 sports agency.
So, oh my yes, does he ever know the players. In fact, he knows them so well, his immersion at tournament time will extend well beyond the Western & Southern Open.
He’s headed to New York and the U.S. Open immediately after the W&S Open tournament concludes, to work on player matters. No rest for the weary, but it will ensure that player relations are at the forefront of the sport.
It’s what makes the Western & Southern great, and the whole tennis world knows it.
About the Western & Southern Open
The Western & Southern Open will be held August 12-20, 2017 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, 20 miles north of Cincinnati in Mason, OH. The tournament is one of the prestigious ATP Masters 1000 events on the men’s tour and a Premier 5 event for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), making it one of only five events in the world outside of the grand slams with events of that caliber occurring during the same week at the same venue. The tournament is also one of the last stops on the Emirates Airline US Open Series before the US Open in New York. Since 1974, the tournament has contributed more than $9 million directly to its beneficiaries: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the Barrett Cancer Center and Tennis for City Youth.
Single session tickets are now available, as are grounds passes for select sessions. For more information, visit www.wsopen.com.
Chandler Carter: One to Watch at the Cincinnati Music Festival
It’s amazing what you can do with a Guitar Hero microphone and a boatload of talent. It was enough to win Chandler Carter the #SharetheRhythm Emerging Talent Competition at the Cincinnati Music Festival and earn her a coveted main stage slot both Thursday and Friday night at the Festival.
By Betsy Ross, Contributing Writer
Photos and video by Madison Schmidt
It’s amazing what you can do with a Guitar Hero microphone and a boatload of talent. It was enough to win Chandler Carter the #SharetheRhythm Emerging Talent Competition at the Cincinnati Music Festival and earn her a coveted main stage slot both Thursday and Friday night at the Festival.
You might already have seen the Mount Notre Dame and University of Cincinnati grad perform around town, but this weekend will, literally and figuratively, be the biggest stage of her life. It’s a Herculean jump from that aforementioned video game mike and her first attempts at performing.
“I got into ‘Glee,’ the TV show,” Chandler said. “And on the show Naya Rivera, who has a really smoky tone that mimics Amy Winehouse, covered one of her songs, ‘Valerie.’ I really liked the style and from there I really got into listening to Amy Winehouse’s music.
“So I got in the closet, on a Guitar Hero microphone plugged into my computer, and did a cover of ‘Valerie.’ I played around with the song and figured out my sound and how I wanted to portray my voice, my style.”
That closeted performance led to a very public one while she was a senior at MND—tryouts for NBC’s “The Voice” in Chicago.
“There was a group of 10 people,” she said, and everybody has 12 seconds to sing. I sang the first part of ‘Valerie’ and I was the only one in the group to get chosen.
“They give you a secret location for the next day where you get interviewed and sing two songs. (Her phone rang during the middle of one of the songs from, you guessed it, a telemarketer). Then they say wait six months, so I went back home. I ended up not getting it, but that gave me the confidence to go public with my singing.”
Fast forward to her freshman year at UC and her first performance in front of a live audience--which, by the way, almost didn’t happen.
“My friend was doing her capstone project and she said, ‘I’m doing a benefit concert, do you want to come sing?’ And I was like sure, while I was internally screaming, but I knew I had to take that first step.
So I got a backing track for ‘Valerie’ and ‘Change the World’ by Eric Clapton. I got to the show, and almost backed out, but I went through with it and everybody’s like, ‘I didn’t know that you did this, why didn’t you tell anyone?’ And I said, ‘I didn’t know I wanted to do this.’”
More gigs followed, both solo and with a band called the Plainfield Rhythm (“We were driving up and down Plainfield Road all the time”), singing covers and originals at benefits around town. Chandler’s solo career then started to blossom when she dusted off her guitar, picked up where she had left off after her first-grade lessons, and again, found her own style. “I started out with simple songs, singing and playing kind of a folksy sound, until I got to the point where I could accompany myself.”
That’s why now you’re likely to catch her at the AC Marriott in Liberty Center or Jekyll’s on Fountain Square, and why the psychology degree she earned in December is on the shelf—for now.
“My mom said, ‘Can you find a job? You need a full-time job and get insurance.’ At the same time, I told her, ‘You have to let me try.’ One of my biggest fears is falling into the trap of getting a real job, putting music on the back burner and then wondering ‘what if.’ I’m passionate about psych, I love it to death, but I can’t see myself being in one place, one job, and not doing music.”
She’s able to mix both of her passions when she performs at the Seacrest Studios at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where kids who are in their hospital rooms for treatment can call in and request songs and then listen to the music. “I’ll see some of the kids walk by the glass doors, they hear the music and start dancing. It’s the best thing ever. For me, that’s what this is all about. There could be two people at a show and if one of the two people makes a connection with the music or with me, I did my job.
