Community

Local Group Announces Logo Contest

December 18, 2009 By Lisa Grigsby Leave a Comment

Linked Dayton is in dire need of a new logo and we are asking for help! This networking group of over 4000, who are either located in the Dayton area, or who have a personal or professional connection to the area, meets monthly, usually for breakfast and a speaker.

They are holding a contest to redesign Linked Dayton’s logo, any and all are eligible. The only rules are:

1. The logo must include the words Linked Dayton

2. The logo must be in JPG or GIF formatting

3. The logo when saved in JPG or GIF formatting can’t exceed 4 MB

The new Linked Dayton logo’s designer will not only be highlighted by the group, but will also receive a $100 gift card to the Greene in Beavercreek!

Entries must be emailed to [email protected] by midnight January 10, 2009. Please introduce yourself by including your name & contact information in the email.

Linked Dayton will unveil and announce the winning design at the next Linked Dayton event on January 19th at the Wine Loft at the Greene (5:30pm).

I Gotta Feeling…

December 16, 2009 By Dayton937 Leave a Comment

Jonathon Reinhart, an electrical engineering major at the University of Dayton, decided that decorating his house in the traditional way wasn’t big (or bright) enough, so he built his own animated light controller. The result has become a YouTube sensation, receiving nearly 15,000 hits in 5 days.

Check it out…

For more videos, visit http://lights.onthefive.com/.

Learn How to Be a Great Volunteer

December 16, 2009 By Lisa Grigsby Leave a Comment

Are you new to volunteering, or wondering how to get more out of your volunteering experience? Have you had a hard time finding the right place to volunteer? This webinar will walk you through some of the training and screening tools nonprofits use, and will better prepare you to ask questions and evaluate whether the organization is a good fit for you and your skills. Potential stumbling blocks that volunteers encounter will be covered, as well as tools to help you identify and overcome them. Presented by two experienced volunteer managers this is an opportunity for you to ask questions and learn how to be a great volunteer.

Volunteer Match will host a FREE webinar Thurs, Jan 14^th from 2-3pm. Click here to register.

VolunteerMatch is a national nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities byhelping good people and good causes to connect. Its award-winning online service, www.volunteermatch.org, makes it easy to find a way to make a difference bylocation, expertise, or availability. VolunteerMatch provides many of the nation’s most recognized businesses and organizations with Web-based solutions to facilitate and track volunteer engagement at local and national levels. As the #1 result for ‘volunteer’ on Google and Yahoo!, the VolunteerMatch network regularly welcomes more than 850,000 monthly visitors and has become the preferred volunteer recruiting service for tens of thousands of participating nonprofits.

Downtown Two-Way Street Conversions = Good Urban Design

December 15, 2009 By Dayton Most Metro 1 Comment

Over the past several weeks, work crews have been busy cutting out curbs for new turning lanes and installing new traffic light poles all over Downtown Dayton in preparation for the two-way street conversions that will be completed over the first few months of 2010 (view a map of the changes here). This major change to downtown’s street grid was first introduced in 2003, and initial plans were introduced in public sessions in 2007 – with fierce opposition from downtown business owners who rightly argued against the loss of the majority of street parking spaces that came with the plan. Consultants and engineers went back to the drawing board and came up with a final plan that converted fewer streets but also maintained the majority of parking spaces. As a downtown resident and business owner, I am happy with the changes that we will soon see.

As noted in this article from Governing Magazine, downtowns didn’t have one-way streets until after World War II when civil defense planners began to worry about nuclear war and the citizens’ ability to evacuate urban cores quickly. In the 60’s and 70’s when the masses fled to the suburbs, one-way streets offered the quickest way out of downtown and back to suburban neighborhoods. But while these mini-expressways may have been good for suburbanites trying to get out of the city as fast as possible, they also helped kill downtown vibrancy by making streets less pedestrian-friendly.

