Cassie Mattia lives in Historic Downtown and is Associate Editor of Loveland Magazine
by Cassie Mattia
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland it’s that time of the week again for your Loveland Magazine “Summer Salad!” This week we captured several great moments that were happening around Loveland. We also checked in with some of our favorite local businesses to see just what they have been up to this summer so far! Continue reading below to see who and what the Summer Salad featured this week!
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Congratulations to Jake Salamon with the Loveland Police Department!
“We are so proud of Loveland Police Officer Jake Salamon! Today, Ashley from MADD stopped by to present Officer Salamon with the “2020 Top Cop Award.” Officer Salamon received this award for his continued dedication to the safety of our community through concentrated traffic enforcement centered around removing impaired drivers from the roadway.” – Loveland Ohio Police Department Facebook Page
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Ricky Mulvey shares his third episode from his documentary podcast, “Total Fighter!”
In the third episode of Ricky Mulvey’s documentary podcast “Total Fighter”, Ezzard Charles tries to move on from his tragic meeting with Sam Baroudi and the mafia tightens its grip over his boxing career. A match against Joe Louis becomes more possible after the biggest fight in Cincinnati’s history.
Featuring interviews with P Man Jones, Ezzard Charles II, William Dettloff, author of “Ezzard Charles: A Boxing Life,” and Buddy LaRosa, founder of LaRosa’s Pizza.
Ricky Mulvey is a former sportswriter and talking head at Loveland Magazine.
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Congratulations Move2Loveland! We are proud to say that we have some EXTREMELY hard-working real estate agents right here in Loveland, Ohio!
We’re very proud Move2Loveland has made RealTrends’ list of America’s Best Real Estate Agents for the third year in a row… This time as the #10 team in all of Ohio!
Join BRS Insurance and the Thomas More Saints for a day of golf! Click the image below to see how you can show your support for BRS and Thomas More University Athletics!
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Right now there are huge savings for Christmas in July at RP Diamond
Storewide! Discounts will last for the entire month!
Are you running a small business and are in need of sanitizer?! PF5 can help! Click the link below to see how you can get hand sanitizer for your business!
“Product here now in Cincinnati area. Helping out Hair Salons, Restaurants, Gyms and other businesses as they open up. Also selling direct to homes. Free delivery in the Tri-State area. Saw pricing at the C-Store charging $124/gallon. We are selling at $37/gallon! Buy direct from the manufacturer!” – PF5.org
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Summer storms are here so that means you have to be sure to keep your gutters clear! All American Gutter Protection can help you today! Read below for more details!
Looking for gutter guards but not sure where to find something GREAT and RELIABLE for your home? We have two locations in Ohio: covering more than half of the state. We offer free estimates all year long (888) 323-8090.
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Don’t forget to come out and support your “LOVE-LY” community by participating in the annual Loveland Police STUFF A Cruiser Food Drive! Click the image below for event details!
Click the title link above to read about how the LHS Athletics community is coming together in light of the “Pay-To-Play” announcement to support the Tiger student-athletes!
Click the title link about to read about how Loveland is giving back in order to take care of the community’s youth!
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Looking to get “shredded” for the Summer?! Vibe Nutrition is having a SUMMER SHRED CHALLENGE and there are only 10 spots left! Sign up before it’s too late!
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And that concludes this week’s Summer Salad! Stay tuned for more sizzling hot summer details about your favorite Loveland citizens and businesses!
Cassie Mattia is the Associate Editor of Loveland Magazine and lives in Historic Downtown.
by Cassie Mattia
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland videographer Bob Kessler wanted to get a unique perspective of this year’s 4th of July fireworks by getting up close and personal with the launch zone! Kessler was able to not only show the launch of the fireworks but the explosions as well in one wide-angle shot. Loveland Magazine and Kessler teamed up this year for the 4th so that he could receive credentials to be on the actual launch site. By doing this, Kessler was able to witness the firework preparations and be there when the fuses were lit.
Loveland’s and Symmes Township’s annual Independence Day celebrations were canceled this year, however, the City and Township were able to hold two simultaneous, “park and watch” firework shows on Saturday, July 4th.