“You never know what song is going to impact somebody. Yesterday I did Elvis’ ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love,’ and someone came up and said, ‘You just made my entire week.’ It makes it so worth it. I love it so much.”
She comes by her interest in psychology honestly: Her entire family has, in one way or another, been involved in the health/medical profession. “Mom got her master’s in psych, was a job coach, vocational rehab, and did that for 30 years. She and my dad met at work. My sister works in medical research and her ultimate goal is to be a neurosurgeon. My grandmother, she’s 86, and still works at the EPA. She’s a virologist and she and my grandfather, they met at work. He was on the team that discovered the vaccination for polio. So the medical side, that kind of trickled down. The artsy side comes from my dad, for sure.”
Chandler plans to sing three original songs for Thursday’s Opening Night 15-minute set: Cold (Cigarette Smoke), Moonlight and OG Flowers.
She knows that the performance is only part of making the most of this opportunity.
“Best case scenario for the week: Because I get to hang out back stage is that one of the headliners (including Mary J. Blige, Usher, Fantasia) will come to the lounge show or hear me during the opening of the festival. We’ll talk, they’ll take me on and I’ll work my butt off.”
As for short term goals?
“Moving from the bar scene to the festival scene. I’d like to do a radio edit of Cold and put that out there, then hop city to city performing. Then I’d like to come back and do a homecoming show and be able to sell out 100 tickets without having to pester my family and friends.
“I’m not looking at it in a way that it can’t be realistic. Some people say, ‘I’m going post on YouTube and hope somebody finds me’ and that’s not how it works. Realistic goals are selling out 100 tickets, opening up for somebody on tour, then eventually, like Lady Gaga and her Dive Bar tour, do something like that and work my way up. Then it’s about surrounding yourself with the right people to get you where you need to go.”
That includes her family, and yes, Mom is now warming up to the idea.
“At first she was skeptical but now I think she realizes that this is something that could really happen. Dad’s crazy about this. My older sister, two years older, when we were kids and I was singing in the car, she was always telling me to stop singing. I thought, you know what? One day she’s going to like it.”
As will a lot more people, after this weekend.
Tickets for the Cincinnati Music Festival are on sale at CincyMusicFestival.com.
About the Cincinnati Music Festival
The Cincinnati Music Festival (CMF) began in 1962 and is one of the largest music festivals in the United States attracting over 75,000+ people from around the country with its roster of leading R&B, jazz, soul and hip-hop artists creating an economic impact of $11 million for Cincinnati. CMF is set for July 27, 28 and 29, 2017 at Paul Brown Stadium. Procter & Gamble is the presenting sponsor for the Cincinnati Music Festival for the third year in a row. P&G is proud to #ShareTheRhythm at the 2017 Cincinnati Music Festival, connecting thousands of music lovers with the sights, sounds and spirit of the “Queen City” through musical entertainment, new experiences, and bringing P&G brands to life. P&G hopes to foster an inclusive spirit that reflects the diversity of our employees, consumers and the surrounding community.
The entertainment line-up includes the following:
Thursday, July 27 Party with a Purpose: Doug E Fresh, Kid Capri, Rob Base
Friday, July 28: Mary J. Blige, KEM, SWV, En Vogue, Bell Biv Devoe, Ed Thomas
Saturday, July 29: Usher, Fantasia, Anthony Hamilton, Confunkshun, Ro James
In CMF’s 55th year, P&G will continue as title sponsor with Kroger as its retail partner and provide areas at the Stadium where concert-goers will be pampered, delighted, and refreshed in the My Black Is Beautiful patio spa with Pantene and Olay, Always/Secrete refresh station, enjoy the go in the Charmin bathrooms and more.
Laura Chrysler Moves Cincinnati, One Step at a Time
If someone tells Laura Chrysler to take a hike, she sees it as a compliment. The former corporate sponsorship specialist for the Cincinnati USA Chamber wants us all to become a more peripatetic society in her latest job as executive director of go Vibrant.
By Betsy Ross, Contributing Writer
Photos and Video by Madison Schmidt
If someone tells Laura Chrysler to take a hike, she sees it as a compliment. The former corporate sponsorship specialist for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber wants us all to become a more peripatetic society in her latest job as executive director of go Vibrant.
She’s starting with Cincinnati’s neighborhoods through this summer’s go Vibrant Million Step Challenge, the second year of the friendly competition to see which area of town can log the most steps. And although she didn’t realize it at the time, this mission came about through her extended stay in Europe.
