SANDUSKY — Cedar Point’s newest record-breaking roller coaster is the tallest and longest of its kind in the world, but company leaders and ride enthusiasts alike say perhaps the biggest wow factor GateKeeper brings is the way it transforms the park’s main  entrance.

GateKeeper’s first hill climbs 170 feet before making a sharp turn and diving 164 feet at speeds of up to 67 mph. Its 4,164-foot-long track also features a record six inversions, including a “near-miss” element where riders thread through two keyhole towers above the park’s main entrance.

“I’ve always thought we should have a roller coaster right at the front gate,” said Rob Decker, corporate vice president of planning and design for Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, which operates Cedar Point. “People screaming over the front gate while people are arriving — that’s going to be a really special thing for us.”

The $30 million GateKeeper is the fifth wing coaster in the world and the third in the U.S. The term refers to a design in which riders are suspended on either side of the track.

“There’s nothing above, nothing below you. It’s just amazing,” said Kim Jent, head of the structural design department at Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the Swiss company that designed GateKeeper.

The first wing coaster opened in Italy in 2011, followed by three in 2012: one in the United Kingdom, one at Dollywood in Tennessee and one at Six Flags Great America in Illinois. A sixth is under construction in China. All were designed by B&M, which also designed Cedar Point’s Raptor and Mantis.

Decker said B&M CEO Walter Bolliger told  him several years ago about a new prototype coaster being developed for a theme park in Italy.

“From that moment on I knew we could get it, I knew we could get it at the front gate, and we could make something spectacular,” Decker said.

GateKeeper’s keyhole feature sets it apart from other wing coasters, Jent said.

“That’s unique,” he said. “I don’t know anywhere in the world that would have a coaster, any type of coaster, that would have such an impact on the main entrance to the park.”

The inspiration for the keyholes was the near-miss feeling riders get from the low beam on Gemini, Decker said.

“It’s that innate fear in everyone that says, ‘Logic says I’m going to make it, but all of sudden I’m right there and I’m going to duck my head just in case’,” Decker said.

“It’s a very acrobatic ride. It’s very dynamic because you’re out further away from the track and I think this experience is just so different than everything else we have.”

GateKeeper is special, agreed Matt Ouimet, president and CEO of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company.

“There are some coasters you want to ride once a day, some once a summer,” Ouimet said. “GateKeeper you want to get right back on.”

Fan reaction

During Cedar Point’s media day on May 9, media and coaster club members from around the world got a chance to preview GateKeeper before the park’s May 11 season opener.

Rob Burtz of Indianapolis, a member of the Great Ohio Coaster Club, said he has ridden coasters in 22 states, but GateKeeper was his first wing coaster.

“It’s different,” Burtz said. “It’s the first time I’ve been on a coaster where you’re sitting outside the track like that. It’s really interesting.”

Western New York Coaster Club members Geff Ford of Auburn, N.Y., and Bob Wheeler of Rochester, N.Y., said they liked how each seat on GateKeeper offered a different experience.

“It’s remarkable how different a ride it is from one side to the other and from the front to the back,” Ford said.

Both agreed the biggest hill was most exciting from the front left seat, but the keyhole effect is best from the right side.

Jerry Fleming of Convoy, Ohio, said he loved “the feeling of flying out in the open.”

“That is something unique,” Fleming said. “I like that they went with the diving loop drop instead of a traditional over. That’s a completely different sensation. Especially sitting in the back, it’s kind of cool seeing the train tilting one at a time going over.”

The Great Ohio Coaster Club member proposed to his wife Leslie on the Magnum XL-200 and married her on The Voyage, a wooden coaster at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Ind.

The couple said they both enjoyed the front right side of GateKeeper best.

“It felt so much faster going through the keyholes,” Leslie said. “It was like, ‘Wow, this is like a different ride all around.’”

Fellow Great Ohio Coaster Club member Jesse Rose of Cleveland said his first wing coaster experience was Wild Eagle at Dollywood, Tenn., but he liked GateKeeper better.

“This one is more intense with a better layout,” Rose said. “The only thing I like more about Wild Eagle is you’re in the woods. But with the keyholes, there’s nothing like this. And that one is standard drop. This one right off the bat is already, ‘Uh oh!’”

Bob Urmanic of Elyria said GateKeeper was a great ride, but can’t compare to his favorite coaster, Millennium Force, which he rode 105 times in one day last May. Urmanic said GateKeeper would be his fourth favorite at the park and he hopes it will draw visitors away from his top three, Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster and Raptor, cutting down on wait times there.

Richie Anderson of Akron, a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts and former Cedar Point seasonal employee, said he still likes Magnum XL-200 more than GateKeeper, but he loves what the new coaster adds to the front of the park.

“It’s a fantastic first impression for the park,” Anderson said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Transformation

In his 40 seasons at Cedar Point, Vice President and General Manager John Hildebrandt has witnessed the unveilings of many new roller coasters, starting with Corkscrew in 1976.

“It’s a great list and one we’re very proud of at Cedar Point, but the excitement surrounding GateKeeper exceeds any of these roller coasters,” Hildebrandt said. “This one is very special.”

GateKeeper is Cedar Point’s 16th coaster and its first new one since Maverick in 2007.

“It’s an incredible experience,” Hildebrandt said. “You really are flying. It does feel weird, I think, to look down and not see a track. It’s over there to your left or your right depending on where you’re sitting.”

The track rails are filled with sand to keep noise down, Jent said. Several seats are designed with “comfort fit” seats for riders of wider girths, Decker said.

Many coaster enthusiasts said they liked GateKeeper’s unique harness, which fits like a vest, holding riders snug and keeping their heads away from the shoulder harness.

Workers broke ground for GateKeeper in October and placed the final piece of track Feb. 28.

The $30 million project involved more than 100 workers, primarily from Ohio companies, including A.A. Boos & Sons of Oregon, Firelands Electric Cooperative of Sandusky and S.A. Comunale in Fremont. Clermont Steel Fabricators of Batavia in southern Ohio built the steel pieces and Cincinnati firm Tony Ravagnani Architects designed the platform station.

Disaster Transport and Space Spiral were demolished last summer to make room for the new coaster.

“We take a look at ridership and people vote with their feet,” Decker said. “I liked Disaster Transport. I think it played a really strong role for younger people before they get onto the bigger coasters, so we have plans to backfill and do a better experience for that height range and just make it a better experience overall.”

During his remarks on May 9, Ouimet hinted about more upcoming changes at Cedar Point, saying cryptically that Decker had been given another challenge.

“More to follow” was all he would say, despite groans and pleas from the gathered coaster enthusiasts. When asked if a new kids’ ride was what Ouimet had been hinting about, Decker just smiled.

“I will say nothing about that,” he said.

Other attractions

Returning for a second season, interactive walk-through exhibit Dinosaurs Alive! features 50 life-size animatronic dinosaurs. Cost is $5 with park admission.

Cedar Point is open daily through Sept. 2, and weekends through Oct. 27. Single day adult tickets are $44.99 online or $54.99 at the gate.

For more information, visit cedarpoint.com.

Visit our Facebook page for more photos from media day and watch a video of GateKeeper here.

Tags: B&M, Bolliger & Mabillard, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, Cedar Point, GateKeeper, John Hildebrandt, Kim Jent, Matt Ouimet, Rob Decker, Sandusky, Sarah Ottney, wing coaster

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 14th, 2013 at 5:11 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Featured.
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Toledo Free Press Managing Editor Sarah Ottney will travel to Germany to cover Mayor Mike Bell’s expedition to the Hannover Fair, an industrial trade show, from April 10-15.