Kessler positioned himself at Loveland’s launch site inside Philips Park which was closed to the public for the day. Symmes Park, which was also closed to the public for the day, acted as the launchpad for the Township.
Kessler explained that previously he shot video from various street views in Downtown Loveland and on the bridge of the Little Miami River. Typically, Loveland launches its annual show from inside Kiwanis Park on Wall Street but, this year, because of COVID 19 the City was concerned about having thousands of people crowd into Historic Downtown, which is known as the best viewing spot for the fireworks. City Hall ended up deciding to move the launch to a higher location in order to take advantage of the area’s church and school parking lots. Spectators were either encouraged to watch the shows, drive-in movie style and practice social distancing, or residents who lived near the parks were asked to stay at home to enjoy the show. Those that decided to watch the fireworks from their cars went to Loveland High School, Home of the Brave Park, church parking lots, and surrounding subdivisions while of course remaining socially distant.
Kessler told us that the launch locations were chosen to accommodate the use of larger shells, which go higher into the air and allow spectators to watch from a much wider area.
Here is Kessler’s favorite still shot from his vantage point at the launch pad inside Phillips Park. “This is my favorite picture from the batch I shot last night. I was about 250′ from the launch site, behind the exhibitors running the show. Nikon D850, 14mm, ISO 400, f/10, 8 seconds,” said Bob Kessler.
Kessler said he was excited about the addition of a second launch site at Symmes Park this year.
“The second launch site promised to make for a unique experience. That’s why I settled on Phillips Park as the best location for me to photograph both stills and video images.”
Dave Miller, Loveland Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, covered the wide shots from the top of the stands at LHS’s stadium where he was able to view both Loveland’s and Symmes’ fireworks. He used two cameras, one acted as a live feed so LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV could have a live broadcast of the shows.
Kessler and Miller were in constant communication in the days leading up to the show as times and locations rapidly changed with not much notice to the public. Luckily Loveland Magazine had a firework “inside man,” which allowed us to communicate quick and accurate firework updates to the public.
A few minutes before launch time Kessler sent a message to Miller saying, “I passed the cop-test. The patrol came through and the Rozzi guy said, ‘He’s with us!”
Some of the camera equipment Bob Kessler used at the launch site of the Loveland Fireworks show.
Loveland was the first to set off their rockets, then Symmes followed shortly after. Each firework show lasted about fifteen minutes. After the two shows finished both launch pads put on a simultaneous Grand Finale.
“I first contacted the Loveland Symmes Fire Department about getting permission to be close, as they previously ran the show and knew me and my work with Loveland Magazine,” Kessler explained, “I then approached Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks and got the permission of the exhibitor running the show to shoot within the normally closed firing zone.”
Kessler positioned himself in a ditch behind the show operator. Using a wide-angle lens and shooting 4K, he was able to capture a high definition video that allowed him to digitally “zoom-in” on the image without compromising quality. “I concurrently shot digital images with my still camera, the equivalent to an 8K image,” Kessler said.
Kessler experimented with various settings on his camera as the show progressed, mostly shooting still frames at various time exposures of 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 seconds. “All this fussing had to be done quickly, as I knew the show would only last 15-20 minutes. I managed to get about 75 images and several videos,” Kessler said, “Out of that, I ended up with 11 shots that I liked enough to post on Facebook.”
Kessler learned from the Rozzi folks that the firework shells are able to go up to 100′ in the air for each inch of shell diameter. For example, a 4′ shell would go 400′ feet into the air while a 6′ shell would go about 600 feet into the air.
“I always look forward to working with Bob Kessler on video projects because I learn so much,” David Miller said, “My only regret is there wasn’t enough of him to go around that night so he couldn’t be in the stadium with me to adjust my camera. If he could have been there then all I would have had to do was hit the record button. My video would have been so much better!”
Some of the video equipment David Miller used to shoot video and live-stream the fireworks show from the high vantage point of the stands at Tiger Stadium
Miller also said that when Kessler offered to shoot the show he knew that he would expend countless hours readying his equipment and making adjustments. “Doing something like shooting fireworks is seat-of-pants. There are so many variables such as the rapidly setting sun. Will it be completely dark, well it will be if it’s a cloudy day. If the sun is out and going over the horizon which way will it be heading in relation to where the camera is? Fifteen minutes can make a huge difference in the ambient light that time of day,” Miller explained, “Bob sees all these variables in the days before and has the brainpower to take most of the guesswork out of the equation.”