Eventually in past couple decades, cities started converting streets back to two-way with positive results. Just read this excerpt about what happened when Vancouver, WA did it last year:

Over the past couple of decades, Vancouver, Washington, has spent millions of dollars trying to revitalize its downtown, and especially the area around Main Street that used to be the primary commercial center. Just how much the city has spent isn’t easy to determine. But it’s been an ambitious program. Vancouver has totally refurbished a downtown park, subsidized condos and apartment buildings overlooking it and built a new downtown Hilton hotel.Some of these investments have been successful, but they did next to nothing for Main Street itself. Through most of this decade, the street remained about as dreary as ever. Then, a year ago, the city council tried a new strategy. Rather than wait for the $14 million more in state and federal money it was planning to spend on projects on and around Main Street, it opted for something much simpler. It painted yellow lines in the middle of the road, took down some signs and put up others, and installed some new traffic lights. In other words, it took a one-way street and opened it up to two-way traffic.

The merchants on Main Street had high hopes for this change. But none of them were prepared for what actually happened following the changeover on November 16, 2008. In the midst of a severe recession, Main Street in Vancouver seemed to come back to life almost overnight.

Within a few weeks, the entire business community was celebrating. “We have twice as many people going by as they did before,” one of the employees at an antique store told a local reporter. The chairman of the Vancouver Downtown Association, Lee Coulthard, sounded more excited than almost anyone else. “It’s like, wow,” he exclaimed, “why did it take us so long to figure this out?” – Governing Magazine, “The Return of the Two-Way Street”

While two-way streets alone won’t magically turn Downtown Dayton into a thriving vibrant urban core, they are a significant piece to the puzzle. And that is only the beginning; in the next couple months we will find out if the 3C/D rail will get funded, and if so then a brand new passenger train station will be built at 6th and Ludlow/Wilkinson. There are serious talks about getting a streetcar system connecting UD, Tech Town and the CBD. City planners are busy working on several other placemaking projects that will make downtown more inviting and pedestrian friendly, with a focus on Patterson Blvd and Fifth Street. And soon, people may start complaining about something rarely seen now as they travel in both directions on our downtown streets – too much damn traffic. And yes, that will be a good thing!

Mad or Perfect, Choose Your Holiday Get-Away here in SW Ohio

December 15, 2009 By Dayton Most Metro 3 Comments

Greg and Lindsey cropped No, there are not mountains in Ohio and yes, it only snows enough to cover the ground maybe 4-5 times a year however hitting the slopes is quite easy for South Western Ohio residents, if you like skiing on ice that is.

Having grown up in Ohio, the idea of experiencing the thrill of carving off-piste on powder only came to fruition in Warren Miller films and magazines.

Whether you are a seasoned ski-bum or bunny hill groupie, there are actually a few decent options (for the Midwest that is) right here in Southwestern Ohio.

Mad River Mountain Resort

Mad River Mountain (MRM) is located in Zanesfield, OH (between Marysville and Bellefontaine on US 33), Mad River Mountain was opened in 1962 and will starts it’s 48th year in operation this season.

The season typically runs from December to March and offers fun for all levels, abilities, and desires. This family friendly resort has an instruction program, restaurant, ski/snowboard pro shop, and best of all, a bar.

Lift tickets are reasonable (compared to $100 a day in Vail, CO) and are approximately $30 during the week and $42 on the weekend. MRM also offers discounts for multi-day purchases, military discounts and more.

Mad River Mountain Resort has 23 trails ranging in skill level and difficulty
144 Ski-able/Ride-able acres
1,460-foot mountain elevation
300-foot vertical drop
2 Lodges, The Mad River Lodge and The Timberline Lodge, with kitchens and restrooms
Indoor/outdoor picnic areas
Learning Center
National Ski Patrol
The Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition
Welcome Area & Customer Care Center
6 Chair Lifts, 3 Hand Tows, 2 Rope Tows & 3 Carpet Lifts
Ski/Snowboard accessory shop
CAPITOL PARK terrian park featuring upwards of 22 features and jumps throughout the year
AVALANCHE TUBING PARK with 10 lanes that are 900 feet long and a carpet lift
Over 8 acres of beginner learning area
7,000 gallons of water is pumped up the hill per minute, bringing you the best quality machine made snow available

Check out www.skimadriver.com for more information about Mad River Mountain Resort

Perfect North Slopes

Perfect North Slopes (PNS) is located in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. From I-275 take the US 50 Exit 16, follow ski area signs north on Indiana Route 1 to ski area entrance.

