Fifteen year-old Nickiti Koszycki is an acrobat, a gymnast, a swimmer, a ballerina and a swimming and gymnastics teacher. She said doesn’t know where she and her friends are going to continue all of their activities.

A long-time member of the South Toledo YMCA, Koszycki said if her YMCA closes, some of her friends will have to quit some of their favorite activities because getting transportation to the other YMCAs “just isn’t feasible.” She, along with more than 50 other community members, attended a rally at 6 p.m. on Aug. 18 to support South Toledo residents Mark Hertzfeld, Cooper Suter and Gary Batt’s efforts to save the YMCA before CedarCreek Church officially takes the building.

Suter said he and his fellow community members have asked numerous times for cooperation from city officials and YMCA board members but haven’t received any clear explanations for the board’s recent decision to turn the building over to CedarCreek. If he and his activists do not get an answer within the next few days, he said they are taking legal action.

“I came from a meeting with lawyers this morning and we will be meeting with lawyers soon,” Suter said. He added he will know if his group will take official legal action attentively by the end of the week. To rally support, he and State Senator Teresa Fedor asked multiple people to start by raising signs and protesting along Anthony Wayne Trail in front of the YMCA Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 7:30 a.m. “

I would think (the board and city) would see all this support and that this is a strong community,” Fedor said. “In my opinion they really stirred up a hornet’s nest.”

Paul Schlatter, chairman of the board of trustees of the YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo, wrote in an Aug. 16 column for Toledo Free Press, “In late July, we made a series of difficult decisions to restructure operations — the result of a sudden cut of $1.5 million in funding from the State of Ohio. Without action, the shortfall would have had an immediate and negative impact on the association’s finances. Our primary goal was to maintain all services — including our scholarship outreach and services to the central city.

“As a result of intense planning by the executive committee of the board of trustees and staff leadership in the days following passage of the state budget, the YMCA determined the operational changes that would best address its financial challenge.

“To avoid leaving the South Y building vacant for an extended period of time, the YMCA has agreed to affiliate with CedarCreek Church, which has been looking to extend its ministry in South Toledo.

“The YMCA met with and discussed the plan with employees, as well as the gymnastics and swim team members, 80 percent of whom do not live in South Toledo. Letters were sent to members and public officials, but, because of leaks to the news media, the YMCA was not able to fully execute its planned communication effort.”

SMG has announced that Daughtry will perform at the new Lucas County Arena at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Aug. 22. Tour and ticket information is online at http://www.daughtryofficial.com/us/tour.

New members of the Junior League of Toledo can learn about the league’s mission, charitable projects and leadership training opportunities at an orientation on Sept. 10.

The orientation for new members will run from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the Inverness Club at 4601 Dorr Street. The meeting is also open for anyone interested in becoming a new member. For information on the Junior League, call (419)  474-6262.

After more than a year and a half without COSI Toledo, kids and parents will soon be able to explore the scientific world again in the former COSI building.
On Saturday, Oct. 10, the Imagination Station will open its doors at 10 a.m., combining old favorites from COSI and new exhibits.
A Members’ Only Preview will commence on Friday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. and end at 8 p.m.
More than $1 million worth of renovations will bring back such exhibits like the Hire Wire Bicycle and the Gravity Room. New ones include a display that children can enter to experience hurricane force winds and a pint-sized fire truck.
On Opening day, a traveling exhibit called “Circus!” will feature 23 activities to use science to show children how different circus events are possible, such as the physics of juggling or the biology of animals.

Fitness trainer Danny Russo from Women’s Fitness Magazine is coming to teach Toledo women how to become “smaller, tighter, leaner, stronger” on August 26 at 6 p.m.

On his 1,000 stops on a nationwide tour, Russo will teach a free seminar at American Mobile Fitness, located at 5133 South Main Street in Sylvania.