Miller said he really enjoyed watching the evening unfold from the highest elevation in town. “When I got to the stadium there were already about 20 teens playing frisbee football and before the show, someone new showed up with a cooler of water balloons to cool them off with.”
At showtime, many of the teens and some adults joined Miller at the top of LHS’s bleachers to enjoy the vantage point of seeing both shows. “The pre-show of all the neighborhood fireworks displays going off from the high vantage point I had was pretty cool as well,” Miller added.
Did you miss the 4th of July firework shows this year? Well, we have you covered! Click below to relive Bob Kessler’s 4th of July Fireworks video production!
Kessler also produced a short clip of Loveland’s Finale which Loveland Magazine ended up using as an experiment of a “Video Cover Photo”.
Loveland Magazine sends out a special thanks to Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks for giving us access to the launch site and showing us such wonderful hospitality!
Check out these previous firework shows that Bob Kessler produced for Loveland Magazine TV. In this first video from 2015, Bob showed close-ups as the fuses were lit by a crew of Loveland Firefighters in full protective gear. Deputy Fire Chief Don Books talks about the show and how safe it was for the crew.
“The Public Health Advisory Alert System is a color-coded system designed to supplement existing statewide orders through a data-driven framework to assess the degree of the virus’ spread and to engage and empower individuals, businesses, communities, local governments, and others in their response and actions.”
Loveland, Ohio – Today beginning at 6 PM all of Hamilton County which includes parts of the Loveland School District is under an order of the Ohio Department of Health that mandates the wearing of face coverings in public.
Loveland High School, the Intermediate and Middle School Campus, and the Primary and Elementary Campus are all within the RED alert area. There are approximately 4,000 students that attend these schools.
The Early Childhood Center is in Clermont County which is in the Orange Alert area.
Loveland Schools are currently scheduled to resume classes on August 26, 48 days from now.
Loveland is in three counties. The Little Miami River is the East/West dividing line between Hamilton County and Clermont County, A smaller part of Loveland is in Warren county. Hamilton County is in the RED in Ohio’s Public Health Emergency Alert system. Clermont and Warren are both currently ORANGE.
Also, Governor Dewine tweeted on July 7, “As the #COVID19 pandemic has progressed more younger Ohioans are being diagnosed with #COVID19. We are seeing young people who are getting very sick. There is also the concern that they are passing it on to those who are at risk.” He released this graphic to emphasize that point.
Loveland, Ohio – The LHS Athletics community has come together in light of the “Pay-To-Play” announcement to support the Tiger student-athletes that now have to pay $310 per sport. The Loveland Athletic Boosters, a non-profit organization composed of adult volunteers, have been and continue to be one of the biggest advocates for the LHS student-athletes as they are consistently coming up with ways to generate income for the LHS Athletic Department. Money is raised typically by running concessions, fundraising, and Booster Membership fees.
Recently, the Loveland Athletic Boosters created a Facebook group that is focused on raising money for the pay-to-play fees for LHS student-athletes. Click the article link below to learn about the Loveland Athletic Boosters Facebook group and how you can “Adopt-A-Tiger!”
Now that July is here, the Boosters are now preparing for one of their biggest fundraisers of the year, the 21st Annual Athletic Boosters Golf Scramble, which is set to be held on July 27th at O’Bannon Creek Golf Club. There are several different packages that you can grab to support the Tiger athletes that are listed below!
The Golf Scramble registration, buffet lunch, and practice time on the golf range will start at 11 AM and end at 1 PM. At 1 PM the shotgun will sound kicking off the scramble officially. At 6:45 PM dinner and awards will be held.
The Annual Golf Scramble will feature course challenges such as the longest drive and the closest to the pin, a Par 3 challenge, a Par 5 challenge, a putting contest on the practice green, a Mulligans sale, and a Hole-In-One Challenge sponsored by Performance Lexus.
The deadline for registration is Friday, July 17th. To register now click the REGISTRANT INFORMATION tab below!
