Celebrity wait nights offer nonprofit organizations a unique and fun way to raise money.
For an evening, local restaurants give charities a portion of the night’s sales or gratuity, while the nonprofit organizations provide “celebrities” to help serve meals. Celebrities can include news anchors, politicians or college leaders, as well as an organization’s members.
The celebrities sell tickets to their friends and family so they can enjoy a night on the town and support a good cause.
“Part of the fun in coming is, let’s say you happen to be the celebrity, your friends and family sit in your section so they can give you a hard time,” said Kelly Becker, general manager of the Real Seafood Co., which hosts celebrity waiter nights.

Moussa Salloukh

Each celebrity is paired with a waiter or waitress and doesn’t technically serve, but is still assisting, Becker said.
“Celebrity wait nights are social and it helps us fund our service projects,” said Lucy Abu-Absi, past president of the Toledo Christ Child Society, which started celebrity wait nights in the area several years ago.
“This is one of our most important fundraisers and it’s also an opportunity to let people who attend know what it is that we do,” she said.
During its past celebrity wait night, more than $30,000 was raised for the Christ Child Society’s different projects, Abu-Absi said. The organization sold out both Real Seafood and Zia’s.
Celebrity wait nights take the pressure off of the charity to select a venue or finding volunteers for setup; all the organization needs to do is ask people to come out, Becker said. Typically, the nonprofits end up selling out the entire restaurant, she said.
La Scola Italian Grill co-owner Moussa Salloukh said his restaurant has hosted a few celebrity wait nights since its opening and the nights usually sell out as well.
“It’s been real positive,” he said.
Bethany House, a long-term transitional house for battered women and children, had its first celebrity wait night at La Scola in February.
“We were very pleased for our first time around,” said Kim Marion, Bethany House board member. “It was very positive. We raised a lot of money and the people in attendance had a lot of fun, too.”
The Bethany House raised roughly $11,000 during its celebrity wait night and will be hosting one in the future, Marion said.
At the Real Seafood, charities receive all gratuities during its wait night, Becker said. Zia’s, which is owned by the same company of Real Seafood Co., participates in celebrity wait nights as well.
At La Scola, a charity usually receives 10 percent of sales for the evening, Salloukh said. Salloukh, who is also a co-owner of Hungry I, said eventually the Hungry I will host celebrity wait nights.

When it comes to variety in dining, look no further than college towns.  With late night choices in the downtown area and restaurants that have served the city for decades, Bowling Green is no exception.
Campus Pollyeyes on East Court Street was established in 1978.  Originally a pizza pub, Campus Pollyeyes is now known around town for their “world famous stuffed breadsticks.”  With the stuffed breadsticks, customers can choose from almost any combination of meats and cheese and other pizza toppings.
Manager Dean Smith said the stuffed breadsticks have become the bulk of the business at Pollyeyes.
“Chicken and cheese is by far our most popular kind,” he said.
Smith said what makes the breadsticks “world famous” is the fact that the restaurant has actually shipped its breadsticks out of the country, as well as to other parts of the United State. The breadsticks’ reputation has spread by word of mouth.
Smith said Pollyeyes also seems to be a Bowling Green State University  alumni favorite when they come into town.
“Not a day goes by where we don’t have alumni in here asking for the breadsticks,” he said.
“I guess you haven’t really experienced BG until you come to Pollyeyes,” he said.  “You come for the education, you come back for the breadsticks.”
Campus Pollyeyes delivers and is open until midnight on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends.
Just down the street from Pollyeyes is the small sub shop Mr. Spots that has been serving BG since 1986.  “Spots” is famous for its Philadelphia-style steak sandwiches, but also serves a variety of hoagies made from authentic Italian meats and cheeses.
Owner Jim Gavarone started Mr. Spots with his friend Jim Kelley after he finished school at BGSU 25 years ago. After Kelley left in 1992, Gavarone continued running his business and even set up another location in Ann Arbor, Mich.
A native of Philadelphia, Gavarone said lots of ideas for his food come from his hometown.  But he said sometimes it’s difficult to appeal to new students coming into town who may be reluctant to try local restaurants, especially for subs.
“A lot of times, kids will come into town and if they want sandwiches, they will just think about places like Subway,” he said.  “It’s harder to get into the minds of incoming students.
“I think our authenticity is what sets us apart,” he said.
Gavarone also said he owes a lot to his staff and the people he works with keep Mr. Spots going.  Mr. Spots has free delivery and is open late throughout the week.
Farther down on the corner of East Court Street and North Main Street is Corner Grill.  Corner Grill is a 1950s-style diner that has been open for 45 years. Since opening, the diner has been a favorite of downtown BG regulars who come to enjoy breakfast or burgers.  Corner Grill is open 24 hours, except Sunday nights when it closes at 2 a.m.
Larry Cain is the fourth owner of Corner Grill since taking control in 2004.  He said the diner gets lots of business between midnight and 6 a.m. throughout the week and always has a huge crowd after the bars close at 2:30 a.m. on the weekends.
“Burgers and fries is the most popular thing on the menu,” he said. “Almost everything is made from scratch.”
Cain said Corner Grill is unique because of the look and the atmosphere of the diner.
“It’s the type of place you don’t see very often anymore,” he said.
Cain hopes to pass ownership of the Corner Grill on to his daughter and son-in-law.
Directly across from Corner Grill on the west side of Main Street is Pisanello’s Pizza.  Pisanello’s has been in town since 1964 at the same location.  It started when owner Jerry Liss moved the name Pisanello’s to Bowling Green after working at another pizza shop of the same name at Kent State University.
Liss said he wanted to start a pizza shop somewhere in the Midwestern part of the state and ended up in BG.  He said it seemed like a good location, being a college town, and would be good for deliveries.  He also said there were only two other pizza places in town at the time.
“This was back in the days when pizza wasn’t known as a main course food yet, but more like a snack,” he said.
Since then, Pisanello’s has earned a reputation of having some of the best pizza in town. It has been voted best pizza in Wood County 12 years in a row by the Sentinel Tribune and the Wood County Fair.
Liss said one of the reasons Pisanello’s continues to do well is because it has friendly competitors in town.  Jerry’s daughter Miranda, who operates Pisanello’s, said the restaurant gets great business from the campus, but also has a huge following from the city as well. “Business really doesn’t even slow down in the summer either,” she said.
Pisanello’s delivers for free and opens weekdays at 4 p.m.

