What a wonderful evening it was! Over-the-Rhine Community Housing held its fourth annual Celebrating Our Beloved Community event at Music Hall Ballroom, just around the corner from its office, last Thursday, October 14, from 5:30 to 8:30 p m.
This fundraiser brings together so many different aspects of the community development industry and of the diverse OTR community. The food is always terrific - hors d'oeuvres from What's for Dinner, this year. Really plenty for a light supper.
And then, from my point of view, so many friends to meet and greet, so many hugs to gather. It's like they give a big party so I don't have to! It really is an event that brings together so many caring people.
High point this year was a wonderful speaker, ibrahim adbul-matin, the author of Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet. A youth organizer and environmental policy consultant, media personality and blogger (Brooklyn Bedouin), Ibrahim added good energy to the love all ready in the room.
An award to Elder High School for the many years its students have spent Saturday mornings working on housing rehabs, a fantastic set of performances by Elementz, honorary co-chairs Dan Korman of Park + Vine and Zeinab Schwen of the Council on American Islamic Relations in Ohio - a very inspiring and fun way to spend an evening.
Everyone's supply of community building energy got a big boost.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Public Forum: Balancing Interests in OTR
The entire title of the public forum presented by Woman's City Club on September 21 was: "Balancing the City's Interest in Neighborhood Revitalization and the Interests of Residents: Over-the-Rhine as a Case in Point."
Quite a title and quite a speakers list: Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, OTR Community Housing executive director Mary Burke Rivers, Chad Munitz of 3CDC, Debbie Mays, community activist, Cassandra Barham from the Contact Center, and Jeanne Golliher from Cincinnati Development Fund. The moderator was Karyl Cunningham, president and CEO of Emanuel Community Center.
Roxanne had a powerpoint, as did Chad. The big room at First Unitarian Church was full of people, full of energy, lots of questions. Much of the discussion seemed to center on the re-doing of Washington Park. There was no real disagreement expressed, and yet no clear consensus emerged either - no clear statement about what was in the City' interest and what was in the community and residents' interest.
This would seem to be a still-evolving discussion. It was great of Woman's City Club to bring all the parties together, to get the dialogue out front and in the public eye.
Quite a title and quite a speakers list: Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, OTR Community Housing executive director Mary Burke Rivers, Chad Munitz of 3CDC, Debbie Mays, community activist, Cassandra Barham from the Contact Center, and Jeanne Golliher from Cincinnati Development Fund. The moderator was Karyl Cunningham, president and CEO of Emanuel Community Center.
Roxanne had a powerpoint, as did Chad. The big room at First Unitarian Church was full of people, full of energy, lots of questions. Much of the discussion seemed to center on the re-doing of Washington Park. There was no real disagreement expressed, and yet no clear consensus emerged either - no clear statement about what was in the City' interest and what was in the community and residents' interest.
This would seem to be a still-evolving discussion. It was great of Woman's City Club to bring all the parties together, to get the dialogue out front and in the public eye.
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