Ottney will write about her trip for Toledo Free Press and also provide updates on 1370 WSPD, as well as social media forums for both media outlets.

The group traveling to Germany includes Bell, Deputy Mayor of External Affairs/Economic Development Paul Syring, Finance Director Patrick McLean, Public Information Officer Jen Sorgenfrei, attorney Tim Greenwood, Associate Director of the University of Toledo’s Undergraduate Admission Mark Schroeder, Executive Director of Toledo Sister Cities International Susan Miko, private individual Christine Luttmann and Vice President of International Development at the Regional Growth Partnership D. Paul Zito. The group will also spend time in Toledo’s sister city Delmenhorst.

Ottney said of her upcoming travels, “I appreciate the opportunity to represent Toledo Free Press and WSPD on this trip. I will do my part to help keep Northwest Ohioans informed about Bell’s efforts and potential opportunities for this region.”

Michael S. Miller, Toledo Free Press editor in chief, said,  “Ottney has been to Germany before and is an insightful journalist. Her work for us on trips to Washington, D.C., and Ground Zero in New York City proved she is gifted at following unfolding events and reporting fresh angles to news stories.”

Kellie Holeman-Szenderski, regional market manager for Clear Channel, parent company of WSPD, said, “1370 WSPD is thrilled to become news-generating partners with Toledo Free Press on this important economic mission for the City of Toledo. We believe together we will be able to provide valuable insight into the mayor’s trip by utilizing the immediacy of daily on-air updates on 1370 WSPD, in-depth reporting in Toledo Free Press and the ongoing strength of our combined websites, social media platforms and civic pride.”

Zito has attended the fair for the past 15 years.

“The Hannover Fair is the world’s largest industrial trade show, featuring 5,000 or more exhibitors from 90 countries around the world and attracting a quarter million or more visitors from around the world,” he said. “It’s a very broad industrial trade show so the sectors and the companies that are there fit very much to the strengths of Toledo and Northwest Ohio.”

Sectors represented at the fair will include energy, renewable energy, automotive, industrial automation, robotics, machine tools, plastics and polymers and many more, Zito said.

Meetings for the mayor have been arranged with at least six companies so far, and Zito plans to meet with more before and after the mayor’s trip.

The mayor traveled to China in September 2010, May 2011, September 2011 and November 2012. He also traveled to India in April 2011 and visited Japan in May 2011 as part of his trip to China.

Chinese investors Dashing Pacific purchased The Docks and Marina District after Bell worked with them. Bell said one reason for going on trips is to make companies aware of Toledo.

“I believe the only way you can establish yourself with these international cities is you have to be able to make contacts there,” he said.

When asked if he’d received any criticism for his travel expenses, Bell said, “It’s not that much for the amount of money, considering what we’ve gotten in return.”

Bell said other major Ohio cities have attended the fair in the past and that Toledo needs to do the same to draw in new business.

Representatives from Akron, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Wapakoneta are expected to attend this year’s fair, Zito said.

Ottney said, “The Hannover Fair and other events planned with Toledo’s sister city of nearby Delmenhorst will offer opportunities for the mayor and other local leaders to be exposed to new ideas, network with like-minded world citizens and business people and form connections that will hopefully ultimately benefit Toledo and Northwest Ohio.”

While the group is in one of the sister cities, Toledoans at home will have a chance to attend the fourth annual Toledo Sister Cities International Festival from noon to 8 p.m. April 13 at UT’s Student Union.

Tickets are $5 in advance and available in the Student Union, at Rocket Copy, room 2525. Admission is $7 at the door for the general public and $5 for seniors (65 and older) and students with ID. Children 10 and younger can get in for free.

For more information on the Hannover Fair, visit the website www.hannovermesse.de.

Tags: Christine Luttmann, Clear Channel, D. Paul Zito, Delmenhorst, Hannover Fair, Jen Sorgenfrei, Kellie Holeman-Szenderski, Mark Schroeder, Michel S. Miller, Mike Bell, Regional Growth Partnership, Sarah Ottney, Susan Miko, Tim Greenwood, Toledo Free Press, Toledo Sister Cities International, University of Toledo, WSPD

This entry was posted on Friday, April 5th, 2013 at 7:14 am and is filed under Community, Media.
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The end of a year is a natural point of reflection.

The calm that descends, however briefly, after the mad rush of last-minute shopping and holiday gatherings subside invites us to pause and reflect on the past 12 months before diving into a new calendar year.

In compiling our annual list of the year’s biggest newsmakers, the Toledo Free Press editorial team focused on events with the potential to have far-reaching impacts on the region, events that highlighted the city’s hidden treasures and events that generated the most conversation.

Hollywood Casino Toledo quickly emerged as the biggest newsmaker of 2012.

For months, area residents watched the $320 million venue take shape along the riverfront, some with excitement, others with wariness.

Proponents argued Ohio’s casinos would generate hundreds of millions in tax revenue for the state, create local jobs at a time when the unemployment rate was nearly 11 percent and keep money in Ohio rather than sending it to casinos in neighboring states. Opponents argued the venues would increase crime and traffic, have negative effects on compulsive gamblers and their families and attract out-of-state owners.

As Toledo’s casino finishes its seventh month of operation, those concerns have largely subsided.

School officials and law enforcement personnel report low crime and traffic impacts. The Rossford Business Association and elected officials marvel at the company’s philanthropic generosity and the accessibility of top employees.

Accessibility has been our experience as well. General Manager Richard St. Jean has been consistantly gracious and forthcoming in responding to our coverage pursuits — even when the focus is not specifically casino-related. For our Dec. 23 issue highlighting the Christmas trees of local residents, he not only allowed us into his home, but cheerfully and unprompted proposed dressing up as Santa Claus for the photo.

Of course, graciousness does not necessarily equate virtuousness, but it certainly created the positive first impression the casino was striving for.

Regardless of personal opinions, the casino is here and poised to impact Northwest Ohio both economically and culturally. lt has, by all accounts so far, been a good neighbor, with the potential to be a deep-rooted part of this community.

Presidential election years are always big newsmakers. The race between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney as well as several dramatic matchups in Ohio and Toledo demanded attention for months as political ads flooded the market and all eyes focused on Ohio as a key swing state.

Candidates visited Ohio more than 80 times during the campaign. On Sept. 26, Obama and Romney were in Northwest Ohio on the same day. Vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan and former president Bill Clinton also visited Northwest Ohio.

Many incumbents, including long-serving Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the redrawn 9th District, kept their seats this cycle. Local voters were also charged with making decisions on seven levies, passing all but two.

The Lucas County Board of Elections (BOE) brought negative attention to Lucas County when Secretary of State Jon Husted placed it under administrative oversight after its failure to resolve political and personal differences. Although Husted’s office was satisfied with the board’s administration of the recent election, the office does not have a timeline for removing its representatives from the BOE.

As seen with the recent school shooting in Connecticut, violence against children is always galvanizing and the nine Lucas County children who died in 2012 were no exception. Grabbing the most headlines were 1-year-old Ke’Ondra Hooks, killed by gunfire in August while sleeping inside a Moody Manor home, and siblings Paige, Logan and Madalyn Hayes, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning as part of a November murder-suicide by the children’s grandmother and uncle.

