Brandi Shepard, director, choreographer and theater teacher at Sylvania Southview High School, gave herself a five-year deadline to cast children in one of her productions.

“I’m a year late, this is my sixth year,” Shepard said.

Shepard said she wanted to get children interested in theater at a young age, as she was. The result wasn’t what she expected.

Beast, played by junior Alex Ulrey and Belle, played by senior Kayla Maseman. PHOTO COURTESY INVU PORTRAITS

“What’s really interesting though is I think they have been a great influence on my high school kids,” Shepard said. “Before my elementary kids get there, the high school kids are kind of sluggish, they’re not getting into it, and those elementary kids come in so excited, so eager to work with so much energy; it honestly changes the demeanor of everything.”

Shepard extended an invitation to the Southview theater schools, Central Trail Elementary, Stranahan Elementary and Sylvan Elementary. The play includes 12 children among more than 100 cast and crew members, including the orchestra.

“That’s a lot, yes, there’s a good amount to juggle,” Shepard said.

One thing new this year is that Shepard double-casted the main roles. These cast members will perform two of the four shows. One reason for that was the higher number of male roles than female roles. Double-casting gave more girls a chance to audition.

The decision to do “Beauty and the Beast” did not come easy, Shepard said. She also had rights to do “Fame” and didn’t make an official decision until three hours before announcing it. For her sixth year at the school, she said the theater department is ready to tackle the “big shows.”

“There wasn’t much of a program when I got there and it’s taking me a while to do some of the bigger shows, and I thought, ‘You know what, we are finally starting to establish ourselves. This will be the show though that puts us on the map’,” Shepard said.

Shepard said the classic Disney tale is perfect for the community.

“It’s a story almost everyone knows,” Shepard said. “It’s something that is going to appeal to families.”

There are other events going hand-in-hand with the production. Cast members have read to kids in libraries and have gone into classrooms to teach about theater.

The high school will also sponsor “Breakfast with Belle” on Saturday, April 20 at 10 a.m. Guests will enjoy a breakfast with cast members and enjoy singing, dancing and raffles.

The entire production costs $30,000 to $35,000; the costumes alone are over $7,000 to rent. Funds were raised by boosters, car washes and donations.

Tickets are selling fast, Shepard said.

“I am shocked at the phone calls [and emails] I field every single day regarding tickets three months prior,” Shepard said. “I’ve never had that type of response.”

The show’s dates are April 25, 26 and 27 at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.) and April 28 at 2:30 p.m. (doors open at 2 p.m.) Tickets cost $8 for students and seniors and $10 for adults. Tickets can be purchased at the Southview Theatre lobby from 6-7 p.m. on April 17, 18, 22, 23 and 24. Tickets will also be sold at the door.

Shepard encourages purchasing tickets ahead of time because she anticipates shows selling out.

Tags: Beauty and the Beast, Disney, Sylvania Southview High School

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 at 11:08 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Theater.
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Seventeen-year-old Val Taylor lives in a little green house on Cason Avenue. The only door in the entire house that Val’s 400-pound wheelchair fits through is the front door.

Her parents must carry her if she needs to leave the front room. The driveway that leads up to the house is unpaved and Val’s chair sometimes gets stuck in the muck. When Sylvania Southview High School students observed their fellow classmate and her parents having difficulty getting her out the door and on the bus, they decided to do something about it.

“I thought, ‘How cool that kids would even think about such a thing and notice a need in someone,’” said Val’s mom

Veronica Taylor, a paraeducator.

Val has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, asthma, glaucoma and other disorders.

Southview students decided to use their annual fundraiser Dance for a Chance (D4AC) to help make the home more accessible for the Taylors. D4AC was started in 2004 and has raised more than $150,000 since then. Every year, students identify an issue and work to raise awareness for that cause through their fundraiser. Students are divided into four teams and compete in various contests and must be on their feet for 12 hours. On March 31, 300 students raised more than $30,000 for what they dubbed Project HAVEN (Home Accessibility for Val’s Exceptional Needs).