Address: 19074 Perfect Lane, Lawrenceburg, IN 47025

PNS is similar in respect to MRM in that it offers something for everyone. If you are a skier/boarder looking for a little more challenge, PNS does provide a pseudo-black diamond experience on a few of their trails, which drop off 400 ft., run through trees and occasionally have some manky moguls.

Passes at PNS are a flat $45 a day (8 hour session). Along with your lift ticket, PNS provides rentals, lessons, multi-day purchases, and military discounts.

100 Ski-able/Ride-able acres
Perfect North Slopes offers 23 Trails ranging in easy to Double Black Diamond
800-foot mountain elevation
400-foot vertical drop
Lodge with Cafeteria and restrooms
Indoor/outdoor picnic areas
National Ski Patrol
PNS Adaptive Snow Sports School
Welcome Area & Customer Care Center
5 Chair Lifts, 6 Carpet/Hand Tows
Ski/Snowboard Pro shop
2 Terrain Parks
TUBING PARK with 23 lanes
Over 25 acres of beginner trails
Longest run over 1 mile

Check out www.perfectnorth.com for more information about Perfect North Slopes

Bottom-Line: You are trying to ski in Ohio, where it snows on average 18-25 inches a year, don’t get upset when your skis scrape across the ice inducing flashbacks of elementary teachers scraping their nails across a chalk board. However, ice aside, you have 2 good options that are fairly inexpensive (compared to most resorts) and are only an hour and a half from Dayton. If you want longer runs, steeper descents (if you think 400 ft. is steep) then head to Perfect North. When your kids start building jumps in the yard and you need a drink and warm fire, bring them to Mad River Mountain’s great terrain park. You know you are too old for the rail slides, don’t kid yourself.

Nominations Sought for “Jewels of the Gem City”

December 10, 2009 By Lisa Grigsby Leave a Comment

images-37 The Woman’s Club of Dayton Foundation, the YWCA Dayton and the Friends of the Dayton Arcade have teamed up on an initiative aimed at honoring and preserving Dayton’s unique history. They have formed the “Jewels of the Gem City” Committee to select “individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to the historic preservation of Dayton.”

The public is invited to nominate those who have made financial, educational, cultural, promotional or restorative contributions to Dayton’s heritage. Nominations will be reviewed by a selection committee, and the “Jewels of the Gem City” will be announced in March and honored at an event on June 4, 2010. Nominations are due by February 1, 2010, and can be made by downloading a form from www.thedaytonwomansclub.com, www.ywcadayton.org or www.daytonarcade.wetpaint.com. For more information, call 937-432-1957 or email [email protected].

Could You Be A Friend To The Humane Society?

December 3, 2009 By Lisa Grigsby Leave a Comment

Imagine yourself selling bakery treats and never having to worry about gaining a pound from them! A dedicated group of volunteers do this every week at the Animal Snackers Bakery at the 2nd Street Market. They sell over 70 varieties of treats, including poodle puffs, doxie doughnuts, pomeranian pizza plugs, rottie biscotti and kitty crunchies. There are also dog and cat toys and bandannas that have been sewed by other volunteers.

More volunteers are needed to help with these and new projects to raise funds in order to give more dogs and cats a happy life. If you are interested in helping these neglected animals find a a new home there is a volunteer meeting being held the second Tuesday of each month, so the next one will be Tues, Dec 8th at 6:30pm at the Humane Society of Greater Dayton at 1661 Nichols Road.

This Dayton Life: A Tapestry of Stories

December 2, 2009 By Teri Lussier 2 Comments

The Neighborhood
By Zet Arcilla

You’ve been there for me
When I lost the woman I had
Dedicated my life to.
When I was in pain and sorrow
When I lost my hope
You’ve been there for me
When I said, “I do.”
When there’s no purpose in my living
You’ve been there for me.
When I went away
And stayed away so long
You’ve been there for me.
I returned to you,
My lovely city.
You’ve been there for me.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

This poem was written by Stivers School for the Arts student, Zet Arcilla, as part of a Rebuilding Together Dayton service project called This Dayton Life.

