What makes a community a desirable place to live? My guest is Dan Johnson, the Community and Economic Development Director in Blue Ash, a suburb of Cincinnati named as one of the top five best places to live in Ohio.
Then, several holiday events are coming up for people living with disabilities. With halloween at the end of October, many parents are helping their children choose their costumes. For children who use power chairs, it's a challenge in a whole different way. May We Help is here with an invitation to their disabilities-focused halloween festival in October...
And calling all golf pros. The CEO of the Bridge Adaptive Sports & Recreation non-profit is holding a workshop to teach golfers... how to teach golfing... to those with disabilities, with resources and solutions to make it possible for anyone who wants to play.
https://www.blueash.com/
https://maywehelp.org/
https://www.thebridgeadaptive.org/
Then, several holiday events are coming up for people living with disabilities. With halloween at the end of October, many parents are helping their children choose their costumes. For children who use power chairs, it's a challenge in a whole different way. May We Help is here with an invitation to their disabilities-focused halloween festival in October...
And calling all golf pros. The CEO of the Bridge Adaptive Sports & Recreation non-profit is holding a workshop to teach golfers... how to teach golfing... to those with disabilities, with resources and solutions to make it possible for anyone who wants to play.
https://www.blueash.com/
https://maywehelp.org/
https://www.thebridgeadaptive.org/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Least week on iHeart Cincy, itall comes down to our people who live
there happy, did they want tobe there? And I would say certainly
in Blue Ash they do what makesa community a desirable place to live.
Today, my guest is Dan Johnson, the community and economic development director in
Blue Ash, a suburb of Cincinnatinamed as one of the top five best
(00:21):
places to live in Ohio. Andlater there's people with disabilities that want to
pursue a particular passion, but theyneed that device or that technology. So
that's why may we help exist?Several holiday events are coming up for people
living with disabilities, with Halloween atthe end of October, many parents are
helping their children choose their costumes andfor children who use power chairs as a
(00:43):
challenge in a whole different way.May we help us here with an invitation
to their Halloween festival in October andcalling all golf pros as well. The
CEO of the Bridge, Adaptive Sportsand Recreation nonprofit is also holding a workshop
to help teach golf to those withdisabilities, with resources and solutions to make
it possible for anybody who wants togolf. Now on iHeart Sinsey with Sandy
(01:07):
Collins. Welcome to the show.I'm Sandy Collins. This is I Heard
Cincy, a show for the communityto find the resources needed to solve many
of the issues that we face andshare stories that in bolden and uplift people.
Right here today my first guests talkingabout the economic development in Blue Ash.
The director Dan Johnson also alongside him. She doesn't talk much. Communications
(01:30):
Coordinator Rachel Murray is also here now. Dan, welcome to the show.
The city has completed some important infrastructureprojects to make driving safer and less stressful
in Blue Ash, and the SummitPark project continues to grow. So Dan,
let's start there and figure out howall that works together with what you
(01:52):
do. You have a degree fromthe University of Tennessee's at right, Yes,
I have a graduate degree from Tennessee. Yeah, grad was in the
University of Florida. You're now theCommunity and Economic development director at Blue Ash.
What does that entail in Blue Ash? That essentially means that we our
department is in charge of economic development, which is primarily what I focus on,
(02:15):
and then community development and the runningthe building department. So building Department's
pretty self explanatory. The other twoseem to be a mystery to a lot
of folks. Community development is inways sort of a catch all for everything
that happens in the development world,and with regards to private property and what
(02:36):
owners can can't do with that property, so zoning regulations, development regulations,
things that apply to what you canbuild on that land and what you can't
build and where you can put it, and so it governs the way that
properties interact with one another, bothpublic and private stuff. We don't really
get into the public realm so much. That's our public works department and our
(03:00):
parks department, and they are eachin charge of those elements of the city.
