As we reflect on the 10-year milestone of Toledo Free Press, we cannot help but review the last decade in the investment business.

Tumultuous does not begin to describe what the U.S. economy, debt and equities markets have experienced during that time. Some of the statistics are troubling, while others are rather impressive, but altogether they have helped shape where our economy currently stands and how we expect to go forward.

In the past 10 years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased about 70 percent from 10,800 to around 18,000; the NASDAQ increased about 150 percent from 2,000 to almost 5,000; the S&P increased 76 percent; the U.S. dollar recently hit a 14-year high; 30-year U.S. treasury bond yields dropped from 4.5 percent to near 2.7 percent; we witnessed one of the worst global financial catastrophes the world has ever seen; and history’s largest Ponzi scheme was unraveled.

We have been through two presidents and three Federal Reserve chairpersons, all of whom pursued similar economic policies. Lastly and perhaps most significantly, the federal debt has risen from $7.5 trillion to over $18 trillion, due in large part to quantitative easing, TARP and interest rate policies.

That is a lot of numerical and statistical data to analyze in one paragraph. It is important also to remember that the gains and losses were by no means steady. For example, the Dow was valued at 10,800 in March 2005, but dropped to 6,600 in 2009, then went on a bull market that saw us reach 18,200.

While it is important to understand where we have been and how investments have performed, we cannot act on that information. The only way you made money on the 70 percent rise in the Dow over the past decade is if you invested in the Dow before the rally. However, all the information detailed above has significant value in determining where the economy is heading.

We believe equities are overvalued and have only been experiencing gains due to corporate stock buyback programs and investors who typically purchase debt instruments entering the equity arena in a search for yield. That is not to say that equities will not continue higher in the near term, but we urge extreme caution.

At some point, inflation will become an issue. An economy cannot create the amount of currency that the U.S. has over the past five years with no repercussions. Once velocity picks up and money begins turning over in the economy (which low gas prices may encourage), we expect to see inflation surpass the Fed’s 2 percent target and rates rise in an effort to keep inflation at reasonable levels. The rise in rates will likely increase the value of the U.S. dollar, which will continue to negatively impact the United States’ ability to export.

Congress and the SEC are not doing nearly enough to deter the “Madoff types” or to police large institutional firms in both the commercial and investment banking sectors. At present, leverage is at an all-time high and we have replaced subprime mortgage loans with subprime auto loans. However, regulators have displayed a willingness to fine large firms, extort their fee and allow them to continue to play their dangerous game. It is difficult to say what the results of these reckless actions will be, but it is all too similar to the years leading up to 2008.

The national debt does not concern us nearly as much as it does others. While the number is daunting at $18 trillion, rates are so low that the debt service is not unmanageable. Further, once rates begin to rise, the Fed will likely utilize the Federal Open Market Committee to enter the bond market and buy up the old debt with proceeds from newly issued debt, essentially refinancing the national debt at a more reasonable level. If we fail to address the rise in the national debt and take no action at all, however, then we will have a problem on our hands down the road.

We believe above all else that the next 10 years will present major opportunities to investors, if they know where to look. We expect to see an economic recovery and a stable Dow, but not until after some troubling times. Timing is everything. If you remain calm and patient, the next 10 years will be filled with prosperity and gains.

Ben Treece is a partner with Treece Investment Advisory Corp (www.TreeceInvestments.com) and licensed with FINRA through Treece Financial Services Corp. The above information is the opinion of Ben Treece and should not be construed as investment advice or used without outside verification.

This week marks a proud milestone for Toledo Free Press. Ten years ago, on March 16, 2005, we published our first issue.

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As I look back over the 10 years we have been in business, I marvel at all that has occurred in that time. The vision I had for a community-focused weekly newspaper was matched when I found Editor in Chief Michael S. Miller up in Adrian, Michigan. He was what I called “lightning in a bottle.”

Michael agreed to come to Toledo to work on a “glass half-full approach” to this city. He was very adamant I stay out of his way. I agreed and let him do his thing while I ran the rest of the business. That arrangement never changed.

The five straight “Best Weekly Newspaper in Ohio” designations from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists say all you need to know about what talent Michael brought to the table. Now Sarah Ottney, who was mentored by Michael for four years, sits in that seat and has already shown similar skills.

I’ve watched tremendous writers come through our doors, including Brandi Barhite, who Michael often called one of the best journalists and feature writers he’s ever known; Caitlin McGlade, who never backed down from a challenge and is now an investigative reporter with The Arizona Republic; Jeremy Baumhower (who can forget Myles Eckert?); and Matt Zapotosky, who’s now covering federal courts for The Washington Post. Duane Ramsey has been writing business and economic development stories for most of those 10 years and Jeff McGinnis brought his unique pop culture voice to us five years ago.