For just a second, Mike Minger thought, “Not again.” Then, he felt calm. “I knew it was her time.” And it was.
His daughter, Becky Minger, had finally won Miss Ohio on her fifth trip to the state pageant. She beat out 25 contestants to win the title. She was no longer only so close.
The first time she competed in 2006, she was first runner-up. The next year, she didn’t place at all. In 2008 and 2009, she was again first runner-up.
In the moments before the first runner-up was named, Becky looked out to her family and said, “I love you.” Then, she thought, “Hit me with it.”
As seconds felt like hours, a chant began to run through her mind, “Please don’t say 18; please don’t say 18. I love Shannon, but please don’t say 18.”
And no one did, which meant contestant No. 12, Shannon O’Neill, was first runner-up and she — contestant 18 — was going to Miss America.
Most exciting for Becky is that Miss America is back on network television and will air live Jan. 15 on ABC from Las Vegas.
“I think a lot of people have forgotten about Miss America,” Becky said. “Miss America is all about tradition; it is the original reality show. To be able to bring it back to Ohio and to be able to come home and say that Miss America is from the Toledo and Sylvania area would be really cool.”
Ohio hasn’t won Miss America since Susan Perkins, Miss Ohio in 1978.
Perkins, now Perkins Botsford, offered some advice for Becky, not as a former Miss America, but as a mother of a 22-year-old daughter.
“She should be well-read and well-informed with regard to what is happening in our country and the world today,” Perkins Botsford said in an e-mail to Toledo Free Press. “If her mindset is that she is competing with herself to do her best job in every aspect of the competition then she will truly enjoy and benefit from the experience whatever the outcome.”
The former Miss America sends her best wishes to Minger.

Minger wins the 2010 Miss Ohio crown.

