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2012 Old West End Festival offers parade, art, music, home tours

By
Caitlin McGlade
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This house at 2320 Scottwood Avenue was on the historic home tour for the 2012 Old West End Festival. Toledo Free Press photo by Joseph Herr.

An 1877 directory of the Old West End marketed the neighborhood by extolling the “great depths of its lots” and the “high character of the residents of the neighborhood.”

Frank Lloyd Wright studied the area while planning his Oak Park Project in Illinois. The Libbey family, who built up Toledo’s glass industry, lived there. Lavish homes equipped with classical columns and bulging bay windows were going up from one lot to the next back then, eventually covering a 25-block radius.

“When you lived here, you were in the upper crust,” said Joe Minnich, who is refurbishing a 9,733-square-foot home on Scottwood Avenue built in 1892.

This was a place to be seen. More than 100 years later, it still is — especially during the old West End Festival on June 2-3.

“What makes the Old West End special is very simple: beautiful big houses and a very fine community of people who live there and work on the community spirit,” said Don Brewer, entertainment coordinator for the festival.

The parade

The Old West End Festival marks its 41st celebration this year. Starting at 10 a.m. June 2, Robinwood Avenue will come alive with the King Wamba Parade — a moving party of the Scott High School Marching Band, a roller derby troupe, belly dancers, enormous marionette puppets and floats constructed by local organizations.

This year, the parade has a particularly special guest. Cirque du Soleil performers will stride alongside the floats on stilts.

“When they called I about fell out of my chair,” said Jeni Belt, coordinator of the King Wamba Parade.

This is the first year the festival has hosted the internationally renowned traveling dancers and acrobats. The group’s booking agent requested the invite to the Old West End Festival, Belt said.

In addition to the parade, Cirque du Soleil performers will perform off the main stage during the afternoons  on June 2 and 3.

The King Wamba Parade dates back to 1909, when the neighborhood threw a Mardi Gras-style carnival in honor of King Wamba, a Visigothic king in Spain from 672 to 680.

That first carnival ran for four days and exemplified historical events that took place in seventh century Toledo, Spain.

But the carnival didn’t make a comeback until 2007, when Mark Moffett, then-parade chair, sought to bring it back. When Moffett took charge of the parade, it was comprised of a few neighborhood groups and a grand finale of the Scott High School Marching Band. Now groups are coming from Columbus and Detroit to partake in the party.

The parade travels about a mile, starting at Robinwood Avenue, winding onto Bancroft Street, taking a right onto Collingwood Boulevard and finishing up at the Mansion View Inn.

Arts and entertainment

Brewer posted an ad on Craigslist this winter calling for performers to take the Art Fair stage and 26 responses flooded in immediately. He took the first 10 who responded. For performers, the Old West End Festival is a hot gig.

“The festival, which started out simply as home tours, has grown into an arts festival, with the beer tent, the children’s tent, the crafts festival, the car show and the parade,” Brewer said.

Performers who scored the main stage slots include Aegele, Middle Eastern Dancers and students from Toledo School for the Arts. Shows start at noon and end at 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The other venue, the Arboretum Stage, will be located by the Beer Pavilion on Delaware Avenue. Ten bands will play on Saturday, starting at noonand ending at 9 p.m. Six bands will perform Sunday, starting again at noon and ending at 6 p.m. Tunes will range from bluegrass, rock, hip-hop, jazz/funk, folk, Hawaiian and soul.

The Toledo Museum of Art’s Glass Pavilion will host an art fair of at least 30 juried artists from more than six states from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

Yard sales will abound throughout the neighborhood. Food carts offering everything from barbecue to gyros to pizza will be open until 6 p.m. both days.

There will be an antique and classic car show, children’s activities, a 5K run/walk and a marketplace at Woodruff and Parkwood avenues.

The house tours

“We bought the porch and the house came with it,” said Lynn LaPlante, who lives in a Queen Anne-style home on Scottwood Avenue with her husband Dave.

But more than just brick and mortar accompanied the deal. The red brick house at 2320 Scottwood Ave. is ripe with history.