“I had the opportunity to move to Geneva, Switzerland for a few years,” she said (through her husband’s job transfer with P&G). “What I noticed about Europe overall is how much walking they do. It’s just integrated in their lives. They walk to the store and they walk through their neighborhoods, it’s their way of life. And what it does is gets you in touch with your surroundings and it makes you stop on the corner and talk with someone you might not have met before.
“When I moved back to Cincinnati in 2014, I remember walking through downtown and seeing how much development had happened and how many people were outside taking a walk. So when I was approached by go Vibrant, it just made sense.”
go Vibrant is responsible for those wayfinding signs that you might have seen downtown and in Cincinnati neighborhoods that map out walking routes from one mile up to five.
In 2016, go Vibrant started incentivizing neighborhoods to use those routes through the “Million Step Challenge.” Last year, five neighborhoods were involved in the Challenge: This year the event kicked off with a two mile walk downtown on Taste of Cincinnati Saturday, with 15 neighborhoods now included.
“We wanted every neighborhood that has embraced the walking routes to have the chance to win this Challenge,” she said. “What we found last year was when Avondale learned that Madisonville was winning, they got all fired up and said, ‘how can we win?’ We’re already finding out that’s happening now among the 15 neighborhoods as they figure out how they can knock Avondale out of the top spot.
“But Avondale is a great model for the Challenge. (Avondale won last year with more than 30 million steps, earning the top prize of $1,500 from go Vibrant, and $2,500 from the Gen-H “Step Up Cincinnati” challenge.) They’ve done a great job at mobilizing both the neighborhoods, and the companies there, like Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Cincinnati Zoo. They get it, they bring the mission into the neighborhood.”
That mission is to make an active and energetic lifestyle irresistible for each neighborhood, and Chrysler is finding out it’s not a tough sell. “They (the neighborhoods) are coming to us,” she said. “They’re saying we want to hear about this. We find the gems of their community, like the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Walnut Hills that people don’t even realize that is there. It’s walking within your neighborhood and finding these gems to be proud of, that’s what gets the City Council and neighborhood associations fired up.”
“And then, having those Wednesday at 6 p.m. walking groups start from, for example, Café de Sales and take a three-mile loop. You get to meet folks in your community, but there’s also a safety aspect. That’s not originally what we started with, but neighborhoods are telling us it’s a huge benefit. If people know there’s going to be a dedicated group of people walking every week on these routes, then it curbs crime.”
The 15 neighborhoods (yes, Laura can rattle them all off from memory) are, in alphabetical order: Avondale, Clifton, Covington, Delhi, Downtown, Mt. Adams, East Walnut Hills, Evanston, Golf Manor, Madisonville, Mt. Washington, Newport, Northside, Pleasant Ridge and Walnut Hills, with Pleasant Ridge and Delhi the early leaders. (you don’t have to be in one of these neighborhoods to participate in the Million Step Challenge, but only the designated neighborhoods can win prizes).
The Challenge wraps up with the Zombie Walk at the end of October.
And even though it may have seemed like a big step (pun intended) to triple the number of neighborhoods involved this year, Chrysler says it’s just the beginning.
“We’d love to get all 52 neighborhoods involved. Our ideal would be to have a citywide challenge, then take on another city like Cleveland or Pittsburgh, and have some years of experience under our belts.”
Last year, some 2,000 walkers took the challenge: This year, the goal is 6,000 participants and 250 million steps.
Whether it’s walking neighborhoods or playing at the go Vibrant scape along the river, Chrysler says it’s all about staying active.
“It’s so great when I’m talking about go Vibrant and somebody says, ‘Oh those purple route signs, I didn’t know that was you.’ It shows that our mission is getting out into the communities and people are using it. They are aware of how important it is to get healthy and get your steps in.”
For more about the Million Step Challenge and to register, visit www.govibrant.org.
Iris Simpson Bush keeps the Flying Pig Marathon running
It is no exaggeration to call the executive director of the Flying Pig Marathon "the "peripatetic Iris Simpson Bush," so that is what I am going to do.
From the time, Iris was six years old, she was walking the two-mile round trip from her home on the East End “(4369 Eastern Avenue; it’s gone now”) to St. Stephen Grade School. To this day, she finds walking and running to be as much therapeutic as it is exercise -- part and parcel of her life's philosophy.
By John Erardi, Contributing Writer
Videos and Photo by Madison Schmidt
It is no exaggeration to call the executive director of the Flying Pig Marathon "the "peripatetic Iris Simpson Bush," so that is what I am going to do.
From the time, Iris was six years old, she was walking the two-mile round trip from her home on the East End ("4369 Eastern Avenue; it’s gone now”) to St. Stephen Grade School. To this day, she finds walking and running to be as much therapy as it is exercise -- part and parcel of her life's philosophy.