“Ohio is overdue for another Miss America and I am hoping that 2011 will be our year!”
Platform
Becky enjoys when her crown brings her back home. She likes to support local businesses, in particular when it comes to eating.  During visits, it is Greek salad, gyros and pepperoni pizza from J&G Pizza Palace and a toasted bagel with vegetable ranch cream cheese and honey turkey from Barry Bagels. She got her first Mud Hens cap when she went to see Crystal Bowersox perform in May. Becky relates to the “American Idol” runner-up.
“We are doing it for Toledo this year. Toledo is back on the map,” Becky said.
Becky, 22, has been traveling throughout the state making appearances and promoting her platform since becoming Miss Ohio on June 19. Every contestant who competes in the Miss America system adopts a cause.
Her platform is “Discovering You, Empowering You: A Movement for Youth Development.”  It has four main points: building and utilizing a healthy self-image, respecting yourself and others, setting goals and recognizing avenues of support.  She has written a curriculum that was adopted by the YMCA of Greater Toledo and several schools.
Becky relates to her platform. Growing up with attention-deficit disorder (ADD), Becky was slower in school and her classmates knew it. She couldn’t concentrate and homework was hard for her. When her classmates went to recess, she had to stay inside and work on her homework. When they left for the day, she had to stay after with the teacher.
“I cannot say it was severe bullying, but those are things that stick with you,” she said. “I guess I didn’t realize it was happening while I was in the situation.”
Becky took medication until she graduated from Northview High School and started at Bowling Green State University.
“You don’t really overcome a disability; you find different ways to cope with it,” she said. “I don’t really notice it a lot anymore because it has become so much a part of who I am and how I deal with issues and things.”
Her father said ADD affected her social skills.
“We always knew she was a bright girl, but she was easily distracted,” he said. “Her mother helped her with homework to keep her focused. They spent hours and hours fighting through it and getting Becky to the end line.”
By the time she was in high school, Becky was getting noticed. Goodbye glasses and braces, hello choir and school musicals.
Journey to the crown
Becky’s involvement in pageantry began in her teens. A school counselor suggested looking into Miss Teen USA, which her parents weren’t happy about. Not only did it cost money to participate, but the Donald Trump pageant focuses on modeling.
Becky ignored her parents and forged ahead to raise the money. She placed third out of 87 contestants.
In college, a friend convinced her to try the Miss America program, which is free and gives out scholarship money. She went to the Miss Greater Dayton preliminary and won on the first try. Every girl who wins a preliminary goes on to compete in Miss Ohio. This year, Becky represented the Miss All-American City title at Miss Ohio. She has won more than $30,000 to date.
“We are looking forward to seeing her compete and hopefully take it all,” said Eric Wagener, pageant director for Miss All-American City, Miss Maumee Valley and Miss Fallen Timbers. “It is sort of exciting that one of the local people have won.”
Shannon O’Neill, who was first runner-up at Miss Ohio, said Becky is gracious and helpful. She was one of the first to welcome her when she started competing.
“Becky’s sincerity and her absolute drive set her apart,” she said. “There was nobody who was more prepared for the job of Miss Ohio than Becky. She sees this for what it is and is willing to put in the work.”
Becky said a lot of people don’t realize how much preparation goes into competing. Her wardrobe is donated, sponsored or paid for out-of-pocket. She has to stay fit for the swimsuit competition and be prepared for the backstage interview and onstage questions. She also has to rehearse her talent.
“The women who are involved in these programs are so driven and motivated and very intelligent,” she said. “I think a lot of people think, ‘Oh she is just a pageant girl and thinks world peace and rainbows all the time,’ but each of these women is driven to make a difference in their community.”
Becky said her job as Miss Ohio is sometimes exhausting, driving hours and hours each day. She rarely gets to see her boyfriend, a teacher in the Cleveland area, or her family. She mostly stays in hotels or with host families.
Most Miss Ohio winners take a year off of school or work, but since Becky had just graduated, the timing was perfect.
“She wanted the job and she was going after it with everything she had,” said her pageant chaperone Susie Harlan. “She is a very focused young woman. This program means a lot to her, not only the scholarship money, but she believes in the program and her platform.”
One of her favorite appearances was with the Special Olympics. She also enjoys working closely with the Thank You Foundation, which honors service members and veterans. One of the coolest events was the Dayton Air Show where she met the Blue Angels.
“It is very strange that people pay to see me or be near me,” she said, laughing. “I think the funniest thing is when you pull up and you have the crown on, and they are like, ‘You can park right in the front.’ I am like, ‘Yes, I love this job.’”

Minger won the 2009 Miss Ohio swimsuit competition (AP).

Miss America bound
Becky said the best preparation for the Miss America pageant is doing her job as Miss Ohio.
“I don’t want to worry myself over if Miss Texas is so beautiful or Miss Indiana has a great talent because I know what I can do,” she said. “There is no point being someone else because the judges could be looking for you.”
Miss Ohio executive director Steven Oliveri said Becky could break Ohio’s dry spell. Ohio has had six winners, which is the most ever, tied with Oklahoma and California.
“Becky has been in the system for five years now and each year you are in, you learn something new,” he said. “Her dedication, never giving up and her constant need to improve sets her apart.”
Becky’s favorite part of the pageant is the interview. She also enjoys the talent, even though that makes her most nervous. She worries about forgetting the words to her song or dropping the microphone. The song she will sing for Miss America has not been announced yet.
The most nerve-wracking part of the pageant is the onstage question.
“You never know what you are going to be asked. It is live … and you have that one 20-second time slot in front of everyone,” she said.
If pageantry has taught her anything, it’s speaking in front of crowds and going on the fly. Her degree in interpersonal communication helps, too.
Becky would one day like to attend law school and is considering a career in child advocacy. But for now, she only has one job on her mind.
“I don’t feel pressure, but I really want to be Miss America,” she said. “Not just because it would be awesome, but to have that kind of reach to work with my platform across the country, to promote organizations like the Thank You Foundation — but also to bring it home, to represent Ohio and to finally bring Miss America back to Ohio.”

