Loveland Magazine

LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor

Since 2004

Tag: Sweetheart of Loveland

  • Loveland Magazine TV Introduces Debbie Murray and Lilly Hummer to the “Sweetheart of Ohio”

    Loveland Magazine TV Introduces Debbie Murray and Lilly Hummer to the “Sweetheart of Ohio”

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – With the end of January quickly approaching Loveland is preparing for one of the city’s most celebrated holidays, Valentine’s Day! For those who haven’t experienced the magic of Valentine’s Day in Loveland, you may be wondering why it is one of the most celebrated holidays. Well, other than the city itself being called “Love-land” it is also referenced to as the “Sweetheart of Ohio,” and for a VERY good reason! This year two very special “Sweethearts,” Debbie Murray and Lilly Hummer, were selected to join the historic Loveland Valentine’s Program. Of course, Loveland Magazine wanted to pay tribute by providing our readers with some Loveland Valentine history and an exclusive on-camera interview with Debbie and Lilly!

    This year two very special “Sweethearts,” Debbie Murray and Lilly Hummer, were selected to join the historic Loveland Valentine’s Program.

    The Loveland Valentine’s Program began in 1972 and quickly became a nationally-known cachet stamping and postmark program. Once the program was up and running the community of Loveland decided to broaden the program’s horizons adding more fun and exciting ways to spread love throughout the city. This included the addition of two very prestigious competitions, the selection of Loveland’s annual Valentine Lady and Loveland’s Valentine Card Design Contest.

    So what is a Valentine Lady? A Loveland Valentine Lady can be defined as “a woman who has distinguished themselves in the community, at local schools, and/or with family endeavors.” This lovely lady once selected is the ambassador for the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance’s Valentine program meaning she will spread both love and generosity by visiting area businesses, nursing homes, and schools. The Valentine Lady is chosen by the Loveland community and then picked by the LMR Chamber committee. In 1982 Loveland’s first Valentine Lady, Doris Pfiester was selected. Below is the list of Loveland’s past Valentine Ladies!

    Debbie Murray was announced on December 12th at Loveland’s legendary spot, The Works, as the 34th Valentine Lady! Murray has resided in Loveland since 1985 and is a highly decorated woman in all that she does for the community. Loveland’s 2018 Valentine Lady, Kay Bolin, when asked about Debbie Murray being selected as the 2020 Valentine Lady, had nothing but kind words to say about Murray!

    Debbie is indeed one of the nicest, most down to earth individuals you could ever meet.

    “I met Debbie Murray in 2018 when I was at that year’s, Loveland Valentine Lady celebration. As we all know, part of the Valentine Lady’s responsibility is to go around to the local schools, which is when I met Debbie as she was a teacher at Tender Years,” Bolin explained, “I have been fortunate to spend more time with Debbie since she has been selected. CeeCee Collins asked me to read one of the many nomination letters that the chamber received nominating Debbie for the 2020 Valentine Lady at the recent Valentine Lady kickoff event. I was honored and felt so fortunate to share this nomination letter to the community. Debbie is indeed one of the nicest, most down to earth individuals you could ever meet and what she has contributed to the Loveland community is wonderful. Deb is the definition of love and kindness! I am looking forward to personally getting to know Debbie better as well as seeing her continued contribution to our community. Debbie, we welcome you to our Valentine Lady Sisterhood!,” Bolin said.

    Lilly Hummer, a freshman Lacrosse player from Loveland High School, was recognized as Loveland’s Valentine’s Day card design winner.

    Check out the video of Debbie Murray being surprised at The Works with her 2020 Valentine Lady honor!

    Watch as Debbie Murray crowned 2020 Loveland Valentine Lady

    I’m sure everyone can agree that Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be what it is without a great Valentine’s Day card! The LMR Chamber realized this during the early stages of the Valentine’s Day Program so they decided to incorporate a Valentine’s Day Card Design Contest! The design contest is open to anyone in the Loveland community and the only stipulations are that the artwork must reflect or incorporate the theme: “Love is…..” and must also include (or provide space for) the phrase, “There is nothing in this world so sweet as love.” Allowing anyone in the Loveland community to participate in the design contest makes the contest itself both creative and diverse! There have been many great design winner’s in the past, one of them being Loveland Magazine’s very own David Miller.

    2020 marks one of the most creatively diverse card designs to date. Lilly Hummer, a freshman Lacrosse player from Loveland High School, was recognized as Loveland’s Valentine’s Day card design winner, on January 11th at the Valentine Kick-off at the Loveland Kroger’s.

    Lilly Hummer, a freshman Lacrosse player from Loveland High School, was recognized as Loveland’s Valentine’s Day card design winner

    Hummer will receive design credit on the back of the 2020 Valentine’s Day cards, local recognition, media recognition and two complimentary invitations to the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance Annual Valentine Breakfast on February 14, 2020. Click on the link to learn how you can join the community at the annual Valentine breakfast: http://business.lovelandchamber.org/events/details/2020-valentine-s-day-breakfast-event-6785.

    Some of the local businesses you can purchase Hummer’s Valentine card design at are the LMRCA office, the “stamping table” at the Loveland Post Office, Loveland Kroger, Loveland Sweets, Busy Bee Boutique, Lemon & Limes Boutique, the Valentine Ladies, and the Loveland Union Savings Bank Branch.

