Looking for something fun to do this Saturday afternoon? Why not volunteer at 91.3 The Summit's Open House?

Volunteers will be greeting open house visitors, answering questions about the station as necessary, and taking pledges via phone.

I need 5 people to commit to volunteering as follows:

noon – 2:00 p.m. (one slot)
2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (four slots)

The Summit is a great supporter of the YP movement and has helped us out in the past by providing free entertainment for many of our joint networking events. I’d really love to give back to them, and I’d appreciate some help from our YP community. Anyone who’s interested in helping out should contact me as soon as possible at (330) 237-1244 or e-mail to baxter@greaterakronchamber.org.

If you're not able to help out, feel free to stop by and enjoy the Open House! The Open House begins at 11:00 a.m. and features station tours, a demo of HD Radio, catered lunch from the Mustard Seed Market and Café, free chair massage, and special membership incentives. You can also meet your favorite Summit on-air personalities and hear great live acoustic music from some of the area's best local musicians. Directions to The Summit studios are here.

What a great day we had on Saturday for the Road Runner Akron Marathon! The sun was shining, the people were happy…all in all, it was a great day. I spent my Saturday handing out tickets in the beer tent with my friends from the Akron Jaycees. I'm neither a beer drinker nor a runner, so I can't really imagine the two going together well, but let me tell you that the runners who I encountered on Saturday were all pretty happy to see me and the rest of the Jaycees volunteering at the beer tent.

The finish line at Canal Park was set up so that the runners would cross the finish line, receive their metals and silver blankets, and get their pictures taken on the field before heading up the stairs to the concourse. I was stationed right at the top of those stairs, greeting the exhausted runners with a smile, and asking, "Ready for a beer?" Most often, "You bet!" was the response. One guy even hugged me as he related his excitement at having a time that qualifies him to run in the Boston Marathon. I've never seen anyone who's just finished running 26.2 miles be so happy to know that he'll be running that same distance again in just 6 short months, but I guess that's how it is for marathoners…

Hit the streets for the Akron Road Runner Marathon on Saturday, September 29! This year marks the five year anniversary of the marathon, and a number of celebration events are planned.

Registration for the marathon, half-marathon, and team relay is open until midnight on Monday, September 24. There's also a FREE 1K Kid's Fun Run along the Canal Trail from Spaghetti Warehouse to Lock 3.

If running's not your thing, consider signing up as a volunteer. Volunteers make the marathon possible, so get out of bed and get involved! (Yes, I know it requires getting up early on a Saturday, but so what?!?! It's only once a year…) If you're interested in volunteering, register online or e-mail Volunteer Co-Chair Rachel Roukey. Volunteers are especially needed in the following roles:

Friday, Sept. 28
Runners Expo - at the John S. Knight Center. Duties vary ranging from
checking in runners to passing out t-shirts.
Shifts: 10 am - 2 pm or 1:45 pm - 5:30 pm or 5:15 pm - 9:30 pm

Saturday, Sept. 29
Exchange Zones - Firestone Park/Wilbeth Rd., University of Akron/Brown St.,
Sand Run Pkwy., Revere Rd. Duties vary from collecting runners chips to
directing runners through the zone.
Shifts: from 6 am/6:30 am - 11 am/noon (based on the EZ)

Saturday, Sept. 29
Kids Fun Run - located behind the Spaghetti Warehouse on Main Street.
Duties vary from course monitor to passing out goodie bags.
Shift: 7 am - 11:30 am

Saturday, Sept. 29
Finish Line - located inside of Canal Park. Duties vary from passing out
blankets to runners to assisting runners through bleachers to passing out
medals.
Shift: 7 am - 1:30 pm

If you're at Canal Park on marathon day, stop by and say "Hi!" You'll find me at the beer tent, where I'm volunteering with the Akron Jaycees.

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…)

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…)

Along with several other members of the Young Professionals of Akron, I spent my day Saturday assembling care packages for our troops. Many thanks to the USO Armory Care Package Center in North Canton for their hospitality and for providing our group with a volunteer activity that was well organized and kept us busy all day.

As I was stuffing the boxes full of puzzle books, toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, dryer sheets, kleenex, toilet paper, etc. I found myself thinking about the soldiers who would receive the packages I stuffed, and hoping that they would enjoy the things I chose. I mean, I know there's not a lot that's exciting about lotion and shampoo, but I tried to include the best brands I could grab, and I tried to find fun calendars, books, and toys to include as well. I couldn't help but wonder what it must be like to be out there in the desert, lugging all your stuff around in the sweltering heat, needing dryer sheets to ward off your own stench. Makes me feel bad for complaining about not having air conditioning in my house!

The USO is always looking for donations and volunteers. Additionally, they really need the addresses of soldiers who are currently serving overseas. Until Saturday, I wasn't aware that they can't just send over a whole bunch of boxes to be randomly distributed among the troops. Each package must be sent to a specific soldier at a specific address. So, if you know anyone who is currently serving, e-mail his/her name and mailing address to usoarmory@yahoo.com or call (440) 454-2537.