So public works is streets and othersort of public infrastructure, Parks is
parks, parks a direct there yougo. So you are mostly working in
economic development, Well, how doyou define your role in the economic development
of Blue Ash? So economic developmentfrom in the broad sense is essentially just
(03:23):
making sure that are the environment thatwe create is one where businesses want to
be. In a nutshell, that'swhat we do, and that involves a
lot of different things and interactions withevery other city department in every way,
because everything that happens in the city, whether it makes public news, or
(03:43):
whether it's something that just a fewfolks know about. They all sort of
impact the way people view the cityand its friendliness, or the way that
it regulates businesses and how that impactsthe ability of businesses to function. And
as a result, if businesses theyare doing well, which they are in
(04:03):
Blue Ash, then you know thatcatches the eye of every other business that's
looking for space out there in theGreater Cincinnati region and even nationally and internationally,
you get a reputation as a communityas to how you treat those who
want to operate in your community.From Blueosh perspective, specifically, you know,
we are very different than a lotof other communities in the Greater Cincinnati
(04:26):
area and actually in any area,because there are not a whole lot of
suburban communities that have the level ofcommercial activity that we do. So we've
always said in Blue Ash that we'reabout one third residential, one third parks,
another government spaces, and one thirdbusiness. And most communities suburban in
(04:47):
particular, you would find our largelygeared towards residential activities and so forth.
I would think that residential communities wouldn'thave major highways going through them, do
you think perhaps maybe the the juctapositionof the you know, the Cross County
Highway in seventy one makes business easierto do in Blue Ash. Oh,
certainly. The you know, alot of what we reap now in terms
(05:12):
of economic activity and the desire ofbusinesses to located Blush, whether that's in
their own facility or whether it's leasingspace in a big corporate office building or
something like that has to do withdecisions that were made a long, long
time ago by the folks who werereally involved in Blue Ash before when it
was a farming community and when therewas a lot of rural stuff. You
know, you've heard that Reid HartmanHighway is. You know, it's a
(05:34):
commonplace term around the greater Cincinnati area. Reid Hartman was developed back when most
of the land adjacent to it wasfarmland. There were a few neighborhoods through
there, but most of it wasfarmland. And it was the folks who
were running Blue Ash at the timethat said, you know, if we
put this in, they will come. It's kind of like that story.
(05:55):
It's if we build this highway highway, I did that finger quotes. If
we built this highway through what isblue ash and you know, connect it
well so that it's easy access.We can get a lot of commercial activity
that would not go anywhere else.And it worked, it really did,
and you see that, you know, today we feel the effects of that
decision that was made. I believeit was back in the nineteen seventies when
(06:19):
they when they were doing that.Obviously things have changed every time. That
at that point in time, itwas an expectation that we'd see more like
factory type of activity. You know. Obviously over time some of that was
removed and they built office buildings andso the nature of even what they were
trying to seek is different now,you know, than it was back then
(06:40):
in an airfield which I never saw, but understand that that's part of the
new development there at Summit Park.And I was asking your communications coordinator,
Rachel Murray about the plans there havejust seemed to kind of explode in the
last few years with the tower beingbuilt, all the shops and the brewery
(07:00):
is now coming up roundabouts and theinfrastructure you're working on that I would imagine
on a on a daily basis.So the city certainly is we have seen
a lot of what was originally plannedalready get developed in terms of a lot
of what's immediately adjacent to the park. We're still waiting for, you know,
offices and some of the more heavilycommercial activity to show up in the
(07:25):
property that's adjacent. I think,unfortunately that the timing of the COVID really
hurt what was going to be aslightly different plan in terms of how,
you know, what we would haveexpected in terms of offices and other commercial
activity coming in adjacent at the park. I'm Sandy Collins. My guest today
is Dan Johnson. He's the communityand economic development director in Blue Ash.
(07:50):
Dan, what drew you to thiscareer? What do you like about it?
Because you're just lighting up whenever you'retalking about this or eyes just twinkle
and it's you know you We werejoking on the way in about how to
how to make it sound fun,but it's clearly enjoyable for you, it
is. It's fascinating for me anyway, if you just look at the world
around you, you know, Ialways question like why is it like that?