You can bet the good sisters at Marian High School (it merged with Purcell to become Purcell Marian in 1980) knew that the root word of peripatetic is "peri," derived from the ancient Greek and Latin, meaning "around" or "about." Yes, the good sisters at Marian knew a lot of things – right from the get-go. (Iris was a member of the first incoming freshman class at Marian.)
From the time peripatetic Iris Simpson was 15 – she’s the oldest of four siblings; the lone gal, and one who changed a lot of diapers--the good sisters of Marian knew that she was literally working her way through high school. She worked for her aunt at an electrical company downtown (she rode the bus from the East End to Clay Street; the store is no longer there; it’s the Salvation Army now).
By 17, she was working at Zayre department store. She worked modeling shoes for U.S. Shoe; the nuns let her leave school early for that gig; it was a good-paying job, and she was even able to save up money for college.
Zayre had its own “Flying” program: It was called the “Flying Cashiers.” Yep, the peripatetic Iris Simpson was a Flying Cashier long before she was a Flying Pig.
I’ll let her explain:
“I was barely over 18, and they made me a front-line supervisor. I worked in the cash office. In back to back weeks during the summer they allowed me to work 80 and 84 hours.”
It wasn’t that her employer insisted on it, but because she wanted to. She was assigned to various departments at the store, so that it wouldn’t be obvious to do-gooding outsiders that she was working more than 40 weekly hours as a teenager.
“The Flying Cashier program was great for me,” she remembers. “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. They’d send me all over, one time to Missouri. I’d fly in and help open a store – get there a week early, train the cashiers, work with them during Grand Opening week, and at the end of those two weeks, they (Zayre) would take us someplace nice. I saw my first play in the Ozarks – Fiddler on the Roof.”
I have a friend who has long tried to convince me that Cincinnati is not a blue-collar town; he describes it as a "blue'ish"-collar town. I've always disagreed with him on that, given that I know a blue-collar work ethic (if not a blue-collar job), when I see it. I've always felt Cincinnati had and has the blue-collar work ethic. Now I have somebody to give my friend as Exhibit A: the peripatetic Iris Simpson Bush.
When I began interviewing her for this story, it wasn't as though she volunteered her life story from age six forward. I asked her where she grew up and where she went to school. Ten seconds after she began to take me back to her roots, she said: "Are you sure you want to hear all this?" I said yes, and off we went.
I knew I was onto something when she told me about that mile walk to school and the mile back home, but I really knew I was onto something when she told me that after two years at the University of Cincinnati, she packed her belongings into a U-Haul at 21 and headed for Florida. Her job in the president’s office at the fledgling "FIU" (Florida International University) in Miami had a "bilingual" in its description, but after the interviewer got wind of how fast she spoke English and how many bases she covered, he told her: "You talk enough in English to cover several languages -- you're hired."
Although she liked the year-round warmth and the flat topography of Florida for her running – it’s where she first began the pursuit, she missed our four seasons here in Cincinnati, and was back home in a few years, working (ofcourse) and finishing UC with marketing degree.
In 1997, toward the tail end of her 30 years in broadcast sales in the Cincinnati market (she began at WSAI radio, was at WCPO-TV for 20 years and three at WLWT), she read with a great interest a newspaper article that Bob Coughlin was trying to bring a marathon to Cincinnati.
The Flying Pig’s inaugural run was in 1999; this is its 19th year. After three executive directors (and an interim director, her husband, Jim Bush) in the first four years, this is the peripatetic Iris Simpson Bush’s 15th year as the Pig’s executive director.
Even though I’m not a runner – I’m a walker – I have been spent my share of time at the Pig’s starting and finish lines doing human interest stories. And, like most Greater Cincinnatians, I’m proud to have the Pig woven inextricably into the fabric of my adopted city. I love its growth: A hoped-for 3,000 the first year (it drew 6,600) is already at 40,000 this year.
This year, all 50 states and Washington D.C., and 20 foreign countries are represented, including China, Norway, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico, Canada and five from the Ukraine. The youngest full marathoner is 10 (the minimum age is 18, but, occasionally, with parental waivers and Pig due diligence, some exceptions are made), and the oldest (a female) is 86 (running the Pig on her birthday, May 7); the oldest male is 82; there is a 95-year-old doing a half-marathon, and a 90-year-old doing a 10K. Sixty percent of the field is female, 40% male; 94 of the registered runners have done all 18 past Pigs – they’re known as “Streakers.”
Even a non-runner can appreciate the “we-don’t-take-ourselves-too-seriously” aspect of the name, “Flying Pig Marathon.”
