Tim Horton’s franchise owner Frank Slavic is the honorary chair of the 2013 Dublin Irish Festival, joining the ranks of past chairs such as Denny Lynch of Wendy’s International, Cheryl Herbert of OhioHealth and Scott White of IGS Energy.
Slavic was chosen for his commitment to the community, and in particular, to the Irish Festival. Slavic’s Tim Horton’s locations – including two in Dublin – have provided refreshments to Festival volunteers for 13 years, serving more than 1,400 volunteers, says City Events Administrator Mary Jo DiSalvo.
“He is an outstanding corporate citizen,” DiSalvo says. “As a professional and as a person, this is as good as it gets in our community.”
DiSalvo and a handful of former Festival chairs surprised Slavic with the news of the honor while he was at one of his restaurants.
“I was bushwhacked at my restaurant,” Slavic says. “I was told I was meeting with Mary Jo for something. … I was quite flabbergasted.”
Slavic’s role as honorary chair includes kicking off the IGS Energy 5K and Kids Fun Run/Walk Aug. 1, judging the competition for reddest hair, presiding over the Emerald Club and closing the Festival during the Finale on Aug. 4.
One of the things Slavic is most looking forward to is the chance to listen to some Irish music.
“We’re usually too busy doing our volunteer work to listen. That’s going to be wonderful,” Slavic says. “I think it’s going to be neat being an ambassador for the Festival.”