According to his Web site, women who follow his plan will learn how to eliminate water retention, how to correct sodium and potassium levels, what to eat to maintain energy throughout the day, whether they are carb sensitive and how to test bodily pH levels.

His Web site also states his seminar will help women learn how to flatten their stomachs, stop sugar cravings and “defeat menopause,” among other workout outcomes.

People can sign up to come on the Web site at comingtoseedanny.com, or they can attend without appointment, he said.

Current Blade coverage linking the YMCA’s decision to close its South Toledo branch with its executive salaries has been the subject of much discussion. But the daily newspaper’s history of conflict and contention with the organization goes back decades.
I’ve been spending time reading some of the past Blade articles both online and in the archives of our wonderful Toledo Lucas County Public Library system.
The economic development aspect of the lack of a Downtown health center took the forefront of the editorial pages of The Blade in 1996. When the YMCA decided to seek funding through a bond with the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority for renovations and to retire old debt, a November 1996 Blade editorial broached the economic development aspect, expressing the opinion that a Downtown Y was something that most downtowns had and describing the leadership of the Y as “flaky.”
The editorial also made it a point to state that Pittsburgh, residence of Blade co-owner John Robinson Block, had a ten story Y in its downtown that not only had a pool, but a full health club facility.
When the bond vote came before the Port Authority, the only member present who did not vote for it was director Block. Block made it clear his reasoning for voting no in The Blade on Dec. 20, 1996; he felt the Y had neglected Downtown since the Oct. 1, 1979 closing of the Jefferson Street location.
A little less than a year later, then-Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, running for re-election, stated one of the items on his “list” was to have a full-service health club Downtown. There was some earlier discussion about two possible health club projects with the mayor suggesting the Great Lakes Warehouse be considered as a location that could be built in conjunction with the new Mud Hens stadium.
Just a few days after that article in 1997, a Blade editorial stated that the lack of a Downtown health facility with a pool was a detriment to economic development and would motivate prospective employers to go elsewhere.
When the proposed opening of a downtown Y in Detroit was covered in March 1999, The Blade article had quotes from YMCA President and CEO Robert Alexander stating that if the local Y were to participate in a Downtown health club in Toledo, it would not bear the full cost of the marketing study or the construction.
Two days later, The Blade editorial was stinging, not only stating that the Y was “derelict in its responsibility to Toledo” by not having a Downtown location, but that Downtown Toledo would always been seen as “second-rate, as lacking basic amenities” until it had a full-service health club and that the Y, “instead of committing to the downtown, has luxuriated in the greener, suburban pastures.”
The next month, in April 1999, The Blade editorial staff took issue with Mercy Health Partners and ProMedica Health System being involved in health facilities in the suburbs. The editorial said the YMCA partnering with Mercy for a health facility in Perrysburg, because it was felt that a Downtown facility could not survive, was “not positive thinking.”
In April 2001, when it was learned that the YMCA was planning a facility in Bedford, Finkbeiner wrote a letter to Alexander saying the YMCA had abandoned it’s central mission and the central city. “While I can understand your obvious outreach effort to more affluent suburban communities, you have a responsibility to balance that outreach by building new YMCAs in central Toledo where your social mission is deeply needed,” The Blade quoted the mayor.
A Blade editorial a few days later on April 15, 2001, agreed with Finkbeiner that the YMCA “has turned its back on the organization’s traditional role, which used to be part social work, part shelter, and part recreation. And, by concentrating its new facilities in the suburbs, it has neglected its responsibility to the people of the city of Toledo.”
This led to nearly 50 YMCA employees showing up at a Finkbeiner press conference to protest his statements and The Blade’s editorial.
Next came dueling ads, with the Mayor using $4,166.64 in taxpayer dollars to take out an ad in The Blade stating that most of the YMCA’s 25-person board members live where the new YMCAs were being constructed. Finkbeiner’s ad also took issue with family members of Alexander being YMCA employees. The YMCA took out its own ad disagreeing with Finkbeiner.
The situation between the YMCA and Finkbeiner escalated to the point where, in September 2001, he threatened to not give United Way the money raised by the City of Toledo employee payroll deductions because of the YMCA’s refusal to plan a Downtown Y. The next day, Sept. 15, 2001, Arturo Quintero, the mayor’s executive officer, stated the city’s administrative policy dictated that employee contributions had to be passed on to the donor organization.
Ten days later, a Blade editorial expressed that Finkbeiner was right in his frustrations and that, “The first business of Toledo institutions, supported by Toledoans, ought to be the city, and its downtown.”
Now, almost eight years later, the news of the closing of the South Toledo YMCA has brought the past talking points back to the forefront. Recent Blade headlines include “Money woes hurt YMCA at a time of large salaries,” “YMCA CEO loses cool over coverage” and “Review raises questions on YMCA finances.”
Finkbeiner has announced an Aug. 19 meeting “to review the plans CedarCreek Church has for the YMCA property.”