Chick-fil-A, which opened two new restaurants in the Toledo area this year, found itself embroiled in the nation’s same-sex marriage debate this summer after company president Dan Cathy said he backs the traditional family unit.

Proponents of same-sex marriage immediately boycotted the restaurant chain while activists who agree with Cathy organized “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Days,” encouraging people to support the chain. Both sides made appearances in Toledo.

Also controversial was a May proposal to designate the Downtown intersection of Erie Street and Jefferson Avenue as Joe Wicks Way. Councilman Steve Steel proposed the idea to honor the late Wicks’ activism promoting AIDS awareness, prevention and treatment in the early 1990s. Opposition arose from Downtown business owners and others who pointed to Wicks’ unpaid property taxes, unkempt property and abrasive personality as reasons against bestowing the honor. The debate, tabled for now, could spark legislation that will dictate criteria for future street-naming.

Toledo hosted many events that drew visitors from far and wide.

The Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) brought a world-class collection of portraits by 19th-century French painter Édouard Manet, which drew visitors from 38 states to the only North American stop for the exhibition.

TMA also played a pivotal role in bringing the Glass Arts Society conference to Toledo in June, which drew thousands of glass artists to the Glass City. The conference was especially meaningful as it commemorated the 50th anniversary of the studio glass movement, which traces its roots to Toledo.

In August, Toledo Free Press publisher Tom Pounds and I had the chance to ride the USS De Wert from Detroit to Toledo with a delegation of Toledo leaders and media as part of Navy Week Toledo. It marked the first time U.S. Navy ships had been in the Great Lakes since 1999 and the first time Toledo has been chosen as a Navy Week city. Five ships docked in Toledo that week, offering free tours and drawing more than 20,000 visitors.

Also in August, the third annual Toledo Pride event took place Downtown, drawing nearly 10,000 people, doubling the 5,000 visitors the event drew in 2011. About 2,500 attended the inaugural Toledo Pride in 2010.

Since we love seeing new voices emerge to harmonize with successful established ones, Toledo artist Kimberly Adams topped our list of arts newsmakers this year.

Adams moved to the Glass City from Tampa, Fla., in June 2011, but is part of a group of recent Toledo transplants that has already had a huge impact on the local arts community. Adams founded Tart Projects, organized Toledo’s first PechaKucha Night, joined founder Timothy Gaewsky as an early member of Launch Pad Cooperative and more.

Another new arts initiative, You Are Here Toledo, took the form of a series of 100 colorful “dots”  that popped up on Glass City sidewalks from May to November, marking points of interest around the city. Scanning QR codes with a smartphone provided information about the location as well as the local artist who designed the dot.

The innovative project, a collaboration between the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Toledo and the Arts Commission, engaged visitors and longtime residents alike in learning more about the city’s hidden gems. The free smartphone application inspired a “collect-them-all” challenge.

The project was coordinated by AIGA Toledo president and Colorado native Jenn Stucker, a former “new voice” in the Toledo arts scene.

One of the year’s biggest sports stories was the University of Toledo cracking the Top 25 in national football polls for the first time since 2001. The Rockets drew national attention for pulling off an upset win over then-unbeaten No. 21 Cincinnati. Although the team ultimately lost to Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, first-year head coach Matt Campbell’s one-game-at-a-time philosophy seems to be working.

Another highlight was the number of local high school teams that played for state championships this year. Central Catholic football and Perrysburg girls soccer both claimed state titles, while Whitmer football and Sylvania Southview boys soccer fell just short.

For the fourth year in a row, Toledo Free Press was named best weekly newspaper in its 100,000-plus circulation class by the Ohio chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, an honor we aim to defend as best as we can moving forward.

The media landscape in Toledo looks much different today than it did 12 months ago. FOX Toledo and WTOL-11 merged newsrooms, FOX Toledo news anchor/executive producer Shaun Hegarty moved to former rival WTVG-TV, Channel 13, controversial talk radio host Brian Wilson and general manager Andy Stuart separated from 1370 WSPD and Cumulus boomeranged from awarding Star 105 morning host Andrew Z a multiyear contract in June to abruptly firing him six months later on Dec. 26.

We thank you for joining us in 2012, and look forward to seeing what 2013 has in store.

Sarah Ottney is managing editor of Toledo Free Press. Contact her at sottney@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: Managing Editor's Statement, Newsmakers 2012, Sarah Ottney

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013 at 9:14 pm and is filed under Community, Opinion.
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A social gifting application developed by a Toledo startup harnesses the simple yet revolutionary way consumers are interacting with businesses in today’s social media-saturated world.

Givt allows users to send free electronic gift cards to their friends via a website or free smartphone app. Recipients can redeem the gift cards, worth between $3 and $500, at participating local businesses.

Businesses pay a fee to Givt only when offers are redeemed. There is never a cost to users, who also earn credits toward gift cards for themselves every time an offer they gifted is redeemed or a friend they referred starts using Givt.

“The more you give, the more you get back, so it pays to be generous,” said COO Josh Cooper, a Sylvania Northview High School and University of Toledo graduate.

It’s a win-win arrangement that sounds almost too good to be true, said founder and CEO Justin Blanchard.

“Probably our biggest barrier to overcome right now is people are just like, ‘What’s the catch?’” Blanchard said. “There really isn’t a catch.”

Idea into reality

Givt is an offshoot of digital technology incubator Whisper Labs, which Blanchard founded in 2011 and Cooper joined soon after.

The partners soon realized Givt needed to be its own company. Local venture capital group Rocket Ventures and private investors provided the startup funds this year.

“In March we incorporated, in May we closed on our funding and in June we started building our team,” Cooper said. “We hired a staff, built the product and turned an idea into reality.”

Givt’s iPhone app launched Nov. 28 and the Android app is coming this month, Cooper said.

“The exciting part was within a couple days when you started seeing somebody we don’t know and have no connection with give it to someone else we don’t know and have no connection with,” Cooper said. “That’s when you’re like, ‘All right, this has gotten some viral element to it’ and that’s exciting.”

The app will soon expand into markets around the country, including Ann Arbor, Los Angeles, San Diego and Austin, Texas, Cooper said.

“We’re starting to bring on one city at a time,” Cooper said. “We’re going to be a national company based out of Toledo. It’s just a matter of a couple weeks before you start seeing Givt popping up all over the country.”

More growth initiatives are planned for 2013, Blanchard said.

“We’re still a pretty young company right now, but from a product perspective, I think we have a lot of our ducks in a row,” Blanchard said.

“Dec. 1 marked our first bigger push from the sales perspective, bringing on more merchants and more markets, so the next three months will be pretty big in terms of growth in both users and merchants.”

New frontier

The phenomenon of social gifting is relatively new.

“Social gifting emerged out of the Groupon era and, with the emergence of smartphones, it’s changed consumer buying habits. It’s a new delivery system for gift cards,” Cooper said. “It’s kind of where advertising is going. It’s honestly just this new frontier of advertising that’s now available because of the changing face of the modern consumer.”

Toledo area businesses using Givt include 7 Little Cupcakes, The Art Supply Depo, BadDog Fighting, Balance Pan-Asian Grille, Barr’s Public House, The Blarney Irish Pub, Bleak House Coffee, Burger Bar 419, Computer Discount, Definition Fitness, Dooley’s Irish Pub, East of Chicago Pizza, HomeBody Xtreme Fitness, Interior Channel Basement Waterproofing, The Kitchen Store, LAPuTOPia, Manhattan’s Restaurant, Maxwells Brew, Nedley’s Ice Cream & Coffee Cafe, Papa G’s Pizza ’n Grill, Perretti’s Auto Detailing, Picture Perfect Painting, Rooter Pro, Shakin’ Street Records, Stikki, Studio 14 Tattoos, SylvaniaVET, Toledo Indoor Garden and University Computer Repair.