After my first DaytonMostMetro post, I was contacted by Caitlin Closser, AmeriCorps Outreach Coordinator with Rebuilding Together Dayton. I admit I was unfamiliar with the program, but one thing I love about Dayton is that it’s big enough to have programs like Rebuilding Together Dayton, but small enough that they don’t hesitate to connect with you.

nrd_westwood Rebuilding Together provides home repair services to local residents. The emphasis is on the elderly and disabled, but low-income homeowners might qualify as well. The services can be simple: installing a GFCI outlet to accommodate complex medical equipment in the home of a special needs baby. That might cost up to $100.00 per unit to install, and typically they are only installed around sinks- sources of water- so that’s about $300.00 for two in the kitchen and one in the bathroom, and it’s not complicated. But it is necessary. And for some families, $300.00 represents difficult situation.

Fred Dewinter
By Brett Bower and Jordan Thompson

Every person has his story. Some are more solemn than others, but all are stories, just the same. As Fred was speaking, we began to form an image of what his personality was like. He speaks with an unusual accent that is part southern and part urban, which we think is awesome. He’s humble and straightforward. Although he isn’t really the talkative type, he’s ready to tell his story.

Fred Dewinter has lived in Dayton for over 20 years, and he says that this city has been, for the most part, good to him. “I like Dayton a lot; it’s been good to me and my loved ones,” he stated. He said that he had seen a lot of changes over the last 18 years. Even though he didn’t elaborate, we understood a couple of the changes that he had implied, for example, many of Dayton’s jobs leaving. Then we asked him to name his favorite thing about Dayton. Fred told us that Daytonians are always willing to help out a person in need. We agreed with Fred when he said this, and we also feel that this is one of the most valued aspects about Dayton. …

westwood02 Services might be extensive. They recently rebuilt a front porch and completed extensive roof repairs to a home that was damaged during Hurricane Ike. A complicated and expensive project that many of us would find daunting, even with insurance. For some, it’s truly an impossible situation.

That’s technically what Rebuilding Together Dayton does, but the real story here is in the lives that have changed because of the work, and Caitlin went to the creative writing class at Stivers to have students tell the stories of homeowners who have been helped by Rebuilding Together.

Margaret Harden
by Bryan Manger and Francesca Snyder

“I’ve never been one to conform . . . living in the city is absolutely refreshing,” Margaret Harden, who goes by “Charlie,” said about moving to Dayton from the suburbs. Charlie has lived in the Dayton area for 30 years and in the historic district of the city for 15. She has seen the neighborhood “evolve a lot” through her years there and has found it “interesting to watch.” Charlie’s home was chosen for the Christmas in April project. Seventy people, everyone from the Girl Scouts to the Air Force, from Miami Valley Hospital employees to interior designers, came around to help work on her two-story Victorian. “It was absolutely amazing . . . like lots of ants all over my house,” she said, her face lighting up at the memory. Since the project, she’s been “looking for a way to help, give something back”…

You have to wonder how these student’s lives will be enriched forever by this simple storytelling project- a direct and intimate understanding that “Everyone has a story, every story has value.” You are invited to share This Dayton Life and “an evening of storytelling” when the Stivers students present the homeowners with the completed This Dayton Life project:

The Homeowner’s Story
Everyone has a story, every story has value.

We brought together a group of Rebuilding Together Dayton’s past homeowners and a class of talented Creative Writing students from Stivers School for the Arts. The students conducted interviews then wrote stories about the people they met. The result of these meetings is a rich tapestry of living history from some of the cornerstones of Dayton’s neighborhoods.

Join us for an evening of storytelling as the students present these incredible stories to the homeowners for the first time.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 6:00 pm
First Baptist Church of Dayton

Homes tell stories. What’s yours?

Contact Rebuilding Together Dayton, to find out how you can participate.

Photos: Rebuilding Together Dayton. Used with permission.

Historic Holiday Home Tours

December 1, 2009 By Dayton Most Metro 2 Comments

It’s Christmas Time in the city! Last week, Downtown Dayton had their annual Holiday Festival that included the popular tree lighting. And over the next couple weekends, two three of Dayton’s most popular historic districts will be presenting their own holiday home tours. If you have ever wanted to see some beautifully restored historic homes, there is no better time than around the holidays – and these tours give you an opportunity to see several.

