Lorn Spolter Photography
It is difficult to picture New Albany without the many amenities residents and visitors enjoy today. Twenty-five years ago, the New Albany we know now was just getting started; and much of what makes it one of America’s top communities can be traced to a transformative idea that Jack Kessler and Dr. Ralph Johnson devised and put into action.
Kessler, the Columbus stalwart and co-founder and chairman of The New Albany Company, and Johnson, former longtime superintendent of New Albany Schools, saw a unique opportunity to connect the residents of New Albany to the community as partners.
“When we set up the Foundation 25 years ago, it really was the beginning of New Albany,” explains Kessler. “We thought if we could develop in the people of New Albany a sense of community and a commitment to it, that would be a great way to start. And what better way to do it than with a Foundation?”
As Kessler and Johnson co-founded the New Albany Community Foundation, their first project was born out of necessity, but it would prove symbolic for the way New Albany solves challenges.
Photos courtesy of Dan Floss
“When we first came out to New Albany there was no library and the public school system was in need of improvement,” says Kessler.
He and Johnson decided that, rather than creating an education foundation, collaboration between the schools and the community was more important.
“We went to the Columbus Metropolitan Library and partnered with them to have the public library set up in the New Albany school system. The metropolitan library brought the books out, and the New Albany schools then had a full library,” says Kessler.
This meant that during the day it was the library for the school and students, and at night and on the weekends, it was the library for the residents of New Albany.
This arrangement was only temporary of course, and, through the fledgling foundation, building a library that could be a centerpiece of life in New Albany became the focus. Library trustees and New Albany residents Cindy Hilsheimer, Charlotte Kessler and Jackie Woods led the campaign with the Foundation, and to help achieve their goal they brought two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough to New Albany for what became the first Remarkable Evening. The event with McCullough raised more than $1 million to fund the book collections, and build and endow what is now the Charlotte P. Kessler Library.
Photo courtesy of Dan Floss
As he read from his recent biography about John Adams and told inspiring stories to the audience, McCullough had this to say about New Albany’s new initiative:
“And the very idea that your New Albany Foundation’s first undertaking is a library... When the city of little town of Nantucket burned down in the 19th century, the first building they built out of the ashes, literally, was the old Atheneum, the public library, which still stands. And you can be sure your public library is going to have just as much symbolic importance to this community, this extraordinary community.”
Kessler attributes the success and staying power of the Foundation to the residents’ commitment to their community and to strong leadership.
“I think it shows that the people who live in New Albany are generous and they care a lot about their community,” he says. “You can’t have anything like the Foundation be successful without great leadership, both from the board and the staff. Craig Mohre has been a very effective CEO. He’s just done a fabulous job.”
Lorn Spolter Photography
Kessler approached Mohre back in 2002 about helping draft a plan to move the Foundation forward, and then suggested Mohre lead the Foundation. It was an easy decision for Mohre.
“How does one say no to the opportunity to help bring so many leaders together to help build such an incredible community?” Kessler says.
For 25 years, the citizens of New Albany have been answering the call to create a collaborative culture that has placed New Albany on the path to build and sustain an extraordinary community that residents enjoy today.
Bob Valasek is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