While The Blarney Irish Pub in Downtown Toledo may be known for its late-night shenanigans and rollicking good times, employees work all day to keep the restaurant humming.
Ed Beczynski opened The Blarney three years ago, adding it to his repertoire of businesses, which include Focaccia’s Deli, Mo Joe’s and recently The Blarney Bullpen. He traveled to Ireland and conducted research in 35 different pubs. After his trip, Beczynski came up with a resounding conclusion.
“Anyone can sell a Guinness,” Beczynski said. “The service was unbelievable in Ireland, and that’s the most difficult thing to copy: Hospitality. People want to feel at home.”
Beczynski wakes up at 5 a.m. every day so he can be at Focaccia’s at 6 a.m., which does a steady breakfast and lunch business. After that, he heads to The Blarney and sometimes ends up staying late into the night.
Beczynski said people usually don’t think about all the hours that go into owning a business day after day; very few people get that experience.
Morning prep
Activity at The Blarney begins around 8 a.m. Instead of cleaning after the bar closes and making the staff stay into the wee hours of the morning, one employee does the dirty work in the morning. Depending on how messy things got the night before, it could take him anywhere from one to three hours. On Aug. 24, things were relatively easy: everything was done by 9:30 a.m.
Around that time, kitchen manager Danny Rall and cook Dillon Mitchell are in the kitchen.
They begin slicing tomatoes and stocking fresh ingredients for the multitude of salads and sandwiches on The Blarney’s menu. Things are quiet in the small kitchen, which consists of a stove, fryer and freezer on one wall. Two steps backward on the other wall is a salad bar and prep table, with the ice machine sandwiched into the corner.
A new cook, Mario Arroyo, shows up for his first day. Handed an apron and a pair of gloves, Arroyo is thrown right in. He acquaints himself with the location of all the ingredients and scans the menu. Mitchell shows him the ropes, restocking the 15-odd salad dressings.