Albert Wright, who started out in the railroad tie industry and founded the Jennison-Wright Company, had the house built for himself when he moved to Toledo in 1895. Crews constructed three storiesand an attic, with separate stairways and separate entrances for the servants. They even installed a button in the dining room floor that the family could push to alert the maids when they wanted something.

The interior of the house is trimmed in oak and cherry woods, with a mix of dentil molding and egg-and-dart overlays. Two rich wooden pocket doors slide open to reveal a living room to the right of the foyer and a dining room to the back.

The floorboards release a robust creaking sound with each step — and in the air lingers the faint scent of finished wood.

But the 3,500 square feet weren’t enough for Wright, the original owner. He moved down the road to a larger home about 10 years later to compete with his neighbors, who were building even larger houses, Dave LaPlante said.

The place was home to a series of other families between Wright and the LaPlantes, including a man who ran a leather business and a couple of University of Toledo professors.

At one point during the house’s history, a 14-year-old maid lived in the servants’ quarters,
Lynn LaPlante said.

Another house open for festival tours is Joe Minnich’s fixer-upper — a looming yellow brick house sprawling within view of the Toledo Museum of Art on Scottwood Avenue. The exterior appears as though it could guard royalty, with its majestic columns flanking the terrazzo tile porch, ornate roof brackets and carved medallionsadorning the house’s brick façade that faces the street.

The interior tells the story of evolving architectural tastes. The house was built for a German brewer, Hermann Dick,  in 1892 but the Blevens family bought the place in 1916.

Whereas much of the wood lining the living room, the dining room and the upstairs bedroom originally bore a dark finish, the new family painted everything white.

They took out a first-story bay window and replaced it with an overhanging solarium off the side of the house. They swapped the traditional metal doorknobs with glass ones —symbolizing the evolution of Toledo as the “Glass City” between the 1890s and the 1910s.

In the 1960s, the structure became home to the International Institute.

But many of the household accessories date back more than 100 years — from the chandelier hanging over the living room to the soap dish in the bathroom.

Minnich is trying to bring the place back to what it was in the 1890s, so he has stripped most of the white finish from the wood.

He has found that only the finest materials went into making most of the house. The original crew used bird’s eye mahogany — one of the finest, most dense types of high-quality wood — to line the second story rooms.

The white tile covering the bathroom walls? It is detailed with a gold leaf design.

If you stand in the middle of the second-story landing, you can see out windows on all four sides of the house. There are also at least three full-length mirrors within view.

But the extravagance is not true of the entire house. The original owners went to great lengths to ensure that the servants knew their place.

Although it is easier to make a door out of one type of wood, the doors separating the servants’ quarters and the family dwelling are made of two bound together. The sides facing the servants’ quarters are made of a utilitarian pinewood. The sides facing
the rest of the house are fine mahogany.

The histories of these homes are just a few components of the Old West End Festival — but history is at the crux of the entire weekend.

“A lot of what Toledoans can take away from this is to become more aware and connected to the history,” Moffett said. “Many of us are not in touch with the history of Toledo and
I think the parade and the festival can connect us.”

Barhite: Area pools to open; Roosevelt Pool revamped

By
Brandi Barhite
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Local pools, including Toledo’s Roosevelt Pool, will open this month after a long, hot spring.

The weather usually isn’t nice enough by early June for people to be so excited, but Maumee Public Service Director Joe Camp said this pool season is looking warmer.

Unlike 2009, when attendance at Rolf Park Pool, 2115 Cass Road, dropped because of the economic slump and cooler temperatures, Camp expects the customary 19,000-23,000 visits this summer because of the anticipated hotter weather.

Admission to the Maumee pool is a bit more expensive than to Toledo-run pools, but Camp said the experience is more like a waterpark.

“We have three slides, the diving board and the play structure,” he said.

The eighth season for the pool will start June 2 with hours from noon to 6:45 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5:45 p.m. weekends. Daily admission is $8 for those 48 inches or taller and $5 for those shorter.

Camp said individual memberships are $50 for those who live within the city limits of  Maumee or within the school district boundaries. Just because a person’s mailing address is Maumee doesn’t mean he or she lives within the corporate limits, though, he said.

Toledo City Pools open later in the month. The city’s seven pools open June 19 and will be available for swimming noon to 6 p.m. most days. The prices are $1-$2 and free at the Savage Splash Pad.