For our first two years, we were based out of the Toledo Edison building Downtown. Jim Murray, then-president of Ohio Edison, gave us the space to start the business.

It has been wonderful to watch the growth of Downtown’s Warehouse District from our front-row seat on Monroe Street, where our offices now stand. When Blarney Irish Pub owner Ed Beczynski and I bought this building from Dave Ball (another visionary) in 2006, we had no idea what would happen around us. From the Huntington Center, Table Forty4 and PizzaPapalis sprouting up nearby to M Osteria recently opening, Black Cloister Brewing Co. coming this month and Veritas Cork & Craft right around the corner — what a hot corner we’re on where virtually nothing stood before we moved in!

One thing TFP has done from the beginning is support local nonprofits (at least the ones that are not bullied into staying away from us). The latest effort, Dine 419, partnered with local restaurants to raise money for Veterans Matter to house homeless veterans (you will never find a more passionate advocate then its founder Ken Leslie).

TFP has been a proud media sponsor of Holiday with Heart Charity Gayla since 2010 and Toledo Pride (started in 2010 by the just-as-passionate Lexi Staples) since 2011. As its media sponsor for the first four of its five years, we helped Leadership Toledo’s Restaurant Week Toledo grow into the immensely popular fundraiser it is today.

Then there were the six charity CDs we produced for Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana, American Red Cross of Northwest Ohio and Project iAm — Michael’s babies — which raised more than $70,000.

Lucas County Children Services’ (LCCS) Wear Blue Day, which asks people to take a stand against child abuse, is one of the most touching nonprofits we have supported in our years. Same with the organization’s holiday gift drive. LCCS is a wonderful organization that has taken some unfair hits from other media in town; it does not deserve that.

Food for Thought’s Jam City and Food Fight 419 were also causes we got behind. Smoke on the Water, benefiting the Red Cross, was always a good time.

In January 2007, we shifted publication from Wednesday to Sunday. On our fifth birthday, we launched Toledo Free Press Star, a standalone Wednesday publication covering arts and entertainment, which, in 2013, was absorbed back into the Sunday TFP.

Throughout it all, loyal advertisers like ProMedica (from issue No. 1), Monroe Dodge (Ralph Mahalik Jr. has also been with us from the beginning), Fifth Third Bank, TARTA, Mercy, Hollywood Casino Toledo, Owens Community College, Estate Jewelers, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, the Town Center at Levis Commons and Fat Fish Blue have been our lifeblood. Without advertisers who had guts like these companies (and so many more) we would have never made it 10 years.

We have taken our share of punches to the gut as well. Despite an unbelievable lawsuit from a newspaper that wants to step on us and disloyal employees stealing from us, we have found a way to fight through. The loyal and hardworking employees of the paper are the reason we have lasted this long. James A. Molnar is one of the most talented artists I have had the pleasure to know. Chick Reid, who has been working for me for years (first at The Blade and now here), is one of the best-known sales people in town and just a great guy. My now longest-tenured employees, Renee Bergmooser and Pam Burson, are loyal to the bone and some of my best friends.

Many of our columnists have been with us for years. Our cartoons and crossword puzzles are created locally too.

Last but not least are you, our readers. Thanks for sticking with us and thanks for reading.

It’s the people who have made us and who are the key to our success. This is the reason we are still the largest Sunday paper in Lucas County and in my opinion the best.

Thank you, Toledo!

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press. Contact him at [email protected].

For a neighborhood that has existed for more than 125 years, 10 years seems like a blip.

Diane Keil-Hipp is president of the Toledo Warehouse District Association. Toledo Free Press photo and cover photo by Christie Materni

Part of what I lovingly accept in my role as Toledo Warehouse District Association president is that I am just a caretaker of something that has existed long before me and will exist long after me.

That being said, I am mighty proud of what our little volunteer association has accomplished in 10 years’ time, and more significantly, what the Warehouse District has become in the past 10 years.

The best part of the renovation of the Warehouse District is precisely that it took 10 years to get here.  Each building was restored one at a time, by a committed owner with a dream.   Slowly and steadily, building by building, was the Warehouse District rebuilt.  This careful pace and individual commitment are two important ingredients for long-term success.

