After squandering a 13-point second half lead, the Rockets avoided the upset from Youngstown State on Dec. 17 pulling out an 86-77 victory.

Dominique Buckley

Toledo (7-3), which led by just one at 56-55 with 10 minutes remaining, reeled off 12 unanswered points to pull away from the Penguins (6-4) and break a two-game losing streak.
“I think this is a really good win against a high powered offensive team in Youngstown State,” UT head coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “In the second half we came out sluggish and looked a bit tired at times. They got back in the game but our guys didn’t panic. The lead got down to [one] and went back up to 13 just like that, which is a good sign of maturity.”
The Rockets were led offensively by junior guard Dominique Buckley, who tied a career-high with 21 points (5 of 9) and made 8-of-9 free throws.
Freshman point guard Juice Brown scored 15 points (4 of 10) and dished out a game-high seven assists. Sophomore forward DeLino Dear had 13 points (6 of 7) off the bench while leading scorer and rebounder Rian Pearson had 12 points and five boards, both below his average of 17 and eight, respectively.
Sophomore guard Reese Holliday scored eight points (2 of 6) and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds.
Toledo also got a boost offensively from the debut of New Mexico transfer Curtis Dennis, who was eligible for the first time this season after sitting out due to NCAA transfer rules. Dennis scored nine points on 3-of-9 shooting, and had six rebounds and five assists.
“It’s just nice to have another guy out there,” Kowalczyk said. “It is going to be a work in progress for him. He has been sitting for a year. It was a good first start for a guy who is a pretty good player.”
Toledo will finish up its four-game homestand by hosting Norfolk State (7-4) on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. in Savage Arena.

UT head coach Matt Campbell and athletic director Mike O'Brien

New Toledo head coach Matt Campbell wasn’t only wanted by the Rockets.
After taking the head coaching job at Illinois, former UT coach Tim Beckman publicly recruited Campbell to come join him as the offensive coordinator in Champaign.
A person with knowledge of the situation said that Campbell turned down a financial offer similar to the $360,000 offer he received from the Rockets, but the Illinois offer was “a bit less.”
“My dream has been to be a head football coach,” Campbell said. “When you see this community, you are around the people in this community and around our kids there’s no question that this was a no doubt about it [job]. To have the opportunity for me, my wife and my little girls to stay home in the state of Ohio, this truly is home and was a no-brainer for me.”
Along with passing up a higher salary to join Beckman, multiple sources confirmed that Campbell also had received interest from Mid-American Conference opponent Akron in its head coaching search. Campbell denied having any conversations with the Zips.
The Rockets compete in the Military Bowl against Air Force on Dec. 28 at 4:30 p.m. in Washington D.C.
Editor’s Note: This report previously stated incorrectly that Campbell’s salary offered by Illinois was $800,000 per year. We apologize for the error.

From left, Dan Molls, Malcolm Riley and Mark Singer play Jenga with a patient at Toledo Children's Hospital.

Before their matchup in the Military Bowl against Air Force on Dec. 28, members of the UT football team traveled to the Toledo Children’s Hospital to help celebrate the holidays with sick children.
“It is an amazing opportunity and have a chance to give back to our community,” Toledo Head Coach Matt Campbell said. “It’s great for our players to be around these young guys who look up to them and make a difference in somebody’s life.”
“It’s very exciting to come out and give back to the community and these kids,” junior linebacker Dan Molls said. “Just looking at them and seeing them smile, it’s truly a blessing to be here.”
The Rockets distributed products to the children and signed autographs for all those who came into the room. They also toured the hospital, including the Intensive Care Unit, to meet with some of the kids.
“It’s humbling,” junior defensive end T.J. Fatinikun said. “We are all excited to be here because spending Christmas in a hospital isn’t the best situation to be in. Being able to be here to give them some gifts and presents, you never realize how such a small thing can be such an impact to a kid who is going through a lot. That’s just a great feeling to bring happiness to them in this time.”

UT head coach Matt Campbell chats with a patient at Toledo Children's Hospital.

