When artist James Parlin delivered and helped set up his sculpture exhibit at the Little Gallery at BGSU Firelands College in Huron,  he never thought it would become “the most talked about show that no one saw.”
One of his pieces, depicting a middle school student and teacher engaged in oral sex, was removed by interim Dean James Smith. The university wrote that, although it supports the right of free speech and artistic expression, it has a responsibility “to not expose the children and families we invite to our campus to inappropriate material.”
Parlin, of Edinboro, Pa., said he submitted photographs of his work to Firelands when he applied to exhibit. He said the school has a right to not exhibit the pieces; however, he felt Firelands did not initiate procedures other galleries follow when pieces have mature content.
“Some adults should be warned and not blindsided,” Parlin said. “If there was a warning posted, then one has a choice. My decision to make or try to exhibit a piece did not cause controversy in my mind. Not taking adequate safeguards created the controversy.”
Parlin said he has exhibited art for 20 years and none of his work has been removed. The piece that was pulled from the Little Gallery is titled, “The Middle School Science Teacher Makes a Decision He’ll Live to Regret.”
“It is a moralistic piece about the freedom of will, compulsion and decision making,” Parlin said.
Parlin said the piece explores the idea that everyone does wrong things.
“People usually do little things wrong, with small consequences … Sometimes people do big things wrong, with big consequences. Sexual assault is one,” he said. “This piece is based on someone who lost a job, family and freedom. He made a decision that lead to disaster.”
Parlin said he works hard on his art pieces and feels bad that the controversy began.
“This was a preventable, overblown controversy and is not how I would choose to get attention,” he said.
The art exhibit opened March 2 and was scheduled to run through April 7 but has been closed

Toledo Free Press News Editor Julie Ryan contributed to this report.

How does a grown man get locked out of his own house? That was my thought as I stood shaking my head on my front porch. I had given my key to the painter and was stuck outside of my house.
As I mentally walked through each room, I tried to think of all the ways out knowing that a way out is also a way in. Remembering that one of our upper-level windows is sometimes unlocked, I shimmied onto the roof and was able to crawl through and flop onto the toy-strewn floor. Jumping up, I smiled with pride and relief at my accomplishment.
In this economy, when many businesses are searching for new customers, there is a similar feeling of being locked out. Many individuals are finding themselves standing on the front porch wondering how to get into new businesses to present products and services. This can leave a feeling of loneliness, weakness, and wonder as to why, after all the years of success, there are no apparent options.
You have many options. Your perspective has changed. The first step is get inside your business. What kind of customer is ideal for you? To figure that out, review your last 10 enjoyable and profitable sales. These 10 customers have the key you are looking for in your quest for new business.
Equipped with your list of the 10 customers you like and want to duplicate, start to list what they have in common. What do they like about you? Why do they enjoy doing business with you? In what ways are you able to help them? As you profile these past 10 customers, you are establishing the ideal customer profile that will empower and help you obtain a fresh start in reinvigorating your business during this funky economy.
Standing tall with your ideal customer profile; you now know exactly the types of customers you need to seek out. Half the spoils are yours at this point. You know what you have and you know where to go; you know on whose porch you should be standing.
This leaves a most important question – how do you get inside their door to speak with them?
First, stop thinking so much. The first step is starting a conversation. We are not talking about a full sales presentation. People buy from those with whom they connect. You know you have the ability to connect once you are engaged in an actual conversation.
How do you start this conversation? Think the same way as you would if you were locked out of your house. Forget conventional wisdom; forget trying the front door. It is locked. Time to think creatively; to think of all the other avenues that are available. Remember that your only goal is to get a conversation started and that there are many ways to present yourself. The options are endless. Be creative. You have nothing to lose. Try faxing half a joke to your client and ask them to call you for the punch line. Employ creative giving: do some research and send a gift to your client asking for the opportunity to start a conversation or try sending an empty box with a note inside that has something clever written on it.
When you know what you want, you have the ability to get creative. Your creativity will not only demonstrate your unique approach to business, it will allow you the opportunity to demonstrate your personality. Personality and creativity are master keys that have the power to unlock any door you wish to enter; they are the keys that allow you to connect with people, to begin new relationships, and to find new customers.