Lisa Renee Ward operates the political blog Glass City Jungle and the Toledo Free Press fact checker.

Schylar Meadows started as a volunteer at the hip-hop radio station WJUC-107.3 “The Juice,” sorting records and assisting DJs, hoping to one day spin hip-hop beats on her own. Twelve years later, she’s producing her own weekly radio talk show, “Juice Talk.”
The show had its fifth anniversary on July 25 and Meadows said she is preparing for a year of anniversary celebrations. But she said this won’t distract her or her listeners from engaging in serious conversations about anything from local politics to national social problems.
“The station and show have been able to influence the hip-hop and R&B community for a couple of prime reasons,” Meadows said. “We are able to have relative discussions on current affairs in real time and because we are helping by sharing with the hip-hop and R&B community, which is often overlooked, to make a format for discussion.”

Schylar Meadows

Her show has empowered listeners young and old to involve themselves in local politics and vote during elections, she said. She generally targets the 18-to-35 age group, but her oldest listener is in his 70s and her youngest is 9 years old.
Meadows, who often appears on 13abc’s “Conklin & Company” and tapes a “Rant and Rave” segment for FOX Toledo, has worked on political campaigns and served as the national vice president of Programs for Young Democrats of America from 2001 to 2003, so educating youth about the importance of their vote is one of her top priorities, she said. Meadows ran for a district seat on council in 1993 and applied for the seat left open by Mark Sobczak in June.
On her 10:30 a.m. Sunday show, she details information about political candidates and issues and stresses reasons for public participation in governmental systems, said Clifton Beasley, who has listened to her show since its inception.
“I don’t think some people would even know where to start to find some of the information on her show,” Beasley said.
Meadows has had guest appearances from Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Gov. Ted Strickland, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and Vice President Joe Biden. She also allows multiple call-ins from anyone listening to the show to speak their mind.
Carnel Smith is a devout listener to “Juice Talk.” He thinks the show has been able to positively affect the Toledo R&B community.
“Her outlook is totally different; it gives a lot of information to African-Americans that otherwise we wouldn’t receive,” Smith said.
Charles Welch, the station’s owner, who goes by the name “Charlie Chuck,” had the idea to start the show more than five years ago and wanted Meadows to host the show because she was young and political and could influence Toledo’s youth to care about social issues, he said.
He has no method to monitor how many people listen to the show on Sunday mornings, but said he thinks the show catches a wide range of listeners. Airing right after gospel music and a church service, ‘Juice Talk’ hooks people who listen to the services, Welch said.
The station is independent, so Welch has the freedom to report on what he thinks is necessary and play the music his listeners want, he said. When he was younger, he didn’t have such freedom.
“My bosses from [previous stations] would just tell me to cool it, let’s not rock the boat. They said let’s just make the bucks and leave the civil rights stuff,” Welch said. “That’s what made me want to get my own radio station; having people telling me to shut up during the civil rights movement, afraid to lose advertisers.”
Meadows, who originally turned the offer down, said she had no idea the show would be so successful, and that she hopes it will continue to defy common stereotypes about the hip-hop community.
“The stereotype is that we are under-educated and disinterested in the world around us; ‘Juice Talk’ breaks that stereotype,” she said. “It’s a great achievement to have a female of color to be the host of a show and be taken seriously.”