The players also participated in games with some of the kids including playing catch, air hockey, battleship and checkers. Molls, defensive tackle Malcolm Riley and safety Mark Singer participated with a child in two highly competitive games of Jenga.
“Dan’s not the softest-handed guy on the team when it comes to Jenga,” senior safety Mark Singer said. “He was pretty aggressive and we used that against him. He left the loser twice. It was fun.”
“I kind of took it personally,” Molls said. “Me and some of the guys are going to have to get into another game and hopefully I can get some vengeance.”

For more photos from the event, visit our Facebook page.

Northwest Ohio might soon become a hub for foreign investors looking to secure permanent residency in the United States.

The Regional Growth Partnership (RGP) confirmed it is working toward assembling an EB-5 Regional Center, which means that the area would serve as a springboard for new business development with the help of wealthy foreign individuals.

The RGP would not release any more details at this time.

Other areas in Ohio — Wooster, Cleveland, Greenville and Akron — have already taken advantage of the program, which began in the 1990s. Such a center allows financial growth agencies to contract with foreign investors in exchange for green cards and eventually an easier path to U.S. citizenship. There are a little more than 200 nationally as listed on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

To become a Regional Center, the application must provide a detailed proposal explaining how a business project would stimulate the regional economy and how jobs would develop, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

If all goes smoothly, immigrants benefit from a fast-track to citizenship. To qualify, the foreign investor must commit $1 million to a specific business project. The bar is lowered to $500,000 in areas where unemployment is 1.5 times the national average. In two years time, the foreign national must prove to the government that the investment created 10 jobs either directly or indirectly, said Marilu Cabrera, a spokesperson for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

EB-5 visas have existed for about 20 years but the popularity of the program has only recently gained speed. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services fielded at least 1,955 project applications in 2010. Less than 800 bids were made three years prior.

The majority of foreign nationals who apply are Chinese citizens, followed by Russians and a sizable number from South Korea, said Kate Kalmykov, a New York City-based lawyer who specializes in EB-5 cases.

A group of China-based investors known as Dashing Pacific has worked closely with Toledo Mayor Mike Bell’s administration to purchase such Downtown properties as The Docks and Marina District. A separate group of Chinese investors bought the Park Inn Hotel. Bell’s former deputy mayor, Dean Monske, is now head of the RGP.

The revelation of a whistle-blower suit filed against the Lucas County Board of Elections (BOE), combined with walkouts, drama and continuing stumbles, demands intervention from Ohio State Secretary of State Jon Husted.
Before the September primary and again before the November general election, Toledo Free Press urged Husted to end the chaos and establish stability in our local elections process. It is more clear by the day that the four men charged with operating the BOE are incapable of cooperation. The resignation of Director Ben Roberts, who proved incapable of calming the waters under his command, is another straw on a very weary camel’s back.
The whistle-blower suit filed by fired employees Dennis Lange and Kelly Mettler, which provides evidence of what they claim are at least 10 people involved in election and voter fraud, raises many questions.
Why didn’t the BOE further pursue what appears to be an organized effort to rig an election as current BOE member Jon Stainbrook ran for chairman of the county GOP?
Did the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office investigate the well-documented claims provided by Mettler and Lange in 2008 and 2010?
Why, according to the suit, did Husted’s office say it would not get involved in local personnel matters, then ignore the evidence Mettler and Lange provided and break the tie to fire them?
Stainbrook hinted during a Dec. 13 interview with Toledo Free Press that The Blade has known about the whistle-blower lawsuit but has chosen not to report it. The Blade tried to push away from Stainbrook in a Dec. 13 editorial that uses such descriptions as “inept” and contains the unflattering lines, “There is more to being party chairman than photo opportunities with state and national party dignitaries. … Mr. Stainbrook obviously enjoys the power and perks of being party chairman. But he also has to do the heavy lifting that’s necessary to make Republicans relevant in Lucas County.”
The Blade was a primary force in Stainbrook’s ascent, offering glowing profiles and Stainbrook-slanted news, while behind the scenes Stainbrook reportedly used his relationship with The Blade to threaten people in his grab for power. The Blade can try to distance itself now, but its role in creating the current political chaos must not be excused.
Again, we respectfully ask for and urge Husted to dismantle the BOE’s leadership and force a clean slate that can begin to rebuild confidence as we head into a presidential election year.
To repeat: If the Secretary of State’s office does not increase its oversight and guarantee the BOE can run an efficient and honest election, the resulting lack of confidence and potential legal issues will rest squarely on its shoulders. There will be scandal on a scale that makes the usual local political games look like preschool frolics, and Husted will carry direct responsibility.
If the chaos is allowed to continue, the only vote that will be believed is a resounding vote of no confidence in the process.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

