CINspirational People
CINspirational People: Dr. Verne Fairhurst, DVM
I have known and respected Dr. Verne J. Fairhurst, DVM, since beginning my pet training career and continue to be impressed by him and his team of other caring veterinarians and staff. Dr. Fairhurst is owner and medical director of the Montgomery Animal Hospital in Kenwood. Understanding the importance of positive training, they have referred many clients to me and have invited me to speak to their clients several times. Please learn more about Dr. Fairhurst in my interview below.
Lisa: Your grandmother had a special impact on your work. Can you explain?
Dr. Fairhurst: My paternal grandmother lived on farm with 20 cats, mostly working toms whose job was to control the rodent population. She believed in reincarnation and told me that she would come back as a tomcat because they have a great life – running all night and being catered to all day by a “a fat old lady” as she described herself. I was in veterinary school at the time, so she told me she would come back specifically to me. When I pointed out that tomcats get neutered, she told me that 
before neutering any cat, I should look it in the eye and if I see a twinkle, it’s my grandmother – and I shouldn’t neuter her. To this day, I always look each cat in the eye, but I’ve yet to see her twinkle.
Lisa: Tell us about someone who has been an important influence in your life and why.
Dr. Fairhurst: When other kids were stumbling over the question, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up’ I knew I was going to be a veterinarian. That career choice was shaped by a family friend – a well-respected leader in our small town – who was a veterinarian. When I was just a snotty-nosed kid of 11, I liked what he did. Who doesn’t like animals? He really took time with me, letting me hang around the animal hospital.
When my buddies were playing ball, I was cleaning cages and observing how to interact with animals and their owners. I hung around him for 20 years. The summer between my sophomore and junior years in college I lived at his animal hospital, observing during the day and answering emergency calls in the middle of the night. During part of that time he served as president of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), an organization that sets the highest standard of care for veterinary hospitals. Only 12% of hospitals earn AAHA accreditation. Today, one of those is my practice, Montgomery Animal Hospital. AAHA accreditation shapes every aspect of our practice and I credit my mentor for exposing me to the best way to practice veterinary medicine.
Lisa: Tell us about your favorite vacation.
Dr. Fairhurst: Hiking is often a focal point of our vacations, so it was particularly appealing when my wife, Gail, who is a Professor in the Communications Department at the University of Cincinnati, was invited to an annual leadership conference in southern Utah. Our three kids and I tagged along – six different times. While Gail attended conference sessions, we hiked, kayaked and enjoyed the outdoor adventures at Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon and Capitol Reef National Park. It wasn’t all work for Gail. During conference breaks she was able to join in the fun.
Lisa: What was your first job and what life lessons did you learn from it?
Dr. Fairhurst: I worked in a funeral home, helping with yard work and other responsibilities. As you can imagine, I saw people during their most difficult times. That taught me the importance of respecting people, particularly when they aren’t at their best. At the time, I didn’t realize the life lessons l was learning at that job, but now I see that it helped to shape the way I treat people, especially my clients. The experience taught me patience, how to handle emotional situations, remain calm, act professionally and communicate with people.
Lisa: What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Dr. Fairhurst: My parents always encouraged me to pursue my interests and to never give up on my goals. Their encouragement and confidence in me gave me confidence in myself. My goal, of course, had always been to be a veterinarian, yet getting into veterinary school is difficult. With my parents’ encouragement and the confidence they instilled in me, I applied and was accepted at Ohio State. It’s a tough program, so my parents’ advice kept me going during those sometimes challenging times.
Lisa: What are some of your favorite activities outside of work and family?
Dr. Fairhurst: I enjoy hiking, kayaking, reading nonfiction adventure books and running.
#GoodThingsCincy
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CINspirational People: Vickie Mertz
I have known Vickie Mertz virtually for years. Her day job is with a nonprofit organization called Cincinnati Works, a nonprofit organization that helps people in our community who are unemployed or underemployed to raise above poverty and gain economic self-sufficiency. It has always been so obvious that Vickie’s career means so much more to her than simply a paycheck. Her passion for wanting to empower and energize people comes through loud and clear.