One highlight of this year is the reopening of the Roosevelt Pool at Smith Park. The pool was destroyed by vandals in 2009.

“The pools definitely contribute to our quality of life in the city,” said city Public Information  Officer Jen Sorgenfrei in an email. “It’s an amenity thatmost communities offer their citizens, so even in difficult budget times we have worked really hard to maintain access to pools throughout the city.”

Sorgenfrei said former Council President Wilma Brown pushed for the reopening of Roosevelt, and Councilman Tyrone Riley has also stressed the importance of having a pool.

Pool attendance varies each year, with a total of 57,261 visits in 2002compared to 23,269 in 2011.

Along with the weather, the number of pools opened annually affects total attendance. City pools had 12,434 visits in 2009, which was a cooler summer.

Another area pool about readyto open for the summer is the Perrysburg City Pool, 915 Elm St.

The pool will open June 9 with hours 1-8:30 p.m. daily. Pool passes are available to city residents ($70) or school district residents ($140). Those who aren’t residents can  purchase a single-day pass for $10.Those 5 and younger are free.

Local author learns life lessons from Oprah

By
Dock David Treece
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Oprah Winfrey and Jason Daniels

Entrepreneur and author Jason Daniels recently attended an Oprah Winfrey “Lifeclass.”

“Lifeclass,” a project on Winfrey’s Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN TV), is a series of inspirational discussions on seeking inner peace.

Daniels applied for and was selected into a “Lifeclass” session in Chicago in late May. He said he looks up to Winfrey and admires her leadership and attitude.

The “Lifeclass” episode he attended discussed guilt, moving forward with life and how to take control of your own destiny, topics Daniels said he covered in his book, “Get Off the Gerbil Wheel.”

Winfrey and guest speaker Iyanla Vanzant shared ways to overcome guilt and achieve goals.

“I found that many of the topics discussed had correlation with my book. One of the main things being always taking advantage of every opportunity you get,” Daniels said.

Through the workshop, Daniels said he learned about time management and leadership skills.

Daniels said Winfrey not only shows her personality during the show, but during the breaks as well. During breaks, Winfrey and her staff continued to carry on conversations.

“When you talk to Oprah, it’s like nobody else is there, she really gives
her full attention to anybody talking to her,” Daniels said.

While Winfrey’s workshops offer lessons on improving relationships, achieving personal goals and respecting others, Daniels’ business, JAYRAMON, promotes respect, trust and reaching one’s full potential.

Daniels also hosts seminars and workshops. He said JAYRAMON’s mission is “to help individuals celebrate their unique gifts and talents to make the greatest contribution possible in all areas of life.”

“Everybody should at least watch one of Oprah’s “Lifeclasses” online. They can really help anybody; men, women, young and old.

“Lifeclass” can change your perspective from the inside and the outside,” he said.

Kuron: The fine and fickle waters of Lake Erie

By
Frank Kuron
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I’ll never forget it — the day my brother-in-law, nephew and I rented a very small, aluminum rowboat somewhere near Port Clinton and headed a mile or four into the heart of Lake Erie.

The goal was to catch our share of the perch in residence. Any boater in our region knows that the spirits of the lake can turn evil as fast as a tug on your line, but we first learned this nautical lesson on that day.

The sunlight above was overrun by a sudden rolling blackness, laden with flashing bolts of electricity. We pulled in our lines and started and restarted and restarted the lawnmower engine attached to the back of our floating metal lightning rod.

The race to shore was on, propelled by dozens of still unkept promises to our heavenly Father. Amid the smoke from our sputtering engine, those ever-heightening white bonneted waves and the sloshing of ankle-deep water in our hull, we finally arrived at the dock ahead of our thunderous pursuer.

Many U.S. troops faced the same type of nautical trepidation in the fall of 1813. Commodore Oliver Perry met the enemy and made them his on Sept. 10 in the northwestern waters of Lake Erie, right between the islands and British Fort Malden at the mouth of the Detroit River. In the weeks following, the American land forces funneled into the Sandusky Bay area, which is now Port Clinton, to prepare the attack on Fort Malden, which harbored Tecumseh’s warriors and Henry Proctor’s 41st Regiment.