    Now that we have shared a little Loveland Valentine Program history and informally introduced the 2020 Valentine Lady and Valentine Card Design winner LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV would like to formally introduce to you, Mrs. Debbie Murray and Miss Lilly Hummer! Click below to view the exclusive on-camera interview with these two lovely ladies!

  • LMR Chamber Alliance Shares What’s Happening in Loveland in 2020!

    LMR Chamber Alliance Shares What’s Happening in Loveland in 2020!

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – It seems as though just yesterday we watched the ball drop as we welcomed in a brand new year, but in all actuality, it’s almost February! With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance has several “sweet” events planned for the community as well as new board members to help “sweeten” those events! Loveland Magazine TV brought President of the LMR Chamber Alliance, Cee Cee Collins, and Program Director, Meredith Taylor, to the studio to talk with us about what new and exciting things are happening with the Chamber this year! So fasten your seat belts, sit back and enjoy the ride as we share with you an exclusive interview with Cee Cee Collins and Meredith Taylor! You won’t want to miss these “Sweethearts of Loveland!”

  • 11 Year Old Local is “Tumbling” into a Bright Future!

    11 Year Old Local is “Tumbling” into a Bright Future!

    Each and every citizen in Loveland makes up an important piece of the community, but in saying that it’s up to the citizen as to what they do with their role as an important piece of that community. This is what makes up a community’s “D.N.A.”

    Over the past two years, Loveland Magazine has been in search of community members that truly play an important role in Loveland’s D.N.A.

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – In the Sweetheart of Ohio, it’s not hard to find a good inspirational story as you could simply walk down the Loveland Bike Trail and find a lovely Loveland local to tell you their story. But there is a significant difference between a good story and a great story and well this 11-year-old Loveland prodigy makes for one GREAT story!

    Delaney Dunlap, daughter of Mike and Gina Dunlap, from a very young age always saw the rainbow behind the storm cloud. At 15 months old, Delaney encountered the turning point of her very young life; a leg amputation. Delaney was born with a condition called Fibular Hemimelia, meaning her fibular bone was missing. When the fibular bone is missing this can lead to limb length discrepancy, foot deformities, and knee deformities. Only 1 in 40,000 births encounter FH.

    “We worked with Shriners and Children’s Hospital to determine the best course of action and we decided that having an amputation at an early age would allow her the most normal life with the least interruptions,” Delaney’s mother Gina explained, “On March 4th, 2012, at 15 months old she had her amputation.  About 3 months later she was fit for her prosthetic leg.”

    Both Gina and Mike Dunlap knew very early on that Delaney’s leg amputation wouldn’t stop her from achieving her highest goals!

    Gina, Delaney, and Mike Dunlap on vacation in 2019.

    “At 2 years of age, she took her leg from us and said, ‘I do it myself!’ She proceeded to put her leg on and jump up and say, all done, with a shrug of her shoulders,” Gina said. “By 4 we had her in gymnastics with Ms. Karol Warden and she started performing in front of people. By 5 she was playing soccer, by 7 she was playing softball, by 8 she was golfing, and about 2 years ago she took up snowboarding,” Gina added.

    Delaney performing with the SoringMaster Tumbling Team at a recent Loveland High School basketball halftime

    Now at age 11, Delaney has not only been featured in several news outlets nationally for her unbelievable athletic abilities, but she has also shared her gymnastic skill set with the world, tumbling at university games, half-time shows, local schools, and festivals. Below is a video clip of Delaney performing at the halftime of the UC game in December.

    Mike Dunlap, Loveland High School’s Soccer Coach, and Science Teacher couldn’t be more proud of Delaney’s hard work and dedication to her craft!

    “Delaney has gotten the opportunity because of her determination, to do many auditions and has landed a couple of commercials. She loves Tik Tok,” Mike added, “She currently has gathered 8 of her friends together and is choreographing a performance for the upcoming talent show at Loveland Intermediate School. They practiced for 2 hours the other day!”

    Delaney is not only an all-star athlete she was also recently selected as an Academic All-Star for the Ohio Lottery’s Partners in Education program.

    “Delaney signed with a talent agency in 2016! She has done 2 commercials and a Huffy photo shoot,” Gina said, “Recently she has had big auditions for Netflix, Nickelodeon, HBO, and Disney!”

    Gina also told us that Delaney has been consistently visiting 2 kids, Tessa and Eli who have recently had amputations. “She just wanted to let them know that they are not alone and they can do anything they set their minds to doing,” Gina said.

    Karol Warden, tumbling coach for the SoringMaster Tumbling Team has coached Delaney for 5 years. Warden said, “She inspires everyone.” Warden says that Delaney is a joy to teach and has the highest round off tuck of all of her students. “She never complains or uses her disability as an excuse. Her parents have done a great job teaching her ‘I can’ and not accepting ‘I cannot!.”

    So without further ado, Loveland Magazine presents, “What’s In Loveland’s DNA: Delaney Dunlap,” an exclusive one-on-one on-camera interview!

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    Watch Delaney tumbling at a recent Loveland High School halftime

     

    Click to read about Delaney’s father L.H.S’s Mike Dunlap who Provides Tiger Students and Athletes the Tools for a Bright Future

    Read more of our, What’s in Loveland’s DNA” stories…