Tom Richard is a Toledo-based sales and marketing consultant, keynote speaker, and owner of Bolt from the Blue direct response advertising. For more information, visit www.BoltFromTheBlue.com or call (419) 441-1005.
If you want more ideas about finding new customers, and how you can get inside, go to www.boltfromtheblue.com, register if you’re a first-time visitor, and enter the word “INSIDE” in the BluePrint box.

In my previous article, “Strategic Planning – Don’t call it Annual, and It’s Certainly Not an Event,” I explained why strategic planning can no longer be viewed as an annual event – it’s an on-going process. Indeed, strategy formulation is critical; however, it’s the balance of both strategic planning and execution that separates good organizations from great organizations.
In this article, I’ll be focusing on the more difficult part of the equation: executing strategy.
No doubt, strategy formulation is critical for any organization. Yet, it’s usually crafted by a small team of senior leaders in the organization, over a fairly short period of time.  Strategy requires choosing what promises to make to your stakeholders (employees, customers, suppliers, investors, etc.) and developing a roadmap for delivering on those promises.
Execution requires achieving the defined objectives, while overcoming the never-ending series of inevitable surprises that come along the way.  Of the two (strategy formulation and strategy execution), execution is much more difficult to achieve. In fact, execution is taking over profit and top-line growth as the primary focus for CEOs around the globe. In a 2007 Conference Board survey of hundreds of CEOs worldwide, the chief executives chose “excellence of execution” as their top challenge – from a list of 121 challenges!
Why is execution so hard? First, unlike strategy formulation, execution of strategy involves every person in your organization, every day.  And the situation becomes geometrically more complex as you add people to the organization.
Second, managing change – of any type – is hard. And, it should be hard:  success means growth, growth means change, and change leads to uncharted territories. In the midst of all of this change, your organization is not only changing, the individuals are changing too, and so are your industry and your competitors.
Finally, it’s easier not to do what we know we should. Every business leader needs to understand (and accept) that there’s no one in your organization that wants to do everything they should do – all the time.  It’s a human nature barrier we face every day. If you can appreciate your own tendency to not do the things you know you should, (i.e. go to the gym, work out regularly, eat sensibly, etc.) then you’ll gain a much better appreciation for why executing your strategy – through every person in the organization – every day – is such a daunting challenge.
The fact of the matter is this: the overwhelming majority of us don’t understand how to put together all the key steps of strategy, planning, organizational alignment, execution management, innovation and measurement.  It’s extremely complex – but, it’s not rocket science.  First, we need to keep focus on internal things, rather than worrying about issues we have no control over. Constantly being barraged with bad news about the economy doesn’t help matters.  Remember: regardless of how well we perform as an organization, there are still many factors to success that we cannot control.
Interestingly enough, an organization that becomes good at solving today’s challenges creates a new and bigger set of challenges tomorrow. It’s what we refer to as the “Growth Paradox”. Why does this happen?  Success breeds success:  it leads to the need for “more”:  more capital, more people, more systems, more leadership, more competitive intelligence – more of everything!  As a leader, if you have big plans, you also need to prepare yourself and your organization to understand how to handle the even bigger challenges ahead. That’s why it’s critical for growing organizations to continually work on increasing their capability to execute strategy.
So, what can you do today, to execute strategy more consistently?  First, understand that “if nothing changes, nothing changes.” In other words, do something – create a sense of urgency in your organization to make things better. The most effective way to do this is to work with a qualified business coach – someone who understands the balance between strategy and execution.  Why an outsider?  They’re trained, more observant, and more objective than you can ever be about your own business. Second, adopt a repeatable business-building methodology, one that views your business holistically and includes steps for strategy, planning, alignment, execution, measurement and organizational learning.  Third, use some type of system to track your time and activities spending time – it’s the first step toward becoming an organization that learns how to increase its capability to execute strategy.
Eric Kurjan is the President of Six Disciplines Northwest Ohio. Six Disciplines brings “big company” process improvement to organizations looking break beyond the status quo. For more information visit www.SixDisciplines.com/Toledo, or call 419-581-2823.