Simpson Bush spent several minutes talking about that very thing: “A lot of names were offered up,” she remembers, “but ‘Flying Pig’ Marathon made everybody laugh, and of course it hearkened back to the 1800s and Porkopolis… But there was a bit of a risk with ‘Flying Pig.’ A marathon is a serious undertaking, and people are investing their money and months of training. But we’ve been recognized as one of the best-named brands in the country. The name has worked for us.”
The peripatetic Simpson Bush doesn't have time to run the Pig on race day, so she runs the week before (she likes staying connected with the course). Suffice to say it is always emotional for her running through the East End. She calls herself a “recreational” runner, who has never run “competitively.”
Her first race was Cincinnati’s Thanksgiving Day special in 1975 (she has since done 31 more). Her first full marathon was one I didn’t even know ever existed – the Pacesetters Marathon in Northern Kentucky, which went out and back Route 8 along the Ohio River; she did that in 1979 and 1980. About that time, she also began playing soccer in a recreational league, something she thoroughly enjoyed for 20 years. (Marian High offered only volleyball and basketball, and Iris couldn’t participate, anyway: she was always working.)
On Sunday, Simpson Bush will again work the Pig finish line, but only in the way somebody “works” a room; she knows the real work that day is being done by others, all of whom she names and praises to the heavens.
She loves seeing the faces and hearing the stories and absorbing the scenes and emotions of personal accomplishment. A few finishers (ok, more than a few) will hug her, and then upchuck on her feet. That’s the way it’s always been. It’s as much a badge of honor as it is anything with the executive director.
It is why she keeps an extra case of water bottles handy -- to wash down her shoes, providing the next runner-hugger a fresh canvas.
“It’s not all glamorous, but it is all fun,” says the peripatetic Iris Simpson Bush. “I don’t worry about getting sick, those are healthy people crossing that finish line!”
FC Cincinnati new coach ready to tackle new season
Alan Koch's first memory of soccer came at four years old, sitting underneath a table in the pouring rain watching his father play the game in South Africa.
By John Erardi, Contributing Writer
Photos and video by Phil Didion
Alan Koch's first memory of soccer came at four years old, sitting underneath a table in the pouring rain watching his father play the game in South Africa.
"I was completely engrossed,” said Koch, FC Cincinnati’s new coach. “We moved to Durban when I was six which is when I started playing. I was absolutely hooked. I played every sport under the rainbow growing up, but soccer was my passion. It was my everything.”
At 17, Koch signed professionally, and played in Germany and Ireland, but had to give up playing at 25, halted by what he calls a “minor” heart ailment.
We didn’t talk much about what a kick in the gut that prognosis had to be for somebody with his great passion for playing the game, but he seems to have found his home in coaching.
Koch was an All-American at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and played professionally in the South African first division with Reservoir Hills United. He also signed with Preussen Krefeld in the German fourth division, adding a stint with Limerick FC in Ireland’s first division. Before beginning his professional career, he was a member of the South African Olympic Team and captained the South African Schoolboys team.
Koch fully realized how much he missed soccer during a brief, six-month career change when he worked in sales for a New Jersey-based lighting company with accounts in China, where Koch did much of his work.
“It was great international experience, but I was talking about light fixtures, not exactly up my alley,” he said. “I’d been passionate about kicking a soccer ball all day long. A friend of mine who was coach at (Simon Fraser), called me and said, ‘How’d you like to take a major pay cut and come be my assistant coach? After that I coached in Japan, Texas, Kansas and back to Simon Fraser as head coach,” leading the team into the NCAA D-2 Final Four two years in a row.
From there, he hooked up with the Vancouver White Caps of Major League Soccer, working in scouting and the draft, then became head coach of the Whitecaps FC 2 team, an affiliate of the big club, where he led the team to its first-ever playoff victory and another win on top of it.
If you notice a trend there, that’s because there is one: he’s always been able, gradually, to get the best out of his players.
FC Cincinnati (1-2) hosts its home opener Saturday night, April 15, at Nippert Stadium at the University of Cincinnati.
"I was impressed with the (venue) as soon as I walked in," said Koch, pointing to the base of the horseshoe up toward Corry Boulevard. "It’s a very impressive stadium. And that was when it was empty. I’ve been in several major-league soccer stadiums with the Vancouver Whitecaps. There aren’t many, if any, that are as special as this one.”
Good things figure to happen for this team with time. Starting with three road games, and now hosting three straight home games against such tough competition (St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Louisville) in the one-step-up United Soccer League (second division this year; was third division last year), are undoubtedly going to make for some growing pains.
“The level of soccer in the stadium week-in and week-out is going to be at a high level and that should be exciting for the fans that come out,” Koch said.