Several local companies and individuals will be recognized as the 2009 Entrepreneurial & Business Excellence (EBE) Hall of Fame honorees Nov. 12 at the Franciscan Theatre and Conference Center of Lourdes College in Sylvania.
The founding sponsor is Gorillas & Gazelles, LLC in partnership with the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University. The event is presented by Launch and Rocket Ventures, a program of the Regional Growth Partnership.
Bob Armbruster
Bob Armbruster, president of Clean Team, Inc. in Toledo, became an entrepreneur at age 18 starting a business with an office in his parents’ basement and filling the garage with various cleaning supplies.
“I was so naïve and young, it just happened,” Armbruster said.
Clean Team is a family business, with Bob and his father as partners, his mother running the office and his sister doing in-house telemarketing.
Today, the company provides an array of janitorial services including general office cleaning, floor stripping and waxing, carpet and window cleaning along with supplies such as soap and paper towel dispensers.
Despite the economic downturn, business is still up 20 percent over the previous year and would have doubled if not for the recession, according to Armbruster.
“The most important thing in business is your employees,” he said about putting into practice the best business advice he has received.
“If we treat the folks that work for us correctly, then they will take care of our customers. If you treat your customers right, you should keep their business,” Armbruster said.
Kuhlman Corp.
Tim Goligoski and Ken Kuhlman are the only two remaining members of the Kuhlman family active in Kuhlman Corporation. Tim is a son-in-law and Ken represents the fourth generation of the family business established in 1901.
Kuhlman is best known for its ready mixed concrete but the company has expanded into new markets including decorative concrete and forming systems. The firm provides brick, sand, gravel and building materials for commercial and residential use, sewer and water lines, masonry specialties, sealing compounds and reinforcements.
“We are doing well if our customers are doing well,” Goligoski said. “Ken and I agree about the importance of customer service. For us to be successful, we have to make our customers successful by providing products and services.”
The company has 130 employees with an average length of employment being 20 years.
Goligoski said they cross train all employees to be knowledgeable about all the product lines.
“It all starts with selecting the right people, hiring for character first, training them well, and empowering them to perform,” he said. “It’s a relationship business and those relationships are critical for success.”
Fred Zoeller
Fred Zoeller is president and CEO of Laminate Technologies Inc. in Tiffin which will celebrate 25 years in business in May 2010.
Lam Tech, as it is known, is the largest privately held company in the continuous laminate industry in the nation with clients such as Sauder Woodworking, Masterbrand Cabinets, Merilatt Cabinets and Batesville Caskets, according to Zoeller. The company operates three manufacturing plants with plans to build a fourth operation.
The business has evolved into three segments with kitchen cabinets, furniture and distribution, each comprising one third. Zoeller expects to see a 30 to 50 percent increase in business over the next three to four years.
“You can’t remain stagnant in this business,” Zoeller said and he “owes everything [he does] and the success the firm has had to [his] people. We call them co-workers as we don’t use the word employee but consider them as family.”
He said that his people, and especially his wife who works there, help to keep him grounded since he is a visionary who looks at the grandiose picture.
Bob MacQueen
Bob MacQueen, president of MacQueen Orchards Inc. in Holland said he’s constantly thinking about how he can improve the orchards with new technology, equipment or other ways.
MacQueen Orchards is a family-owned business started by Bob’s parents, Hugh and Martha, with 10 acres in 1935. It’s now the fifth largest apple orchard in Ohio with 250 acres of apple trees and 20 acres of peach trees, according to Bob.