As you walk the streets, you are energized by the colors and creativity that flow out of these buildings. Restaurants, offices, lofts, and art galleries all call the Warehouse District home. Now, blocks of buildings have been renovated and repurposed. Twenty-first century businesses operating in 19th century buildings — what a wonderful blend of modernism and history.

By no means are we done. More projects are in the works: Hensville, the Berdan Building, Erie Street Market, Foundry Square.  These renovations are all catalyst projects; they will spur even more energy and excitement in the Warehouse District.

The history of the Warehouse District is unduplicated. To know that the floors we walk on were built and walked on by people 100 years before us gives us pause.  Our lives have depth and meaning when we realize we are just stewards of this great neighborhood, and our legacy is caring for these buildings and passing them on to the next generation.

Diane Keil-Hipp is president of the Toledo Warehouse District Association.

My relationship with Toledo Free Press began with a simple email asking then-Editor in Chief Michael Miller if he had a job opening.

I was a reporter who had just relocated from Sandusky and I liked the scrappiness of the weekly paper. I was interviewed and hired that day. That is the pace of the Free Press.

But in honor of TFP’s 10th birthday, I wanted to slow down and reflect on 10 stories that most resonated with me.

In no particular order:

Derek Merrin

Merrin was the 21-year-old Waterville resident who ran for mayor and beat the incumbent in 2007. He was one of the youngest mayors in Ohio history. He was also one of my first interviews as a reporter for TFP. He was engaging and had a great sense of humor. He told me he planned to continue to live with his parents because he wanted to stay true to his campaign promise. “I am a fiscal conservative. I want to save money,” he said, laughing. After finishing his four-year term as mayor, Merrin was hired by the state to conduct performance audits for local governments. He is now the regional liaison for the Auditor of State. Impressive.

Dominick Kaple

Kaple was part of a larger series that I worked on called Brain Gain. This series celebrated people who were making their careers in the Toledo area. Kaple was a gym teacher concerned about the rise in childhood obesity. He worked to show his kids that there is life outside of technology. Unfortunately, Toledo’s gain would be temporary. Kaple has since become an assistant principal for Lorain High School. While that is sad, that’s the point of writing about those who stay in Northwest Ohio. It seems like it is rare. When someone does stay, we want to celebrate it.

Africa

In 2009, I traveled with the Toledo International Youth Orchestra (TIYO) to Tanga, Tanzania, which is Toledo’s sister city. The young students were raising money to build a music room for the Toledo Secondary School in Tanga. The poverty we witnessed was indescribable. The unsanitary conditions led to many of the locals’ health problems, which were addressed by the medical team that came with us. It would have been an otherwise dismal trip had it not been for TIYO performing for the natives who in exchange performed for us. Music is truly universal.

Tornado

On June 5, 2010, a tornado destroyed parts of Millbury and leveled Lake High School, where my husband is a teacher and coach. The tornado twisted my roles as wife and reporter. I was uncomfortably close to the story and decided to venture even closer. For a whole year, I followed a family who had lost everything in the tornado but each other. Brick by brick, I followed their rebuilding process, which included guilt for surviving. Three members of the family next door had died. Writing 52 stories forced me to rethink the notion that a story is done just because the media has moved on.

D. Michael Collins

I interviewed Collins in August 2009 when the councilman was running for mayor the first time. Some of the best stories are the ones that contain information never meant to be published. During the interview, Collins shared with me that his son had committed suicide. I wanted to publish it; Collins refused. A few days later, I called and asked again. I told him his life experiences were a reason he had empathy for the people he wanted to serve. He agreed and let me use this quote:  “I will never see life the same way again, I can tell you that,” he said. “For the first couple of years, I would see something on the street that would automatically register in my head and I would have an emotional experience over my son.”

My family

I don’t like to write about my family or myself. I prefer to tell stories about other people, but I wrote about my dad losing his job and my mom shattering her leg. I wrote about my sister’s boyfriend losing his brother. Every time I write about my family I am amazed at how many people are interested. It shows me that readers appreciate when journalists become introspective.

Suzanne Carroll

I have written many stories about people suffering from diseases, but no one described her condition as vividly as Carroll, the former host of radio show “The Jazz Brunch.” In 2013, Carroll shed light on multiple sclerosis (MS) in a way that will forever leave me humbled by those who suffer from this incurable disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. She called one of her MS attacks a “slow slide down into hell.”  She was so fatigued she was tired 10 minutes after a full night’s sleep. Her subsequent nerve pain was so painful she often had to sit unclothed with her arms in the air.