First up this coming Saturday December 5 is the 2009 Historic South Park Holiday Home Tour. Eleven homes will dazzle and delight, including grand Queen Annes, quaint cottages, and majestic Victorians. Carolers in Victorian garb will fill you with memories of Decembers past.

This self- guided tour begins Saturday at 12N and ends at 7PM. (The ticket window will close at 5PM.) Cost is $10 in advance and $15 the day of the tour. Admission price includes a sumptuous dessert buffet at the beginning of the tour. Plan to spend two hours enjoying the sights.

To reserve tickets, please visit www.historicsouthpark.org or call (937) 603-4893. (Tickets will not be mailed.) On Saturday, pick up your tickets and begin your tour from Hope Lutheran Church, 500 Hickory Street. (Turn west off Wayne Avenue onto Hickory. Enter through the church parking lot.) Park free at Hope and Emerson Academy across the street. A shuttle will be available to transport guests back to the parking lots from the most distant home. Check out the WDTN Bucher’s Beat story with our good friends Bill & Amy, whose house is on the tour:

Next, Dayton’s Oldest Historic District would like to invite you to be part of its annual Holiday Candlelight Tour on December 7, 8, and 9. A liveried guide will escort you as you tour beautifully decorated historic homes. The last home on the tour will offer you Victorian Sweets, Champagne Punch and Coffee. Four of the District’s finest restaurants are participating in a dinner/tour option. They are: Jays Seafood; Thai 9; Coco’s Bistro and Pacchia. Check out their website for more details.

Then the following weekend on December 11-13 head over to St. Anne’s Hill for “A Dickens of a Christmas in St. Anne’s Hill” with guided tours of some of Dayton’s most beautiful historic homes. The tours are led by guides costumed in period dress and feature live entertainment followed by a visit to the beautiful homes in the historic St. Anne’s Hill neighborhood, each decorated for the season. The tours will conclude with a delicious old-fashioned dessert and a visit to the gift shop.

Tours begin every half hour, starting from 4:30-8:00 p.m. on Friday, December 11th; 1:30-8:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 12th; and 1:30-6:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 13th. Tours last approximately two to three hours, including entertainment, home tours, and dessert. Tickets this year are $18 each, and may now be ordered online at www.stanneshill.org. Due to the popularity of the event, the schedule of tours sells out quickly and advance tickets are required.

The 2009 tour will begin at the High Street Gallery, located at 48 High Street. The tour will conclude with a tour of the popular Bossler Mansion, a landmark structure built in 1869. This magnificent home is considered Dayton’s best example of Second Empire architecture. Guests can snack on a classic dessert, browse Victoria’s Parlor Gift Shoppe, walk by the newly renovated Stivers School for the Arts, and enjoy a view of Downtown Dayton.

“A Dickens of a Christmas In St. Anne’s Hill” is the Miami Valley’s oldest continuously running historic home tour, having debuted in 1983. Proceeds from the tour will benefit the St. Anne’s Hill Neighborhood Association, and are used to maintain the neighborhood’s historic character.

So which tour do you plan to take? Of course, you can always do both!

Dayton Urban League advances empowerment agenda

November 29, 2009 By Dayton Most Metro 1 Comment

DUL-redlogo-anim-125 The Dayton Urban League Young Professionals is looking to train the next generation of leaders.

The Dayton Urban League auxillary group, founded in 2001, will host a networking event for young professionals on December 16 at Therapy Cafe at 5:30 p.m. Wrap up the year and prepare for 2010 by coming out to “meet and greet” with community leaders and other professionals in the Dayton area. The DULYP will unveil its “I am empowered to…” campaign as well as outline plans for the upcoming year.