The beginnings of the $4.9 million United Way facility in Downtown Toledo is exciting  organization officials. But United Way President and CEO Bill Kitson would be happier if others were on board.
“It’s been a little disappointing that an organization that’s making this type of development in Toledo isn’t being embraced as one supporting Toledo,” Kitson said following a March 24 tour of the construction outside his first floor office.
Past the tinted windows of the current United Way building at 100 N. Huron St., in Downtown, the sandy construction lot is already outlined with the concrete foundation of the new facility. In its center, rising two stories high, are cinder block stairwells — the first visible signs of construction from the street.
Once completed, the new building is expected to slash a $250,000 annual loss in operating costs that even $10 million in renovations could not remedy, Kitson said. Construction of a new office was the only viable solution, he said, because United Way couldn’t find a home elsewhere Downtown.
With the building taking shape, viewing the progress since its Jan. 5 start date has been a joy for his staff, Kitson said.
“We’ve been looking at the drawings for months, so it’s amazing to see it materialize,” he said.
But Kitson said it’s the lack of community support and government nods that have tainted enthusiasm for the new building. The structure, he said, will ultimately help the city by creating construction jobs and increasing the organization’s efficiency.
“Every time public officials are talking about what’s happening in the city, I never hear one of them talk about how exciting it is to have Downtown construction,” he said. “I think that if there were anyone else building, people would be more excited.”
Kathy Doty, chief operating officer for United Way, said the number of workers employed in the construction is just the beginning of local contributions the new building has brought to the area.
“A couple hundred people are involved in making this happen, which, in this economy is a good thing,” Doty said. “We’re pleased we’re able to help in that way.”
United Way is self-funding the new building, which accounts for about 75 percent of a projected $6.5 million building budget that includes the demolition of the old structure and conversion of the surrounding property to a park setting. Toledo-based firms Collaborative Inc. and SSOE, Inc. designed the new “green” headquarters, and construction has been awarded to Rudolph|Libbe and 25 other local subcontractors.
Currently, a little more than a dozen workers are busy capping the Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant elevator shaft and preparing for the shipment of structural steel. But by the time the building is completed in late August, site superintendent Mark Mears said more than 200 specialists — working to construct walls, run electrical wire and install heating and cooling systems — will have contributed to the project.
Once the building is up and running, Doty said office operations will be streamlined. The more than 70 employees and volunteers will have tools at their immediate fingertips, and departments will be able to interact more efficiently, she said.
Maintenance and operation expenses will also be cut because United Way will be moving to a building one-quarter its current size, in the process shedding its eight remaining nonprofit tenants. Kitson said the organization will then be able to refocus on its own work, only with less cost.
“The reality is [that] a lot of people are working now. This is an organization that could have just as easily taken the opportunity that was given to them to move out of Downtown,” Kitson said.
“But instead we chose to stay.”

TO THE EDITOR,
While Rossford’s Mayor William Verbosky Jr. may be accurate with his math on the recent increase in the Rossford water rate (“Rossford mayor addresses water rates,” March 22), he certainly is off base on the City of Toledo’s intention on the revenue sharing agreement and is conducting a misleading PR campaign.
I believe it is time to set the record straight:
1. During contract negotiations, Rossford was told by the City of Toledo that all new Joint Economic Development Zone (JEDZ) agreements are being negotiated on an equal revenue sharing basis.
2. The City of Toledo has offered to keep the Rossford JEDZ rates the same for existing businesses.
3. The Rossford JEDZ increase would be on new business only to the area.
4. Without Toledo water, Rossford would not have been able to annex the area from Perrysburg Township.
5. Perrysburg Township. sustained huge losses on the failed Rossford Arena/Amphitheater project and chose to work directly with Toledo on a JEDZ for the Fed Ex project, in essence landlocking Rossford.
It appears that what is good for the goose is not good for the gander.  It is acceptable  for Toledo to be landlocked by its neighboring communities leveraging Toledo water, but when Toledo wants its fair share of development, that could only happen with Toledo’s water; Toledo is punitive. This is far from the fact. Unfortunately, it appears that citizens of Rossford will pay the higher water rates, spend additional money on infrastructure and be restricted from growth until Rossford is willing to negotiate fairly in the interest of regional cooperation.
ROBERT R. REINBOLT, Chief of Staff , City of Toledo

