Cincinnati nonprofit organization
Joe Wenning Brings History To Life
On September 8, 2018, you’re invited…step back in time to 1788 on a walking tour of Pioneer Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Hamilton County and the final resting place of many Revolutionary and Civil War veterans and pioneers, where you will hear from historical interpreters in period dress, interact with craftsmen/women as they demonstrate their skills, and listen to knowledgeable historians share artifacts and details about daily life.
If you attend, make sure to be on the lookout out for Benjamin Stites, the man who led the first boat of settlers across the Ohio River to land in Columbia. Joe Wenning plays that historic character, a fitting role for the man who has been the passion, heart and driving force for the now annual event. “It is all because of me being interested in history and a whole team of people,” Joe told me.
That interest was first sparked and nurtured 15 years ago by Joe’s high school history teacher, Mr. Shrimpton, who appreciated and encouraged Joe’s class participation. When Joe’s classmates were nodding off in class, he was always excited about the lessons and eagerly answered questions – often correctly.
Later, it was through Joe’s participation in the Starfire Council, a Cincinnati nonprofit organization focusing on building better lives for people with disabilities, and a more inclusive community, that the idea for the event was born.
“His interest in local history basically brought this event to life through sheer force of his willpower and his amazing ability to connect with people,” Richard James, Starfire community connector told me. “Joe is just a natural born communicator who knows how to draw people out. If there’s 20 people in a room, Joe will talk to 25 of them! His knowledge of local history is vast and when he meets someone new who is into history they are invariably drawn in by his enthusiasm. He knows a ton of people around town, many of whom will tell you that Joe’s easy charm and engaging personality was apparent to them on first meeting. He takes this event very seriously and never stops brainstorming on how to expand our team and grow the event.”
Linda Wedding, a direct descendent of Benjamin Stites, came to the second event in 2015 and presented Joe with a plaque proclaiming him as an honorary Stites. Kathy Wenning (Joe’s mother) said it is his most meaningful award because it represents all of his work to do something of value to the community.
Event Details:
Saturday September 8th, 2018
PIONEER CEMETERY
333 Wilmer Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45226
Across the street from Lunken Airport
I asked Joe a few more questions about the event and why you should attend.
Lisa: This event came as a result of your passion for history. Why are you so interested in history?
Joe: Because of all the neat stuff that has happened.
Lisa: Why did you want to create this event – the Columbia Settlement?
Joe: To get more people involved with it. It brings people forward to learn and talk about the Ancestors and Pioneers who used to live in the Columbia Tusculum area. The Stites family is a big part of it too! Everyone should come! It’s all about helping and volunteering.
Lisa: Please share about the work that you have done to help create it, organize it, and volunteer at it.
Joe: I helped to get the event going, to get a team of volunteers together. I have help from Richard. (We) send out emails to committee members. (We) meet with volunteers and talk about the job they want to do for it. Volunteers are local people we meet at other events and history places. I ask them if they want to be a part of it. I portray a character called Major Benjamin Stites. He was a Revolutionary War soldier and he brought a boat load of friends and family members to Columbia.
Lisa: Why do you think people should come to the event?
Joe: Because we got reenactors; we got food and games and demonstrations. We got a whole load of games, dying fabric, paper piecing – and you got to come see it! It’s a blast! It’s free! You can walk right in! You have to see the food, gun demonstration, walking first person tour up above. You will hear the story about the first boatload of people. Look it up on our Facebook page; it is called Columbia Settlement Group.
Remembering Hannah: #HannahStrong
One day. One moment. Their life, their purpose changed forever.
They were a close-knit family of four – single father Jason Wesche and his three darling girls -Hannah, Rachael, and Kaitlyn – who treasured life’s simple pleasures. Many moments were shared laughing and playing together. 
Helping and bringing smiles to others made them feel good. Jason worked hard, juggling his responsibilities between work and raising his girls to be happy, confident, strong, and caring.
Hannah, the youngest, celebrated her third birthday on January 11. Jason described her to me as, “one of the most joyful kids ever – definitely not shy. She always wanted to try and do things for other people. She just loved everybody, and especially kids.”
It was at 7:00 am on March 8, 2018, when he dropped her off at her next-door babysitter. Minutes later a call came in to 911, and they would later learn that the little girl with her whole life ahead of her was shaken and struck while in the care of her sitter. The trial will begin soon.
Shortly after, Jason shared on a GoFundMe page, “Hannah was born on January 11, 2015. I fell head over [heels] for her and she stole my heart. Raising Hannah and watching her blossom into a bubbly fun loving little girl has been more than I could ever ask for. I am beyond devastated that I am having to say goodbye to my Angel. This is every parent’s worst nightmare and I will fight for my baby and justice will be served.”