It debuted in 1892, but Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” is a perfect interpretation of the 2011 Occupy movement.
The ballet begins in the home of an obvious pair of 1 percenters, The President and his Wife. These rich fat cats share the surname Silberhaus (which I assume would translate as “we live in a house made of silver” in some European language if I got around to looking it up) but are usually referred to simply as “the parents,” as they represent the faceless, nameless minority that enjoys wealth and opulence at the expense of the poor and downtrodden. The oblivious money-grubbers are in the middle of a lavish Christmas celebration, with piles of food and presents and decorations strewn about with careless, wasteful abandon. It is not written into the stage directions, but one can imagine a group of noble 99 percenters pressing their noses against The President’s window, snow slowly turning their clothes and hair to white as they shiver and shake with cold and hunger.

The President and his Wife have two children: Clara, who is also known by the religious-toned alias Marie, and her younger brother, Fritz. Clara is cut from pure 1 percenter cloth. She is dreamy, starry-eyed, fanciful and comfortable. Fritz may be born of 1 percenter parents, but his sprit is that of the revolutionary-minded 99 percent. He expresses his discomfort with his unfair advantages by acting out in a surly manner, pushing and prodding Clara to wake up and understand how their family’s wealth could be more fairly used by sharing it with the unfortunates looking in through the window.
At this point, the eye-patch-wearing Councilor Drosselmeyer arrives. He is the children’s godfather, an ominous title that in a criminal context matches his thuggish black Vaderesque cape and marching boots. Drosselmeyer represents the banking and financial wizardry employed by the 1 percenters to maintain control over the 99 percenters. He brings toys that symbolize working-class people — foolish harlequins and entertainers — that are forced to dance and jerk like puppets for the amusement of the rich and elite.
Drosselmeyer also brings a nutcracker, the literal interpretation of a common tool that serves a utilitarian function. It is cruel irony to use such a hardworking item as a mere amusement for rich children.
Fritz sees through Drosselmeyer’s mocking implementation of the nutcracker, and immediately wrests it from his spoiled princess sister. He defiantly throws it to the floor and breaks it, unapologetic for his illusion-shattering call to arms. Of course, he is whisked away by his authoritarian parents, undoubtedly to be punished for daring to break the conformity that protects his parents’ station in life.
Drosselmeyer, eager to keep Clara in her state of daydreaming, hurries to fix the wounded nutcracker. He encourages Clara to sleep, and while she does, he employs the warlock powers of the uber-rich to fix the nutcracker. Eager to ensure that Clara does not fall for her brother’s Occupy ideology, he sprinkles magic dust, a stand-in for money, to transport her to a fever dream accessible only by the most elite.
Clara awakens and seeks the nutcracker, while Drosselmeyer perches on top of a clock to watch her ease to her destiny.
At that moment, a group of 99 percenters, depicted as lowly mice, invades the house to rescue Clara. They bravely circle around her and try to explain the evils of money and the inherent unfairness in the system. Drosselmeyer quickly conjures an army of gingerbread soldiers, led by a brought-to-life Nutcracker, which proceeds to use Tasers and pepper spray on the mice to force them into submission. The noble and righteous Mouse King prepares to take on the elitist Nutcracker in a sword duel. But the spoiled and petulant Clara throws her undoubtedly soft-as-silk slipper at the Mouse King, distracting him long enough for the Nutcracker to fatally wound the People’s King.
As the 99 percenters mourn the loss of their leader, the Nutcracker is, of course, transformed into a Handsome Prince, a reward for protecting the corrupt status quo.
What follows is a harrowing orgy of over-the-top celebration and wasteful honoring, as the Handsome Prince escorts Clara to the exclusive, rich-only Land of the Sweets. A legion of patronizing sycophants greets them, fawning over their phony heroics in vanquishing those less equipped then themselves.
The Sugar Plum Fairy, who represents an acquiescent mainstream media, helps the Handsome Prince and Clara take their throne, then proceeds to exploit a number of cultures. The trio delight in the capitalistic ravaging of chocolate from Spain, coffee from Arabia, teas from China, candy canes from Russia, etc. In a travesty of societal stereotypes, a two-story-tall woman in a dress with enough fabric to clothe 40 1 percenters takes the stage, and a half-dozen children emerge from her dress. This mocks the notion that poor people produce children beyond their means to care for, in a cruel dance of welfare-state entitlement.
After this parade of contempt, Clara and the Handsome Prince are named rulers of the Land of the Sweets forever, creating another elite fiefdom and closing any opportunity for advancement for those not born into money and genetic advantage.
During this entire charade, no mention is made of Fritz; the true hero of “The Nutcracker” has been erased, a forgotten, silenced protestor relegated to the outside of the system, forever banished to the fate of the 99 percenters.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. His email is mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