Bags of fries are loaded into the freezer, along with mozzarella sticks. Rall slices up six large onions and sautés them in oil on the grill, the sizzling adding a friendly noise to the kitchen.
“This is a really good job,” Mitchell said to Arroyo as they make small talk during the salad prep. “It gets a little like a factory sometimes.”
The morning dishwasher, Jake Morse, drifts into the kitchen to take care of whatever dishes are left from the previous night’s late-night diners.
Handfuls of tortilla chips go into the fryer and emerge a crispy golden brown. Potato chips follow. Bacon is fried, burgers are shaped. A pan of mushrooms waits to be cooked.
Meanwhile, Manager AJ Smith preps the liquor order at the bar. Smith said it goes through Irish whiskeys the most, especially Jameson and Bushmills, as well as Grey Goose for martinis. Naturally, Guinness is the bestselling beer.
“We go through three kegs a week,” Smith said. “That’s 200 beers a keg.”
Smith, who has worked at The Blarney since its opening, said there’s a solid lunch rush from noon to 1 p.m. and that “Game days are a pretty solid rush, especially since Tuesdays are usually not busy.
“Late nights are when crazy things happen,” Smith said.
Fifteen minutes before The Blarney opens, servers Dennis Kennedy and Julie Birmingham arrive, as well as bartender Jamie Keblesh. Keblesh stocks ice at the bar as Kennedy and Birmingham roll silverware. Another cook, Chris Rogers appears in the kitchen.
A man walks in and seats himself at the end of the bar, near the kitchen.
Everyone says hi to the man, who turns out to be Jerry Crandell from the produce shop next door where The Blarney gets its fresh goods.
Crandell works the night shift and comes in for a drink after he gets off work, usually around 10:30 a.m. Crandell said he likes the different groups and crowds that come to The Blarney and often bounces back and forth between The Blarney and Pizza Papalis across the street.
“I enjoy talking to the employees — they know me. I really enjoy the people,” Crandell said.
Lunch
“Take a seat anywhere you like,” Keblesh calls to the first customers of the day, greeting them with a smile and a pair of menus.
Beczynski said that’s the most important thing he instills in his staff and works hard to maintain: a friendly, familiar atmosphere where everyone knows and talks to each other.
By noon, the noise has slowly accumulated to a mild chatter. The lunch traffic keeps the kitchen busy, but no one is stressed. The kitchen can handle this; it’s business as usual.
“This is probably one of the slowest few days we’ve had in a long time,” Smith said.
When a customer asks what Smith would recommend, Smith responds, “What’s your flavor?”
He suggests the chicken parmesan, but grilled instead of fried. The Blarney’s entrees vary and are usually between $8 to $9 in price. Not all are items specifically Irish; some are crowd-pleasing bar foods. Every day, The Blarney features a special soup.
Back in the kitchen, Rall takes the tickets as they stream out of the printer and hangs them on the counter in front of him, examining the names of the diners. Rall said sometimes there are names of customers and other times simply physical descriptions so servers know exactly who to give the food to. Rall said Mayor Mike Bell visits about once a month and always gets the same thing: cheddar sliders with bacon.
When it’s busy, Rogers said there’s a lot of yelling.
“Sundays and weekends, when it gets crazy, there’s yelling,” Rogers said. “‘Where’s my soup? Where’s my fries?’ But it’s really like family, when it’s slow everyone gets along.”
Rall makes an order of black and bleu chips — potato chips with bleu cheese melted on top. Burgers sizzle in the background, the grease catching fire as they’re flipped and sending up orange flashes.
“It’s a pretty small kitchen. Friday nights there’s four to five cooks back in the kitchen, but everything’s within reach,” Rogers said. “It’s like going over to a friend’s house and helping them cook. Even on the weekends, with everyone out front, it’s still like a big party.”
Dead time
On this day, The Blarney is eerily quiet by 1:45 p.m., when the lunch rush is finished. The two servers have already left and Arroyo and Rall get ready to go home.
Arroyo said his impression of his first day was good: “I like it already. It’s a good atmosphere.”
Keblesh, Rogers and Smith are left to cover the dead time until the dinner rush starts again. Rogers makes salsa for the evening’s dishes, throwing tomatoes and onions into a food processor. Manning the kitchen alone, he makes the orders as they slowly flow in. Burgers and sandwiches get a pickle spear and chips or fries. Occasionally, a traditional shepherd’s pie comes through the kitchen or large lunch salad.
Smith chats with customers and Keblesh controls the dining room and bar until the next shift of employees arrives at 4:45 p.m. She hovers, greeting customers with a smile and a coaster when they sit down at the bar.
‘It’s about to get crazy’
At around 3:30 p.m., people slowly begin showing up to prepare for the for the 6:30 p.m. Mud Hens game. Four people are seated at the end of the bar, chatting in couples: a prelude to the ruckus of busy times.
Beczynski comes in and has a brief meeting on the patio.
“It’s about to get crazy,” Rogers said, getting his kitchen ready for the dinner rush and night staff.
Thomas Woronec, a night cook, comes in at 4:15 p.m. Rogers and Woronec start scooping side cups of sauce for the evening rush. The cooks are always doing something, using their downtime to get whatever they can ready for the busy times.
The kitchen stops serving food usually around 10 p.m. during the week, but stays open until 11 p.m. or midnight Friday through Sunday, depending on the crowd.
The noise of customers grows as fans stream in before the Mud Hens game. Keblesh and Smith are still alone in the front of the house. Keblesh works it like a pro, handing out menus, doling out drinks and taking orders. She takes a second to glance at the clock — customers come in by the minute. Can she make it to 4:45 p.m.?
Another dishwasher and cook come in at 5 p.m., and the three servers for the evening show up at once. Keblesh is relieved and breathes a quick sigh. They clock in, don their aprons and head out to take orders.
By 6 p.m., the patio outside is full. The dinner rush is under way and people are devouring fries, burgers and beer.
The Blarney remains open until 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 1 a.m. Thursdays and 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
In the morning, the cycle of cleaning and serving begins again.

Beer, food and TVs: Sports bars know exactly how to draw crowds in for football and hockey season. With the NFL season starting Sept. 9 and Walleye Hockey beginning the second week of October, pubs in Toledo have a busy schedule ahead of them.
For Toledo Players Sports Bar on Jefferson Avenue, which opened March 4, this is its first football and hockey season. Elicka Zieroff, owner of Players, can’t wait.
“Once the Downtown closes, it seems like it’s dead, at least Monday through Thursday,” Zieroff said. “With the Huntington Center across the street, I can’t wait for the sports arena to start up.”
Players will offer bucket specials and $2 domestic bottles during Walleye game nights. The first week of September Players will offer buy-one-get-one starters, Zieroff said.
Zieroff said she has been paying attention to the NFL Sunday Ticket to anticipate the big games. Jim Manley, marketing director for Fricker’s USA, also mentioned this tactic. Fricker’s is celebrating its 25th year of business.
“We’ve got the NFL Sunday Ticket — there are no blackouts. We’re able to carry every game,” Manley said.
With a minimum of 20 TVs in each restaurant, Fricker’s has invested a lot of money in its hardware. Manley said several Fricker’s locations recently upgraded its TVs, using a starting budget of $300,000.
“Football is extraordinarily popular in our stores with all of the TVs,” Manley said. “We are the place for football.”
In addition to making sure Fricker’s shows professional and college games, Fricker’s offers a different food special every day, according to Manley. Fricker’s has three locations in Toledo.
“We’ve worked very, very hard to keep our bottom line low. With back to school time, people don’t have the monetary ends to pay high prices,” Manley said. “Maumee has had dollar domestic beer for years.”
Parkway Sports Bar in Maumee is gearing up for the football crowd with new daily deals on beer and food. Specials include dollar margaritas on taco nights, pitcher discounts and $10 steak dinners on Thursdays, according to General Manager Zee Lewis.
“This is definitely a football bar,” Lewis said. “The previous owner’s son played for OSU, Dane Sanzenbacher. So there are a lot of big Ohio State fans in this place.”
Besides a loyal Ohio State fan base, Parkway has a strong Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns following.
“We usually have a lot of the same customers, but a lot of new people come in once they get to know the specials,” Lewis said.
Parkway has a big screen TV, as well as six other TVs throughout the bar. Its biggest event of the year is the OSU-Michigan game, when it has a large buffet potluck of hot dogs and hamburgers, Lewis said.