From tragedy comes inspiration
Sometimes, the strength of the human spirit amazes and inspires me,
Three months later, as the trial is preparing to begin, the Wesche family is channeling their strength into a newfound mission in honor of their dear little girl who was horrifically taken way too soon, in a way that no child should have to endure.
Just launched, the Hannah Strong Foundation is a new nonprofit organization that Jason told me will be reaching people across the globe. Its new website explains its purpose as, “helping make the world around us a better, happier place for children of abuse and or neglect. With the help of our tireless staff, we organize fundraisers, community events, and in-depth training sessions for our volunteers. We use the mass majority of our income that we raise to help fund various organizations and hospitals including but not limited to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Life center, and other child related services.”
Their very first fund raiser is coming up on Sunday, July 1 from 3 to 7 pm at French Park in Cincinnati. There will be kids’ games and a 31 ft slip and slide, plus hot dogs and a silent auction for adults. Bring your whole family!
Watch for their upcoming announcements on ways you can be involved, and fund-raising events to attend. Follow them on Facebook or visit their website at www.hannahstrong3.com.
#HannahStrong
My Furry Valentine Volunteer Has Heart For Pets
For hundreds of Greater Cincinnati families and individuals each year, Valentine’s Day has become a holiday to treasure…as it represents the day their lives joined with a life of a furry (and even feathered) looking for a forever home. It happens because of what has grown to be the largest mega adoption event in the region, My Furry Valentine, that attracts over 1400 visitors and has more than 700 animals (dogs, cats, birds and some other species) from dozens of rescues. If you are looking to add a non-human friend to your household, you just may find your new companion Valentine’s Day weekend!
(More information on My Furry Valentine is below.)
Each year I like to profile a volunteer who helps make the event possible. This year I spoke with Melanie Corwin, My Furry Valentine’s rescue shelter coordinator.
Hers is a very important role that includes writing the application and vaccine requirements, communicating with the rescues, helping them set up on Friday, and coordinating the team of veterinarians and vet techs who check in every animal before opening the doors to the public.
The role is a perfect fit for Melanie, who, as executive director of UCAN (nonprofit spay and neuter clinic), already has a relationship with many area shelter and rescues. AND the heart for this cause. She herself shares a home with her son and five rescues – two dogs (Peanut and Blackie) and three cats (Katniss, Grayson and Calypso).
Melanie came into this line of work because it is her passion. Prior to joining the staff team at UCAN, she was a private practice attorney for 25 years working with nonprofit organizations. She and her son began volunteering at a no-kill shelter as a way of her teaching him the importance of giving back. It was a fateful activity that would change the course of her career – and he life.
“It got to be so depressing,” she told me. “We’d see the animals all get adopted and then the next week, all of the cages would be full again.”
She saw spay/neuter as a solution and began supporting UCAN financially. Then she joined the Board, having served as director, then vice-chair, and then chair of the Board before ultimately joining UCAN’s staff as executive director in 2012.
“People love their pets. Some say you should not adopt one if you can not afford the care but I don’t believe it. There should be community resources to allow them to have that animal,” she said. “There are so many benefits. Everyone deserves the love of a pet.
“Almost every day someone comes in and I have never had to say no. I enjoy getting grants to enable us to do free spay/neuter to help people who can not afford it,” she said.
UCAN was founded in 2001, to stop the endless cycle of unwanted births and euthanasia. The two main reasons people do not sterilize their pets are cost and lack of access to spay/neuter services. UCAN solves both of these issues. It provides low-cost spay/neuter services and free transports to its Colerain Ave clinic from several locations in Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana. The nonprofit clinic performs over 13,000 surgeries each year and this past year began offering low cost vaccinations also.
Melanie and the rest of the My Furry Valentine team will be very busy February 10 and 11, doing their part to help hundreds of animals find their forever homes.
Looking for a dog or cat (or other small animal)? Plan on being there!
My Furry Valentine Facts:
Where: Sharonville Convention Center (11355 Chester Road; 45246)
When (and cost):
Early Bird Entry Saturday, February 10th 10am – 12pm: $25
Saturday, February 10th 12pm – 5pm: $5 ages 5 & up
Sunday, February 11th 10am – 5pm: $5 ages 5 & up
For a list of participating rescues and to see pictures of many of the adoptable animals, please visit www.myfurryvalentine.org.
From Teen Parenthood To Blossom
It was before the holidays last year when I was in a room filled with men and women – some of whom began their journey toward adulthood as teenage parents. We were there to celebrate a momentous occasion – the one year anniversary for a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting young mothers and fathers through their many hurdles. Rosemary’s Babies is the brainchild of my dear friend Rosemary Ogelsby-Henry, who had her first child while still in high school and who was determined to not let her personal circumstances stand in her way of success. This is a very personal cause for Rosemary. It is why she spends just about every waking moment thinking about the impact she wants to have with her organization.