Terrorists are attacking the city and all Jeri Kline can do is hole up in the studio and report the news as her relationship and the world around her come crashing down. This is the scenario faced in the film “The Closing Broadcast,” written, directed and produced by Owens Community College student Matthew Cooper.
The lead role of Jeri Kline is played by Bowling Green student Eli Brickey, who was excited about the Dec. 16 premiere at Owens.

Matthew Cooper

“I have never been to a premiere like this before and I am beyond excited,” Brickey said. “It is a completely different experience as far as theater goes. I cannot adapt or change anything about my acting like in theater and so it will be interesting to sit back and see our work from a few months ago.”
The idea for the film came to Cooper while shadowing his fiancée as she worked the overnight shift at 13abc.
“It was really dark,” Cooper said. “She was the only person in the building. There was no sound except the police scanners that were saying every horrible crime that was happening in the city. It had this really dour feeling to it. The original idea was, what if there was a zombie apocalypse and you don’t actually see anything happening. You’re hearing about it like a radio drama, hearing all these things take place and trying to have an impact on it when really you don’t have any ability to.”
Since Cooper was working on another sci-fi/horror project, he decided to take zombies out of the equation.
“I didn’t want to start off being seen as one type of filmmaker,” he said. “I decided to take it in the direction of more reality. I took away the zombie aspect and thought of what a plausible situation is that would be just as horrible. Ironically, when I was finishing the script, situations were occurring that are very close to the subject material. I was upset we couldn’t have the movie done and out right then.”
Cooper spent time at 13abc as a floor director and camera operator and used that experience when writing “The Closing Broadcast.”
“I was able to figure out the relationships, dynamic and politics of making the news and utilize that for the story,” he said. “I found the way the anchors worked with the producers so entertaining and unique.”

Cooper began making films in his early teens. This project was important to him because most of the cast was involved in a previous film called “Preliminary Testing,” which wasn’t completed due to personal reasons.
“To not be able to let them experience it going out there and people seeing them, I took that as a great personal failure,” Cooper said. “This was a chance to do something even bigger than that ever could have hoped to have been and give them something they can be proud of.”
The cast consists mostly of theater students and community actors including Brickey, Nicholas Anthony Corbin, William Toth, Heath Huber, James MacFarlane, Jordan Jarvis, Kari Duffy-Shrader and Casey Toney.
“I was really impressed with how professional the rest of the cast was,” Brickey said. “At the same time, they were all able to keep their sense of humor while shooting such intense scenes. I think this kept everyone grounded and we were all able to connect easily because of it.”
Brickey almost wasn’t part of the cast. After filming a trailer for the movie, the actress playing Jeri Kline had to drop out and recommended Brickey audition for the part.