Underage drinking

Is your student drinking? That was what I wanted to find out and the answers were alarming. Teens told me that it isn’t hard to get alcohol; it’s all about the connections. Some teens even buy fake IDs. The impetus for this story was the underage drinking death of Brian Hoeflinger in February 2013. Within weeks, his family, in particular his father, Dr. Brian Hoeflinger, started a nationwide conversation about underage drinking. “Parents need to talk about it; they need to start a line of conversation,” Brian’s dad said. “Millions of parents don’t think of talking about it because they don’t think their kids are doing it.”

Father’s Day is every day

Craig Schuele was one of the happiest people I have ever interviewed. His optimism and joy for life were so contagious that I left the interview thinking that adopting six kids from Lucas County Children Services was the secret to lifelong happiness. “I get a lot of love all the time. They are really great kids,” he told me. “Obviously, we have our moments and we have our days, but Father’s Day is just like every other day. We might have a soccer game; we might have a baseball game. It might be the only free day I have that weekend and I might have to cut the grass, and obviously that hasn’t happened in a while,” he said, laughing. And then he got serious. “You think about where they could have been growing up. They wouldn’t nearly have the opportunities they had had,” Schuele said. “I am proud that I am able to give them that chance, even with six of them.”

Insert your story here

Toledo Free Press only exists because of you. The best stories are yet to be told. Without your ideas and your willingness to be interviewed, our publication would not exist. While I could come up with dozens more stories that I have enjoyed writing, I am wise enough to know that some of the best stories are the ones that we haven’t even thought of yet.

Brandi Barhite is community ombudsman at Toledo Free Press.

I am not a writer.

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I never imagined my words would appear in a newspaper, especially on a regular basis. I’m fairly certain my family was equally shocked to find them in their driveways or even in a grocery store.

My words did not come from years of education nor from a lifelong love affair with writing. They appeared as a survival method from a heart that was drowning in things it needed to say.

I don’t remember what sparked the conversation between former Toledo Free Press Editor in Chief Michael S. Miller and myself. But I do remember my motivation in asking. After spending 10 years on the radio, an occupation and lifestyle that cost me a marriage, I wanted to show my family the person I was, not the one I was pretending to be.

As a father of four, I fear a retirement with weekends spent primarily in a car or on a plane — trips to visit my grandchildren if this city cannot attract jobs to retain the younger generations.

I was tired of living in a city being bullied by its daily newspaper. I was tired of being shown, via front-page “special reports,” how bad and ugly my hometown was. I never understood how the publisher of a city’s newspaper could live in a completely different state, hundreds of miles away. The irony of a newspaper publishing repeated editorials offering advice to local politicians on how to run city government while itself losing millions of dollars a year is beyond rich.

I wanted to highlight and showcase Toledo’s greatest export: its heart. I knew that if I shared stories of Toledoans at their finest, it could be contagious. I think it has been.

Toledo Free Press has spent the past decade battling the one thing that has kept this city down since the last episode of “M*A*S*H” aired, and it isn’t the economy. The Blade is close to crippling this paper with behind-the-scenes influence and legal bills from an insulting lawsuit.

If you can’t beat ’em, sue ’em. If they dare to point out the emperor wears no clothes, sue ’em some more. “One of America’s Great Newspapers (For Law Firms)” would be a more accurate description.

TFP dedicates its ink to news without a hidden agenda while highlighting the heart of a city learning how to walk again. It provides a vehicle and voice for many previously unrepresented communities, and people dreaming of change. It’s helped champion the “You Will Do Better in Toledo” campaign, which now welcomes all those who visit the Glass City.

I come from a proud union family full of carpenters, welders and UAW members. I can take my children anywhere around the city and show them things our family has built, from Fifth Third Field to the new I-280 bridge. I have discovered my talents lie in my voice, rather than my hands.

The love and support of those who read my column has been overwhelming. This paper has served as my heart’s bucket, allowing me to dump its words one column at a time. It’s given me the opportunity to effect a positive difference. Since I don’t possess the ability to cut a straight line, this column offers my children a chance to see my work.

As a child, my grandparents Pete and JoAnn Zunk would give me these beautiful personal tours, where they would drive throughout the city to show how rooted our family is in Northwest Ohio.

After writing and appearing in this paper for over a year, I learned they were secretly keeping a scrapbook of my columns. My grandma was painstakingly cutting the paper and gluing the pieces into a photo album. Who needs Google when you have glue?

It was at this moment I knew my words had reached their targeted audience — a nice older couple from Point Place.

Thank you Toledo Free Press for being the jobsite of my work and home to my heart.

We have done better in Toledo with a Free Press.

Jeremy Baumhower can be reached at [email protected].