I learned recently of yet one more reason to admire the woman behind those inspirational posts. Quietly, without any need or want of recognition, Vickie has been using her own money to buy ingredients for brown bag meals of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with pretzels or chips, and distributing them to people on the streets who haven’t the means to purchase meals for themselves. Tucked into each bag is a little note from Vickie that reads, “God loves you and so do I. Sign my name.” John 316 In the cold months of January and February, she also collects winter outerwear.
Vickie is known to always have a stock with her in her car, as she never knows when she may see someone from her window in need of generosity. She also spends some of her lunch hours downtown, walking the sidewalks in search of hungry and/or cold people.
“I have been blessed over and over by them wanting to hug me or thank me because I got there at just the right time,” she told me as her voice broke in emotion. “One man said, ‘thank God I (Vickie) was there’ because he was about to get something off the street.”
I was so touched that I needed to feature her. Vickie is absolutely a CINspirational Person.
Lisa: Where does your inspiration come from for doing this?
Vickie: Personally in my own life, I went three years without a furnace and just used space heaters when my husband wasn’t working. Doing this for others is just something my heart tells me to do. I know that I need to share now because I can.
Lisa: How do you find the people to help?
Vickie: I work on Walnut Street. They are not difficult to find. When I head out, I pray about whether to turn right or left; and either direction, I always find people in need.
Lisa: Are there any people whose stories stand out to you?
Vickie: I don’t ask people why they are on the street so I don’t know many of their stories, but I remember how the impact of my helping them.
I remember seeing one woman right across the street from me. She slept there day and night. One morning I walked over to her with coffee. She had a blanket over head. I asked her if would like the coffee, and the woman said ‘no’. The next day I took her coffee and a protein bar. On the third day, I said my name and asked for her name. ‘Jeanelle’, she said. She said she had a laptop in her backpack and she went to school. When she pulled her hands out to accept the gloves I had brought, I noticed the gold ring on her grimy hands. It occurred to me that she was able to keep the ring and backpack somehow. I knew there was more to her story. I reached out to organizations asking they come and talk to her about going to a shelter. Then, one day she was gone. My prayer is that she is in a better place.
#GoodThingsCincy #randomactsofkindness
CINspirational People: Nick St. Pierre
Nick St. Pierre has an absolutely incredible, rare gift to make people smile and laugh. I have admired him for many years, probably even given him a hug or two. That is…to his former alter ego – Cincinnati Reds mascot, Gapper.
Little did he know when he was first hired by the Reds as a rally pack cheerleader shooting T-shirts to the fans, that his career would go on to create one of Major League Baseball’s most beloved mascots. The idea began over a conversation Nick had with then Reds Chief 
Operating Officer John Allen in 2001. Gapper made his first appearance in the new stadium in 2003.
These days, while Nick has passed on the torch of being Gapper a couple seasons ago, he continues his full time job as mascot coordinator with the Reds.
After reading my interview below, I think you will see why Nick was the perfect person to originate our Cincinnati legend. And, if you see Nick on the street, you will probably want to run up and give him a hug.
Lisa: What is an accomplishment you achieved that you are proud of?
Nick: I am very proud of being employed with the Cincinnati Reds for the past 19 yrs and all the, not only fun, but good things I have been able to do for people. Knowing how much people enjoy this team and being able to share it with those who love it is a blessing.
Lisa: Tell us about someone who has been a positive influence in your life.
Nick: It is difficult to limit it to just one. I am surrounded by positive influences from players, coaches, celebrities and some of the richest people in the city but if I had to narrow it down, I would have to say a small boy that I met while making an appearance at the Cincinnati Airport.
