This morning, I was thrilled to see the Akron Beacon Journal's endorsement of Kelli Crawford, one of Greater Akron's young professional leaders, for Akron City Council (Ward 10).

The ABJs editorial team noted that Kelli's experience in politics and government makes her rise above her competitors. She is employed by Summit County as a Public Information Officer. Previously, she was a baliff for Summit County Juvenile Court and a case worker for Oriana House. She spent the past two years working closely with Ward 10 Councilman Garry Moneypenny, attending monthly Ward 10 meetings and communicating with other Ward 10 citizens. Her chief priorities are:

• Improving and cleaning up neighborhoods.
• Maintaining parks and schools, especially to continue the momentum of the East High School/Goodyear Middle School construction projects.
• Focusing on neighborhood safety, including crime and speed reduction.
• Fighting to keep Goodyear here and working on economic development opportunities to strengthen East Akron.

Kelli is a shining example of a young professional (26!) who is actively engaged in our community and working to improve it. I encourage all Akron young professionals, whether you're in Ward 10 or not, to get out and vote on Tuesday, September 11. As the late author Louis L'Amour eloquently stated, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale - a tale of a trusty van…

Last night, a band of 11 intrepid YPs hit the road to Youngstown to join our compadres to the east for a night of networking. We had a plan: we would meet at Spaghetti Warehouse and hop on the "bus" that had been chartered to transport us to the event. I knew something was amiss when I arrived at SW at the appointed hour to find a 12-person van rather than the mini-bus I had originally been promised.

Then, our driver, Ron, had no idea where we were going. Foolishly, I had assumed that a company hired to transport people to a specific destination and back would be responsible for figuring out how to get there. I was wrong about that, but Ron called his dispatcher and got some directions, and we were on our way. We rolled out from SW at 5:39 - pretty impressive!

I knew the ride was going to be interesting when it turned out that even on MAX, the A/C didn't really do much to cool off most of the van. (more…)

On Monday, I spent a few hours helping the Akron Jaycees with their annual Project Back-to-School, a community service project that provides much-needed school supplies for Greater Akron region families.

Thanks to grant funding from Northern Ohio Golf Charities, the Jaycees purchased school supplies for 70 area students. Over the past few weeks, Jaycee Megan Kleidon, the project's chairperson, spent countless hours shopping for the supplies at area stores and hauling them to the Jaycees office. (KUDOS to Megan for her great bargain shopping and for organizing this project!)

Monday afternoon, Megan, myself, and several other Jaycee volunteers met at the Jaycee's office to transform the conference room into a school supply "store." (more…)

I have to admit that I am pretty excited to see the comments left after my last post "I'd Rather Live in Akron." All who commented seemed to have the same thing to say about Akron/Northeast Ohio - not enough jobs. This point seems valid, on the surface. So, I thought I'd do a little research. Here's what I found:

On Monster.com

• 2,094 jobs within a 20 mile radius of Akron
• 675 of those 2,094 jobs indicated a "Job Level," of which 508 were listed as "Experienced" or "Manager" level positions
• 624 of those 2,094 jobs indicated the applicant's necessary "Years of Experience," of which 527 were in the 2+ to 7 year range

Doesn't sound too bad, actually. It seems to me that the issue might not be that the jobs aren't here in Akron, the issue might be that we need better ways to find them. (more…)

I spent last weekend in Boston, where I lived for five years before I moved to Greater Akron in 2004. I fell in love with Boston during my first visit to the city in 1998, and less than a year later, I moved there from my home state, Colorado. I absolutely LOVED living in Boston. I loved the people and their accents. I loved all the greenery in the spring and summer, and the red, orange, pink, and yellow that colored the leaves in fall. I loved hanging out with my friends, trying new restaurants, seeing concerts, and even visiting tourist attractions. I loved sitting on the Waterfront, watching the waves lapping against the shore and the planes flying in and out of Logan Airport. I loved the Red Sox. I loved the diversity. I loved the history. I loved everything about my life in Boston.

Then I met my husband. And fell in love. And we started thinking about the future–settling down, getting married, buying a house, and hopefully, having some kids. It didn't take long before we realized that Boston was not the right place for us to build our life together. So, we packed up all our stuff and moved to Greater Akron, my husband's home turf.

Last weekend, I was reminded of all the reasons why I'd rather live in Akron. (more…)

The Bridgestone Invitational tournament rolls into town this week! The best players in the world will be in our own backyard. The field includes defending Champion Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, Ohio's own Ben Curtis, the oh-so-cute Sergio Garcia (be still my beating heart!), and many, many more. I'd be lying if I said I know much about golf, but I do know that this tournament brings lots of publicity and many much-needed tourism dollars to our region, which is always a good thing.

In addition to the publicity and tourism dollars, the Bridgestone Invitational also helps to raise money for area non-profit organizations through the Northern Ohio Golf Charities. Over the past several months, non-profit organizations and volunteers have been participating in the Birdies for Charity program - soliciting pledges, donations, and guesses (my guess is 785) on the number of birdies that will be shot this weekend. Money raised through the Birdies for Charity program benefits 36 local non-profit organizations including the Akron Jaycees Foundation, the American Red Cross, Stewart's Caring Place, First Tee Akron, and more.

The Bridgestone Invitational could not happen without the efforts of over 1,000 dedicated volunteers, and our YPs are out in force! (more…)