“Givt allows people to truly share their favorite local places with others. It’s one thing to say to your friend, ‘You’ve got to go check out Manhattan’s or Balance Grille’; it’s another thing to give them money to go there,” Cooper said. “The goal is to drive traffic to local businesses. We want to be supportive of the local economy. We want users to experience, to rediscover their city and discover new and unique places.”

Givt helps “level the playing field” for small-business owners, Cooper said.

“With Givt, they don’t need to have a $5,000 advertising budget to reach people,” Cooper said. “They just need to have a great product and a passionate fan base.”

Givt removes the hefty upfront cost of traditional print mailings and also aims for a better return rate thanks to personal referrals, which creates a positive branch image, Cooper said.

Plus, since the gift appears on a recipient’s  Facebook wall, companies get free advertising even if the offer isn’t redeemed.

“Even if the card is not redeemed, you saw it, other friends on your Facebook wall saw it. There’s social media chatter, which is a really valuable thing in and of itself,” Cooper said.

The gift cards typically expire after about 14 days, allowing unused offers to be gifted to someone else, Cooper said.

“Daily deal sites are going to give you a big run of traffic all at once and then it’s going to die off,” Cooper said. “Givt can drive you traffic consistently, 365 days a year, because somebody’s always having a birthday, an anniversary, a baby and gift cards are always available rather than only available once every few months.”

Local reaction

Balance Pan-Asian Grille, with locations in Maumee and Sylvania, has partnered with Givt from the start.

“I’ve seen it all come together,” said CEO and Creative Director Prakash Karamchandani. “It’s definitely groundbreaking. It’s going to be a game changer. One of the main reasons Givt will work out is it’s 100 percent brand focused. You are putting your brand in front of customers’ faces  and promoting yourself the best way possible and it’s all done through social media.

“Why it’s going to grow fast is there’s no payment involved, no hurdle to push someone over. You just download the app and send someone a gift for free,” Karamchandani said. “For a merchant, with traditional advertising you’re just throwing money in the air and seeing what comes down on your side of the fence. With Givt, it’s clean and easy. There’s no out-of-pocket expense. I’m not paying any fees until I get a customer through my door.”

The Blarney Irish Pub in Downtown Toledo was another early Givt merchant partner.

“Givt has helped bring new folks through the pub,” said general manager Bill Kline in an email to Toledo Free Press. “We’ve redeemed quite a few so far and, from what I’ve heard, people like the idea of sending a Givt to their friends and/or relatives and it doesn’t cost them anything. People are evolving from paper coupons to smartphone coupons that can be redeemed with one swipe and we’re glad to be in on the ground floor with Givt.”

The Givt team is excited to officially launch in Toledo and kick off its national expansion.

“This is the season for gifting so we’re excited to launch here in Toledo in December,” Cooper said. “You can share with your friends cool, unique places and help support local businesses at the same time. What a win-win overall.”

For more information, visit givt.com or email info@givt.com.

Tags: Givt, Josh Cooper, Justin Blanchard, Sarah Ottney, social media, Whisper Labs

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 13th, 2012 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Brain Gain, Community, Downtown Toledo, Entrepreneurs, Technology.
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ToledoWiki is a new website about Toledo that anyone can edit.

Its organizers hope it will become a repository of Toledo information that will help capture community knowledge not presently available online, said 36-year-old Brian Zelip, a University of Toledo graduate who launched the site Nov. 6.

“We are creating ToledoWiki so that everyone can feel like a city insider via this digital liaison between the people, institutions and ideas of Toledo,” Zelip wrote on the website. “By launching this dynamic digital space to freely share all local knowledge about Toledo, our hope is that ToledoWiki will show Toledoans and visitors the depth and breadth of community resources, people, institutions, and cultural attractions that would take a long time to locate and learn about on one’s own.”

Similar to Wikipedia, anyone can create a user account and upload photos, embed videos, insert maps and links and more.

“The map function I think is especially cool,” Zelip said.

ToledoWiki runs on free software called LocalWiki.

“It’s very easy to use,” Zelip said. “I don’t know if you’ve ever edited a Wikipedia page, but there’s some code involved. [LocalWiki] is the same as typing up a word document or sending an email.”

All changes are recorded and can be reversed in the case of mistakes or vandalism, Zelip said. A business or organization can choose to apply permissions so only authorized users can edit its page.

Zelip’s goal is to get 100 users by Dec. 6 so the site can receive funding for a year of web hosting from Code for America, a national nonprofit service organization that issued a challenge for communities to take up a civic engagement project.

Zelip, a Dayton native, recently moved to Champaign-Urbana, Ill., after living in Toledo for more than a decade. He is a student and research assistant at the graduate school of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois.

“I still keep in touch with a lot of the good energy in Toledo, so I found out about this software and knew immediately Toledo could benefit from something like that,” Zelip said. “Toledo seemed like a good fit and I think there’s going to be a lot of momentum about it.”

‘Learn and launch’ party

A “learn and launch” party for those interested in learning more about ToledoWiki is set for 4-6 p.m. Nov. 24 at Black Kite Coffee, 2499 Collingwood Blvd. There will be a 20-minute slide show followed by a question-and-answer session and discussion.

“It will be very informal, very loose. There will be some laptops on hand so people can look at the site or make a user account and start editing pages,” Zelip said. “I hope everyone who comes creates a user account and that everyone comes away knowing how to use the website and wanting to put up a page about the things that are interesting to them, because that’s how we get the snowball rolling.”

Among the more than 40 pages already created on ToledoWiki are Mayor Bell’s 2013 budget, Artomatic 419, the Old West End and more. One local DJ is using ToledoWiki as an archive of his music and Streetspun — a “guerilla knitter” who installs yarn coverings on public structures like parking meters, light posts and bike rakes — has added photos of the latest “yarnbombs,” Zelip said.

“ToledoWiki is a directory of the community,” Zelip said. “It’s a public archive. It’s a digital commons. It has the capability to record the past yet is also dynamic enough to capture the moment.”

With ToledoWiki, Toledo joins many other communities across the country also starting local wiki projects.

“It’s not just happening in Toledo; it’s happening all over the place,” Zelip said. “Other cities are trying out this kind of thing, which is really exciting. People are learning as they go, learning from each other, asking questions and everyone from Toledo is welcome to get involved in that conversation.”

Among the early proponents and users of ToledoWiki are Zelip’s friends Kelly McGilvery and Rachel Richardson.

McGilvery, who co-founded Artomatic 419 and is a longtime collaborator with the Arts Commission, has already added a few entries to the site.

“ToledoWiki has potential to be a really useful resource about the city,” McGilvery said in an email to Toledo Free Press. “One of the most exciting parts of this project so far has been seeing people sharing their unique knowledge on the site. The richness of information gained over many lifetimes in Toledo will make this a really essential resource. The open format of the site means that anyone can jump in and contribute. My hope is that ToledoWiki becomes a site that answers a lot of frequently asked questions about Toledo and provides avenues for exploration for readers and contributors.