Editor’s note: Toledo Free Press will follow the Blank family of Millbury for the next year as they rebuild their lives after a June 5 tornado destroyed their Main Street home.

The Blanks could be home by Christmas.
Mark Rigg of Rigg Restoration said construction on the family’s new house began Aug. 16. Since then, “we got the new footers poured and we got the foundation repaired from the tornado damage,” he said.
Rigg expects construction to take four months, which includes rebuilding a slightly larger house with a more spacious kitchen and a room above the garage. Other than that, the house will have similar features to the one destroyed in the tornado, including the in-ground pool that was used just hours before the storm.
If all goes according to schedule, “hopefully, we will have them in for Christmas,” Rigg said.
Meanwhile, the latest angel in their lives is their family doctor and friend, Kristi Sigler. The family is living in the Lake alumna’s condo in Oregon.
Ed Blank said Sigler had already moved out because she had built a new home and was trying to sell the condo when the tornado occurred June 5. When the Blanks moved into the condo the first week of August, it still had the for-sale sign in the window. Sigler did not return a call for comment.
“I hope it is off the market. The sign is in the front window,” Ed said, recalling his reaction to the sign.
“Wait, the realtor took the sign out today. It is temporarily off the market,” he said, laughing.
Up until a few weeks ago, the Blanks were living with family friends, Steve and Becci Bihn. Despite the offer to live in the condo immediately after the tornado, the Blanks wanted to stay where they had beds and kitchen supplies. They wanted to see how the insurance process would work and what would be replaced.
Ed said having the condo is nice, but they miss the Bihns. In fact, they have missed them so much that when Ed went to a golf tournament, his wife, Julie, and son, Casey, went back to stay with the Bihns.
“It does feel nice to have our own space, even though we have a little bit of empty nest syndrome,” Ed said.
Despite having their own space again, the Blanks are sparingly decorating the condo. They said they don’t want to move all of the items that survived the storm until they have their new house.
“We moved things from people’s barns and ended up getting a storage unit for some of the stuff we didn’t want to have at the condo,” he said.
The one downside to the condo is its location in Oregon, which is outside of Lake Local School district. This means that son, Casey, does not get bus transportation to the temporary high school in Northwood. The sophomore turned 15 a few days after the tornado. Plus, Casey is involved in after school activities, including golf, which might lead to more transportation needs, according to Ed. School starts on Aug. 26.
“There will be a lot of running, but that is fine” Ed said.

Have you heard about the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett Giving Pledge? They are challenging their fellow billionaires to pledge half of their wealth to charity. In little time, the two men have convinced  38 of those listed on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans to make that pledge.
The story goes that in May 2009, Gates and Buffett hosted a dinner that featured the world’s elite, at which time they presented the idea of the Giving Pledge. While we can appreciate their efforts, giving money to charities is not the main point here. As Mr. Buffett said “At its core, the Giving Pledge is about asking wealthy families to have important conversations about their wealth and how it will be used.”
Their actions set an example for those of more modest means to make more donations. “By giving, we inspire others to give of themselves, whether their money or their time,” said Michael Bloomberg, New York’s mayor, who was in attendance at the dinner, among others.
Most of the rich today are self-made, and did not inherit wealth as many think. They understand what it means to start with a little and turn it into a lot. Many presented with the Giving Pledge challenge had already planned to give large amounts of their wealth to charity.
But this pledge also takes giving one step further — to encourage this group to start giving while they are alive, and to exercise their knowledge and the combined strength of their giving to make a difference today.
It is also a call for collaboration by this group to bring the transforming power of philanthropy to our communities. In fact, this pledge in many respects can be used as a definition of the “Community Foundation.” Give now and at your death in collaboration with others to make the community better for everyone.
We should not allow this question to be asked just of the billionaires. Each of us should ask, “How much is enough?” and “How can we help through our giving?”  Peter Peterson, one of the pledge signers and co-founder of The Blackstone Group, penned the question: “Why let the billionaires have all the fun?”
With several studies showing charitable giving down over the past several years, it is time for us to act like or better than the billionaires and join by giving, creating philanthropy that will support our community today and into the future.
You don’t have to be Gates or Buffett to make a difference. Toledo Community Foundation has assisted your community for more than 35 years by promoting and expanding philanthropy, and has built a permanent source of funds to meet present and future community needs. One of the ways we accomplish our mission by providing tailored services to help individuals, families and businesses accomplish their charitable objectives conveniently, effectively and with maximum tax benefits. Whatever your philanthropic passion, Toledo Community Foundation can help you design your own giving plan.
So billionaires, feel free to jump on the Gates/Buffett bandwagon.  All others, set up a charitable fund with Toledo Community Foundation and get the expert advice and support the billionaires get!  Contact Toledo Community Foundation at (419) 241-5049 or visit www.toledocf.org.