We were sitting on a bench at field level beneath the giant scoreboard at Nippert. To the right, the ribbon boards were already heralding the second-year sheriff in town -- "FC Cincinnati" -- which last year grabbed the attention of Cincinnati and MLS (Major League Soccer) with huge home crowds.
"When I saw what the club was doing from afar – the atmosphere in this city, how people were embracing the sport that I loved, and the club’s aspirations of where they’d like to go – that intrigued me,” Koch said.
He appears uniquely qualified to take over for the departed first-year coach John Harkes.
His background in South Africa is fascinating, because his young playing life transitioned the era from apartheid to post-apartheid in 1991. Like so many athletes, Koch didn’t “see” color – he simply wanted to play with and against the best competition. He played park ball with multicultural pickup teams; he also found himself as the only Caucasian player on an otherwise all-black pro team just out of high school in 1993.
“It didn’t make any difference to me or my teammates,” Koch said. “We were all the same – we just wanted to advance as far in the game as we could. I had the bug. It was one of the few professional clubs in the city I grew up in.”
Crazy how sports interconnects.
For example, I’ve always been impressed at how college and pro coaches will scour the world to find the best players. Back in 2005 when I did a full season’s coverage of the Cincinnati Kings pro soccer team (owner Yacoub Abdallahi and general manager J.T. Roberts), one of my favorite players to watch and write about was Kevin McCloskey of Belfast, who had played soccer at the University of Rio Grande, and NAIA school in southeastern Ohio, a 15-minute drive from Point Pleasant, W.Va.
I had never heard of the U of Rio Grande before then, and here FC Cincinnati has a player from there (a Brit, Paul Nicholson). When Koch played for Simon Fraser, it was the only Canadian school in the NAIA, "and when I coached there," Koch told me, "it was the only non-American school in the NCAA." He, too, has known about Rio Grande's soccer program going way back.
Small world indeed.
“I think that’s the true beauty of our game,” Koch said. “It’s a global sport, one of the very few that transcends the whole globe. There’s a passion for this sport everywhere in the world. You can go anywhere. You don’t even have to speak the same language. You start talking X’s and O’s, and we all have something in common.”
We had a good laugh talking about Koch coaching in Texas, the first place he lived in the U.S.
“I lived in Japan before I went to Texas, and I would say that I experienced more culture shock in Texas than I had going to Japan,” Koch said. “I’d never been around cowboys and big belt buckles, spurs and all that. It’s a very distinct culture.”
“Even within the United States,” I noted, having spent my share of time in Texas. (My son was born there.)
“I have some great friends from my time in Texas – I was there for three years (at Midwestern State University), and I loved it,” Koch said. “They’re Americans – but they’re Texans.”
Man, could I ever more agree with that.
Koch also spent some time in Kansas (Baker University), his first real taste of the Midwest. In Ireland, he played for Limerick, which people will recognize as the hometown of Frank McCourt in the best-selling book, “Angela’s Ashes.”
Koch appears to me to be a “people person.” He even got his master’s degree in human resources from Midwestern State. He’s married to Amy; they have two daughters, Aurora, 16, and Paris, 25.
They’ve visited several times, and ultimately will be back when school’s out in Vancouver.
“They like it here,” Koch said. “Cincinnati is unique; it’s not like this everywhere (the enthusiasm for soccer).”
And, yes, he’s had Skyline Chili.
“I enjoyed it,” he said. “One of my good friends is from Ohio and lived here (in Cincinnati) for several years, and he said, ‘You’ve got to go to the chili parlor. It’s one or the things you do in Cincinnati.’ And I’ve had one or two of the local brews. Very good.”
OK, he’s got the preliminaries out the way.
Now it’s time for the return of the beautiful game to Cincinnati
Christina Gorsuch, Coach of #TeamFiona
If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team of health experts from around the world to raise a prematurely born hippo. Welcome to Team Fiona, whose job it has been since January 24 to care for a hippopotamus calf born at least six weeks early and a third of the size of most to-term hippo newborns.
By Betsy Ross, Contributing Writer
Photos and video by Madison Schmidt
If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team of health experts from around the world to raise a prematurely born hippo. Welcome to Team Fiona, whose job it has been since January 24 to care for a hippopotamus calf born at least six weeks early and a third of the size of most to-term hippo newborns.
To say that Fiona has captured the world’s imagination, if not our hearts, might be an understatement. For Christina Gorsuch, curator of mammals at the Cincinnati Zoo, it’s a once-in-a-career experience measured in challenges and celebrations, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Her job is to make sure team members have the resources, the personnel and the knowledge they need to give Fiona the best care possible. In other words, a coach, of sorts, for Team Fiona.
The fact that Fiona is at the seven-week mark (and more than 100 pounds!) is a milestone few would have thought possible after her mom, 17-year-old Bibi, gave birth early.