Bob MacQueen

“It’s a family business with all members working together. One grandson just started as the fourth generation,” he said.
It ships produce all over the U.S. with wholesale being 80 percent of their business and selling to local markets as the other 20 percent. The largest client is Wal-Mart but they also sell to The Andersons, Bassetts, Churchills, Kroger and Monnette’s Markets, Bob said.
“Apples are very plentiful this year. It’s the biggest apple crop in the orchard’s history,” he said.
The orchard is a year-round business, but the biggest time of the year is the Apple Butter Stir and Craft Festival held the first week in October drawing about 20,000 visitors.
“You have to experience MacQueen Orchards either through the eyes of a child, as a parent or as an adult of any age. It is a memory in the making,” he said.
Roger Curtis
Roger Curtis is president of Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., one of 22 race tracks around the country that host NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Races.
Curtis was a nuclear engineering major when he started college at Purdue, moved to California to go into the music business and finally landed in motor sports where he has spent the past 17 years.
Curtis came to MIS in May 2006 after working at three other tracks in California, New York and Virginia. MIS is part of International Speedway Corporation, a publicly traded company that owns 12 race tracks, a catering company and the Motor Racing Network on radio.
MIS attracts about 350,000 people for the two big racing weekends in June and August. The record number of fans for a single race day is 157,000.
Curtis said their vision is “simply to create lasting memories for every person, every time. We create experiences for fans so they will want to come back each year.”
MIS has a fan advisory board and social interaction with fans at all events. The speedway has also invested $50 million to upgrade the facilities during the past three years.
“We never take our fans for granted. Many are making tough sacrifices to attend races here. We go the extra mile so people can say that it’s worth the trip,” Curtis said.
Radco Industries
Rick and Mary Anderson of Radco Industries in Toledo will be recognized as the Emerging Technology Company in the 2009 EBE program.
The couple purchased the engineering and machine building company when it was in receivership a few years ago. They dedicated themselves to building sales and reducing costs while retaining their most valuable assets — their employees, according to the profile provided to the EBE program.
The couple was on vacation and unavailable for comment at press time.
“They took a chance to save this business and develop a bread-making machine for their newest venture,” said Mike Brooks, an entrepreneur in residence with Rocket Ventures, who is working with the Andersons.
“Rick and Mary have effectively created their own incubator for developing unique new technologies within Radco. Their mission is to develop new technologies into spin-off businesses,” said Brooks.
One of their ventures is In Situ, Inc. established in 2006 to develop their ideas for a bread and bakery products business. They have developed a bread dough machine that can produce up to 70 loaves of artisan bread per hour with one operator, according to the EBE profile.
Brian Roth
Brian Roth, president of Trufast, LLC in Bryan, said that the people working there are responsible for the company’s success.
“We acknowledge employees and what they accomplish recognizing contributions with an incentive plan. We provide opportunities for our employees to succeed,” Roth said.
Trufast was started by the Spengler family in 1981. Roth sat on the company’s advisory board for 15 years before becoming involved in its management in 2002.
The company is a pioneer in making fasteners and screws for a variety of markets, including retail sales in 1,600 Wal-Mart stores nationwide. Business has increased by 333 percent during the past six years under Roth’s leadership.
“Building the right team and keeping them engaged is the key to our success,” Roth said. “We use a six discipline system to stay focused on executing the strategic plan for the company.”
Roth said Trufast has taken many cost-cutting measures and reduced production hours and its workforce during the current conditions. It still provides 10 percent of its pre-tax profits to its employees while maintaining its health insurance and 401K plans.
“We are concerned about being better every day and that is key to continuous improvement,” Roth said.

While shirts and shoes are still required, eating out in Northwest Ohio is becoming more casual.
“People are not dining out less, they’re just searching out better values,” said Greg Rufty, board president of the Northwest Ohio Restaurant Association.
“Where they might have been dining more frequently at a white table cloth type restaurant, they may be dining out somewhere more moderately priced.”
“I think the fast food and fast casual segments have seen an increase in business in the past year,” Rufty said. “Probably, the biggest effect has been on the restaurants you go to dine versus the ones you go to eat. People are eating more casual.”
In addition to the challenges posed by the economy, summer is also the slow season for many restaurants, according to Chris Kamilaris, owner of Georgio’s Café International.