(08:13):
Why why is that building there versussomething else? Why does the street
like this? Why is it twolanes versus four? And and why does
everybody want to turn left there?And how do you control that better and
make it more functional? And Ijust think it's a fascination with the with
the world around us that we've created. You know, obviously we're all in
this in this socially close environment.I mean that's the nature of cities in
(08:37):
general. And to me, justwatching everything and wondering why we make things
the way we do was what drewme to it. Originally, I didn't
really think about how that would translateinto a job so much, but it
was. It's turned out to besomething that, you know, I feel
like I'm lucky to be able todo this by number of people who also
(09:01):
seem to be fascinated when they saywhen you go through that conversation where you
say, oh, and what doyou do for living? And I say,
well, this is what do youdo? Maybe they're just being friendly
and you know, socially normal,but it's amazing how many people find it
fascinating and ask a lot of questionsthat I think, oh, well that's
it. Sounds like you're actually interestedin my answer. Yeah, so so
(09:22):
it must be interesting to other folksas well. It's just something you don't
really think about them. Right,What would you say is the most rewarding
part of your job of watching thingsin Blue Ash develop? I mean,
honestly, I think it's it's thatwe have a great community. I mean,
people are you know, our residentsare tend to be very happy,
and you know, I think,I don't know, I mean, I
(09:48):
guess that's it. It's just thatit's a really nice place to live and
we seem to be very successful atyou know, businesses want to be there.
People want to be there, sothe property values are high, and
people take care of there's stuff andit's just a really nice place. And
I think that's it that it allcomes down. I think this would be
true for any community. It allcomes down to are people who live there
happy? You didn't want to bethere? And I would say certainly in
(10:11):
Blue Ash they do. You know. I think that has to do with
the city a lot. Sycamore Schoolsare great school district. You know,
it's it's not just the city ofBluosh, it's everything that's around us and
that is covers the city that's alsonot the city and Sycamore we're lucky to
have a really good school district.Too. What are your new plants now
that you have the roundabouts done andyou're coming into wintertime? Now, do
(10:35):
you have any major announcements any scoops? I always try to pull something out
of Rachel Murray to find out what'swho's the upcoming concert next summer for the
fourth of July, who's the headliner? And I always get the same mole.
You'll find out when I'm ready totell you. Well, for me,
it's you'll find I could tell youafter Rachel's told me, because I
(10:56):
don't. I never know those thingsin advance either, all right. Also,
as far as you asked about theroundabouts in our big projects, the
roundabouts that we installed along Hunt Roadand playing Field leading up into read Hartman,
they're just incredibly successful. I amshocked at how infrequent any sort of
(11:18):
traffic backup is in that area.I've been with Blush for eighteen plus years,
and until those roundabouts were done,I would avoid, like the plague,
going to that area of town becauseyou couldn't get through, and you
know, there'll be times you'd haveto wait through three or four light cycles.
And now I've been that way,I don't know a couple dozen times,
(11:41):
and I've never stopped, not once. It's incredible. Even in rush
hour traffic, it is phenomenally successful. And you know, if it were
up to me, I think wewould do quite a bit more of that.
Once you get through it and youunderstand it. Each each roundabout is
different too. I mean the conceptis the same, but coming off of
(12:01):
Ronald Reagan onto the Hunt Road,you know, you have several different lanes
to take, but you got totake the far left one if you want
to go around the round about.Otherwise you're going to have to go to
the right of the roundabout. SoI got caught a couple of times not
knowing where to go, and Iknow these directions don't make sense. But
the point is is that once youdo figure it out, it's just a
breeze. It's those poor people thatare coming up on it on the first
(12:24):
time and are overwhelmed by what's happening. Hopefully those people are slowing down a
little bit and people will be more, you know, more reasonable in their
response to them and not just honkingat him and yelling at them because they
don't know which lane to be.In Sandy, you can't turn left from
the right hand lane. I learnedthat last time I talked to Rachel's.
(12:48):
I think that that one movement thatyou're describing is the one that has caused
the most issues. Right there arepublic works directors said that is really the
only problem there is there any waythat they can change that. I think
they're looking at, you know,potential ways to resolve that. I mean,
honestly, I just believe that withso many things in the traffic world,
(13:09):
it's a matter of folks getting usedto it. Well. I really
appreciate Dan Johnson coming in from theCity Blue Ash Community and Economic Development director.
I think we made your job soundfun. I don't know about you,
I hope so. I was toldbefore we started this that we should
talk about this in monopoly terms.But I don't ever win a monopoly,
so I probably would not. Itwouldn't be a good example. Do you
(13:35):
win it that? By the way, you know, I don't know.