Keith Burwell is president of the Toledo Community Foundation.

Maumee Valley Country Day School (MVCDS) is undergoing its largest expansion to date by adding $15 million in construction projects to its 75 acre campus.
In addition to building a new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified (LEED) high school, MVCDS is renovating its preschool and connecting it to the dining hall as a part of the “Under One Roof” campaign.
Head of School Gary Boehm said the old high school was too cramped for the school’s needs.
“The renovation costs were going to be several million dollars and we weren’t going to have the building we wanted,” Boehm said. “This is going to feel so much more relaxed to live in. It’s really going to transform the campus.”

Head of School Gary Boehm in a future auditorium at Maumee Valley Country Day School.

The new $8.3 million high school is equipped with Wi-Fi and will include 16 classrooms, each with a SMART Board and projector. The school also houses a digital media center with a sound recording booth, greenhouse space, science labs, administrative offices, communal faculty offices, common space and lounges.
“Even though this building is 9,000 square feet larger than the existing building, it did not have air conditioning. This building will have air conditioning but will cost no more to heat or cool,” Boehm said.
Scheduled to be completed in November, the high school will be one of the first such facilities in the area to be LEED certified. Installing low-energy light fixtures, using low-smelling paint and adhesives, avoiding carpet glue with finished concrete floors, recycling construction debris and re-using materials from the existing high school are all strategies MVCDS is using to gain additional LEED points, according to Joe Swint, senior project manager for Bostleman Construction.
The new high school will connect to the existing gym, middle school and dining hall. With the addition of a connecting building between the dining hall and the Smead preschool building, MVCDS will finally be under one roof.
“We’ve got our littlest kids in the Smead Building that need to go over to use the other building,” Boehm said. “The teachers had to bundle them up two or three times a day to travel back and forth between the buildings. There were piles of coats all over the place.”
MVCDS serves approximately 500 students from preschool to high school. The school’s philosophy of learning by discovery and the open classroom system used with the younger grades is reflected in the new high school.

A warning bell went off recently on Wall Street that is spreading around the investment community faster than a viral video on YouTube. It is called the Hindenburg Omen and it is a technical indicator that says the stock market could be headed for more losses in the near future. The reason is a large percentage of stocks have reached a new 52-week high, along with a large percentage of stocks at the same time reaching a new 52-week low. The omen points out that the stock market is divided as to which direction to head in the near future. The stock market is at a tipping point. This year, the overall stock market has been stuck and hasn’t really gone anywhere. Yet we have four ways and one easy solution to deal with the Hindenburg Omen.
No. 1: Get your emotions in check. According to the recent Country Financial Security Index, only 39 percent of people rate their overall financial security as good or excellent. The less confident investors are about their current plan, the more their emotions can get involved and drive their investment decisions. Emotional investing can be dangerous. Avoid the urge to buy or sell based upon one report or indicator. Instead, focus on the trends. Make decisions based upon as many facts as possible.
No. 2: Have an exit plan in place. Both of Nolan’s children’s bedrooms are on the second floor.  Time and time again, they have practiced a fire drill so they know the exit plan if the house catches on fire.  For more safety, we have smoke detectors, added fire extinguishers throughout the house, and have a backup plan in case they can’t get down the stairs.  Yet, most investors we meet with don’t have a preplanned exit plan in place when it comes to their investments. This can be done by figuring out what the maximum loss your investment account could have had in the past 10 years. This is known as the maximum draw down of an account. Once you review the maximum draw down, if it is too risky for you, develop a new exit plan or add additional safety nets to the current plan.
No. 3: Focus on continued growth. For many retirees, protecting what they have and providing security for the future is the top goal. That is why we ranked safety as the No. 2 tip. Yet, have a growth plan in place for the future to fight off inflation, rising medical costs or unexpected needs that will come up.  It may feel good short term to move all of the money to a safe fixed account, but is that really a good strategy long term? The answer is it depends. If an investor has nearly unlimited resources, then the safer the better. Yet, many people need to realize that once taxes and inflation are considered, most 100 percent safe investments are still going backwards because they are losing purchasing power. Just because the Hindenburg Omen indicates warnings ahead doesn’t mean an investor needs to abandon their strategies and get out.  If the house isn’t on fire, don’t jump out the window —  just be prepared.
No. 4: Diversify strategies to generate cash flow in a flat market. This becomes even more important for retirees as the need for current income off of their investments becomes a higher priority. Diversification is a strategy that doesn’t guarantee against loss, but it can help reduce risk. Our philosophy is that diversification goes beyond the traditional investment approach and means an investor should diversify among investment strategies. For example, having six different investments that all perform pretty much the same isn’t what we consider true diversification. Adding in a cash flow strategy can be a way to help keep things moving in the right direction and can compliment other investment approaches.
The Retirement Guys believe that implementing each one of these strategies can have a positive impact on an investor’s game plan. As we always say, we are all about information. But as others point out, it is what is done with that information that determines the success of the plan. For more great tips and a 24-point checklist on getting educated about your individual investment plan, order a complimentary copy of our Investor’s Repair Kit online at www.RetirementGuysNetwork.com. Just click on the “Free Reports” tab.