A guest of a Christmas Celebration being hosted by CVG and Delta, he, as well as the rest of the group were of low income families. The kind you never hear about because they are working very hard and are very proud of not accepting assistance. In costume I gravitated to him because he was shy and stayed away from everyone else. In a short amount of time we bonded.
I, pretending to be one of my loving dogs, without speaking was able to communicate that I was there for him and we were pals. There came a time in the event when the kids were given large gift bags full of toys and other stuff. Each one had a name on it for each child. As the distribution went on, my guy kept getting passed up. Other children around us were opening their bags and revealing in the gifts they had received while my buddy and me sat and watched. After what felt like a very long time and watching everyone else now adding batteries to said gifts, still nothing came. Finally, the volunteers found his gift bag and we had a great time together, opening and sharing in his new stuff.
I talk about him because he still inspires me. While we sat waiting, he did not waiver from his smile. He appeared to be genuinely happy for everyone else and satisfied with just watching. This still amazes me, to remember his sense of calm and comfort and for him not to have, at any point, stated “well what about me?” was truly an inspiration.
He taught me to see the joy and delight in any situation. During all this taking place, I am running through my mind of how I am mad that this is happening, and I will personally take him to Toys R Us and buy him one of everything. But as I say, watching him not get the least bit upset calmed me and everything worked out. So, to make a short answer long, my person who was a positive influence in a nameless little boy that I spent an hour with at a Christmas Party.
Lisa: What is a motto you live by and why or how has it impacted you?
Nick: I have one chance to make a fan for life
and
It’s always someone’s first game.
These have served me well in the world of sports, but both apply to me in my daily life. I have one chance to make a fan for life is the same as only one first impression. I approach everyone, even strangers as though we are friends. At this point neither one of us have done anything to upset the other so why wouldn’t we be friends?
It’s always someone’s first game refers to approaching everyone with a sense of “how can I help you”. I don’t avoid folks that may appear in need even if I cannot help. Sometimes a kind word, or acknowledgement of existence, goes a long way. By adapting these motto’s to daily life, it really helps to avoid becoming selfish and cold and closed minded.
Lisa: What is your biggest motivator?
Nick: The fans of the Cincinnati Reds and my son.
The fans give me motivation to come to work every day. Having the chance to grant wishes for folks makes me feel like a real life genie. Then there is my son, He is 23 and has assumed my responsibilities as Gapper, one of my mascots. I am motivated to make things better and easier for him than I had it. I am motivated by his growing love for a job that I was so very proud of personally. I have had the conversation with others that as a parent, I can think of nothing more satisfying than knowing you have taught your child a skill that he can feed and support himself on. I am comfortable that my son could get him a job in any pro sports venue as the mascot performer coordinator person.
Lisa: Tell us about an act of kindness you have done, witnessed or been the recipient of and how that made you feel.
Nick: There are more examples than I can name. One comes to mind.
I was in Marietta doing an appearance at a baseball camp. While in costume I had a young man that would not leave me alone. At one point I was tripping over him because he would not stop. At that point to get a little distance, I grabbed his hat and threw it knowing he would go after it, this would give me a minute to get to the next location before he returned to stand on top of me again. He did not return as quickly as I would have thought. When he returned, he stated that he couldn’t find his hat, that it had disappeared. There were many older kids standing in the area of where I threw it. I assumed all being in the same camp that they wouldn’t steal from each other. But, that I feared, is what happened. He hung out with me the rest of the event and at the end, his mother approached me and explained that the hat was brand new and how difficult it would be to replace since they had to save for so long to afford the camp itself.
This crushed me. As soon as I got back to the office a couple days later, I immediately went to our team shop, purchased a professional style hat, had is named stitched onto the outside and sent that to him. I heard back a few weeks later from an uncle stating that he had gotten the hat and was very proud of it.
I have since and still do send him things that I collect from around here. I have never gotten a thank you but am not in it for that. I figure if this kid realizes there is someone other than his family who cares about him, and perhaps he will have a better shot in life than those who fell they have no one.