It's been so long since I've playedbecause it takes way too it's just exhausting.
Final question, which was your favoritetoken in monopoly? I think I
liked the dog? Actually, howabout you that? Or the little car?
How about you? Rachel? Ialways like to be the iron.
(13:58):
I like to be the iron.What were the other ones? There's a
horse like this, turn a microroum. There was a thimble. Oh that's
right. I think I like theiron because you could like slide it really
easily. You have to lift upyour arm to and have any exert any
writing at all. You're just solazy. And I don't like to iron,
(14:22):
so it has nothing to do withthat. And there was a car
on the top hat. Yeah thatwas that bad, except that when you
put it down, it with rocks. Yeah. Kind of like the tables
at some of the restaurants. Yeah, sit down and there goes the table
and you're looking for your matchboxes tolettle it out. Thank you very much
(14:43):
for coming in. I really appreciateit. It's gonna be a fun show.
I think we need to make aCity of Blue Ash Monopoly game.
Rachel Murray, Communications coordinator. That'snot a bad idea, the City of
Blue Ash Monopoly game. It couldbe fun. This is my Heart.
Come up, there are the coolestkids on the block on Halloween. This
(15:05):
is fifty five KRC and iHeartRadio Station. Why is iHeartRadio the number one streaming
radio app? Free music free liveradio stations from all over the country.
Free podcasts, free playlists, freecontests, free artist radio stations, commercial
free stations. It's free. ILove iHeartRadio. Join the millions of music
(15:28):
radio and podcast fans on the numberone streaming radio app Now iHeartRadio, iHeartRadio,
iHeartRadio Free. Never sounded so good. This is iHeart CINCI, a
triestate public affairs program produced right herein Cincinnati. I'm Sandy Collins. My
next guests have dedicated their professional livesto help those living with disabilities. Rob
(15:52):
Sideman is the executive director of MayWe Help, along with Brianne Wilkerson,
their programs director, and from theBridge Adaptive Sports and Recreation Danny Meyer,
whose work in physical therapy at CincinnatiChildren's led him to a nonprofit to adapt
sports to allow those with disabilities toplay. So welcome to the show,
Rob, Bree and Danny Welcome back. Rob. If you would start out
(16:15):
and give us your elevator speech,if you will to get everybody up to
speed on what is may we Helpsmission? Sure. So, sometimes if
you have a disability, the onlything standing in the way of you getting
on with your life is the rightdevice or the right technology. But when
that device is not available commercially inthe marketplace, what are you supposed to
do? You can give up onyour dreams. I mean, there's people
(16:37):
with disabilities that want to achieve amore innate lifestyle. There's people with disabilities
that want to pursue a particular passion, but they need that device or that
technology. So that's why May weHelp exists is or a team of volunteers
who will create custom devices for you. We do it for hundreds of people
every year, and we never chargefor our services. And the way we're
able to do that is we've gota team of about seventy five volunteers whose
(16:59):
skill sets rain from being engineers andindustrial designers to welders and woodworkers and seamstresses,
to occupational physical and physical therapists anddoctors, and they all team up
to create these one of the kinddevices. And Danny, tell me about
the Bridge Adaptive Sports we met before, but tell me again quickly about your
your group and how you get peopleback into the sports world that has disabilities.
(17:23):
So we were, you know,a similar mission to May We Help,
and that we're serving people with disabilities, but we primarily are focused on
improving access and opportunities and awareness foradaptive sports and recreations. So I always
tell the story about, you know, the for you and I to go
out and pick up pick up baseballor something like that, it costs ten
(17:45):
dollars to go to you know,play it against sports and buy a glove
and then you're in. You canplay. But for someone to play wheelchair
basketball or get into hand cycling orwheelchair tennis, it requires highly specialized equipment
and you have to know where toget that stuff, and you have to
know how to access it and reallyjust know that there is a team or
a sport available to play those thingsin the area. So we are a
(18:08):
nonprofit that's dedicated to increasing opportunities forpeople to access these adaptive sports, whether
it's us running the programming or connectingwith a local partner and community group that
is running the programming. And wealso want to help with some of the
equipment needs by having like a loanprogram of used equipment that's able to go
out so people can get in atennis wheelchair that would otherwise cost four or
(18:32):
five thousand dollars to get into.We'll give the contact information at the end,
but just very quickly, if somebodywants to get a hold of you,
Danny and the Bridge Adaptive Sports andRecreation, what's the best way to
find you? Yeah, so weour website is www dot the Bridge Adaptive
dot org. And then we alsoare on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter,
(18:52):
constantly monitoring those. So any whichway, either hopping on our website or
social media, we can connect withyou and Brie. How do we get
ahold of may we Help similar socialmedia for sure, but also through our
website at www Dot Mayehelp dot org. So, Danny, You've got some
new opportunities for people in golf andlearning how to coach people with disabilities.