For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at 1 p.m. on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysradio.com. Securities are offered through NEXT Financial Group Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC.  The Retirement Guys are not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group. The office is at 1700 Woodlands Drive, Suite 100, Maumee, OH 43537.

Ohio State football announced recently that it will play the University of Colorado in Columbus during the 2011 season. It seems a little late for OSU to finalize next year’s schedule, doesn’t it? Usually its nonconference meetings are scheduled a few years in advance, like a posh restaurant.
In five-star eating establishments, the patrons are waited on, pampered and given an expensive bill. Coming to Ohio State on a Saturday afternoon, however, is quite the opposite. The visiting team is given a large wad of money and all it has to do is get brutalized for four quarters. This is where UT and BGSU come in.
Last year, both the Rockets and Falcons were on the 2011 schedule. But almost without a whisper, BGSU released its list of future football opponents with a nondescript update on its website: “Ohio State has been removed from the 2011 schedule and replaced with West Virginia. A potential date is still being determined to play Ohio State (likely in 2014, 2016 or 2017).”
The moderator of the blog/message board AY-ZIGGY-ZOOMBA.com reached out to the BGSU athletic department but no one would comment on the reasons for the schedule switch. It was pointed out, however, that the payout for both games was the same (although not nearly as much as the $1.4 million Colorado’s getting for coming to Columbus as the sacrificial steak). And hey, maybe they can find cheaper hotels in Morgantown, too!
So that’s cool. The Falcons still get a marquee opponent next year. But West Virginia is not OSU. Toledoans don’t fawn over WV athletics. There are no “Buckeye & Wolverine & Mountaineer Shop” locations around here. So it’s a little disappointing, even if you ignore the silent announcement of this schedule change.
Because what’s the added advantage for OSU to play Colorado instead of BGSU? The Buffaloes may have a larger fanbase, but it’s way the heck out there in the mountains. Do they travel well? More to the point, will they travel better than the couple-of-hours trip down U.S. 23 that the Falcons faithful would drive? Is CU even that much of a better opponent?
CU coach Dan Hawkins, perhaps in a career decision on par with Shelley Long leaving “Cheers,” left Boise State to coach the Buffs in 2004. That was the year before the Broncos’ memorable Fiesta Bowl win against Oklahoma. As a coach in Colorado, Hawkins has a win-loss record of 16-33, or two more wins than Boise State had last year. What I’m trying to say is that the team is bad.
So other than being a Pac-10 opponent, what’s the allure? Why break one commitment with a geographically-sensible opponent to instead play, at best, someone marginally better?
In 2003, BGSU almost became the first school in Ohio since the Harding Administration to beat the Buckeyes in football. A score of 24-17 in favor of OSU was finalized on the Falcons’ last drive. In ’06, the score was slightly more comfortable for the scarlet and gray: 35-7. Such is the norm for the Buckeyes; it’s almost not September without a beatdown of someone within the state border. In fact, last year, the Rockets lost to OSU “at home” (Cleveland Browns Stadium) 38-0, and some thought beforehand they just might be able to pull off the upset. After all, a week before that they laid 53 points on … guess who? Colorado.

Matt Sussman also blogs about Mid-American Conference athletics at www.hustlebelt.com.