“I hope that people come away from the [Nov. 24] meeting as enthusiastic as we are about ToledoWiki, and excited to share the website’s story, and to contribute their ideas and knowledge on the site. If the attendees of this launch meeting are able to share ToledoWiki across their varied personal networks, we’ll have a robust set of readers and contributors.”

Richardson, founder of Art Corner Toledo and a Toledo Free Press Star columnist, said she is excited about the possibilities of ToledoWiki and plans to attend the launch meeting to learn more about it.

“Brian asked me to get involved and that’s really all I needed to know, that it was Brian’s idea,” Richardson said. “He’s very community-driven and community-oriented. The fact that he was moved to do this from Champaign-Urbana speaks to the fact that people with Toledo roots are always thinking about Toledo no matter where they move or travel to.

“I think it sounds wonderful. I will admit I’m kind of an luddite, but I understand the power of the grassroots community-driven effort regardless of where it shows up and if it’s on the Internet, it has that much more power and potential impact.”

ToledoWiki is different from Facebook and other social media sites in that it is hyperlocal, Zelip said.

“It’s not about competing with Facebook. This is something else,” Zelip said. “Facebook is great because it lowered the barrier, which is a good thing, but ultimately it’s not local and we don’t own it. They decide what to do with our information.”

The Internet and the concept of collaboratively edited sites like Wikipedia has changed the way information is distributed, Zelip said.

“It’s really changing the world and changing the way we do fundamental things,” Zelip said. “This has a lot of implications beyond just a fun time.”

ToledoWiki also has the potential to harness the knowledge of those whose voices often go unheard.

“It really starts getting exciting when you start thinking how many things can come out of this,” Zelip said. “You don’t need to exclude any voices. Organizations could host workshops to help build digital literacy skills and begin populating that information on the Web. Start teaching people how to use cameras, how to edit. The world becomes our canvas. It’s a very community-minded thing going on and really is what anyone wants to make of it.

“It’s stress-free. You don’t have to deal with it on a daily basis. It’s here when you need it and when you want it. This is really a collective intelligence moment for Toledo. That’s what ToledoWiki is all about.”

For more information, visit toledowiki.net.

Tags: Sarah Ottney, ToledoWiki

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 21st, 2012 at 11:51 pm and is filed under Arts and Life.
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In the beginning — before it drew 300 people each year, before it became a 501(c)3 charitable organization and raised thousands of dollars for local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) causes, before it had an official name — the Holiday with Heart Charity Gayla was simply a small annual social gathering and gift exchange among friends.

Ed Hoffman, David Hindall and the late Dick Flock organized the first Christmas dinner dance in 1977, hand-writing invitations to about a dozen friends in the Toledo and Findlay areas. The event was held at the Columbian House in Waterville.

“Thirty-five years ago it really wasn’t what it is today,” Hindall said. “Originally it was just a gathering of friends. They would only let us have it on Sunday night (when the restaurant was closed) because they didn’t want it tied up for regular customers. It’s evolved over the years. As the numbers grew, we found we could donate money to worthy causes and it’s gotten to be a very nice charitable event.”

The group soon outgrew the Waterville venue and decided to move the event to Toledo, where they met at one restaurant for four or five years before moving to another, taking over the entire venue to ensure privacy, Hoffman said.

“At that time, more so than now, people were concerned about privacy and they would not go to a restaurant if it was having a big quote ‘gay’ party where others might be there to see them,” Hoffman said. “I guess that’s kind of a testament to how things have changed.”

From the beginning, the founders hoped the gathering would help bring the local LGBT community together.

“We always wanted to unify,” Hoffman said. “As you can imagine, when things were so clandestine, you had all these little segments.”

As the event grew, the group began to donate to local causes.

“There were many times I put a couple thousand dollars out of my own pocket to make sure the event took place and to make sure we had money,” Hoffman said. “Dick and I always wanted to make sure we had at least $1,000 to $1,500 to give out to the community in the name of our community.”

In 2007, as the event’s 30th anniversary approached, the founders decided it was time to pass the torch to a new generation.

“For the 30th anniversary, we took it to The Toledo Club as a celebration, but it was also our swan song,” Hoffman said. “I remained on the committee and Dick continued being supportive, but we put the word out that 30 years is our time span and if you would like to see it continue we need to have somebody else step up to the plate.”

In 2008, the new leadership made Holiday with Heart a 501(c)3 charity. Last year, in memory of Hoffman’s partner Flock, who died in 2011, the group established The Holiday with Heart Fund, administered through the Toledo Community Foundation. Once an initial $25,000 is raised, the fund will be used to support local LGBT causes year round. So far, more than $11,800 has been raised.

“It’s very, very nice to know that as one gets older you have a few of the guys in the younger community who are stepping up to the plate,” Hoffman said.

35th anniversary

The Holiday with Heart Charity Gayla will celebrate its 35th anniversary this year. Taglined “the premier social event for the GLBT community and friends,” the event is set for 5:30 p.m. to midnight Dec. 1 at the Toledo Club, 235 14th St.

“I love the fact this is a formal affair and everyone is all decked out,” said board member Rick Cornett, who has attended the event since 1991. “The historic Toledo Club is a beautiful backdrop for a holiday event like this and the Christmas trees and decorations are breathtaking.”

Tickets are $70 and can be purchased through hwhcharitygayla.org. The reservation deadline is Nov. 26. Reserving tickets early is encouraged as the event typically sells out, Cornett said.

“We are very, very proud of the fact we have lasted three and a half decades,” Cornett said. “All of the other LGBT fundraisers and events have folded over the years.”

The Gayla is open to all, Cornett said.

“Even though this benefits gay causes, everyone is welcome,” Cornett said. “We draw a wide range of people both younger and older, lesbians and gays as well as our straight allies and supporters.”

The evening will include a three-course dinner, dancing, cash bar and entertainment from The Kelly Broadway Duo and DJ Martha Rappoport. Brooks Photography will take portraits for $20, with $10 to be donated back to Holiday with Heart.

New this year will be entertainment from Toledo Ballet, a photobooth from Grand Lubell Photography and an elaborate dessert station donated by Tim Schulien, Cornett said.

“We’re actually flipping the event because we have outgrown the main dining room upstairs,” Cornett said. “The dining portion of the evening will be downstairs covering the whole length of The Toledo Club.”

There won’t be a fashion show or drag performance this year, but drag queens Twila Starr and MaKayla Sinclaire Styles along with male models from Toledo-based Cityboyz Fashion Menswear will be selling 50-50 raffle tickets.

This year’s beneficiaries are The Toledo Pride Foundation, the Toledo office of AIDS Resource Center Ohio, The Gay and Lesbian Student Endowment Fund at the University of Toledo and The Holiday with Heart Fund. Last year’s Gayla raised $10,000. All funds stay local.

“There are many needs within the LGBT community of Northwest Ohio,” said board member Wayne North. “Attending and supporting Holiday with Heart helps the local community. The event also brings the community together socially and helps focus on the need to work together.”

The Founder’s Award, given annually to a person or organization that has made significant contributions to the Northwest Ohio LGBT community, will be presented to Toledo Free Press.

Culture shift

The Gayla is special because it’s a place where members of the LGBT community can relax among those who accept and support them, Hoffman said.

“Unless you are in our community, you really don’t have a clue,” Hoffman said, his voice breaking. “Things you take for granted. You and your boyfriend or husband or whomever, you can dance slow all you want, nice and close and warm. We can’t. Unless we’re among our own.