Chris Kamilaris is owner of Georgio’s Café International.

“June, July and August are our slow months,” Kamilaris said.
“The economy is not helping very much, especially in Toledo with the unemployment rising so high. It came on at the worst time; the time of the year that is slow anyway.”
But with a strong start to the year and a loyal customer base at lunchtime, Georgio’s is on track to break even with last year.
Unfortunately, mom and pop restaurants are among those most hurt by this downturn. Rufty has done consulting work for many people who were not in the restaurant business, but thought it would be fun to open a restaurant.
“It’s a very tough industry. When you mix that in with tough economic times, those who aren’t based and experienced in this industry are not able to weather it,” Rufty said.
But while it may seem that a lot of restaurants are closing, “the names that Toledoans are familiar with are still flourishing,” he said. “Restaurant families that have been here and run successful restaurants for a long time have experienced these ebbs and tides in the economy and they know they just need to make it through it.”
In his 23 years at Georgio’s, and 33 in the restaurant industry, Kamilaris has lived though his share of these cycles.
“You always go through good times and you always go through bad times. Back in 2001 was another crush. It was another cycle and that was eight years ago. It’s the same thing now,” he said.
“People come here for the food, the service and the ambience. And that’s what we’re known for. If you give the people what they want, they’ll come and find you,” Kamilaris said.
“Northwest Ohio has always been very supportive of its restaurants and we’ve got several families that have a long standing in our communities,” Rufty said.
“Those operators continue their course with their business plans,” he said. “This downturn will turn around like it’s done in past times. Those who have run their business on the steady course through good and bad times are the ones you continue to see flourish and will continue to flourish long into the future.”

One year after opening, the Hilton Garden Inn is so popular that brides need to book the facility 18 months in advance.
“We’re already booking into 2010 and 2011,” said Betsy Gavin, director of sales.
The Garden Inn in Levis Commons typically hosts two weddings per weekend, but has hosted four because of demand.
“We do all of our own catering from breakfast to lunch, dinner and reception menus,” Gavin said. “Our chef can even customize a menu for you and for the larger parties we’ll do tastings beforehand where the chef prepares the food and walks you through it.”
The ballroom is 10,000 square feet and, depending on the style of seating, can accommodate from 600 up to 1,000 people. The ballroom also can be broken down into thirds for smaller events and seminars, such as corporate meetings, conventions, social events and fundraisers, while the facility also has smaller break-off rooms for more intimate functions.
A patio off of the ballroom serves as an area for cocktails and appetizers, for use before the reception begins. A separate entrance allows guests to enter directly into the hall rather than walking through the hotel. Parking is free and plentiful because of proximity to Levis Commons.
When designing the ballroom, the Hilton took into account the history of Toledo and the culture it represented.
“When you walk into the ballroom, there’s a lot of glass art since we’re in the Glass City,” Gavin said. “Our designer commissioned work from a lot of local artists.”
The all-inclusive wedding package includes a champagne toast, four hours of an open bar, a cheese and vegetable display, a choice of entrée, a complimentary wedding cake (courtesy of Wixey Bakery), after-dinner coffee services (courtesy of Starbucks), over-night accommodations for the bride and groom, special guest rates for out-of-town guests and free parking.
Plated dinners range from $53.95 to $68.95 per plate, depending on the choice of entrée.
“We have 184 guest rooms here at the Hilton, and typically, the party stays here,” Gavin said.
It doesn’t end after the wedding night, though — the Hilton Garden Inn follows up a year later with their brides and grooms and provides them with a complimentary one-year anniversary overnight stay with breakfast.