“I saw her born on video and I ran in,” Christina said. “Another keeper was here when I got here and she was so tiny I said, ‘Is she alive?’ He said ‘Yes, it looks fine. Small but fine.’ That in itself was very exciting for us.”
After the birth, then it was a waiting game to see how strong the calf was, and how Bibi would react to her newborn.
“We gave Fiona really good footing and made sure she was warm and had her wits about her. Then we let Bibi back in and Bibi behaved perfectly. But it was clear the calf couldn’t stand up to feed and was really weak, and that’s when we made the decision to pull her out.”
That decision set in motion the group now known as Team Fiona giving around-the-clock care for the tiny calf. “In the beginning, it was triage and all hands on deck,” Christina said, “and I don’t know when or if our veterinarians ever slept or went home, as well as our nursery staff.”
Once care became more routine and stabilized, the team created shifts based on bottle feedings. The daytime task of feeding Fiona fell to the two primary nursery keepers, Michelle Kuchle and Dawn Strasser, with the night shift feedings going to Teresa Truesdale, all working seven days a week.
“It was important to provide consistency with the feedings and to make sure the caregivers could pick up immediately any slight changes in Fiona’s attitude or behavior.”
As Fiona grew, so did her legions of fans who demand their #FionaFix every day. (Remember the outcry when the zoo announced the daily social media Fiona updates would be less frequent? Yeah, they won’t do that again for awhile). And the zoo has been transparent with her fans throughout the milestones, as well as the challenges of Fiona’s development—perhaps none as challenging as when she started teething.
“In the early days we were all just kind of amazed every day that she was making it, so when she started teething, she just sort of crashed on us and that was really hard on everyone,” Christina said. “But everyone did a good job of remaining optimistic and realistic at the same time and we decided we were going to do our best to make sure she stays here and that we’ve done our best.”
And that’s when #TeamFiona truly became a village—or more specifically, a neighborhood, because it was the Cincinnati Zoo’s neighbors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital who came through when Fiona stopped gaining weight, became lethargic and showed no interest in her bottle. “I can’t remember if was an offer that Cincinnati Children’s made to us by email or through Thane (Maynard, zoo director). They let us know they have this vascular access team and their job is to get catheters in veins you can’t get catheters into. We needed that, to get fluids into Fiona.
“Our veterinary staff and vet techs are amazing with blood draw so they weren’t having trouble placing the cath, but she was so dehydrated and her veins were so small and weak that they kept collapsing. So I called the vascular team and they offered to come over and help and bring over their incredibly amazing equipment.”
It took about a half hour for the Cincinnati Children’s team to place the first catheter, which blew out after about a half hour. So the team came back to place a second one which lasted four days, just enough time to replenish Fiona’s fluids and nourishment and get her back on track with her development.
“It was great to have that kind of support for her, because I think a lot of us were at the end of our rope—we just didn’t know what more we were going to be able to do for her.”
Because as you can imagine, there’s no handbook for how to raise a premature hippo calf. A lot of what Team Fiona has done is based on their combined experience in raising baby animals at the zoo. “We also were taking some from the black rhino hand rearing book, and there’s an orphanage in South Africa that’s raised some orphan hippos. They gave us a lot of ‘this is normal, this isn’t normal’ information.”
Information, for example, on what kind of formula to feed Fiona. “In South Africa, they’re feeding whole milk and eggs because that’s what’s available to them. Here at the zoo we have several powdered formulas and fats and carbohydrates can be adjusted. But no one knew what hippo milk was supposed to be like.”
“The fact we were able to milk Bibi was great because the only other milk sample of a hippo was from 1955. Analyzing Bibi’s milk gave us an idea of what the formula for Fiona should be.”
This past week has been a big one for #TeamFiona as not only has she reached 100 pounds, she’s been spending part of the night (midnight to 5 a.m.) by herself. As she gets bigger and stronger, of course the next logical question is, when will she be allowed to be with her parents in the exhibit area? Christina says, that’ll still be a while.
“One of the challenges of neo-natal animals is their ability to regulate and maintain body temperature. For a preemie, it’s even more extreme. When Fiona was first born, the air temperature in the room had to be the same temperature we needed Fiona to be. So it was 98 degrees in her room so she could maintain 98 degree body temperature. When we started giving her pool time, the pools were 100 degree water.
“We’re easing her into normal hippo temperature range—she’s currently in 85 degree water and 80 to 85 degree air temperature. So to be on exhibit many things have to happen, but one of the biggest things is, body temperature. The water in the hippo exhibit is 65 degrees and air temperature varies. She needs to be able to maintain her temperature and not shiver before we can even consider getting her out there.”