2020 Athletic Boosters Annual Golf Scramble
When
Monday, July 27th
Lunch starts at 11:00 AM and the shotgun start will occur at 1 PM
Dinner and awards will follow immediately after the golf scramble
Cassie Mattia is the Associate Editor of Loveland Magazine and lives in Historic Downtown Loveland
by Cassie Mattia
Loveland, Ohio – Students across Ohio have felt and continue to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the remainder of the school year canceled as well as graduation and all the fun events that go along with it, many students did not get the opportunity to be a part of their Annual Senior Night missing out on receiving Senior Awards and Scholarships.
Steve and Connie Mitchell could not bear the thought of not giving out the annual 2020 Seth Mitchell Scholarships to the LHS Senior applicants so they decided to give the scholarships away virtually! The Mitchells usually make an annual visit into town to personally hand out the scholarships on the Senior Award Night.
Connie and Steve’s, son and decorated war hero, LHS graduate, Captain Seth Mitchell was killed on October 26th, 2009 at age 30 when two helicopters collided while he was supporting combat operations in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. At the time of tragedy, Captain Mitchell was stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA, and was part of the Marine Corp HMLA 367 Scarface unit. Captain Mitchell piloted an AH-1 Super Cobra helicopter.
Seth volunteered for the fatal mission.
If you would like to learn more about Captain Mitchell’s story click on the links below to access Loveland Magazine stories of the past about Mitchell.
In memory of Captain Mitchell both, his family and friends not only hold “The Seth Mitchell Hero 5k” in Downtown Historic Loveland every year, but they also give away “Seth Mitchell” scholarships to two well accomplished LHS Seniors. Below is Steve and Connie Mitchell’s explanation of how the scholarship recipients were selected this year.
“As you probably guessed we were unable to do personal on-site interviews with our 2020 Seth Mitchell scholarship applicants. However, we summoned help from some younger folks and proceeded with the interviews through Google Hangout,” the Mitchell’s explained, “Yep, Steve and Connie on Google Hangout. Who’d of thought that? Loveland High School also did not have their annual Senior Night on May 13, so the scholarships were awarded virtually. We had 18 applicants this year and personally interviewed six before awarding two scholarships. Your scholarship committee consisting of Greg Carpinello, Damien Cook, Mollie Schrichten, Marisa Sobb, (all friends of Seth and ’97 LHS graduates) Connie and I, take seriously the process to recruit, interview and select candidates. All the kids were deserving and we are especially proud of the recipients.”
The $3,500 Let Us Never Forget Seth Mitchell Scholarship was founded by the Mitchell Family and the “Let Us Never Forget Scholarship Foundation.”
The scholarships are funded by the Seth Mitchell Hero 5K, in which both Seth’s friends and family run, in memory of Seth every year.
This year the 2020 “virtual” Let Us Never Forget Seth Mitchell Scholarships went to Jordan Collins and Caroline Ginder! Below are the biographies for both scholarship winners provided by the Mitchell’s.
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Jordan Collins is the 2020 scholarship recipient and she has a spirit similar to Seth.
She was and still is involved in many theatrical and musical productions. She is a National Honor Society member, volunteers through Mom’s Hope, and works part-time.
Jordan will be paying a large part of her college costs.
She has a “do something” attitude, a strong work ethic, and knows no stranger, being kind to all. She is not afraid to fail in the pursuit of her dreams and is strong in the face of adversity.
She hopes to pursue her theatrical dreams at Syracuse University.
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Caroline Ginder is also a 2020 recipient of the Memorial Scholarship. Caroline was described by one of her references as “being self-motivated, goal-oriented, and a fine example of caring more about her teammates rather than herself.”
She participated in many school events such as Tiger’s Inc., LHS Women’s Soccer, NEST, and National Honor Society.
Caroline will be attending Ohio State University where she will pursue medicine. She hopes to someday be a part of Doctors Without Borders.
Like Jordan, Caroline is paying a share of her college costs as well.
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If you would like to learn more about the Let Us Never Forget Scholarship Foundation you can visit their website at yellowribbonsupportcenter.com.
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If you would like to learn more about how you can get involved with the Seth Mitchell Hero 5K this year you can visit the event’s website at sethmitchell5k.org.