Please join me for my newest event,
A Night of CINspiration on February 25, 2016
and you will hear Nick share more stories…
and meet Gapper!
#GoodThingsCincy
CINspirational People: David Perry
CINspirational People is my feature where I share stories of diverse people’s lives from our Cincinnati region. David Perry is someone who I met through work, and am connected to on Facebook. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a holiday that has unique significance to David’s life. He wrote about it, and about how he hopes his story will inspire others. Please read about David below.
It was Martin Luther King day 24 years ago when I suddenly became totally blind due to Detached Retina. As I look back on the last 24 years of my life, I consider myself beyond blessed to have so many abilities, such as cooking, holding down a job, driving so many people crazy, and so much more! 
The hardest thing for me to accept, or even understand is when I am given limitations from people who don’t really understand people with blindness being over comers in so many ways! The whole truth is that people who are blind are just as vital human beings as much as people who are sighted! The real problem with blindness is not the disability itself. However, the real problem is all of the misunderstandings society has regarding blindness! Blindness doesn’t define someone’s characteristic. However, their courage and abilities to do their very best truly defines who they really are! The whole truth is we all have vision! The question is how do you choose to see life? I choose to laugh at my disability, and enjoy everything that God has given me! God has blessed me with so many wonderful friends and family throughout my life, and all of these people look great to me! Making today’s vision tomorrow’s victories, making today’s obstacles tomorrow’s opportunities, and making today’s problems tomorrow’s possibilities shines the light of beauty! The ability of being an over comer is the only way to live! Remembering January 20, 1992, the day that changed my life! Although I lost my vision from a physical perspective, I gained vision in so many other regards! The eyes in my heart see all, and this kind of vision is the best! Enjoy your day!
#GoodThingsCincy #CINspiration
CINspirational People: Lisa Cousineau
Lisa Cousineau is a clinical service provider for Talbert House, a Cincinnati nonprofit that provides social services focusing on mental health, community corrections, substance use and welfare-to-work programs. Lisa is integrally involved in the organization’s LEAP, which cares for adults who have serious mental health issues.
“It is reassuring to know that I have an outlet for teaching and helping to shape others lives. To watch previously socially isolated clients blossom because they are now interacting with others is a blessing I get to experience every day,” she told me.
Please read more about what inspires Lisa.
Lisa Desatnik: What is your greatest fulfillment from this job?
Lisa Cousineau: There is never a day I go home where I think that “nothing I do makes a difference”. Every minute here someone is changing for the better. Most of our clients are completely socially isolated – LEAP is their only chance to interact with others, or feel a part of a family. Staff facilitate the client’s bonding with each other, which leads to increased self esteem and a purpose for each of them.
Lisa Desatnik: What message would you like to share to others about mental illness?
Lisa Cousineau: Mental illness is so diverse with such a varied range of diagnoses. I have learned that medication and therapy are important, but many issues can dissipate by being able to be a friend and have a friend in other group members. We use the term “mental health” in our program much more than illness and address the basic need for companionship, which does wonders for their mental health. We are fortunate to live in Hamilton County, where the Board and voters realize the importance of programs like ours.
Lisa Desatnik: Please tell us about someone who taught you life lessons.
Lisa Cousineau: Growing up, I had a fascination with Anne Frank. I must have read that diary at least ten times throughout grade school. I kept journals and diaries, and rewrote stories myself constantly. I loved writing, and thought that would be my career, so I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. After finally getting to Amsterdam this fall, and being in her secret home, I now realize my fascination with Anne Frank had less to do with writing and more about her incredible mental strength. How was she able to endure those two years in secret? It is something we see every day at LEAP- the simple routine things most take for granted mean the world to a client who is feeling no purpose. One of my favorite quotes from her is “Whoever is happy will make others happy too”. I guess that is why LEAP works – it definitely is a happy place.