For composer Christopher Tucker, it’s all about the melody.
“Melody is what listeners attach themselves to when they experience a piece of music,” he said. “If the piece gives you a sense of longing after you’ve left a performance or a movie, it’s the melody that you’re going to continue to whistle as you leave.”

Christopher Tucker

Tucker hopes there’s a lot of whistling and humming after the premiere of “A Feather in the Morning Air” during the 32nd annual Festival of New Music on April 2, at 8 p.m. in the University of Toledo’s Doermann Theater on Main Campus.
“The piece was originally composed for 10 winds, inspired by the music of Percy Grainger and elements in nature,” he said. “My intention in the piece was to take my own style of composing, my own melodies and also Percy Grainger’s not so much his original melodies, but one melody in particular he loved to use was ‘Danny Boy,’ what he called an Irish tune from County Derry. That melody also takes some of his style, his techniques, and I fused it into my own.
“It will be an honor and a thrill to hear it played by the UT Symphony Orchestra with all the instruments.”
UT’s Concert Chorale, Orchestra, and Symphonic Band and Wind ensembles will perform Tucker’s “Ceremonial Fanfare,” “Twilight in the Wilderness” and “Americans Lost” during the concert.
Tucker, who lives in Rockwall, Texas, is the director of artistic administration and a founder of the Lone Star Wind Orchestra. He has received commissions from more than 30 schools and arts organizations. His music has been performed across the country and in Japan, Germany and England.
In 2006, he released “Twilight in the Wilderness,” a disc featuring compositions for wind ensemble. A follow-up, “Spirit Legend,” came out in 2008.
“Not only were these commercial CDs, but they were a means of getting my music out so interested colleagues and band directors that look to perform those kinds of works could hear them,” Tucker said.
While at UT, the 32-year-old composer will give a talk April 2, at 1 p.m. in the Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall on Main Campus.
The Festival of New Music will begin March 31, with a concert featuring percussion and electronic media compositions from the UT Electronic Music Studio and the premiere of an original song for voice and piano by UT student Sarah Modene featuring UT freshman Sam Mason, tenor.
The event will start at 8 p.m. in the Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall.
Chamber music will be featured at 8 p.m. April 1 in the Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall.
For more information on these free, public events, contact the UT Music Department at (419) 530-2448 or visit the Web site www.utoledo.edu/as/music.