Some of Perry’s less damaged ships were used in the first leg of the journey to transport the men to Put-in-Bay, but most had to row themselves there in much smaller Mackinaw boats — flat-bottomed vessels that were usually used for fishing and transporting supplies.

Crammed with troops sitting shoulder to shoulder, the boats often rode only a foot above the water line.
One of the helmsmen of these Mackinaws said the gales becameso fierce, all the smaller open boats around him turned back. His was so heavy that to try and turn in the troughs would have caused all of them to drown.

He decided, “The only safety was in keeping the boat in the wind’s eye, and to double-man the oars, keeping one or two men to bail out the water that dashed over the sides.”

They rowed 11 hours to complete a 12-mile trip. Eleven hours! Can you say “Jet Express”?!

Once the boats finally unloaded their cargo of men, they were sent back for more and it took a day and a half to complete the transport of nearly 15,000 troops to the island.

The warm waters of the lake were hardly palatable to the hot, parched throats of thesemen, until someone discovered an island cavern. Now known as Perry’s Cave, it provided these men with cool lake water, unheated by the sun and obviously fresh flowing as indicated by the presence of fish.

Thousands of men paraded in and out of the wide but low-ceilinged hollow, using candles and torches to see their way. Spilled water from their canteens and kettles made the rocks a slippery, muddy mess and overall treacherous effort.

After a few days of waiting for the winds and waters to subside before continuing on to Fort Malden, one participant of this event records, “It was a sublime and delightful spectacle, to behold 16 ships of war and 100 boats filled with men, borne rapidly and majestically to the long-sought shores of the enemy.”

Another man aboard Perry’s Ariel wrote, “The sun shone with refulgent splendor on our polished arms. The martial waving of the snow-white plumes of the officers, the various uniforms of regulars and volunteers, the solemn silence, interrupted only by the regular movement of springing oars, altogether formed a scene awfully grand.”

The waters of Lake Erie seem to have always had a mind of their own, providing either a deadly challenge or striking serenity for its mariners. Next time you visit your favorite watering hole at Put-inBay, stop at the original one, which quenched the thirst of some very
brave men for a few days in 1813.

And may your ankles stay dry as you cruise there.

Frank Kuron is author of the War of 1812 book, “Thus Fell Tecumseh.” Email him at [email protected].

Bugle Call: Upcoming Events (2012)
O Visit Fort Meigs on June 2 for a picnic-style, musical summer evening in commemoration of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the 50th anniversaries of the Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra and the Glassmen Drum & Bugle Corps, as they perform Melodies on the Maumee, a celebration concert inside the fort. Visit www.fortmeigs.org or call (419) 874-4121 for complete details about all upcoming events.

Mayor Bell cuts ribbon; casino opens doors

By
Caitlin McGlade
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Mayor Mike Bell is flanked by Penn National Gaming officials and a couple of showgirls as he cuts the ceremonial ribbon opening Hollywood Casino Toledo while native son Jamie Farr emcees from the podium. Toledo Free Press photo.

The din of the chattering dealers rose and fell with fevered anticipation.

The employees, the politicians, the media personnel and the business people walked the granite floors of Hollywood Casino Toledo on May 29 with much urgency, mingling among models clad in feathered headdresses and musicians preparing to belt out the casino’s first tunes.

The commotion fell silent for 25 minutes as hundreds of people leaned toward a black and gold ribbon that symbolized the culmination of months of hard labor and planning.

“M*A*S*H” star and Toledo native Jamie Farr set the tone.

“William Randolph Hearst would envy this right now,” Farr said.

Farr reflected on how Toledo has changed since his childhood days inthe North End some  70 years ago.

“The closest thing we had to something like this was George’s Cigar Store on Superior Street,” he said. “It was a front; you’d go in there and buy cigarsand of course you’d go to the backroom and that’s where all the gambling was done. This, I think, outdoes it.”

Farr stood at a podium under the casino’s high ceilings, surrounded by220 televisions, 2,002 slot machines, 60 table games and 20 live poker tables.

Mayor Mike Bell called the place “unbelievable,” saying the casino is one of the elements that could help turn the city’s economy around.

“You walk in and see people who are smiling because they’ve been unemployed for so long and now they’re going to be able to actually take care of their families,” he said.