(19:18):
Is that right? That is correct? Yeah, So, like I mentioned
before, we are trying to improveaccess in the community, and so one
of the ways we do that.You know, we can run the programming,
but I would rather have the prosand the experts in that respective sport
know how to work with people withdisabilities. And so we're bringing on October
twentieth and twenty first, the USAdaptive Golf Alliance is coming here to Cincinnati
(19:41):
to do a day long training onthe twentieth, and then on October twenty
feet. We'll have a clinic daywhere people with disabilities can come out and
the coaches can use their newly learnedskills to help coach people and just do
like a couple hour clinic in golfand get exposed to golf with all the
(20:02):
different tools and tricks that you mightneed to make sure that you can do
it. Yeah, my mind iskind of racing, like what kind of
things would you be learning? There'sso many different challenges that need to be
adapted to. So what are youtalking about here? Yeah, there's so
many different products, and that's youknow, with people like may we help?
There are so many different ways thatyou can customize to the individual to
(20:25):
adapt to what they need. Sowhat this training will do is show a
lot of different pieces of equipment thatcan be universally used. For someone in
say in a wheelchair that would liketo play, you can play in your
chair. It can be challenging becausea lot of times you have to shift
over and play one handed if youdon't have the trunk control. That's not
always easy. So actually in Cincinnati, at the Cincinnati Recreation Courses and Great
(20:49):
Parks of Hamilton County, I'm puttinga plug in for them because they have
solo riders, which are carts thatallow you to strap yourself into the cart
and swivel and it tilts you forwardover the ball so that you if you
have paraplegia you can't utilize your legs, you can lean over the ball still
and contact the ball. So there'sa lot of different options and opportunities.
(21:14):
We have one golfer. Let's saythat one again because that people are gonna
go we what what did he say? Yeah? So what's the place?
Oh? So the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, those courses all have access to solo
riders, So I think they havea few of them that they can just
deliver to different courses. If youlet them know ahead of time, they
can drop them off to a courseso that you can play. Yeah.
(21:36):
And then I know Great Parks ofHamilton County has several solo riders, and
I believe the same process that youcan contact them and get them to a
Great Parks course. It's just fantastic. So how do we get involved with
the training? Yeah, so atfirst and foremost, the golf pros in
the area, someone that is workingat a golf course. What I would
love is when if someone comes tous as the bridge and says, hey,
(22:00):
I want to golf, I cansay where do you live? And
I know that this person, thisperson they went to the training. I'm
comfortable with you going to them tolearn how to play golf. But also
like clinicians, like myself, aphysical therapist, occupational therapist, physicians,
it's really beneficial to have some ofthat knowledge to know if you have a
patient with a disability that wants toget back into golf or would like to
(22:22):
try golf, you can incorporate thatinto your therapy and make them aware of
some of the resources so that theyhave some added value and motivation when it
comes to going through the rehab.And then lastly, I would just say
anybody with a disability that is playinggolf right now. There's several people in
Cincinnati that I know that are reallyreally good golfers who also have a disability,
(22:44):
and I would love for them tocome out and be a voice and
be kind of a role model forother people coming through to say, hey,
you can golf, and this ishow I do it, and I
can show you how to do it. Now. The registration for this it's
open The register station is open rightnow. If you go onto our website
and look at our front page,you'll see current programming. You go to
(23:07):
active registration and you'll see the coach'ssign up clinic right there. Freeman,
what's the society again? Www dotthe Bridge Adaptive dot org, The Bridge
Adaptive dot Org. Let's move nowto the Halloween Festival that's coming up.