The Dayton Urban League Young Professionals employs a five-point agenda:

Education and Youth Empowerment: Ensuring that all of our children are well educated and prepared for economic self-reliance in the 21st century. DULYP works with DUL’s youth programs and Parity to provide role models and mentors for youth in the community.
Economic Empowerment: Empowering all people in attaining economic self-sufficiency through job training, good jobs, homeownership, entrepreneurship and wealth accumulation.
Health and Quality of Life Empowerment: Working to build healthy and safe communities to eliminate health disparities through prevention, healthy eating, fitness, as well as ensuring complete access to affordable healthcare for all people.
Civic Engagement and Leadership Empowerment: Empowering all people to take an active role in determining the direction, quality of life, public policy and leadership in their communities by full participation as citizens and voters, as well as through active community service and leadership development.
Civil Rights and Racial Justice Empowerment: Promoting and ensuring our civil rights by actively working to eradicate all barriers to equal participation in all aspects of American society, whether political, economic, social, educational or cultural.

DUL-YP-300

For more information, or to RSVP to the event, please contact:

Dayton Urban League Young Professionals. 907 West Fifth Street,Dayton, Ohio 45402. 937-220-6665

Cookies For A Cause

November 29, 2009 By Lisa Grigsby Leave a Comment

We Care Arts is a non-profit organization that helps emotionally, mentally and physically disabled adults and youth achieve greater personal independence. Through a variety of art classes and experiences, they promote the artist’s individuality, self esteem, community skills, ability to focus, life skills, responsibility, confidence and job skills.

Through the creation and sale of their individually crafted items, artists are able to affirm their self worth, take steps back into the mainstream of society and receive a supplemental income. We Care Arts provides all training and materials to artists and a portion of the proceeds of all sales is returned to the artist. The remainder goes back to program funding.

On Sat Dec 5th from 10am – 2pm, We Care Arts will host it’s annual Cookie Walk fundraiser. Thousands of the most gorgeous, bite-size, melt-in-your-mouth cookies will be arranged on long tables. At the start of the walk, you will receive a food service glove and bakery box. As you make your way along the cookie tables, you select as many goodies as you want, in as many varieties as you want. At the end of the walk, your box (or boxes) of cookies is weighed. The Cost – $5 per pound!!

Come buy cookies, donate cookies or candy, volunteer to help at the event and help spread the word!!

How can you help?
Helping We Care Arts by donating home-baked cookies for our event. The guidelines for donations are as follows:

1. Please contact Martha Leach at 426-5312 to confirm your donation to the
Cookie Walk.

2. We’d prefer the cookies to be miniature, bite-sized (approximately 1-1/2”). Buyers feel they can get more variety if the cookies are smaller. If your cookie works better larger, that’s ok, we’ll take them all!

3. Make your cookies extraordinary! This is an event where people can purchase homemade cookies that they normally would not make themselves. Ethnic or unusual ingredients, dipped cookies, or a variation on an old favorite are big sellers. We also welcome diabetic-friendly cookies as well as bite-sized bar cookies.

4. Homemade candies and snacks are also accepted.

5. Please include a 3×5 card with the name of the cookie and listed ingredients to inform persons with food allergies. This card will be set out with the cookies, so please print! Also specify on your 3×5 card if the cookie is diabetic friendly or sugar-free. (If you wish to be contacted for donations for next year, please fill out the form below and return it with your donation.)

6. Cookies must be delivered to We Care Arts, 3035 Wilmington Pike, on Friday, December 4, between the hours of 10 AM and 3 PM.

Think Like an Onion! Enjoy the Great Outdoors This Winter

November 25, 2009 By Dayton Most Metro 1 Comment

Truly Experience Winter in the Miami Valley

As the first weather reports of snow appear in the holiday forecast our routines shift from a fall to winter mind set. One of my favorite attributes of the Miami Valley is the ability to truly experience all four seasons, and winter is surely one of them. When the temperature drops below freezing, Miami Valley residents have a tendency to lock themselves in their homes, crank up the heat and pull out the snuggies. Why stay inside all winter when this region has numerous opportunities to enjoy the serenity, spirit, and color of the winter season.

Before you begin to scan local calendars, festivals, maps, and resorts, it is vital to understand how to properly dress during the winter in the great outdoors. The easiest way to state it is to, “Think Like an Onion.” Yes, an onion, not the onion that makes your eyes water or gives you bad breath but the onion that is layered. Layering is the key to regulating your body temperature in the winter.