But, the student body realized it shouldn’t stop there and got the Professional Remodelers Organization (PRO) on board. The group, the largest independent remodelers organization in the country, decided to help through its President’s Project, which connects remodelers to community projects. The President’s Project began in 2010; PRO has been around for more than 40 years.

Val Taylor

“Originally, our plans were to add an addition to the previous home,” said Rick Morel, PRO’s executive director. However, the group realized that wouldn’t work with the poorly aged structure.

“What we did was make a conscious decision that the best way of doing this was to knock down the existing structure and just build a new one,” Morel said.

He added, “I don’t know how [the Taylor family does] it. I really don’t. I just don’t know how they’ve done it all these years. They don’t complain … they just keep getting after it. Those are the kind of people that you like to help.”

A crowd gathered Sept. 5 at the Taylor house for a groundbreaking ceremony. Despite the rain, high school band members, baton-twirlers and cheerleaders showed up to support Val, who is known for her school spirit.

Catie Sack and Logan Griesinger, both seniors, are part of the school’s ambassador committee involved with D4AC. Through the project, they got to know Val and realized she has many of the same interests as other teenage girls — Katy Perry, Britney Spears and nail polish.

“Most of all, [the project] taught me even though there’s road bumps, there’s always a way to get around them,” Sack said after the ceremony.

Some of those bumps included dealing with a mortgage on the property, Morel said. Metamora State Bank was able to lend a hand in that department and several other community groups have also come on board. Still, more material and cash donations are needed. Depending on materials provided, the new house could have a garage and deck for Val to watch the birds on.

“People in Northwestern Ohio, generally speaking, have always been known as generous and we need a little bit more involvement to complete this project the way we’d like to,” Morel said.

More labor is also needed. “Anybody that can pound a nail straight, I think we’d be open to that,” Morel said.

PRO has some help from the construction class at Southview. “It’s very much hands-on and that’s what they need. We’re acting as mentors and laborers at the same time,” Morel said.

The new house will be 1,553 square feet, up from 540 square feet. It will have an open layout, two bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.

Currently, Veronica and her husband Tom have to carry their daughter to the bathtub, which has become more difficult as Val has grown. The new bathroom will be ADA-compliant and eliminate the fear of dropping Val.

“It will be the most wonderful thing that could happen,” Veronica said of the new bathroom.

“We appreciate everything people have done and appreciate anything people could do. It would be a great opportunity to enrich our daughter’s life and improve her quality of life,” she added.

The cost of the project, with materials, temporary hotel housing and more, will exceed $150,000. The house is the largest President’s Project yet, said Milissa Clark, PRO’s marketing consultant. The project is set to take four to five weeks once construction begins.

“It’s just been a very long road, but we will see this thing to the end. That’s what we do,” Clark said.

The school also remains behind the Taylor family.

“Val is one of our most deserving students at Southview High School,” said Principal David McMurray at the ceremony, adding that he is very proud of his students.

To learn more, visit www.hireaprotoday.com or call (419) 471-0101. Donations can be made to the Professional Remodelers Organization Project HAVEN account at Metamora State Bank locations.

Tags: Metamora State Bank, Professional Remodelers Organization, Sylvania Southview High School, Val Taylor

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 6th, 2012 at 3:47 pm and is filed under Community, Philanthropy.
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The Wildcats and Cougars may soon prowl in a brand-new jungle.

The Sylvania Schools Athletic Foundation is planning a $6.5 million renovation for the athletic facilities of five Sylvania schools. The foundation’s list includes Northview and Southview High Schools and Arbor Hills, McCord and Timberstone junior high schools.

The Foundation plans to raise $4.5 million in private funds to finish the renovations and is seeking an additional $2 million to establish an endowment fund for Sylvania’s athletic and extracurricular activities. The tentative timetable is to begin building in 2012 and complete the facilities in the winter of 2013.