Mike Bell

To his parents, it’s just Mike — Michael when he’s in trouble. But they also think “Mayor Mike Bell” has a nice ring to it. It sounds even better than fire chief or state fire marshal.
Norman and Ora Bell talk about their 54-year-old son like he’s still a boy growing up on Stickney Avenue.
The Bells are inside his home on Hopewell Place. Their son — the mayoral candidate — is away.
Days earlier, Bell shared his reason for running for mayor, and it has a familial ring to it.
“The reason I want to come back isn’t about me. It is about the city. It is about turning it around. It is about my family, my parents who live in the North End,” he said. “Everything I have learned, I have learned from the City of Toledo, so I think I have some valuable skills that I can give back that will help change the look of the city and to get people to work together toward a common cause.”
But on this particular day Bell is gone, and stories about his days working at a bakery and disliking it, spill out.
As does the time they didn’t want him to ride his Harley to a biker rally in Sturgis, S.D. and their “free spirit” ended up in California. Not to mention Bell didn’t even want to become a firefighter.
“I thought there would be a future with the City of Toledo as opposed to the job he had with the railroad,” his father said. “He was complaining about the railroad, so I said, ‘Give it some consideration,’ and he was rebellious for a while.”
In 1990, when Bell became the youngest fire chief in Toledo, as well as the first black chief, Dad couldn’t have been prouder.
Now that his son is running for mayor, the 76-year-old is his campaign treasurer.
“He has all the skills that are needed and will be able to direct the city in a very positive manner,” Norman said.
“He just didn’t walk off the street to apply for the mayor’s position,” Ora said. “He has been groomed through his previous employment and he definitely brings with him a commitment, the skills, and I also think that he will add pizzazz.”
The pizzazz she talks about isn’t something Bell will shed during the campaign, he said.
“I enjoy life. You might see me someplace listening to blues, rock, Motown or you might see me with a cowboy hat, listening to country western,” he said. “I appreciate life and I think it is from being a firefighter. It is from being a paramedic. It is from having the people you are working on looking you in the eye and by the time you leave the scene, they are dead. You realize how fragile life is.”
Bell has never been married and has no children. Some people think a married mayor with children signals stability, he said. Bell is asking voters to consider this: “I have been trusted with people’s lives for the past 30 years.”
It’s official
Speculation over whether Bell would run for mayor has circulated for months. For Bell, it wasn’t something he immediately considered after retiring as fire chief and being appointed state marshal in 2007.
“Was it always the plan? No. But from a standpoint of a person who has always been involved with civic duty, this is probably the next plateau in being able to help a large portion of people,” he said.
Bell officially announced his intention to seek the mayoral job March 25. He is running as an independent, despite his roots as a Democrat. Democrat Keith Wilkowski and Republican Jim Moody are also running.
“I believe the people in this community don’t really care what you are as long as you are prepared to work for them,” Bell said.
He is giving up his state marshal position to return to the city and campaign full time. His resignation is effective April 10, although as marshal he returned to Toledo almost every weekend, he said.
“My commitment is very much similar to the pig for the farmer’s breakfast,” Bell said. “When the chicken commits its egg to the farmer’s breakfast, it is a partial commitment. When the hog commits to the farmer’s breakfast, it is a total commitment. The hog has to give its life. I am totally committed.”
Kimberly Zurz, director of the Ohio Department of Commerce, thanked Bell for his work.
“The Division of State Fire Marshal has benefited greatly from his dedication and leadership,” she said in a statement. “We appreciate the work Marshal Bell has done to improve relationships with the fire service throughout the state and wish him well on his future endeavors.”
Bell acknowledged if he loses his bid for mayor, he’s out a job. He’ll take the risk for Toledo.
“We are at a crossroads,” he said. “We have the ability right at this time to decide which way we are going to go. When people ask me why I would want to be mayor, I say, ‘What better time to want to be mayor when things seem their darkest?’ ”
Tell Bell
Bell is focusing on issues he believes are crucial to the future of Toledo. Balancing the city budget; saving and creating jobs; preserving home values and stabilizing neighborhoods; and protecting people’s safety.
“I have an idea, a concept, but I am one citizen in this city out of over 300,000,” Bell said. “And there are people who have lived in this city longer who have various expertise that I believe will be extremely helpful toward formulating that direction.”
Bell said he would like Toledo to be similar to Indianapolis. Twenty years ago, the Indiana capital was not a point of destination, but at some point, that city, county and region decided to change how it did business. Toledo needs to do the same, he said.
Determining what the city wants starts with sitting down with a group of people who care about the destiny of the city, county and region and coming up with a strategic plan that will work — not a bunch of words — but something that can actually be achieved and benchmarking those goals.
“I am able to make people feel very comfortable to be around me,” Bell said. “I take my ego out of everything that I do, so if we decide to work together, it is about the issues, it is not about the person sitting in the mayor’s seat.”
Brian Epstein, former chairman of EPIC, Engaging People Inspiring Change, said Toledo needs someone like Bell.
“Mike is finally that leadership,” Epstein said. “It is not about him; it is about the region and pulling the right people together to accomplish the goals.”
Cajun roots
Bell was born in Alexandria, La., and lived with his dad’s mom for the first five years of his life, while the rest of his family settled in Toledo.
It was a time when blacks had better job opportunities in the North, which his parents were seeking, he said.
“Coming up here was a bit of a switch. I can remember back to when I was 3 and 4 years old and living with my grandma in Baton Rouge, back in the time when you couldn’t ride in the front of the bus.”