”You can feel comfortable there. You can hold hands together. You can kiss each other. You can dance. It’s wonderful to be able to dance with your partner, slowly, and not feel like who’s watching or feeling ill at ease,” Hoffman said. “You’re among your own. And for people who are not in our community who are there, they are there because they want to be, because they have family members, because they are open-minded or because they simply want to be supportive.”

Over the years, the Gayla has offered many people, such as wait staff and first-time guests, a new perspective on the LGBT community, Hoffman said.

“People have their preconceptions. More so in the past than now, but we’re not out of the woods. I have to tell the youngsters that. We really are not out of the woods in terms of prejudices and discrimination, but back then more so,” Hoffman said. “Having a lovely evening with well-behaved, well-dressed adults having a good time was something they had never seen and was contrary to anything they ever thought about who we were.”

Hindall also said he has seen a significant shift in society’s acceptance of the LGBT community during the past 35 years.

“Society has changed — for the better I think — from when I was 40 to 75,” Hindall said. “Thirty-five years ago people were still pretty conservative. A lot of professional people —doctors, lawyers, people who might not have wanted their preferences known — could relax [at the Gayla]. It was a closed event in the beginning. It is no longer that. There are still pockets of people who don’t approve, but society has changed.”

Hoffman said he’s not surprised by the growth of the event.

“That’s what we worked for every year,” Hoffman said. “This party was meant to be an all-inclusive party from day one. It was not meant to be for a small group of people. We welcomed everybody and that was the purpose of it.”

The event continues to help unify the LGBT community and its supporters, said board member Andrew Larsen.

“It really is one of those things that everybody who has attended in the past really cannot wait for the next year to happen,” Larsen said. “You have so many different splintered groups within the community and it’s so hard to organize them all around a single cause. I think our event really draws in all of those groups around a common goal and that is to support the community. It’s a one-of-a-kind event.”

Toledo Free Press is a media sponsor of the Gayla.

For more information, visit hwhcharitygayla.org.

Tags: Andrew Larsen, David Hindall, Dick Flock, Ed Hoffman, Holiday with Heart Charity Gayla, LGBT, Rick Cornett, Sarah Ottney

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 15th, 2012 at 5:50 pm and is filed under Community, Events, Featured, Philanthropy.
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Part showroom and part working garage, Central Classic Cars is run by three area car enthusiasts who like to have “fun on wheels.”

The shop, at 8444 Central Ave. in Sylvania, opened in January. Owners Chuck Putsch and John Coppus of Tiffin and Ken Wise of Sylvania have been friends for decades. They buy, sell, repair and restore classic cars and are in the process of expanding the business, adding a second building and more equipment for body work.

The shop deals almost exclusively in classic cars and most of the vehicles are convertibles, Putsch said.

“Convertibles are fun things. Everybody loves them,” Putsch said. “You park this [restored turquoise 1955 Ford Thunderbird] outside and people will stop just to look at it. As soon as I have cars parked out in the grass on Central and the flags out front here and cars parked out front, it’s like a magnet. It brings people in. I have people who come in just to look around and see what we’re doing. So it’s a place to hang out.”

Also on display in the shop is a 1931 Studebaker Commander owned by Coppus’ grandfather and two 1958 BMW Isettas, tiny two-seaters resembling today’s smart cars. A 1965 Ford Econoline pickup truck is another vehicle that draws a lot of attention, Putsch said.

Putsch, who owns a 1961 Morgan, is a retired golf professional for whom cars have been a hobby for years.

“Cars were always a hobby, my interest away from golf, and I’ve done that forever,” Putsch said. “I have the opportunity to drive all sorts of cars in this business. It’s kind of a car guy’s dream.”

Coppus is president and owner of Coppus Motors in Tiffin, a third-generation family-owned business started by his grandfather in 1926 and the oldest operating Mercedes-Benz dealership in the country.

“The sales part is really fun. We get to meet a lot of really neat, interesting people,” Coppus said. “I think the business is kind of unique. I don’t think there are many around doing what we are doing.”

Wise is a partner at Findlay/Wise Wealth Management and an avid car collector.

“Ever since I could drive, I’ve loved cars,” Wise said. “I have cars that are slow and cars that are really fast. I’m attracted to their aesthetic quality. I like to look at them as much as I like driving them. You could hang them on a wall.”

Of the three owners, Wise is perhaps the most passionate about cars, Putsch said.

“He lives and breathes cars,” Putsch said. “It’s not even a hobby; cars are a passion for him.”

The shop is decorated with pennants, neon signs and other memorabilia.

“My grandfather was one of the first import dealers and, being a dealership as long as we have, we have a lot of memorabilia. So it was an opportunity for us to display it and it makes for a classy showroom,” Coppus said.

A series of hanging murals featuring race cars, classic cars and driving scenes cover the walls. Customers can order murals, including vintage photos or photos of their own vehicles, to decorate their home garages.

“It’s kind of that really friendly, ‘car-guy’ atmosphere where it’s a hangout more than it is a business you might say,” Putsch said. “People are excited when they come here. This is a place where they come to enjoy themselves and enjoy the whole experience. It’s a different atmosphere (than a dealership). We have unique things and it’s more like myself and another person getting together and talking cars and having a good time doing it. We want them to feel comfortable here, comfortable with us, so they’ll be a long-term customer and friend, so they can come by just to see what’s new and talk a little bit, talk cars.”

Space will soon double after construction of a second 5,000-sqaure-foot building is complete. The new space will serve as a showroom, allowing the current space, now divided between a shop and a showroom, to be used exclusively as a shop.

Central Classic Cars recently acquired some shop equipment, including a paint booth, from Vintage Restoration, a nearby car and motorcycle restoration business.

Its owner, Tom Bibish, decided to return to teaching and limit his business to vintage motorcycles by appointment. For more information, contact him at  (419) 205-0796 or visit Vintage Restoration on Facebook.

“It was a good business. We had a lot of fun, made some good money, met a lot of new people and supported local business, but it was just getting to be too much because I couldn’t find qualified help,” Bibish said. “We just had so much work and you don’t want to let quality suffer just to get the job done. Those guys there [at Central Classic Cars], they are good car guys and I think everything’s going to be fine. It worked out well for everyone and I feel real good about it.”

Putsch said his favorite part of the job is the search for cars.

“It’s like fishing; you just never know what you’re going to pull out,” Putsch said.

Talking to car enthusiasts is also enjoyable, Wise said.

“The best thing about cars is you just meet lots of wonderful people,” Wise said. “I’ve been all over the country going to car shows and you might not like the kind of cars I like, but there’s that common passion. That’s the one thing I can say about cars. It’s a wonderful social thing. You get to meet a lot of really, really neat people. We have a lot of fun and we’re just trying to do something that’s a little bit different. For me, it’s a hobby business. I’m not in it so much to make money as just to satisfy a fix. It’s just fun. We’re all having a blast.”

For more information, visit centralclassiccars.com.

Tags: Central Classic Cars, Chuck Putsch, Coppus Motors, John Coppus, Ken Wise, Sarah Ottney, Sylvania, Tom Bibish, Vintage Restoration

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2012 at 10:17 am and is filed under Entrepreneurs, Wheels.
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Fall is the perfect time to get your vehicle checked to make sure it’s in working order for winter, say area mechanics.

An inspection now can often save costly repairs later, said Bob Amonette, owner of Bob’s Tire & Auto in Toledo.