“We have a tremendous group of individuals including community leaders, parents and business professionals that are committed to getting this done,” Superintendent Brad Rieger said. “They buy into the vision that we really are building the next generation of champions. Facilities are really just a platform to let kids shine in different ways. These are challenging times, but we are a committed group and we are ready to get it done.”

John Ross, foundation board chairman, said people in Sylvania know how important education is.

“They know how important it is to support schools and support kids. We are talking about a multigenerational impact for our community.

Front row, from left: Glen Gillespie, Brad Rieger, Jim Findlay, John Ross, Jeanette Hrovatich and Chris Irwin.

“This project is about kids. There are over 8,000 kids in Sylvania schools and to know that they will have an opportunity to compete, play and participate in great schools with great athletic facilities is really exciting.”

What does $6.5 million buy?

Northview will add new field turf (for football and soccer), bleachers (for baseball, football and soccer) and field lights (for baseball and football). The school will also add an eight-lane, all-weather track-and-field events area, a ticket booth and a facility for concessions and restrooms.

Southview will add new field turf, bleachers, home stands and a press box for the football field, as well as portable stands for the band and a facility for concessions and restrooms. Southview also will add new bleachers for baseball and softball and additional soccer seating.

Northview and Southview will also add 32-foot scoreboards, which include a 10-foot-by-17-foot video screen and five different spaces to sell advertisements.

Arbor Hills and McCord will have their football fields upgraded to include irrigation and drainage as well as lights, an electronic scoreboard, a press box and an eight-lane track. Timberstone will receive mounding and screening for wind protection and fencing.

Challenges

Among the major problems with the schools’ current arrangement is Northview having to share its football field with Southview. Although Southview has a field, it is limited to freshman and junior varsity play due to a small bleacher area.

“Right now the issue is we have both of our varsity football teams playing at one field,” Rieger said. “There are significant scheduling and logistical issues. There are obviously issues with Northview wanting their own place and Southview wanting their own place but it’s even beyond that. We want separate facilities so we can expand the utilization into different activities, sports and community organizations.”

A rendering of the proposed Sylvania Northview High School football field and stadium.

The foundation plans to allow such organizations as Lourdes College, Sylvania Recreation and the Catholic Youth Organization youth tournament to use the facilities. Foundation Executive Director Jeanette Hrovatich said they hope to draw a national tournament to their facilities in the future.

Reaching private donors

To fund the $6.5 million project, the foundation is turning to private donors. Although the process is described as being at “the ground level,” the foundation’s goal is to raise $1 million during September. Hrovatich said the foundation is in discussions with about 40 donors.

“When you look across the country, I see no one else attempting to do what we are doing in a district with two public high schools to raise private money to help keep these extracurriculars available for kids,” Ross said. “This is cutting-edge. Things are going to change in how schools are financed. The time to involve the private sector into this has come. It is going to be very successful and a new way to look at things.”

The idea for turning to private donors came in 2005 when the board for Sylvania Schools began to look at rebuilding some of its facilities. At that time, it determined that taxpayers were growing weary of increased taxes and decided that private funding would be the best course of action. It created the Sylvania Schools Athletic Foundation in November 2005 to begin the process of raising private funds for athletics, hoping it would transition to continual tax levy support that would go directly to classrooms.

“I got a sense, along with the community, that for us to accomplish some things with our outdoor facilities we needed to go a different way with a different approach,” Rieger said. “That’s when this idea of raising money in a private fashion, for seeking corporate and individual donors to fund the enhancements, really germinated.”

To help raise $6.5 million, the foundation created an Advancement Council consisting of 42 community volunteers whose sole goal is to focus on the fundraising aspects and donor development. Among those volunteers is Jim Findlay, retired from his position as president of Impact Products, who serves as one of the council’s three honorary chairmen along with Rieger and Rick Stansley, chairman of the board of Innovation Enterprises, the University of Toledo’s economic development arm.