The other factor in Fiona’s public debut is her compromised immune system. That’s why staffers are starting to feed Fiona hay pre-chewed by Bibi, to give Fiona a boost of her mother’s immune system. “Once we feel she’s strong enough,” Christina said, “introducing her to the great wide outdoors is the final hurdle.”
For the millions (yes, millions) of people around the world who have watched Fiona grow and thrive, that moment can’t come soon enough. The way that Fiona has fascinated us, well, it’s something Christina hasn’t seen in her 20 years of working with animals.
“I think we were at a time as a country, as a world, that we wanted something good, something purely good. Everyone likes a success story, and everyone likes an underdog. I think she was tiny and fragile and just pure energy, and it was love and dedication that got her here.
“As an individual little animal, she’s a sweetheart. She’s very expressive, she has a little personality, like all our animals do. Personally, it’s been an interesting experience for me as a manager because I’m making sure everyone has everything they need versus being there, but I still have been able to sit with her. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. She is a sweetie.”
Marvin Lewis: Making a Difference Year Round
Just like the NFL these days, the Marvin Lewis’ work in the community through his namesake Community Fund (MLCF) is a 12-month endeavor.
Just like the NFL these days, Marvin Lewis’ work in the community through his namesake Community Fund is a 12-month endeavor.
Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis has made his eponymous community effort a signature source of outreach for more than a decade, raising more than $11.6 million since it began when he arrived to Cincinnati.
When Coach Lewis was named Bengals head coach, he and his wife, Peggy, with the guidance of the first executive director, the late Sharon Thomas, set up the Marvin Lewis Community Fund (MLCF) in 2003.
Its first initiative was funding for treatments and causes of multiple sclerosis. “My brother-in law-had been stricken with MS,” said Coach Lewis, “and we were fortunate enough to sponsor a couple of research grants, one nationally and one here at UC.”
As the Foundation grew, however, the focus turned to being more community focused, which was the genesis for the Marvin Lewis Scholarship Fund, created to recognize and honor outstanding male and female student athletes from the region on an annual basis. Each year at least five, and usually more, four-year, $20,000 scholarships are awarded to students who carry a minimum 2.75 grade point average, have proven financial need, and shown admirable commitment to the community. For students who often are the first in their families to attend college, the scholarship can mean all the difference.
“These scholarships can give them an opportunity to maybe better their life by going to college,” said Lewis, “maybe attend the first college of their choice, maybe not having to work while they’re in college.”
From the scholarships came the “Learning Is Cool” program, an educational reward initiative that recognizes strong academic performance in four school districts, including Cincinnati Public, North College Hill, Covington Independent and Middletown. The program puts an emphasis on the students’ “A” Honor Roll (3.51+) achievements, with more than 30,000 students now involved.
And these students earn quite a reward for sticking with the program. Students who reach the “A” Honor Roll at least twice during the school year are invited to attend the Academic Achievement Celebration at the Cincinnati Zoo, where they get to meet Coach Lewis and Bengals players present them with a special medal of achievement.
“We’ve been able to include our players in the mix, both at the celebration and at the Learning Is Cool assemblies at participating schools,” Coach Lewis said. MLCF partners also visit the schools to talk about career opportunities. “It gives them a chance to reach out to these young people and let the students ask them questions. Chances are, you’re not all going to end up being a pro athlete or coach, but the students need to know there are a lot of career options you can choose to enjoy your life.”
Other community initiatives include Hometown Huddle, a partnership between the NFL, the Bengals and United Way to fix up a school or playground in the community; the Marvin Lewis Coaching Clinic, instructing youth football coaches in the area the correct way to teach the game; and the free Youth Football Camp, teaching 300 area youngsters the fundamentals of the game along with the value of sportsmanship and education.
“This gives these young people the opportunity to be on the stadium floor,” Coach Lewis said. “Most have never been inside Paul Brown Stadium, but they can say they’ve played football on that field. It’s a big deal to them, and gives us the chance to stress the things that are important to us; be a strong reader, thank the people who helped get you here. It’s terrific that these young people are taking advantage of this opportunity.”
The upcoming Cincinnati Scurry, scheduled for Friday, April 7, helps support Learning Is Cool.
Other fundraisers include the always-sold-out Football 101 in the fall and the Marvin Lewis Golf Classic on Sunday, May 21, this year to be held at TopGolf in West Chester.
“Our corporate partners make our events special every time, through gifts in kind, financial support, even providing volunteers. Our board members have been united in our vision and have stepped up as well with their support.”
To learn more about upcoming MLCF initiatives or to participate in the Cincinnati Scurry and Marvin Lewis Golf Classic, visit www.marvinlewis.org.