“Preventative maintenance is always cheaper than breakdowns,” Amonette said. “It’s like going to the dentist and getting your teeth cleaned. They start seeing the little cavities showing up and it’s cheaper to get the cavity fixed than to get  a root canal.”

A typical pre-winter vehicle inspection will include a check of the vehicle’s starting and charging systems, anti-coolant protection, belts and hoses, steering linkage, suspension, battery, brakes, tires and more. Bob’s Tire & Auto offers a fall vehicle inspection for $39.99, which includes an oil change.

“It’s for peace of mind,” Amonette said. “All those things are actually good to check anytime, but especially in the winter before the weather gets bad. If you’re like most people, who have an older car with higher mileage, it could save you a breakdown or money if you get it checked before it breaks.”

Belts and hoses are especially important to check going into winter, said ASE certified mechanic Matt Amonette of Bob’s Tire & Auto.

“Those are really the stuff that’s going to leave you stranded,” Matt said.

One of the most overlooked areas is air pressure in tires, which changes with fluctuating temperatures, Amonette said.

“It’s smart to keep an eye on your air pressure because for every 10-degree temperature change, you lose a pound of air,” Amonette said. “If the temperature went down 10 degrees, chances are you lost 10 pounds. And if the temperature goes up, you don’t always regain the full 10 pounds.”

Maintaining proper air pressure also helps tires last longer, Amonette said.

It’s also important to make sure your tires have enough tread to get through snow, said Bob Kazmierczak, enterprise development manager at AAA Northwest Ohio.

“If you don’t have good tread, the tires will spin more often than not,” Kazmierczak said. “If the wear bar on the tire reads 2/32, the tire is legally bald. If you’re not sure where to find those, take a penny and put Lincoln’s head upside down into the tread. If you’re able to see the top of Lincoln’s head, the tire needs replaced.”

Check both sides of the tire to make sure it is wearing evenly. If tires are bald on one side and still good on the other, the vehicle could have an alignment issue, Amonette said.

Wipers are also important to check going into winter, Kazmierczak said.

“They tend to be neglected quite a bit,” Kazmierczak said. “Don’t use them as an ice scraper. They don’t hold up well to that.”

Lights are another often overlooked maintenance check, Kazmierczak said

“As it starts getting darker earlier, you’ll see a lot of cars on the road that have lights out,” Kazmierczak said. “It’s definitely a good thing to have the lights checked and replaced.”

A vehicle inspection can keep travelers from being stranded during a winter storm or during holiday travel, he said.

“There’s nothing worse than having a car problem on a holiday where people are traveling and a lot of auto shops aren’t open,” Kazmierczak said.

It’s not usually a good idea to put off repairs, Amonette said.

“If your tie rod’s got a little bit of play in it and it’s going to go bad, it would be smart to fix it before it, No. 1, falls off or ruins your tire and now you’re buying a tie rod and a tire,” Amonette said. “If your battery is going bad and you don’t fix it and you just keep jumpstarting your car, next thing you know you’ve got a chance of ruining your alternator and your starter because you’re running it with low voltage and you’re jumping the car all the time. If you have a slight antifreeze leak from a belt or a hose or radiator and you just keep adding antifreeze, and the car starts running hot, you got a chance of possibly your water pump going out or overheating it, or the worst case scenario is ruining the motor. So that’s where preventative maintenance is a little smarter.”

Worse, sometimes what could have been an easy repair ends up causing an accident, Amonette said.

“It doesn’t always happen, but the worst part is people get in an accident over bad tires or something and say, ‘If I would have bought the new tires for 400-some bucks, I would have had new tires and probably not gotten in an accident. Instead I’ve got to pay a $500 deductible and I still need tires,’” Amonette said.

To be prepared, drivers need more than an ice scraper. They should also keep a blanket, extra warm clothes, a cell phone and nonperishable food items such as granola bars in their cars, Kazmierczak said. AAA offers winter car kits containing a candle, emergency flashers and more.

“Sometimes road service can take several hours on a really bad winter day, so you want to be prepared for that,” Kazmierczak said.

Tags: AAA, Bob's Tire and Auto, Car Care, Sarah Ottney

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2012 at 10:12 am and is filed under Family Business, Wheels.
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When Cleveland-based KeyCorp made Beth Mooney its new CEO in 2011, the Michigan native became the first — and so far only — female CEO of a Top 20 American bank.

“When I got that job it was clearly a headline because I was the first female in an industry that has been dominated by men, so it was a big deal,” Mooney, 57, told Toledo Free Press during a recent visit to the Toledo area, where KeyCorp operates 22 KeyBank branches. “It would be a great statement if, when I retire, the fact that I was the first female is a footnote, not the headline.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity, but also, in the best sense of the word, a tremendous obligation to be the first female CEO,” Mooney said. “I take that very seriously. I want to do this well because it reflects on women in our industry and it will make it easier for the next woman to have this opportunity. I think about that every day. And perhaps if I work a little harder, it’s not to prove myself [to men], but to make sure it’s a good example for others to follow.”

Secretary to CEO

While in Toledo, Mooney met with a group of female KeyBank employees, sharing with them her personal journey “from secretary to the corner office” and reflecting on how much the workplace has changed in only one generation.

“I graduated from the University of Texas — Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude — and as I went looking for jobs, people asked me if I could type,” Mooney said. “I would like to believe that doesn’t happen anymore. While there are always still challenges for people as they build their careers, it has become a totally different world and, I believe, a fundamentally fair world within 30 years.”

After college, Mooney worked as bank secretary until she was able to persuade a reluctant Dallas bank manager to place her in his management training program.

“Actually I refused to leave his office until he hired me,” Mooney said. “Most places wouldn’t even let me pass go. In that day, at least in Texas, there weren’t a lot of women in the training programs. I was in his office for three hours. I begged, I bullied, I just wasn’t going to go home without a job.”

When he finally agreed, Mooney looked him in the eye and said, “You will never regret it.” She entered the training program, enrolling in night school at Southern Methodist University to earn her MBA.

“I’ve been told I’m relentless from time to time,” Mooney added. “I guess that three hours was the beginning.”

Years later, Mooney looked him up and thanked him.

“We reminisced. He said he indeed remembers me,” Mooney said, laughing. He told her he thought he would “send her packing” within five minutes, but her persistence eventually convinced him to give her a chance.

“Your story in life is always shaped by the people who give you opportunities and then the other half of the story is what you do with them,” Mooney said. “I’ve always been grateful I got a chance to tell him what an opportunity he gave me.”

Mooney was recently ranked No. 49 on Fortune magazine’s list of the 50 most powerful women in business, one spot in front of Oprah Winfrey. Last year, she was ranked No. 96 on Forbes’ list of the 100 most powerful women.

Natural leader

Jim Hoffman, president of KeyBank’s Michigan/Northwest Ohio district and a University of Toledo graduate, said Mooney is a natural leader.

“Beth can analyze situations and see solutions clearly and quickly,” Hoffman said. “She’s got a great staying power around things that need to get done.”

Mooney’s leadership at the helm helped KeyCorp weather the economic recession.

“I’m very proud of the decisions our company made and how we are positioned at this point in time,” Mooney said. “Our future is bright.”

KeyBank has been profitable for nine quarters, Mooney said, and was one of five large U.S. banks and the only large bank operating in Northwest Ohio to earn a five-star rating from BauerFinancial, which rates the financial strength and stability of financial institutions each quarter.