“Sylvania is a great area,” Findlay said. “We have great hospitals, schools and industry. I’m very interested in academics but I’m extremely interested in sports because it builds character and principles. It’s hard for me not to be a part of something that’s for the youth. It’s hard for me to say no.”

A rendering of the proposed Sylvania Southview High School athletic complex.

Findlay, who has experience as a youth basketball coach and mentor, assisted at the University of Toledo in finding donors for the Savage Arena renovations. He is retired from his position as president of Impact Products.

“We would like to give everybody in the Sylvania area an opportunity to be a part of this,” Findlay said. “That’s what we are trying to do — get the industry and residents to be a part of this school system. People will move into this area because we have great schools and great facilities. This will be great for the community.”

The foundation has formed a women’s initiative group, “Girls with Goals” (GWG), which is attempting to raise money for the facilities. So far GWG, which is still accepting new members, consists of 25 women from the Sylvania community. Its next meeting is at 6 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Chandler Café, 5648 N. Main St. in Sylvania.

How to give to Sylvania Athletics

To donate and help the Sylvania Schools Athletic Foundation raise money for Northview and Southview high schools, as well as Arbor Hills, McCord and Timberstone junior high schools, visit www.SupportSylvaniaAthletics.com (web site will be live soon). The website offers options to donate through PayPal or by sending in a pledge card, which can be printed from a PDF online. You can also contact Hrovatich at (419) 824-8656. The foundation accepts donations of any amount; donation levels from as low as $10,000 and as high as $5 million include varying rewards and recognition.

Foundation: Violations will not deter effort

The Sylvania Schools Athletic Foundation’s renewal project faced a scare when it learned Aug. 5 that Northview and Southview had received sanctions from the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) on its football programs because of recruiting violations. With the sanctions occurring while they were in conversations with donors, there was some worry that they may have negatively impacted some donors’ decisions about giving.

“It was a concern because sometimes people don’t understand the nature of everything that happens in a district or a community but we have gotten a really great response,” said Foundation Executive Director Jeanette Hrovatich said. “We continue to meet with people this week and next week. We are excited by the opportunity to continue to work on this project.”

Among the violations, Northview Athletic Director Chris Irwin was found to have violated an OHSAA bylaw when he gave new head coach Marek Moldawsky Jr. a list of eighth grade students from the three Sylvania junior high schools so he could contact them and try to keep them at Northview. The OHSAA reprimanded Irwin.

At Southview, head coach Jim Mayzes was found to have violated an OHSAA bylaw when he inquired where a student would go to high school while at McCord Junior High School. Southview was placed on a two-year probation and was fined $500.

“It did involve recruiting but it was within the context of Sylvania,” Superintendent Brad Rieger said. “We weren’t recruiting kids from Whitmer, Springfield or Bedford. It stems from our coaches that are very passionate about their programs and want kids to experience the great things that are happening at their programs. I want that in coaches, but they might have been a bit overzealous with how they acted.

“It was inappropriate. We will learn from it and get some training in place to make sure the expectations are spelled out clearly for everyone.”

Despite the violations, the foundation sees the upcoming renewal project as a good way to bounce back and make up for the athletic department’s mistakes.

“Anytime something negative or bad happens you can use that opportunity to grow from it and that’s what we are going to do,” Rieger said. “This new project is about creating projects for kids and building champions.”

Tags: Arbor Hills Junior High School, Brad Rieger, Jeanette Hrovatich, Jim Findlay, John Ross, Lourdes College, McCord Junior High School, Sylvania, Sylvania Northview High School, Sylvania Schools Athletic Foundation, Sylvania Southview High School, Timberstone Junior High School, University of Toledo

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 11th, 2011 at 6:01 pm and is filed under Community, Development, Education, Featured, Prep Sports, Sports.
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