Robin Bree, tell me kind ofwhere we're at right now, and explain
again what the Halloween Festival is goingto do this year again. Yeah,
(23:32):
So each year at Halloween, Maywe Help creates custom wheelchair costumes and we
started doing that about five years agoand decided that in addition to the costumes,
it would be fun to give thekids an extra opportunity to wear the
costumes, so we started a Halloweenfestival. The Halloween Festival is at May
we Help. It is open tothe public and free of costs to attend.
(23:57):
This year, it's on October twentysecond, from one to four pm.
We will be having a wheelchair hauntedobstacle course that's new this year,
so that's going to be pretty fun. We have a group of volunteers working
on that. We have about sixto eight people who will be creating adaptive
festival games and companies that will besponsoring those booths. So food, we're
(24:22):
gonna have walking tacos and Coney's andchili and that kind of thing. ConA
Ice will be there for the kiddos. So just lots of fun and activities,
so Brees, So the children thatare getting their costs, they are
getting them that day, isn't thatright? Yes, that is correct.
So costumes are in progress right now. We're working with twenty different children,
(24:42):
so all of those children will receivetheir costume prior to the festival. It's
a really cool It's actually Rob's favoritepart. I think in our big main
room at Maybe Help, everybody gathersthere about an hour before the festival and
all of the costume makers fit thekid for their costumes and get them all
ready to debut the costumes at thefestival. And Rob, is there any
(25:04):
room for anybody else this year ordo they have to wait till next year
and sign up? I think theyprobably have to wait till next year at
this stage, but but please doIt's Brees said it. The keyword is
fun. I mean, it isso much fun. And these kids and
these families, they spend so muchtime in hospitals and with therapists and with
(25:25):
doctors. I mean sometimes once ortwice a day, that's what they're doing.
It makes up the bulk of theirday. In fact, in some
cases, I know parents who willwork four days and take off three because
those three days are packed with therapyand hospital and doctor visits. And when
we when they come to me,we help. We want them to be
able to celebrate their disability in essence, and that's what they get to do.
(25:45):
In this particular instance, they're they'rethe coolest kids on the block on
Halloween. And when they come tome with help, they're not coming for
a fitting or a therapy visit.They're common, as Brees said, to
discover what their costume look. It'slike that they've been awaiting for the last
four to six weeks and and theyget and all of a sudden it's disclosed
to them, and just to seethe discovery and the joy on their faces
(26:07):
just awesome. Can you describe maybeone or two of the costumes that you've
either done or that's in progress rightnow, kind of describe it for the
audience of you know what you're actuallybuilding. I'll share with you my favorite
the lot of bruces to share withher, share with you her favorite,
But mine was last year's, whichwas The Child. And I think Dad
had a lot to do with this, but the child wanted to be Phil
(26:29):
Collins and so and so and Genesis, right, the drummer, the drummer
who left, Yeah, Genesis start. Yeah, and anyway, it was
just this really elaborate, beautiful drumkit that around the power cha No no,
okay, no, I didn't know, but you'd never know the difference.
(26:51):
I mean really, yeah, Philmight, but yeah he didn't.
But it was really cool. Oneof my favorites was this very elaborate dragon.
It was almost like the dragons youwould see it a Chinese New Year.
And the girl that received it,she's a teenager and she's really into
music and movies and all of thosekind of things, and she's nonverbal.
(27:14):
But the dragon had these wings thatattached to her arms, and so she
was able to flap her arms andit looked like she was flying as the
dragon, and she flapped those wingsto the music and it was just incredible,
and she was just so excited.I mean overjoid. That's terrific.
Well, how do we come downand see this great event again. It's
on the twenty second of October.Twenty second of October one to four pm
(27:37):
at May We Help. Everybody's welcome. It's open to the public and free
of free of cost, and youhave some great pictures on the May We
Help our side of the previous costumesand previous collaborations. So all right,
well we'll get everybody out there tothe Halloween Festival at May We Help.
