For the last few years, you’ve read about the people who grew up in Dublin before it was a city, when riding a horse into town was more efficient than taking a car…
Beginning with the first issue of 2019, you’ll be reading about the newcomers that have noticed the things that make Dublin great, seeing Dublin through fresh eyes.
When Greg Waina, CPA and owner of strategic financial business consulting firm Waina & Company, came to Columbus on a two-week business trip in 2007, he didn’t know it would lead to his family’s eventual move to Dublin.
“The two-week engagement turned into about two and a half years, so I found myself seeking some longer-term housing. … I actually rented a condominium that backs right up to Coffman Park,” says Waina. “So, it felt like I had this great park, I joined the (Dublin Community Recreation Center) and slowly started attending different events throughout Dublin.”
A Tale of Two Cities
Waina worked in Columbus for a year or so, commuting back home to Cleveland on weekends to be with his wife Nancy and their adult children. As time passed, the whole family began spending more and more time together in Dublin.
“About a year later, I woke up and there was a big tent in the backyard. And that was the Irish festival. ... My wife was coming for the weekend instead of me commuting back to Cleveland,” says Waina. “And then she fell in love with Dublin.”
Though they happily lived in the Cleveland area for 34 years, Waina and Nancy were ready to relocate, choosing Dublin as their new hometown. Commuting to Cleveland for work wasn’t an option, so Dublin also became the new home for Waina’s business, after 26 years operating in Cleveland.
“Dublin really was the epitome of all communities. With their planning and all the cooperation between government and schools and everything else going on, it just made a whole lot of sense,” says Waina.
Coincidentally, all four of Waina’s kids then got married within 15 months, and their condo by Coffman Park became a hub for the growing family.
“Nancy and I both graduated from (The Ohio State University) and …we always thought about coming back to Columbus after school sometime, but never thought it would be 30-40 years later,” says Waina. “So, when Nancy finally moved into the condo with me, which we were renting, we started to then look for a permanent home here (in Dublin).”
Growing New Roots
Bogner Family
Back in the Cleveland area, Waina’s daughter, Melissa and her husband, Joe Bogner were in the midst of their first pregnancy.
“My husband and I were like, ‘Woah, woah, woah! You can’t leave now!’ So, we stayed in Cleveland until we had our daughter, but we moved to Dublin when she was only 7 weeks old,” says Bogner. “While we were at the hospital in Cleveland having Taylor, my parents brought us a lease to sign for a condo four doors down from them. So, that was a great first year for us in Dublin; to have the rec center right behind us, the bike paths, the parks and having family right down the street.”
Melissa also considered the outstanding school system and thriving business community as a great reason to relocate. According to her, even the most basic facts about Dublin City Schools are enough to entice parents.
“Having been in (Dublin City Schools) for a couple years (now), it has been amazing to get to know (Superintendent) Dr. (Todd) Hoadley and the entire Dublin City Schools staff,” says Bogner. “If I (were) to write a job description as a stay-at-home parent for myself, part of it would be to know the schools and to know the city (in which) we’re raising our kids.”
Melissa and her parents took advantage of Citizen U, an eight-week program that meets once a week, giving residents a behind-the-scenes look at the departments that make up the City of Dublin.
“It’s been great to get involved in the City of Dublin. I did another program, Leadership Dublin, through the Dublin Chamber of Commerce last year. That was an excellent program, too,” says Melissa.
This is Home
Though many people in the Waina’s position are choosing to downsize, Nancy had her heart set on another route.
“I thought we were going to do the traditional empty-nester downsizing, but Nancy had the vision to upsize because that way family and friends would come to visit,” says Waina. “And so we are really blessed that all our children, their spouses and our eleven grandchildren come and stay.”
“Probably three weekends a month my parents have some variety of family coming to their house. So, it definitely has become a hub for our family and, like my dad said, they created an environment where my siblings and my family could easily come visit and stay,” says Melissa. “For many of those early years, they had two cribs set up in their house and multiple Pack ‘n Plays, so it was definitely an environment where families gather and are always welcome.”
Apart from the amenities they enjoy in Dublin, the Waina and Bogner families also frequent local favorites like the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, COSI and especially Mad River Mountain. A self-proclaimed ski family, 10 of the 11 grandkids already know how to ski thanks, to grandpa.
“We go to Mad River multiple times all throughout the season, so we have season passes there. … It is an amazing multi-generational sport and activity that my family has as a tradition,” says Melissa. “It is definitely a fun thing that my parents got us into, and then we got all of our spouses into. We even had two spouses that were snowboarders before, but they have quickly converted to be skiers, as well.”
Melissa took leadership roles; in their neighborhood Park Place Homeowners Association, the Glacier Ridge Elementary PTO, the Good Schools Committee supporting the Dublin City Schools levy campaign and as a DSL soccer coach.
Waina joined the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and became a Chamber Ambassador to learn about the business community, joined the Columbus Chamber of Commerce and became involved in the Government Advocacy Committee, donates blood through the American Red Cross for central Ohio hospitals, and began mentoring undergraduate business students at the Fisher College of Business at OSU.
Nancy volunteers as a grandparent at Glacier Ridge Elementary School, as a gardener at the Fletcher Coffman Homestead; and at Ohio Governor’s Residence and Heritage Garden, which donates fresh produce to the Dublin Food Pantry: She is a park ambassador for the Dublin Parks and Recreation Department; contributes to the Dublin City School District – Key Communicators and Senior Council.
One of Waina and Nancy’s children, Rebecca (Waina) Medinger, resigned from her Cleveland job, moved into the Dublin condominium with Waina and began working at the Dublin Community Recreation Center. Rebecca fell in love with the area and is now the director of parks and recreation for the City of Pickerington.
Jenny Wise is a(n) contributing writer (associate editor). Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