The casino hired 1,300 employees, 90 percent of whom are Northwest Ohio locals. Law mandates that Ohio casinos pay a fixed tax of 33 percent of their gross revenues, of which 51 percent will be distributed among Ohio’s 88 counties with half of each county’s share going toward its largest city if the population exceeds 80,000.

Thirty-four percent of the revenue will fund public school districts. Five percent will go tohost cities, 3 percent to Ohio Casino Control Commission, 3 percent to the Ohio State Racing Commission fund, 2 percent to state law enforcement training and 2 percent to  state problem gambling fund.

The casino collected at least $100,000 during a May 24 VIP night alone. Proceeds went to charity.   General Manager Richard St. Jean awarded both the Boys & Girls Club of Toledo and the YMCA checks for $50,000 from the earnings.

Bell cut the ribbon after the crowd counted down from 10. Doors opened to the public shortly afterward.
Dealer Robert Navarre, who awaited players at a Big Six table, said this is his first dealing gig. But he’s no stranger to casinos.

“I’ve wanted this to come here for a long time, I’ve gone to Vegas 10 years in a row so I’ve been ready for this for a long, long time.” he said. “This is better than Vegas — Vegas has nothing on this casino here.”

Officials said 15,000 people visited the casino on its first day

Letter to the editor, June 3, 2012: Roether

By
Dock David Treece
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TO THE EDITOR:

I am writing as a concerned citizen about a gap in services regarding veterans of the Armed Forces in the State of Ohio. The specific rule, Ohio State Veterans Service Commission Rule 5901.08, acts as a barrier for Ohio veterans to access much-needed services.

“Each applicant for financial assistance under sections 5901.02 to 5901.15 of the Revised Code shall be a veteran, an active-duty member of the armed forces of the United
States, or the spouse, surviving spouse, dependent parent, minor child, or ward of a veteran or active-duty member of the armed forces of the United States, who has been a bona-fide resident of the county in which application is being made for at least three months.”

According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans’ nearly 20 percent of the homeless population are veterans who served their country.

Ohio has the sixth-largest veteran’s population in the country, and according to the Cherry Street Mission, a local homeless shelter, an estimated 30,000 vets experience homelessness in Ohio annually.

I have been instructed that when the rule was adopted in 1994, it was an effort to prevent duplication of services. However, 18 years later in a much more technologically sophisticated society, tracking services provided to Ohio veterans electronically should be much more feasible.

By decreasing the amount of time required for veterans to access services, and properly accounting for services provided to each homeless veteran, Ohio can become a national leader in the fight to serve those who have served us.

Please contact one of your state representatives to endorse this important initiative!
Sen. Edna Brown
(614) 466-5204
Ohio Senate 1 Capital Square
Columbus, Ohio 43215
[email protected]
Sen. Mark Wagoner
(614) 466-8060
Ohio Senate 1 Capital Square
Columbus, Ohio 43215
sd02@ senate.state.oh.us
Rep. Michael Ashford
(614) 466-1401
77 S. High St
Columbus, Ohio 43215
[email protected]
Rep. Teresa Fedor
(614) 644-6017
77 S. High St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215
[email protected]
Rep. Barbara Sears
(614) 466-1731
77 S. High St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215
[email protected]
Rep. Matt Szollosi
(614) 466-1418
77 S. High St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215
[email protected]
Thank you for your support.
Robert Roether,
Chairman,
Remembrance Inc.
P.O Box 12435,
Toledo, OH 43606
(419) 270-2655

ProMedica ‘Classic’ expands focus to include heart, vascular

By
Toledo Free Press
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The Classic,” ProMedica Toledo Hospital’s only annual fundraiser, has supported its Breast Care Center for the past two years, but this year’s event has a new focus: Heart and Vascular Institutes.

“We wanted to do a fundraising golf event back in 2009,” said Mary Sabin, executive director of the Toledo Hospital Foundation. “But we wanted the event to have a twist. We will have ‘celebrity’ golfers from the hospital this year competing in a wacky nine-hole putting contest.”

Every two years, ProMedica Toledo board members and event volunteers direct funds received from The Classic to a new branch of the hospital in order to meet the needs of the facility’s 11 clinical areas.