Bell also remembers his grandma’s Cajun cooking. Meals that cost $20 to $30 in a restaurant, he was eating every night at his grandma’s house. She would take a pail and select fresh — and sometimes live — seafood from the vendors on the street. It wasn’t unusual for Bell to see Grandma tackling a lobster in the kitchen.
Bell said his grandma ran a nursery, which helped him develop socially. He liked having all the toys to himself when the children left for the day, he recalled, laughing.
“You had to be behaved and treat kids well. Those things stick with you all of your life.”
More life lessons would follow.
Bell grew up on Stickney Avenue, where his parents still live today. Both of his parents are college educated, which they encouraged with all four of their boys.
Bell, the eldest, attended Woodward High School, graduating with fellow mayoral opponent Wilkowski in 1973. During Government Day, Bell said he was mayor.
“My dad and mom have never doubted our capacity to reach for the stars and be anyone we wanted to be,” Bell said. “If we were going to work at McDonald’s — and I did work at McDonald’s — figure out how to run the place; if you are going to be a truck driver, figure out how to run the company someday; if you are going to be a firefighter, figure out how to be a fire chief someday.”
Father knows best
The college football team captain, and one of the first male cheerleaders for UT, graduated in 1978 with a degree in education. His focus was on park administration and natural resources.
“I am thinking I am getting out of here, heading to California, Nevada — somewhere on that side,” Bell said. “Not because it was factually better, but of how it was marketed — part of the problem for Toledo.”
But before he could move, his dad encouraged firefighting.
“He knew I liked action, that I wouldn’t be totally comfortable sitting a desk.”
Bell quickly realized firefighting was for him. Dad was right.
“I didn’t think I would be out there putting a tube down someone’s throat, or going and diving in water for bodies.”
His 16 years in the fire chief position weren’t without controversy, including a gender-bias suit that will likely go to trial during the mayoral campaign. Three women allege that officials did nothing when co-workers used sexually demeaning language and committed verbal abuse.
“I believe I treated all employees as fairly as possible as an administrator,” Bell said. “But all city employees are entitled to due process, and I certainly support their right to move forward on that basis.”
Fire Capt. Jim Martin, Local 92 president, said as director of one of the largest city departments for 16 years, Bell is certainly qualified to be mayor.
“I don’t see any reason not to endorse him,” Martin said. “I think he would be a great ambassador for the City of Toledo.”
Bell said his experience with the fire department will play into being mayor, in particular his delegation skills and ability to create a team to address issues facing this community.
“The thing that makes this job a little bit easier is that when you are making a decision at that particular second, no one’s life is on the line,” he said.
The hardest times are when young children die, a subject Bell addresses carefully because of surviving family members.
“The grief at the scene … the grieving that the firefighters are doing for the family. It does stick with you for the rest of your life.”
These experiences will help Bell keep the daily challenges of the mayor in perspective, he said.
No regrets
“King Kong.” Those two words follow Bell to this day.
In May 2006, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner referred to Bell as King Kong during a staff meeting.
Finkbeiner clarified he was referring to Bell’s strength and it was not meant as a racial slur.
Bell said little about the incidence at the time and expressed no outrage, which angered some in the black community. If he could do it over again, he wouldn’t.
“When you are in situations like that, once they become media issues, they are blown out of proportion, and people can look at it in a million different ways,” he said. “But deep down you know who you are and what you are doing is a lot bigger at times than your own individual self.
“Reliving that particular experience, to do something that would have played the race card, I think would have been totally inappropriate. Not only for myself, but for this community. Only Carty knows what he meant by it, and we will just have to leave it at that.”
Independent streak
Deciding to run as an independent meant leaving behind his strong allegiance to the Democrat Party.
Bell said political parties play a part of history, but people are the ones who get things done.
“I have voted on the person, based on what I thought they could do. You got to trust that when you give your vote that the person is going to come through for you,” he said.
Toledo City Councilman D. Michael Collins is the only independent on council.
“I guess my feeling is that it is probably a strategy that Mr. Bell is using and only he and his internal campaign people can probably address the rationale behind it.”
For Collins, being an independent has been a lifelong commitment, although he doesn’t find council particularly partisan.
“I have an open dialogue, and we do not discuss political persuasions,” Collins said.
Bell said as mayor he would treat council members like a board.
“Why wouldn’t you have the other 12 people who are elected helping you with decisions? It is going to impact them as politically as the mayor.”
Bell said all city leaders brings their own personality to the table. But if they don’t have the ability to reach out to people when they become mayor, it doesn’t become any easier.
Bell has worked under three mayors, Finkbeiner twice, and he has learned from each of them. He described John McHugh as politically astute; Finkbeiner as very passionate; and Jack Ford as a person who is truly caring.
“I have known no other service for last 30-plus years than public service, so to be at the end of the tunnel where you can actually make final decisions on issues that may last a lifetime, I think it would be, one, a great honor and two, it carries a great amount of responsibility,” Bell said.
“I would love to be mayor. I think I would do an excellent job. But my success isn’t tied to becoming mayor. I just want to see our city succeed, and if I am unsuccessful and I challenge enough people to get in the race where this city wins, I will still feel good.”