Understanding how your body loses heat is the key to choosing the right layers. There are four ways you body looses heat, each with a scientific label that I will leave out as not to bore you. Body heat is lost by heat escaping due to lack of insulation, wind draw WV Snow Sports Pics 095 ing heat off exposed skin, direct contact with cold surfaces, and evaporation from sweating.

Numerous dangers, which include hypothermia and frost-bite are possible, even in mild temperatures, when the body is not properly protected. In order to protect yourself from cold ailments and dangers you need to be properly insulated for the activity you will be participating in.

Sedentary: like fishing or hunting require thick insulation around your core area and where your body might come in contact with cold surfaces

Active: such as cross country skiing and snowshoeing require not as much insulation around your core and should focus on protecting your extremities with fabrics that wick sweat and breathe well.

Mixed: Alpine Skiing is an example of a mixed activity where you may experience a balance between heart-pounding effort and rest. Layering and venting become more important to easily transition between bundling up and cooling down.

Thinking like an Onion is the principle concept in protecting your body during outdoor activities in the winter. The layering process consists of 3 main layers.

Base Layer: consists of a thermal layer, sometimes referred to as long underwear. Base Layer fabrics should consist of non-cotton material such as silk, polyester, and poly blends that are excellent in wicking moisture off your skin.

Mid Layer: the functionality of the mid layer is to provide some insulation and style when the outer garments are removed. Wool and Fleece make a great insulating mid layer. If possible, stay away from cotton at all costs.

Outer Layer: provides protection from the elements, such as wind and rain, or snow. Outer layers can also have additional insulating capabilities. Effective outer layer materials include breathable, waterproof fabrics. Many companies have different names for outer layer fabrics which may include Gore-Tex, Conduit, etc.

Experiencing the outdoors during the Miami Valley winter is a great way to beat the cabin fever and get out of the house. To ensure a safe and enjoyable winter outing, be sure to have little skin exposed to the outside, adequate insulation, regulate your body temperature through layering to avoid sweating, and have a great time.

A few key outdoor retailers in the area are experts in winter recreation and outdoor endeavors. Visit these two locally owned shops for more expert tips on effective layering and to purchase some of the best gear available. Great Miami Outfitters, www.greatmiamioutfitters.com and Valleywood Ski Shop, www.valleywoodskishop.goodbarry.com

Giving thanks for having a home, be it ever so humble.

November 24, 2009 By Teri Lussier 17 Comments

Welcome home Dayton Do you have a dream home? You know, that one home that exists in your mind against which you measure all other homes? Is yours a cool loft condo, or an ornate historic home? Maybe it’s a new, custom built 3500 square foot home on 5 acres? Is it a quiet 30 acre gentleman’s farm in that place between large working farms and suburbia?

One very cool thing about the Dayton area is that you can start at Third and Main, and drive in nearly any direction and see all sorts of homes- everything from lofts, past historic homes, into post-war inner ring mid-century modern homes, newer subdivisions, small farms, and within 20 minutes you can be cruising past row after and tidy row of corn and soybeans. Dayton, like most of the Rust Belt, is wonderfully diverse in many ways, and that diversity is visible in all the different real estate options available to us. We could say there’s a dream home in Dayton for everyone.

She called one late-winter afternoon.
“I got your name from Miami Valley Fair Housing. Can you help me with a short sale?”
A short sale occurs when a bank agrees to accept less on the sale of a home, than is actually owed. In other words, the bank is going to come up short on this sale, thus “short sale”. Typically the owner finds themselves unable to pay back the mortgage and instead of waiting to be foreclosed on, they negotiate with the bank to enter into a short sale. It looks better on your credit rating than a foreclosure, so it might be in the owner’s best interest to discuss the possibility with their mortgage lender, but it can be a long and difficult process. As Realtors often joke- Short sales are anything but.

Outside my office window, the snow was that lovely shade of Sludge Gray that defines old snow, and the sky was that lovely shade of Cloudy Gray that defines sunless Dayton winters. I was taking notes as she started telling me her story. Single mother, job loss, working part time, going back to school- she was doing everything “right”, but she was still going to lose her home- her dream home.

