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Our Community.
Our United Way.
I'm sure you have heard it said that a house is not a home. Well, the truth is that a group of houses does not a community make either. It takes things like engagement, shared pride and a sense of community to create a community.
I was proud, recently, to participate in an event that helps to create community in our town - IceFest 2013!
A couple of weekends ago, my wife and I joined thousands of our friends and neighbors in downtown Hamilton to see artists with chainsaws fashion wonderful sculptures from mere blocks of ice. We visited local merchants, bought art in a terrific ArtFest organized by Sherry Armstead in the Government Services Center. And, importantly, we cheered a team of Butler County United Way volunteers on to victory in the most incredible sled race ever held! Well, perhaps I exaggerate just a tiny bit. But it was undoubtedly the most impressive sled race held in Hamilton since the last IceFest, two years ago. Now, if we could only figure out something to do with our sled until the next race...
Congratulations and Thank You to Jennifer Achterman (Center for Family Solutions), Robin Dennis (Clark Schaefer Hackett), Tina Wildey (Edoc Services), Pam Gruber (Fitton Center) and her husband Zach, Scott Osterfeld (BCDDD), Lee Geiger (Graydon Head), Jeff Boyle (Coldwell Banker West Shell), Jon Yslas (Ft. Hamilton Hospital) and Dave Yaeger (Wells Fargo Mortgage) for making our first entry a successful venture. And a special thanks to Mitchell Willis for taking on this project and recruiting the right team to succeed.
Having the right hardware helps too, and so I would also like to express our appreciation to First Financial Bank for bequeathing their sled to us - we are proud to keep the winning tradition going.
And, finally, we appreciate the work of a tireless IceFest Committee headed by Councilman Tim Naab, and the Sled Race Team, headed by Linda Martin of the Great Miami Valley YMCA, as well as our worthy competitors from the Central and Fitton Family Ys, the City of Hamilton, the City Morgue and the Hamilton Fire Department.
In the same community spirit as IceFest, we invite you to mark your calendars now for our Annual Volunteer Recognition Breakfast and Spring Day of Caring on Friday, April 26, 2013. We hope to make this our biggest Day of Caring yet, with tons of volunteer opportunities for corporate teams.
It really is things like IceFest and the Day of Caring that help to make our community as wonderful as it is.
Whether it is these activities that appeal to you, or others, I hope you will take advantage of the wonderful spirit of community we have here in Butler County, and become involved in something greater than yourself. If you are looking for volunteer opportunities, know that you can always visit our website at www.bc-unitedway.org to connect with agencies looking for your time and talent. LIVE UNITED
Bruce
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