“[Brickey] was very personable and showed us two great sides of her,” Cooper said. “She could be friendly but also very dramatic. She had this incredible monologue that showed how far she could take this character.”

“I remember sitting at home debating whether or not to drive to Owens to the audition and I am so thankful that I went for it because it was a wonderful and challenging experience,” Brickey said. “When Matt contacted me about being cast I was just so thrilled. I was filled with all these nerves about it, too, because I wanted to do the best that I could and I didn’t want to let the cast and crew down.”
Another late addition to the cast was Brickey’s boyfriend Casey Toney, who she recommended when another actor dropped out two weeks before they began shooting.
“The character had the information that pushed the story forward, and there wasn’t much more to him than that,” Cooper said. “Casey came in and brought this weight to it, like he was the only guy who understood what was going on and how bad it was. It totally changed the dynamic of the characters around him. We ended up changing the relationships of the characters to accommodate that. It took a fairly static character and made him one of the most powerful characters in the story.”
Cooper received $7,500 of funding from businessman Rich Iott and added $1,500 of his own money as well as various donations. He decided to spend $3,500 of the budget to rent a Red One camera for a week. It is the same camera used to shoot “The Social Network.” The two days it took to transport the camera left five days for filming the 45-minute movie. The setting of the film required them to shoot at night as they worked 12-14 hours each day.
“I am finding that I am falling more in love with the film aspect to performing,” Brickey said. “Film acting has its challenges, but I am learning more about it and it is so exciting. This project was different in the sense of the filming process. Since this film takes place during a third shift essentially, filming took place sometimes from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and that was the challenge I found, was staying on my toes for that long.”
Brickey also shadowed Cooper’s fiancée at 13abc for an evening.
“I am such a hands-on learner, so this allowed me to see and experience all the work that goes into just one evening of news,” Brickey said. “It was the best information I could have asked for as an actor and I got a deeper appreciation for those doing the behind the scenes work. I was able to experience that sense of isolation that those who regularly work third shifts might feel. That is what I love about acting, getting to see the world through a different lens and growing from that.”
Cooper said he was impressed with what Brickey brought to the role of Jeri Kline.
“She grounded that character in a way I didn’t anticipate,” he said. “When you look into her eyes in these really dramatic moments, there are so many layers going on at once with the hurt, the happiness and the anger. She could put those on top of each other, which is an incredibly hard thing to do at this stage in an acting career.”
“This was my first time working with Matt and it was really great because I could see the passion he had for this project and that was inspiring,” Brickey said. “It made me want to do the best that I could each time. He was so hands-on throughout the process rather than being passive, so it was nice to get the feedback from him and to apply it there and then. He really made sure that I had an understanding of all the scenes before we shot them and was so helpful if I had questions about anything.”
Cooper has written two books as well as several feature-length scripts and shorts, and said he works something personal into every project. For “The Closing Broadcast” it was his struggle to balance his career and a personal life with his fiancée.
“Every single one of them is me working out some sort of neurosis or some personal demon,” Cooper said. “A lot of times I don’t know what it is until I’m done. Writing is always very therapeutic for me. Film is at its strongest when it’s cathartic and gives people an emotional reaction they might not have in everyday life.”
Cooper plans to show the film in nine regional theaters and enter it in 12 festivals, but first it will debut at Owens, where most of the filming was done. The premier is Dec. 16 at 8 p.m. in the Owens Center for Fine and Performing Arts’ Mainstage Theatre. General admission tickets are available for $10 at the college’s box office.
“It’s a great moment for me, because I took acting classes at Owens,” Cooper said. “There was something about that space that just grabbed me and awoke something in me. I let everyone else leave in front of me. For a moment I was on the stage by myself. I looked out at all the seats and said to myself, ‘Someday I’m going to fill this place.’ This is my chance to make that happen.”

For as many years as I’ve heard it referenced, I never fully absorbed Francis Church’s “Yes, Virginia” editorial until recently. To me, it was just an accepted piece of the annual Christmas patchwork and didn’t seem to demand an understanding beyond such. As pop culture has begun to re-introduce it in a more thorough manner, however, I realize how true it continues to ring and how important it is to continue to embrace its sentiment.