And, on that evening, we were there to applaud and support her – and all the volunteers who have helped to make that celebration possible.
Robin Nichole, family assistant specialist contractor at Kentucky National Guard Family Programs, was honored that night with the ‘A Rose Who Blossomed Through Concrete Award’. It is a recognition given to a parent who started his/her adult life as a teen parent and blossomed. It goes to someone who encompasses leadership and wears these qualities as a badge of honor: respect, honest, integrity, trustworthiness, and good citizenship.
In her introduction of Nichole, Rosemary shared, “‘At 15, the love of your family is awesome but it is your community that can be awful. Robin was ostracized, labeled, and heart and body beaten from the boy she thought she loved. Through it all her beautiful baby girl kept her. Her family supported her and her faith guided her. Robin has accomplished EVERY goal that she has set for herself. She now advocates for others (veterans) who are broken or who society claims are broken.”
Below is a portion of Robin’s acceptance speech.
In her own words:
“I was 15 and a sophomore in high school when I found out I was expecting Sydnee who is now engaged. I had two years left in high school and a dream of becoming a police officer when I became pregnant. I was involved in a teen organization, Police Explorers, where teens learn how to be police officers. I was told I was not what they wanted. My parents marched into the police chief’s office and said, ‘no, all these girls are doing it and she is just the one who got pregnant.’ I graduated high school with a two year old and when I was walking down the aisle, I heard my two year old scream, ‘Yay mommy!’ I went to college right away and everyone said I wouldn’t. They said I wouldn’t be a cop. They said I wouldn’t be anything. And I graduated college on the dean’s list. I am working on a double master’s with a 4.0. My daughter Sydnee has broken the cycle. She is marrying a great man who is serving our country. If they tell you you can’t do it, you tell them, watch me. That is the reason I had a child without an epidural -because my mom said I couldn’t do it. I truthfully could not have overcome everything without my parents. This award is not mine, it is theirs because they let me live at home home, helped with Sydnee so I could work, go to the police academy and serve on the streets. We are all trying to do the best we can. I met my husband when Sydnee was about 8 and he adopted her. She got her daddy. I am humbled and honored. Thank you to Rosemary for all you do.”
Respect And Value Kathleen
Today I’d like to introduce you to a friend who holds a very special place in my heart. Kathleen Sheil is an incredible example for all the qualities that I look up to another person. She is confident, yet humble. She is open and honest and genuine, and most definitely unafraid to stand up for herself and for others. She has this incredible way of making everyone feel welcome when in her presence. She gives of her time generously as a board member of Cincinnati nonprofit LADD (Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled), where she lives independently, and numerous other disability related organizations. And she also seeks opportunities to encourage and inspire others to be all they can be.
I see Kathleen as a leader, not only among her peers, but in the community as well. I consider myself so fortunate to be among her friends. Kathleen inspires me to be a better person.
Over dinner the other night, we got to talking about life. Kathleen’s motto, “Go out with the negative and in with the positive,” was inspired early on by her parents who encouraged her to always be confident in herself.
“My mom has always told me to put my best foot forward and that I need to be learning the whole aspect of being on my own completely. My parents never treated me differently from my siblings. They want me to be independent and a person of energy, a leader. They want me to also do my best with everything I do, if they are with me or not with me,” she told me. “I need to live the moment and to think about what that one thing is that makes me happy. That one thing for me is not just talking, not just my friends or my family, and not just LADD, but just being myself.”
“And who IS Kathleen?,” I asked.
“I am someone who is beautiful, honest, respectful, very positive, outgoing, and a leader who encourages others to be very special. I like to make conversations with different people and get to know who they are. I am a person with dreams and goals. I like to sing, do art, and plan events. I have always wanted to find that one person. I am very fortunate to have a family and friends who love me for who I am.
“I am someone who wants to be treated with respect,” she said.
A few weeks back, we heard about a CBS News report of how Iceland is eradicating Down syndrome with genetic testing and abortion. Kathleen was moved to action. She shared her thoughts in a letter to the Cincinnati Enquirer that was published. Among her words…”I want you to know that I have Down syndrome and I am important to this world. Yes, I may be different from you because of who I am, but we are all different from each other….Above all else, I am a person, like you, who deserves to be loved and respected. I have a lot of friends who are like me and who deserve to be loved and respected too. If I had not been born, the world would have missed out on getting to know Kathleen Sheil!”
THAT would have been a huge loss to this world because Kathleen, you make this world a better place.