The 11th Annual Seth Mitchell Hero 5k will take place on Saturday, October 10th at 11 AM in Nisbet Park in Historic Downtown Loveland, Ohio.
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You don’t have to run or walk in the race to support the scholarship program. You can donate now or volunteer your time and skills!
Congratulations to both Caroline and Jordan for being selected to receive the Never Let Us Forget Seth Mitchell Scholarships!
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland has always been known as a community that gives back, and ALWAYS takes care of the youth. Over the past few months many have been fighting for the Loveland School levy because, without the appropriate funds, Tiger student-athletes have to “pay-to-play.”
Recently two Loveland School levies failed, leaving both Tiger student-athletes and their parents at a stand-still. Now those Tigers wanting to participate in a sport will have to pay $310. This did not sit well with Loveland Tiger advocate, Tori Morrison, so with the approval of the Loveland Athletic Booster Board she created a Facebook group that would help those athletes that could not afford to pay the sports fees.
“With the recent failure of two school levies, we knew that Pay to Play fees would be increasing this year,” Morrison explained, “In anticipation of that, the Athletic Boosters decided that we needed some way to help the athletes to continue to play. We feel that no tiger should be left out. Fees were previously $105 for all sports except football and lacrosse which were $155. Now all sports will be paying $310 per sport.”
Morrison attended Loveland Schools from 2nd through 6th grade before she moved with her family to New Richmond where she eventually met her husband and moved back to Loveland when her oldest child entered into 3rd grade.
“We have had three children graduate from Loveland schools – Ashlei (03), Chelsei (10), and Ben (20). My kids have been involved in soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, football, lacrosse, yearbook, drama, and choir,” Morrison said, “Over the years I have been a team mom for various sports and most recently organized and planned the Homecoming Parade for the last six years. When my son graduated I decided I was ready to become involved in a different way and decided to run for the Loveland Athletic Booster Board.”
Morrison says that the newly created Facebook Group “Loveland Athletic Boosters” is focusing on raising money for the student-athletes that may not be able to afford the pay-to-play fees.
“We want to share information and we encourage everyone to spread the word,” Morrison said, “The more people that join the group the more Tigers we can help! We want everyone to get a chance to play regardless of their financial situation. It’s going to be really tough for some families to pay the now $310 pay to play fee. Some athletes won’t be able to play at all and others will be forced to pick one sport where they used to be able to play two or three.” Many, many families have more than one child that will want to participate in a sport.
Thus far Morrison told us that the entire Loveland Athletic Boosters (LAB) Board is behind the fundraising efforts including, President Jeff Williams, Vice President Rich Myklebust, Treasurer Stephanie Bashardoust, and Secretary Stacey Lund. Soon LAB will be offering Business Memberships which would be a first for the Board.
I asked Morrison if the new Facebook Group would be holding any fundraising events and she said they are ALWAYS searching for new ideas and ways to raise money. The LAB’s do in fact have some awesome events planned that they hope will bring in a lot of funds for Tiger Student-Athletes.
Learn more about theannual Golf Outing on July 27 at O’Bannon Creek Golf Club.
“Our annual Golf Outing is July 27 at O’Bannon Creek Golf Club.
The Membership drive kicks off on July 1 and fall student-athletes will be selling discount cards that will be good at local restaurants and businesses,” Morrison said, “We will also be having like we do every year in January our Tiger Ball. One hundred percent of the money from these events will go towards helping our student-athletes with fees, gear, and anything else they need.”
Loveland, Ohio – Its been a tough road for athletes all across Ohio in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Competitions have been canceled, sports seasons have been postponed, and in-person practicing has been banned. Although this new normal has been hard on many high school athletes and coaches, many were glad to hear that the Ohio Governor and Health Department’s Responsible Restart Ohio implemented a “three-phase process” that would ease both athletes and coaches back into practicing and competing.
LHS’s Athletic Director, Brian Conatser, couldn’t be happier to get the Tiger Athletes and Coaches back into LHS’s athletic facilities, but in the safest way possible!
“We are in Phase 3 of our skills practice which will last until July 6th,” Conatser explained, “Once we get more guidance from the Ohio Governor and OHSAA, we will move forward with those restrictions and guidelines.”