“Your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds.”

While it has an ongoing reputation as a time of hope and faith, the holiday season is also capable of producing heavy bouts of cynicism, occasionally bringing out the doubting Virginia in each of us. The responsibilities of adulthood, mixed with rampant commercialism and a league of non-believers determined to outwit anyone with a hint of belief left, sometimes make keeping the faith, in anything, difficult to say the least. Throw in various groups of very particular believers determined to convince us that we’re doing it wrong, no matter how we celebrate, and the light of the season can begin to cast a dark, confusing shadow.

“In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.”

The age of information, education and digital manipulation have understandably thrust us further and further into a place of skepticism about every little thing, even that which we can see with our own two eyes. Still, as once-futuristic dreams now become reality on a daily basis, we somehow continue to deny that there are possibilities yet to be realized. As far as we have come in recognizing the nearly unfathomable vastness of the universe, we continue to believe that we are within arm’s reach of understanding it fully, if we haven’t already. Yet, Church’s contention that, “Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders that are unseen and unseeable in the world” is as true today as it was upon his writing it in 1897.

“Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.”

As we delve ever deeper into the electronic era, it should become more and more obvious how important something can be in our world even when we cannot see it in a complete and physical way. In fact, we are now immersed in a sea of life-affirming, yet intangible online knowledge and personal connection that neither children nor men can see. When it comes to music and the Internet and the sprit of Christmas, it is the experience itself that is more real than anything else.

“Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.”

As far as so many of us have come in fulfilling our basic needs, we somehow continue to struggle “to make tolerable this existence.” We struggle to accept that that which brought us hope, happiness and understanding as children should continue to offer us these things into our later years. We struggle to embrace the faith and the poetry and the romance of the season, and of all seasons, opting instead for the most literal of life’s interpretations.

“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to our life its highest beauty and joy.”

In bowing to the skepticism of our own skeptical age, we spend much of our time nitpicking at the details, the semantics and the nuances of it all while missing the larger than life ideas that make it all worthwhile. The spirit of Santa Claus exists throughout humanity in different forms and under different aliases. As much as some may try to manipulate, corral or stamp it out, removing completely the idea behind it is as attainable as doing away with love, generosity and devotion. The idea would simply return at another time and in another form, just as it likely always has and just as it likely always will.

Columnist Shannon Szyperski and her husband Michael are raising three children in Sylvania. Email her at letters@toledofreepress.com.

Toledo native Jason Daniels offers readers a step-by-step guide on how to change their lives and reach their full potential in his book, “Get Off The Gerbil Wheel.”
Daniels, who is vice president of strategic initiatives for United Way of Greater Toledo, began writing his book in 2003.
“I sat down to what we would call today an antiquated old computer, one night at about 1 or 2 in the morning. I just felt the need to write and I love to write, but never did I think I’d write a book,” he said. The first two chapters of “Get Off The Gerbil Wheel” were written that night.
A case of writer’s block halted the book while Daniels started his own company, Jay Ramon LLC, in 2004. Daniels and his wife of four years, Kelli, co-own the business, which specializes in inspirational speaking, seminars and workshops. Daniels added more to his plate in 2005 when Bill Kitson, CEO and president of United Way of Greater Toledo, hired him as a development officer.
“Jason is an incredibly talented and driven individual, and on a professional level we have been lucky to have those talents for the past six years,” Kitson said. “On a personal level, one of the things I admire most about Jason is his determination. He told me six years ago he was going to write a book. Not only did he do exactly what he said he would do, but it has a message others will find inspiring, motivating and passionate.”