Right now, the heart health of Lucas County is one of the most pressing medical issues.

“Heart and vascular health tends to stay in the background [of medicalawareness],” Dr.  James Bingle, president of ProMedica Heart and Vascular Institutes, said. “The truth is,  we in Northwest Ohio have a troubling pool of people in high risk of heart disease. As such, we take it upon ourselves to educate the area.”

Heart disease and stroke accounted for 34 percent of Lucas County deaths from 2006-08, according to the 2011 Lucas County, Ohio Health Assessment Project commissioned by Healthy Lucas County for the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio.

The report also stated that approximately 34 percent of Lucas County adults have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, 27 percent with high blood cholesterol and 35 percent were obese — three known risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

In 2011, 24 percent of Lucas County adults were reported as being current smokers — a rate that exceeds the smoking rate the United States.

The American Cancer Society stated last year that tobacco use was the most preventable cause of disease and early death, but still accounts for approximately 5.4 million deaths each year.

“Those staggering statistics are why we are redirecting the fundraiser to the Heart and Vascular Institutes,” Sabin said. “This way, we can inform and help the members of the community take care of their hearts.”

ProMedica board members believe that despite the redirection of funds to the Heart and Vascular Institutes, The Classic’s success of the past two years will continue to grow.

The Classic raised nearly $200,000 for Breast Care Center during the course of two years.

ProMedica wasable to use that money to purchase a new ultrasound machine and acollection of blanket warmers for the clinic.

The Breast Care Center’s stereotactic breast table also received a MultiCare Maximum Comfort Kit, which is a foam unit designed to enhance patient comfort during procedures.

“We’ve had extraordinary support from our community,” Sabin said. “About 50 to 60 sponsors, a mix of both corporations and individuals, are already involved for this year’s event. I expect us to make $200,000 this year alone.”

The money raised at the event will help the Heart and Vascular Institutes open new programs, increase researchand raise further awareness through education.

The clinic, created only a year ago, specializes in cardiology and both cardiac and vascular surgery.

“We are extremely happy to be the receiver of this event’s fundraising,” Bingle said. “The money will truly raise the quality of our care. Up-todate research and education keeps everyone attentive to new solutions.”

The Classic event will include a dinner and a putting competition. Live entertainment and a reception area will be available for guests who are not competing. The top golfers on the leader board will have the chance to win multiple prizes, including two tickets to the 2013 Masters golf tournament practice round or the opportunity to “design a golf course” with Arthur Hills, a renowned course designer.

A live auction will also be held with several items up for grabs, such as a pair of Detroit Red Wings tickets and a week-long stay at a condo in Fort Myers, Fla.

Guests can also participate in the “Raise the Paddle” auction, where individuals can bid on various healthcare packages that will be donated topatients in need. The funds raised will go to help underinsured or uninsured patients pay for their prescription medicine and transportation to the hospital.

“Raise the Paddle” raised almost $20,000 last year and the money was used to fund mammograms for patients unable to afford them. Those funds helped 50 women receive mammograms who would have otherwise gone without the screenings, said ProMedica Toledo spokesperson Tedra White.

Businesses looking for another way to donate can register to be sponsors for The Classic. Sponsorship packets can be downloaded from ProMedica.org. The third annual event will take place at the Belmont Country Club in Perrysburg on May 30. Businesses and individuals who are interested in being a sponsor for the event or placing a donation can contact Sabin at (419) 291-7473 or [email protected]. O

Rathbun: Facebook an illustrative look at IPOs

By
Gary Rathbun
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I am so glad that the Facebook initial public offering (IPO) is complete. I was never a big fan of this offering and was able to talk most of my clients out of purchasing the stock on May 18.

Now we can sit back and let the finger pointing, Monday morning quarterbacking, rationalizations and lawsuits begin.

First, let’s look at how the IPO was put together and some of the warning signs that caused me to lack excitement about getting in.

One of the early warning signs for me was all of the hype that the investment banks and the media were putting out. You have to remember that this is a company that really doesn’t  produce anything. It mines data for advertisers.

But as General Motors stated a couple of days before the IPO, the advertising dollars being spent were ineffective in selling cars.