Now, Realtors know that your dream home is going to be completely different from your brother’s dream home, which is not at all like your best friend’s dream home. We are each unique, and we are each entitled to have our own unique dreams. She was living in a brand new home, in a brand new subdivision. Tract home, yes, but for her, a new home was a dream, and she was going to lose her dream home, in the middle of a gray Dayton winter. Deep breath. Okay.

I went out to the new home in the new subdivision in Trotwood. I was paying close attention to the neighborhood, and the exterior condition of the home. Modest homes, and only a few years old, but you’d be surprised how quickly a little neglect can lead to big problems. I was relieved to see that this home looked great on the outside. She loved her home and it showed- curb appeal always helps, but especially in winter.

The interior was just as lovely- more so actually, with nice decorative touches here and there, and still as clean as a model home. She loved this place, it was obvious, and she told me how happy she was to have purchased a new home in a new neighborhood for her and her son. This was a lovely place to call her own, but she lost her job, and her part time job wasn’t paying nearly enough, so we started the short sale process. Because of her love and care, we were going to be able to list this at nearly full price.

Before a bank agrees to a short sale, they want to make sure that they cannot recoup the full amount owed on the loan. The seller has to fill out forms and statements, and send specific information of proof that their financial situation has changed. If you’ve ever applied for a home loan, you know how extensive that process is. A short sale is no different. You might think of it as un-applying for the loan. It took a few weeks to gather all the documents and make contact with the loss mitigation officer who would be taking over her loan, and get all the forms her lender needed.

Like foreclosures, short sales can be an emotionally painful time, and Realtors try to make this process as smooth as possible. We are not only dealing with the bank on our client’s behalf, we are sometimes a shoulder to cry on. Occasionally a seller will just give up and let the home go, become uncooperative and uncommunicative, but this seller loved this home and wanted to do whatever she could to keep her dream home, so during this time of un-applying for the loan, she kept working, going to school, taking care of her son and her household.

Just a few days before we were ready to officially list the property in the MLS, I got a phone call. “Teri, I wanted to let you know that I’m so grateful for all your help, but I was just offered a new position at work, and I’ll be able to make my mortgage payments now!”

As you gather with loved ones this week, you might drive past a suburban Dayton subdivision and wonder why anyone would want to live there. You might look around at the people you know so well and think about their homes. A modest tract home, a large McMansion, an historic fixer, a garden condo- any one of these might be the furthest thing from your dream home. But take a moment to be thankful for what I know- that every home, regardless of how modest or extravagant, new or old, each home holds the unique dreams of the remarkable dreamers within, and in that regard, we are all the same.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo credit: Teri Lussier.

Holiday Fest Needs Your Help!

November 20, 2009 By Lisa Grigsby Leave a Comment

daytonholidayfest The 2009 Dayton Holiday Festival is looking for volunteers to help out during the Grande Illumination on Fri, Nov 27th from 6-9:30pm. For more info please contact Molly or call her at 224-1518 x 229.

Hiring Incentives For Local Businesses

November 20, 2009 By Lisa Grigsby 1 Comment

Dayton-area businesses in targeted growth industries may be eligible for financial assistance in employing dislocated workers.

Project Hire, a State of Ohio program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, may provide stipends of up to $6,000 per hired employee to assist with training expenses.

By packaging job seekers’ existing skills with a tax credit and additional training, these individuals will become more attractive to prospective employers, beyond what the job seekers could have accomplished on his or her own. The job training will be funded through the use of Ohio Learning Accounts (OLA), which will provide dislocated workers short-term training resulting in an industry-recognized, portable credential to expand employment opportunities. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal credit administered by the state that employers can take for hiring workers from the following disadvantaged groups: unemployed veterans, disconnected youth in need of skills, member of a family receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), long term family or food assistance recipient, person living in a federally designated empowerment zone, summer youth program employee, vocational rehabilitation referral, ex-felon, and supplemental security income (SSI) recipient

Total Funds: The initiative will be funded with $8 million from the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act Statewide Workforce funds in Fiscal Year 2010.

The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Montgomery County, will hold a workshop on Tuesday, December 1, to help employers determine their eligibility. It will be held at Sinclair Community College’s Building 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

To register for the December 1 event, visit www.daytonchamber.org.

For more information on Project Hire, contact Chris Wimsatt at the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce at 226-8293.