On June 1st, LHS opened its Athletic Facilities in accordance with the OHSAA skills training guidelines.
“Our coaches are extremely committed to working with the Athletic Department to implement COVID-19 procedures and guidelines. As an Athletic Department, we walked through the process as a team, fine-tuning our plan prior to our athletes returning to campus,” Conatser said, “The plan is extremely thorough and detailed, as the safety of our student-athletes and coaches are our primary concern.”
Conatser provided the guidelines given to him by OHSAA that both coaches and student-athletes are following as they begin to return to athletics.
Every student-athlete and coach MUST complete the 2020-21 Final Forms COVID-19 waiver prior to the 1st training session.
Every student-athlete and coach MUST complete the LHS COVID-19 Self-Evaluation Google Form every day prior to each skills training session.
Social distancing includes a 6-foot separation. Entrances and Exits are outlined and over-communicated to avoid congregation and lingering of student-athletes.
Facial coverings must be worn when in the building (gyms, fitness center, athletic training room). Facial coverings may be removed during the training session.
Sanitation products and stations are located at the entry and exit of our inside facilities. We also ask EVERY student to bring: Water bottle, Sanitation wipes, Hand sanitizer, and Facial covering.
All equipment, balls, etc. must be wiped down at the beginning and end of each training session.
Three phases: Phase 1: May 26th – June 8th / Phase 2: June 9th – June 22nd / Phase 3: June 23rd – July 6th
Conatser gave credit to Loveland’s student-athletes, coaches, and parents for playing such an important role in the three-phase process.
“From parents dropping off their kids in designated spots to everyone following the COVID-19 guidelines. The coaches deserve an overwhelming amount of credit,” Conatser said, “These outstanding professionals make sure their programs have all of the information well ahead of time via communication from ZOOM, Google Hangout, email, Twitter, etc. We are looking forward to a safe and productive summer of skill training.”
For more Loveland Tiger sports updates stay tuned to the Sports 411 With Me, Cassie Mattia!
Loveland and Symmes Township, Ohio – The City of Loveland issued a press release on June 3rd announcing a collaboration on Independence Day celebrations with Symmes Township.
The release said that Loveland’s share of the fireworks would be set off at Boike Park at Loveland High School.
Loveland Magazine just learned that Loveland’s fireworks will instead be launched from a location inside Phillips Park.
After a reader noticed the discrepancy on a map we shared this morning from the City’s FaceBook page we asked about it.
Assistant to the City Manager, Misty Brents just told Loveland Magazine, “Rozzi decided Phillips would be the better location.”
“Look for These Signs” of our times
Corrected Story
Loveland’s and Symmes Township’s annual Independence Day celebrations have been canceled for this year. City Manager David Kennedy said in a press release on July 3 that the decision was made “out of health concerns for our residents and is consistent with public health concerns over holding large attendance events.”
The City and Township will hold two simultaneous, “park and watch” fireworks shows on Saturday, July 4.
Symmes Township Administrator, Kimberly Lapensee said in a press release, “Symmes Township is so excited to partner with the City of Loveland to celebrate the 4th of July while keeping our community safe.”
Fireworks will be set off at Phillips Park and Symmes Park on Lebanon Road on Saturday, July 4 at a time that has not yet been announced.
It is being recommended that residents who live near the parks are asked to stay at home to enjoy the show. Others are encouraged to watch from their cars “remaining socially distant” at parking locations to be announced.
Both the City and the Township say that no festivals are scheduled at this time.
Cassie Mattia is the Associate Editor of Loveland Magazine and lives in Historic Downtown Loveland
by Cassie Mattia
Loveland, Ohio – Last Friday the Eastern Cincinnati Conference made quite the “Tiger” announcement when they named Jeff Zidron as the new Assistant Commissioner. Zidron was the former Athletic Director for both Loveland and Indian Hill High Schools. Currently, Zidron is an administrator for the Milford School District.
The ECC referred to Zidron as one of the “founding fathers” of the ECC and said that both Zidron’s experience and expertise will help the ECC continue to be one of the premier conferences in Ohio.