I know that I am part of a generation that doesn’t use Facebook personally so I don’t see the need or usefulness of the site but I still think it is important to create a product that
investors understand.

Another warning sign was the fact that Facebook has only made a profit in the past couple of years. There is no real long-term track record of sustainable revenue and profits.

One of the other big points was increasing the amount of shares offered in the IPO. The number of shares was increased by 25 percent in the last week before going public. Simple reasoning would suggest that the price be adjusted lower to compensate for the “inflated” number of shares but instead Morgan Stanley raised the price to around $38.

Both of these actions were based on the response to all of the hype in the marketplace. Morgan Stanley stated that the demand was very strong and that it would not be a problem selling the additional shares even at the higher price.

In fairness, it wasn’t much of a problem selling the additional shares on the
first day; on the secondday, however, the story was a little different.

I am not going to get into all of the accusations about insider information, inappropriate short selling, Chinese walls and Morgan Stanley buying shares to support the price.
Already, lawsuits are being filed and it will be interesting to see what information comes to  light and what the court rules. I will comment on those events as they unfold, either here or on my website.

Suffice it to say that we will be looking at this offering for many months and it will definitely affect the next social media IPO that decides to go public.

Finally, the saying, “buyer beware” still comes to mind. One can make an argument that false information may have been put out, but why would you not question the information when the source is the company that will benefit from selling you the stock?

You should always question the information as well as the source. A couple of columns ago we talked about an adviser working from a fiduciary standard on your behalf and this is a classic example. I advised my clients to avoid Facebook because of the research my company did and the sources I used to get reliable data.

If your adviser makes money on the transaction, you need to ask yourself the fiduciary question. Is he/she acting in my best interest or is he/she recommending this because they make money?

Gary L. Rathbun is the president and CEO of Private Wealth Consultants, LTD. 

GenoaBank unveils remodeled Oregon branch

By
Morgan Delp
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GenoaBank revealed its newly renovated Oregon branch office in a ceremony May 22 among Oregon city officials, community supporters, bank employees and clients.

GenoaBank was founded in 1902 and its board of directors voted to open a branch inOregon in 1988.

Staci McDaniel, marketing manager for the bank, said the Oregon branch was last remodeled in 1998 and “was due for an upgrade.”

The independent community bank has six branches across the area, and hopes to bring all branches up to date in celebration of the organization’s 110th year, McDaniel said. She said they are currently working on revamping the Genoa branch, which is the bank’s headquarters.

Martin Sutter, president and CEO of GenoaBank, said that Maumee is next on the list to undergo renovation. He said that they’re getting readyto break ground at the Conant Street location and the project will be started in the next month.

The Oregon renovation consisted of adding and remodeling individual offices for bank employees to meet with clients. Sutter said that “because we’re growing substantially in the Oregon community, we were running out of office space, which is a good problem.”

Regina Barber, customer service teller at the Oregon branch, has had to work through the construction since the project’s beginning in January, because the bank stayed open during the remodeling.

“The renovation went very well, I don’t think it really bothered a lot of our customers,” Barber said. “[The construction company] cleaned up after themselves. We had to clean up a little bit, like do some dusting, but it helped us also refresh our atmosphere at the bank.”

Michelle Quilter, Oregon branch manager, said that a need for increased privacy was a main reason for the bank’s new look.

“People want to work with people that they know and trust. Part of trust is privacy, [which is necessary] in order to provide our customer with what they need,” Quilter said. “They can  come in, we can shut the door, we can sit and talk to them, and develop a real relationship with them that lasts. That’s what we want.”

“Private offices are important for the customers,” Sutter said. “They don’t want to talk business out in public.”
“We’ve also moved GenoaFinancial, which is an insurance and alternative investmentproduct service group, to this facility and … we’ve added a few lenders so we’ve renovated the office space to give our branch manager space to make sure we take care of customers,” Sutter said.

McDaniel said that the addition of GenoaFinancial to the Oregon branch was a factor in renovating, in order to help with the additional staff and clientele it brings.

When GenoaFinancial was first launched in March 2011, it was housed at the Crossroads branch for the first few months before moving to the Oregon branch, McDaniel said.

Five employees of GenoaFinancial will now be housed at the Oregon branch, McDaniel said.

