NEWS!

CLASS OF 2009 VISITS TOLEDO IN SEPTEMBER

Leadership Ohio Class of 2009, September 2009 -- Energy, Conservation and Sustainability

In Toledo, Leadership Ohio class of 2009 started by meeting with Beckie Finch from the Metropolitan Park District.  Beckie welcomed the group and led us to the Seagate Convention Centre where the group met County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wosniak.  The group walked over to the new indoor arena and met with Ray Micham, Architect/Partner for the Collaborative.  The arena is just two weeks away from completion and will accommodate hockey, indoor football, concerts and other events.  The new arena is LEEDS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified which is green building rating system developed by the US Green Building Council. This provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction.

The group then headed to the Environmental Services Building and heard from Andrew Langenderfer, Northwest Ohio Regional Leader for Tetra Tech and Katie Schwartz, Conservation Associate for American Rivers.  The presenters offered more information on low impact development techniques in Lucas County and the class learned and visited their rain garden and the use of rain barrels.

Next stop for the day was Owens Corning who sponsored lunch for the group.  Gale Tedhams, Director of Sustainability, Green Products and Communications for Owens Corning talked to the group about the company’s products and their goal of reducing energy use and developing an end of life use for their products.  A tour of the building was included and the class saw firsthand how many techniques were used in the building to lower energy use and conserve resources.

The group then visited the offices of Leadership Toledo and Dave Schlaudecker, Executive Director.  The class heard from Elizabeth Sorge with Food for Thought which is a group of individuals from the Toledo, Ohio, area that believe a simple brown bag lunch can help change someone's life.  They are famous for providing a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich with a smile, a hug and a chance for people to connect with those in need.

Dave then gave the group an overview of Leadership Toledo and the adult and youth programs that have grown over the years.  Recently, Leadership Toledo partnered with the Youth Jefferson Awards, a national organization with 36-year history of recognizing community members for service. The student led initiative establishes a program in schools teaching youth how to be effective servant leaders, recognizing youth for their outstanding service and using the profiles of winners to encourage more students to volunteer and become involved in the community.

The first day ended with dinner sponsored by George Jones III at Manhattans.

Saturday began with a trip to Toledo’s Erie Street Market and a welcome by Dan Madigan, Executive Director of the Farmer’s Market Association of Toledo and Becky Keil. The market was a great example of the availability of local quality food. 

The group then moved on to Glenwood Garden and met Mike Szuberia, Manager of Toledo Grows which is an urban garden program that offers youth from pre-school to high school the opportunity to learn how to grow a garden, how to harvest and how to prepare meals with the fruits of their labor. 

The final stop was Wildwood Preserve, part of the MetroParks of the Toledo Area.  The class helped with a special event called Pack the Parks which included children’s activities, lawn games and a picnic lunch.  The group then heard from Beckie T. Finch on MetroParks 101.