Making Change

You don't have to go far in Over-the-Rhine to know the community is thick in the middle of a renaissance.

From Washington Park on the west side of the neighborhood, to the Bridging Broadway casino effort in the east, dramatic opportunity and progress are marching full speed ahead in this neighborhood I proudly call home.

It takes many hands to make this change. Many organizations to reach out and lead the effort.

Emanuel Community Center is one of those organizations.

Originally founded to help German immigrants transition to life in America, Emanuel now focuses on other strategies that make Over-the-Rhine and its neighbors stronger and more successful.

Emanuel is committed to programming that helps children succeed in kindergarten. I love this concept because it jives with my employer's top priority, which is to help prepare children for kindergarten so they grow into strong young adults who can succeed in school and life (disclosure: Emanuel is an agency partner and receives funding from my employer, United Way of Greater Cincinnati).

The organization is recognizing three of Cincinnati's most accomplished and dedicated leaders in the community at Wednesday night's Triumph Awards. The evening will recognize Herb Brown, retired senior vice president of Western and Southern Financial Group; Paavo Jarvi, music director of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Ellen van der Horst, president of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber.

These folks are truly outstanding Cincinnatians and well deserving of the recognition.

Former Cincinnati news man Nick Clooney is the evening's keynote speaker. I am told his wife, Nina, will also be in attendance, and there's a rumor their movie star son, George, will be in town for work related to the movie he's shooting here. There's a possibility George could attend the Triumph Awards as it might be the only opportunity he has to see his parents during this trip to Cincinnati.

George Clooney. Netheland Plaza. Wednesday Night. Need I say anything else?

You can still buy tickets for the event. Your ticket price will go to help Emanuel continue the work its doing in the community I call home.

And you will help more of Cincinnati's youngest students strive for success and stability.

That's the real star in this whole scenario.


Kate's Random Musings by Kate the Great is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.