Quilter said that with the addition of GenoaFinancial, the Oregon branch will now be a full service bank.

“We’re a large enough facility wherewe can do it all here,” Quilter said. “We can meet all of our clients’ needs.”

Quilter said that anything from starting a small business to opening a checking account to planning for retirement can now be handled all at the Oregon location.

Rick Jaques, small-business owner of Simply Green Lawn Care Service, attended the opening ceremony.

“We went to GenoaBank for a business loan to start my company and they were unbelievably helpful throughout the whole process of getting me started and walking me all the way through it, so that’s why we’re here,” Jaques said. “I’ve gone to a couple of the bigger banks and they weren’t nearly as willing to work with us as they were here so that’s why we ended up here. We’ve been here ever since, everything of ours is here.”

City of Oregon Council President Thomas Susor said that “as corporate America and corporate banking takes over the world today, small communities want to cling to that local bank, the friendships and personal touch with local banks.”

Susor said he believes that GenoaBank is committed to the Oregon community.

Miller: Branding Toledo at the casino

By
Michael Miller
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The Hollywood Casino Toledo is magnificent. The décor, technology and customer service efforts rival anything in Lucas County.

One of the impressive elements of the casino is how carefully branded the word “Toledo” is.

It’s on the gaming tables, the cards, the card-shuffling machines and on most every surface. There are some local institutions that drop “Toledo” from their names but the casino embraces its host city.

One of the many electronic screens has an homage to Jamie Farr and his “M*A*S*H” legacy. In the private room of the Final Cut steakhouse (which features a spectacular glass-wall view of the river and trees), a Katie Holmes dress is displayed alongside outfits worn by Halle Berry, Elvis, Tony Curtis and Ann-Margret.

Toledo is shown respect in the casino and patrons will always know exactly which city they are visiting.

But there is another way the Hollywood Casino Toledo could honor the Glass City — by offering Toledo-themed games among its 2,000 slot machines. It’s cool to have such movie themed choices as “The Hangover,” “Sex and the City” and the Toledo exclusive “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” games, but here are some suggestions for more specific Toledo-themed slots.

Mayors of Toledo: Each pull of the handle brings up three windows with rotating images of Toledo mayors past and present. Three Mayor Mike Bells or Donna Owenses or Charles M. Dorrs and you’re a winner!

If the windows show three Carty Finkbeiners, a casino attendant walks up to you, takes your remaining money and roughs you up a bit.

City Council Word Scramble: The images of Toledo City Council members scroll by, while an audio quote from a recent meeting plays through the slot machine speakers. Match the face of the councilperson with the quote that is playing without breaking into laughter or tears and you win a free play on …

Wheel of Suburbs: Grab that handle and watch the images of suburbs spin by. Match up Sylvania or Perrysburg and win. Hit three Ottawa Hills images and the jackpot pays double.

Education Crapshoot: Place yer bet on your child’s future and let the wheels spin. Hit matching private schools and graduate to the “College Roulette” machine. Hit three Toledo Public Schools images and your outcome could be anything from “dishwasher” or “newspaper columnist” on the low end to “CEO ” or “software engineer” on the high end. Charter schools are wild cards.

Gay in the Glass City: You never know what you’re going to get in this game. On one spin, you could win domestic partner benefits. On the next spin, one of your icons may be mocked as a crossdresser. Spin again and see great community support for Pride Day. Spin once more and see your state ban gay marriage. The drama!

Red Cross vs. Food and Commercial Workers union: Draw matching images of bags of donated blood to win. Odds of winning are low, as images of strike signs tend to interrupt the blood supply.

Development Wild Cards: Insert dollars and make an investment in Toledo. Potential  winnings include abandoned movie theaters, closed shopping malls and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of undeveloped waterfront property. Increase your chances of winning by inserting yen.

Roll the Dice on County Reorganization: Take your tax dollars and play this slot machine, based on the proposal to reorganize county government under a county executive. Will the county win by consolidating power? Or will reducing the number of elected officials be a bust?

Page One: Pull the lever to see which story will dominate the news. Are there dogs in trouble? Is there a courthouse in jeopardy? Match three subscription cancellation notices and the slot machine spits out a pile of rare, collectible
coins paid for with state funds.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star.

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