“I can’t wait to work with Jeff again in his new role,” ECC Commissioner Ray Spicher said, “I have the utmost respect for him as a person and as a professional educator. Look for great things as the ECC expands to 10 teams this year.”
Cassie Mattia is a reporter/columnist and Assistant Editor of Loveland Magazine. She lives in Historic Downtown Loveland
Loveland, Ohio – Over the past several months’ many citizens across Ohio have experienced the effects of COVID-19 and MANY have stepped up to help out those who have been hit the hardest by the pandemic. The former President of St. Columban’s Student Council Paul Laufersweiler and his sister Emily decided they wanted to make a difference by introducing St. Columban’s “Virtual Walk-A-Thon!” Paul will be entering Loveland High School in the Fall and Emily will be a sixth-grade student at St. Columban.
The President of St. Columban’s Student Council Paul Laufersweiler opening donations and notes from St. Columban families who contributed to the Virtual Walk-A-Thon.
Every year St. Columban School partners with the Sisters of Mount Notre Dame to raise money for St. Julie School in Uganda. St. Columban’s Student Council, which is supervised by Chad Drinnen, an 8th-grade teacher at St. Columban, organizes fund-raising events throughout the school year in order to meet their ultimate fundraising goal. These events range from both basketball and volleyball tournaments to bake sales to $1 Out-Of-Uniform days to the largest event, the annual Walk-A-Thon.
Due to COVID-19 the school year was cut short which meant a number of the fundraising events didn’t get to happen including the popular 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament.
Paul’s mother Stefanie Badders Laufersweiler explained to us just how the idea of the “Virtual-Walk-A-Thon” came about.
“At dinner one night, we were talking about all the cancellations and when Paul said how disappointed he was that they might not make their fundraising goal this year for St. Julie’s, his little sister Emily said, ‘Why can’t we still do the Walk-A-Thon and just walk in our own neighborhoods?’ Paul loved the idea and so did Mr. Drinnen,” Laufersweiler explained, “Families collected and mailed check donations and also paid by Venmo and in the end, they raised $1,000 that St. Julie School will use for school supplies and other items that will create a better learning experience for their students.”
Check out the videos below of the Laufersweiler’s fundraising journey!
Paul introducing the Virtual Walk-A-Thon for St. Columban School!
Paul announcing the Virtual Walk-A-Thon results!
This photo was taken when Paul read a speech last November on Veterans Day
Meet Paul Laufersweiler
Paul just graduated from eighth grade at St. Columban School and will be attending Loveland High School in the Fall. He has already successfully auditioned to be in the marching and symphonic bands. Paul has two sisters, Emily, who will be a sixth-grader at St. Columban, and Amy who will be a Junior at LHS. Amy is also in LHS’s Show Choir.
Paul told us he may want to study science in college, however, he also has taken an interest in the art of communication so he may want to study that as well.
“When I was really little I wanted to be a pizza pilot where I would fly around in a plane and drop-down pizzas to people,” Paul said. We then asked Paul if he would throw the pizzas out of the plane like frisbees and he responded, “Yes, I’ll get a thin crust, real crispy, so they won’t flop around!”
Here at Loveland Magazine, we are so proud of the younger generation for stepping up and making a difference during these difficult and unknown times! If you have a story about an act of kindness that has occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic feel free to contact us.
“Product here now in Cincinnati area. Helping out Hair Salons, Restaurants, Gyms and other businesses as they open up. Also selling direct to homes. Free delivery in the Tri-State area. Saw pricing at the C-Store charging $124/gallon. We are selling at $37/gallon! Buy direct from the manufacturer!” – PF5.org
![[VIDEO] Bob Kessler gets intimate with 6″ shells on the 4th of July!](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/feature-kessler-fireworks.jpg)
![[POLL] Do you feel safe sending your child back to school in light of the “Red” Alert?](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/school-alert-map-Maps.jpg)
by Cassie Mattia
Jordan Collins is the 2020 scholarship recipient and she has a spirit similar to Seth. 
Caroline Ginder is also a 2020 recipient of the Memorial Scholarship. Caroline was described by one of her references as “being self-motivated, goal-oriented, and a fine example of caring more about her teammates rather than herself.” 
Click Here To Sign Up Now! to be a Memember of the Loveland Athletic Boosters