Previous Race for the Mayor 2009 profiles:

• Keith Wilkowski
• Jim Moody

Governor Ted Strickland announced March 26 that the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority will receive $21 million in funding from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act resources.
Two of the four projects awarded in Lucas County were submitted by the Port Authority and are part of 149 priority transportation projects to be funded in Ohio the governor announced.
The Port Authority will receive $15 million for the modernization of the Toledo Shipyard operated by Ironhead Marine Inc. The improvements to the shipyard are being made to prepare the facility for future business and would result in approximately 100 jobs over the next several years.
Another $6.8 million was awarded to the Port Authority for the purchase of a new high-speed crane and reach stacker. The new mobile harbor crane will handle twice the workload as the current cranes in the seaport with the ability to more 20 to 35 containers per hour and 40 swings per hour for bulk material handling.
Mobile harbor cranes of this caliber are usually used at coastal ports and it would be one of the first at a U.S. Great Lakes port, according to Midwest Terminals which operates the Port of Toledo’s cargo facility.

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) announced March 26 that the city of Toledo will receive approximately $3.1 million in stimulus funding for energy efficiency and conservation projects.

Kaptur said the federal award to Toledo is part of $84.2 million in grants for 33 cities and 10 counties in Ohio, including $25 million for the State Energy Office. The funding awards will be officially announced by Vice President Biden and Energy Secretary Stephen Chu as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

“This is a welcome example of stimulus money coming back to our area to create jobs,” said Kaptur. “Our region is rapidly emerging as a national leader in alternative energy, which has long been one of my top priorities. I am hopeful that Northern Ohio will receive its fair share of funding from the state allocation as well.”

The grant awards were made according to formula and are aimed at reducing total energy use and fossil fuel emissions through increased efficiency.

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Board of Directors approved a contract with Michael J. Stolarczyk, selecting him as the new President and CEO for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority at their board meeting March 26. A news conference with Michael J. Stolarczyk and members of the Board of Directors will take place April 1 at the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority offices, located at One Maritime Plaza.

Stolarczyk will begin his employment on April 1 and will be paid $170,000 annually and is eligible for a bonus plan based on goals and objectives.

“Mike has an impeccable background and brings a new perspective and the cohesive management skills and expertise that our board sought after in a new leader”, said William J. Carroll, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Chairman. “The opportunity that lies within the Port Authority is remarkable and the board expects Mike to not only embrace this but to create an environment of synergy among our staff, our partners and our community to allow us to capitalize on our past success and achieve a new level accomplishments.”