Jason Daniels

Daniels’ book stayed in its early stages until 2010 when he had the chance to attend a workshop at Gap International. The workshop, which focused on how to develop breakthrough strategies in 90 days, inspired Daniels to tackle his book again.
“It was really that training, those people that were part of my three-day class, that taught me that I can actually write this book and it’s not going to be as cumbersome as I thought it would be,” Daniels said. He wrote the rest of  the book in 15 days.
Since the book’s launch, Daniels has received positive feedback.
“One of the things that people keep talking about is [how] I talk about your exponential potential in the book and especially about how your potential knows no boundaries, it knows no limits, your potential is always speaking to you,” Daniels said.
He said the book doesn’t just help readers take that first initial step, it walks them through an entire process.
“I tell people, ‘Once you get off the gerbil wheel, how do you get out of the glass cage that houses you’?” Daniels said.
The book’s process inspired Daniels to start a publishing wing of Jay Ramon. In the future, Daniels plans to make “Get Off The Gerbil Wheel” into a series with possible books aimed at women, Generation Y and college students.
“There will be a book that is written, produced and ready by the spring of 2012 because my goal is to write a book a year, if not more, because I have this writer’s bug now,” Daniels said.
Ashley Lanagan, who recently started her own marketing firm AL2 Marketing Solutions, worked with Daniels to develop cover art, marketing and layout for the book.
“It’s the first project that I actually did as having my own business,” Lanagan said. “The book would
really help people refocus and really help them re-evaluate their priorities and where they want to be later on, a year from now, two days from now.”
2012 will be another busy year for Daniels, whose first child is due in March.
One thing that won’t change for Daniels is his love for Toledo.
“I love my hometown Toledo and one thing I would say is if you can start a business here, you can start one anywhere,” he said. “ All the talent and everything we need is right here.”
“Get Off The Gerbil Wheel” is available for $13.99 at www.jayramon.com. Daniels will host a book signing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 17 at Downtown Latte, 44 S. St. Clair St.

Metroparks and Hostelling International Travel Circle are sponsoring a travel series to take place every Saturday, January through March at 2:15 p.m. at one of the Metroparks. Arrive at 1 p.m. and go for a one hour walk on the trails with a group.

• Jan. 7: Oak Openings Lodge, “Argentina, the Party at the End of the World” — Allison and Michael Holly
• Jan. 14: Secor Metropark, “Desert Desserts to Dubai, Egypt, and Petra” — Judy Pfaffenberger
• Jan. 21: Wildwood Metroparks Hall, “Hawaii, Maui and Oahu” — Tim Kreps
• Jan. 28: Wildwood Metroparks Hall, “Amazon River Basin to the Galapagos Islands” — Rose and Andy Kandik
• Feb. 4: Oak Openings Lodge, “Israel and Jordan” — Nancy and Tom Verner, Sue Wilson and Ron Toneff
• Feb. 11: Secor Metropark, “Bicycling 1,038 Miles from Perrysburg to Maine” — Larry Lindsay
• Feb. 18: Wildwood Metropark Hall, “Brussels, Belgium and Slovakia” — Dave Beckwith
• Feb. 25: Wildwood Metropark Hall, “Italy, a Tuscan Adventure” —Connie Bauer
• March 3: Oak Openings Lodge, “Africa: Animals and More” — Judy Pfaffenberger
• March 10: Secor Metropark, “UnBelizeable” — Laura Schetter
• March 17: Wildwood Metropark Hall, “Cruising the Mediterranean” —Leslie Panczner
• March 24: Wildwood Metropark Hall, “Vancouver Winter Olympics 2008” — Jack McBride
• March 31: Secor Metropark, “Yanks Invade London” — Dana and Deb Smith

The professional Travel and Adventure Cinema series at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts sponsored by the Kiwanis Club offers: Jan. 10: “Inside the Tuscan Hills,” Feb. 14: “Majestic Montana,” March 13: South and Central America” and April 10: “Hello Louisiana.” Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. and cost $5. The theater is located at 400 N. Maumee St. just off M-50 in Tecumseh.
The Way Library in Perrysburg continues its free international film series with “Welcome” (France) on Jan. 20, “Cherry Blossoms” (Japan/Germany) on Feb. 17, “The Grocer’s Son” (France) on March 16 and “Today’s Special” (India, but in English) on April 20. They begin at 7 p.m. and refreshments are free.