“Our lending this year is up 75 percent over last year — and it’s in consumer lending, small business lending, commercial banking — so it’s very broad,” Hoffman said. “We think that’s the role of a bank, to recycle dollars and help this economy get on its feet, which leads to jobs, which leads to prosperity for everyone.”

Community focus

KeyBank is committed to community banking, Hoffman said.

“Key is one of the few large banks that decentralizes and pushes the decision-making for hiring, staffing, loan decision-making and anything to do with the customer down to the local level,” Hoffman said. “It allows us to better understand the customers’ needs and make the decisions that serve those needs best. Very few large banks do that. Key is very different and we think that difference is so noticeable.”

The company is also committed to supporting the communities it serves. KeyBank Foundation recently donated $1 million to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The grant trained volunteer community health advisers to help minority and medically underserved women gain access to breast screenings and cancer treatment.

“It’s already helped six women discover they have cancer and they are getting help,” Mooney said. “That’s in the first month. It’s a wonderful program.”

KeyBank Plus

On Oct. 1, the company debuted its KeyBank Plus program in 34 Northwest Ohio branches. The program allows people without bank accounts to cash checks, offering a low-cost alternative to payday lenders, Hoffman said. Free financial literacy classes are also available.

“One part of the  community that has always found it difficult to access financial services is the low- to moderate-income population in the community, sometimes referred to as the unbanked or the underbanked,” Hoffman said.

The program was launched in Cleveland in 2004 and has since been introduced in nine other markets, including Akron-Canton. The program has served nearly 55,000 clients, educated more than 22,000 people through financial education and cashed more than 300,000 checks totaling $200 million, according to a news release.

The check-cashing fee is 1.5 percent of the value of the check, lower than the 3 to 7 percent most Toledo check-cashing businesses charge, according to the release. Clients can also use up to five fee-free money orders each time a check is cashed.

“It really hits the tone of the times,” Mooney said. “It says, ‘We will meet you where your need is. We will help teach you how to use the financial system and then as you either grow in your comfort level or your capacity, we will introduce you to more traditional products.’ It really is bridging a whole population. It’s something I think we’re doing that’s very distinctive.”

Hard work ahead

Although she sees a bright future, Mooney acknowledged there is still hard work ahead.

“Part of what I think is great about being a banker is we’re in a position to really influence  the strength of the economy, the ability for people to expand and grow, to hire people, to buy homes, to educate their children,” Mooney said. “I believe in this country and I believe we will get through it. We are still in a slow period, but that’s a whole lot better than being in a recession. Slow and steady will get us there.

“There will never be a stable and sustained recovery in this country without a strong banking system, so that’s part of why I think it was so important for banks like Key to return to such a position of strength. This is the part of the cycle where we will help the economy recover and start growing again.”

Tags: Beth Mooney, Jim Hoffman, KeyBank, KeyBank Plus, KeyCorp, Sarah Ottney

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2012 at 2:17 pm and is filed under Finances, Toledo Business Link.
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When 104-year-old Stella Bailey died Oct. 9, she was exactly where she wanted to be — at her Rossford home of 90 years, with her husband and family close by.

“She didn’t suffer none. That’s the good part,” said 96-year-old Jay Bailey, Stella’s husband of 60 years.

Family members had visited just before she died, Jay said.

“She was laughing and joking with the little baby,” he said. “She lived a ripe old age.”

Stella was able to remain at home with the help of PASSPORT, a state Medicaid waiver program funded through the Ohio Department of Aging and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The program, administered in Northwest Ohio by the Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio (AOoA), links Medicaid-eligible seniors with long-term care services, such as home health aides, home-delivered meals, medical equipment, medical transportation, adult day care and more.

PASSPORT services usually supplement care provided by family members, said Pam Wilson, AOoA’s vice president of long-term care.

“Many of the people we serve do have families who are dedicated to keeping them at home and are actively participating and assisting with the care,” Wilson said. “Our services wrap around that family unit and provide support in places where the family may be struggling.”

Stella started using PASSPORT in 2003. Home health aides assisted Jay in caring for Stella seven hours a day, seven days a week.

“She’s been real good,” Jay said of primary aide Lori Kott of Maumee-based Nursing Resources. “I wouldn’t have made it without her.”

Most older adults prefer to stay home as long as possible, Wilson said.

“It’s often where they’ve lived for many years and a place where they are comfortable and want to stay,” Wilson said. “Being in the home lets you feel more a part of your family and a part of your community. It’s just that familiarity. Every time someone makes a physical move, it’s disruptive to the person, it’s disruptive to their health. It’s very common that people become disoriented, even though they may not have been disoriented in the past, if they end up in the hospital or they go from hospital to a nursing home. It’s trauma.”

PASSPORT also helps the health and well-being of caregivers, Wilson said.

“If you have those supports in place, families can often be caregivers for longer periods of time because they have the support and don’t burn out as they may if they were doing all the care themselves,” Wilson said. “It’s not uncommon that we hear, ‘Gosh, I wish I knew about you a couple years ago.’”

If the primary caregiver is a spouse, PASSPORT gives them more time together, Wilson said.

“A lot of times it’s stressful on the caregiver to make those regular trips to the nursing home when they want to go every day and stay for hours,” she said.

PASSPORT services are also cheaper than a nursing home, saving taxpayers money, said Justin Moor, AOoA’s vice president of planning and program development. A year of nursing home care in Ohio costs about $62,000 on average, whereas a year of PASSPORT services costs about $21,000, Moor said.

“PASSPORT is about a third of the cost to taxpayers, so for each senior that gets their care through PASSPORT, the savings to taxpayers is about $40,000 a year,” Moor said.

When PASSPORT started in July 1990, about 90 percent of Medicaid dollars for long-term care went to nursing homes and 10 percent to home care services. Today, it’s closer to 60-40, Moor said.

“It’s working well. It’s been growing every year,” Wilson said. “We do feel it’s one of those cost-saving options to help with state budget issues.”

About 2,800 Northwest Ohioans participated in PASSPORT in 2011 and the program has served more than 20,000 Northwest Ohioans since 1990, Wilson said. Statewide, more than 31,000 Ohio seniors participate in PASSPORT each year.

To qualify, applicants must be 60 or older, need help with at least two daily living activities such as bathing, dressing or walking, and meet Medicaid’s financial eligibility guidelines, which include an income of no more than $2,090 per month and no more than $1,500 in assets, not including their home.

AOoA’s nurses and social workers oversee the service plans and perform the initial eligibility assessment. The services are provided by more than 120 contracted agencies.

PASSPORT does not negate the need for nursing homes, Wilson said.

“We certainly support the need for nursing homes. We know we can’t do all the care in the community,” Wilson said. “We want people to get the care they need and nursing homes are doing a wonderful job with rehab after illnesses and surgeries, but we don’t want them to feel like they are going to be stuck there.”

Wilson said too many people don’t know about PASSPORT and the AOoA.

“Our goal is to make sure people know we’re here and not to wait to call for help,” Wilson said. “A lot of people don’t look for the kinds of services we offer until they need help and then generally they need it immediately. Having a little support in place lets us be able to add some additional supports when something happens. Whether Medicaid-eligible or not, we’re always willing to help connect people with those community resources that can help a person stay at home.”

For information, visit www.areaofficeonaging.com or 2155 Arlington Ave., or call (419) 382-0624.

Tags: Area Office on Aging, Medicaid, Ohio Department of Aging, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, PASSPORT, Sarah Ottney

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2012 at 2:09 pm and is filed under Community, Seniors.
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