We’re in this Together
Discover Grove City, like most magazines, compiles articles several weeks before it’s delivered to your home. I usually submit my column to the editor five weeks before you read it. Those five weeks have never significantly impacted my choice of topic. Yet today, as I prepare to share my thoughts, I am forced to consider those five weeks and how much is likely to change between when I write my message and when you read it.
This is indeed a time like we’ve never experienced, requiring action like we’ve never seen. As we face this unprecedented health battle and consider its present and long-term impact on our community, a thought I have shared many times is how blessed we are in Grove City to have an extremely talented and forward-thinking staff of caring individuals. They impress me every day with their efforts and determination to protect and support our community as we face the COVID-19 pandemic.
Combine their efforts with the outstanding coordination and cooperation of local and state leadership, our chamber, visitors’ bureau, emergency management agencies, schools, townships and businesses to find one of the country’s most aggressive efforts to slow the spread of the virus.
I’m encouraged by the camaraderie and support of our community. I can’t stress enough the gratitude I have toward the individuals who face the virus head-on every day – in addition to caring for their loved ones – including health care workers, first responders, essential businesses and their dedicated associates, and the front-line workers keeping the supply chain moving at grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, post offices, shipping/delivery companies and more.
Realizing early on that the number of community residents with needs was growing, we established a Call Center to connect those individuals with volunteers, city staff and service providers ready to help. No task has proven too small for the community volunteers who include your neighbors, church members, LifeCare Alliance service providers and so many more. Volunteers also make outbound wellness check calls, establishing relationships and ensuring those individuals know we are here for them.
We continue to see and hear of residents bringing cheer to one another through brightly colored and cheerful chalk art or positive messages displayed in windows; and businesses creating innovative solutions, such as brewing companies making hand sanitizer.
I offer my ongoing encouragement to each of you as physical distancing and provisional closures continue to be the new (temporary) normal. Find ways to stay emotionally and physically healthy through these daily changes. I’m compelled to echo the thoughts of Ohio’s first lady Fran DeWine and encourage residents to embrace the opportunity to slow down and enjoy family time.
It’s important to remember, although we are not physically side by side, we are all in this together. One thing we do well in Grove City is spread our small-town love and support to one another – especially during trying times.
Mayor Richard L. “Ike” Stage
GROVE CITY COVID-19 RESPONSE CALL CENTER: 614-277-3560
Development | By Kyle Rauch
Workforce Development 2050
Working together to strengthen the talent pipeline
Associate director of Business Solutions Opal Brant, Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio.
Grove City works relentlessly to preserve its status as the premier business-friendly community in central Ohio. With open communication and timely adjustment to the dynamic nature of our business community’s needs, we are always looking to the future.
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission estimates central Ohio will experience a growth of 300,000 businesses and one million people over the next 30 years. In order to successfully attract more than its share of new businesses coming to the region and address employer-communicated workforce concerns, Grove City formed Workforce Development 2050. The team is charged with creating processes to improve communication and actionable efforts for employers, helping bridge the gap between needs and resources.
The Workforce Development 2050 team is comprised of accomplished partners with experience addressing workforce educational and training measures to positively impact the business community.
The team first met with employers last fall to identify successes and growing challenges. Finding commonalities, employers eagerly shared effective strategies. Discussion focused on ways to align employer workforce needs with educational training providers, programs and services.
Among the issues discussed was a shared desire for innovative short-term infrastructure solutions to transportation, affordable housing and daycare challenges. Participants suggested further attention to transportation that would attract and retain workers commuting to Grove City, as well as those who live and work in the city.
The February Workforce Development 2050 meeting garnered increased participation and interest as employers embraced the opportunity to interact with the team, each other and representatives from team organizations. The opportunity to work together toward an ever-changing common goal of strengthening the local talent pipeline has already yielded benefits.
For example, COTA Plus on-demand transportation expanded its service area and hours to meet the growing needs of Grove City’s workforce, and new relationships are forming between educators and employers.
Grove City Workforce Development 2050 continues to expand its communication efforts and opportunities, leading the way to further improve meeting workforce needs, skills development and community partnerships.
Grove City Workforce Development 2050 Team
Columbus State Community College
- Dr. Rebecca Butler, Executive VP
- Cheryl Hay, Executive Director, Office of Talent Strategy
- Steve Dackin, Superintendent of School & Community Partnerships
- Dr. Martin Maliwesky, Associate VP, Academic Affairs
- Sherry Minton, Director of Career Articulation
- Todd Warner, Executive in Residence Workforce Innovation
South-Western City School District
- Dr. Bill Wise, Superintendent
- Amy Schakat, Coordinator of Career-Technical Programs
Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce
- Shawn Conrad, Executive Director
Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio
- Opal Brant, Associate Director, Business Solutions
City of Grove City
- Kyle Rauch, Development Director
- Dan Havener, Economic Development Manager
- Don Walters, Community and Business Relations Officer
Council Briefs | By Aaron Schlabach, Council Member At-Large
The Power of Food
One of the most important things I have learned on my journey through the culinary world is that food was meant to be intimate and personal. When we cook for others, especially when it’s a recipe from our past or from our heart, we are sharing a part of ourselves with them.
In today's fast-paced world we tend to just shovel food in, wash it down with a chug of pop and move about our day. By doing that, we lose something great. We lose the opportunity to spend quality time with one another. Whether it’s a church revival potluck, a romantic candlelit dinner for two or a couple “number sixes” from the fast food menu, we should savor and enjoy our food among the company of others.
This summer, cherish your time with those you care about and enjoy every bite of what our area has to offer. I would like to personally thank Grove City kitchen and restaurant workers. Thank you for working early days, long nights and busy weekends to give us the chance to have wonderful experiences and create memories with loved ones.
Food nourishes the body, but food among loved ones nourishes the soul.
Discovering Our Past | By Sheri Dunagan
A History of Joy and Celebration
Dunagan, Sheri
Built in 1889 on the property of the Leithart family homestead (established in 1860), the beautiful brick building that stands to the east of Grove City United Methodist Church on Columbus Street has been a warm and welcome gathering place for generations.
Theodore Leithart and his wife Emma, called the location home for 63 years of their marriage while hosting a multitude of family celebrations and community get-togethers in the 18-room house.
One of their five children, Hugo Leithart, worked the farm after his parents’ passing and continued the family tradition of hosting enjoyable gatherings and sharing the picturesque property with all of Grove City.
In 1955, prior to retiring, Hugo deeded a three-acre portion of his property to the Grove City Methodist Church.
Rush and Opal Thomas purchased the home and two acres of land from Hugo in 1956. While utilizing the second floor as living quarters with three of their four children, they operated a successful business from the lower rooms of the house. Rush ‘n’ Opal’s Party House and Restaurant was a popular location for Grove City residents hosting celebrations and community meetings for nearly 20 years.
Rush ‘n’ Opal’s closed in the early 1970s and the building changed hands again, becoming the personal residence and medical office of Dr. Kenyon Corry. Several other small businesses called the building home before its purchase by the Grove City United Methodist Church in 2010. Today the 130-year-old building is home to the administrative offices of “The Purple Door Church.”
Sheri Dunagan is a community and business relations specialist for the City of Grove City.