You don't have to have a disabilityto come to this event, and the
vast majority of that people don't.They just come because it's really fine festival
(28:00):
for sure. And you're located thereon Wooster Pike. Yeah, oh yeah,
seven five zero one Wooster Pike,just outside marymot My best landmark is
is the Tired Discounters there. We'relocated directly behind Tied Discounters and share parking
lot with them. Sounds good,Yeah, Rob and Brie and Danny,
thank you for being back here.Let us know how we can help you
(28:21):
anytime. Thanks, yeah, thankyou for having us, and thanks to
all my guests. There's more informationon how to contact them on the podcast
version. Of this show available onthe iHeart Radio app. It's free.
Just go to podcasts and search formy name, Sandy Collins. We'll see
you next week with more of whatCincinnati has to offer. iHeart Cincy is
(28:41):
a production of iHeart Media Cincinnati
Least week on iHeart Cincy, itall comes down to our people who live
there happy, did they want tobe there? And I would say certainly
in Blue Ash they do what makesa community a desirable place to live.
Today, my guest is Dan Johnson, the community and economic development director in
Blue Ash, a suburb of Cincinnatinamed as one of the top five best
(00:21):
places to live in Ohio. Andlater there's people with disabilities that want to
pursue a particular passion, but theyneed that device or that technology. So
that's why may we help exist?Several holiday events are coming up for people
living with disabilities, with Halloween atthe end of October, many parents are
helping their children choose their costumes andfor children who use power chairs as a
(00:43):
challenge in a whole different way.May we help us here with an invitation
to their Halloween festival in October andcalling all golf pros as well. The
CEO of the Bridge, Adaptive Sportsand Recreation nonprofit is also holding a workshop
to help teach golf to those withdisabilities, with resources and solutions to make
it possible for anybody who wants togolf. Now on iHeart Sinsey with Sandy
(01:07):
Collins. Welcome to the show.I'm Sandy Collins. This is I Heard
Cincy, a show for the communityto find the resources needed to solve many
of the issues that we face andshare stories that in bolden and uplift people.
Right here today my first guests talkingabout the economic development in Blue Ash.
The director Dan Johnson also alongside him. She doesn't talk much. Communications
(01:30):
Coordinator Rachel Murray is also here now. Dan, welcome to the show.
The city has completed some important infrastructureprojects to make driving safer and less stressful
in Blue Ash, and the SummitPark project continues to grow. So Dan,
let's start there and figure out howall that works together with what you
(01:52):
do. You have a degree fromthe University of Tennessee's at right, Yes,
I have a graduate degree from Tennessee. Yeah, grad was in the
University of Florida. You're now theCommunity and Economic development director at Blue Ash.
What does that entail in Blue Ash? That essentially means that we our
department is in charge of economic development, which is primarily what I focus on,
(02:15):
and then community development and the runningthe building department. So building Department's
pretty self explanatory. The other twoseem to be a mystery to a lot
of folks. Community development is inways sort of a catch all for everything
that happens in the development world,and with regards to private property and what
(02:36):
owners can can't do with that property, so zoning regulations, development regulations,
things that apply to what you canbuild on that land and what you can't
build and where you can put it, and so it governs the way that
properties interact with one another, bothpublic and private stuff. We don't really
get into the public realm so much. That's our public works department and our
(03:00):
parks department, and they are eachin charge of those elements of the city.
So public works is streets and othersort of public infrastructure, Parks is
parks, parks a direct there yougo. So you are mostly working in
economic development, Well, how doyou define your role in the economic development
of Blue Ash? So economic developmentfrom in the broad sense is essentially just
(03:23):
making sure that are the environment thatwe create is one where businesses want to
be. In a nutshell, that'swhat we do, and that involves a
lot of different things and interactions withevery other city department in every way,
because everything that happens in the city, whether it makes public news, or
(03:43):
whether it's something that just a fewfolks know about. They all sort of
impact the way people view the cityand its friendliness, or the way that
it regulates businesses and how that impactsthe ability of businesses to function. And
as a result, if businesses theyare doing well, which they are in
(04:03):
Blue Ash, then you know thatcatches the eye of every other business that's
looking for space out there in theGreater Cincinnati region and even nationally and internationally,
you get a reputation as a communityas to how you treat those who
want to operate in your community.From Blueosh perspective, specifically, you know,
we are very different than a lotof other communities in the Greater Cincinnati
(04:26):
area and actually in any area,because there are not a whole lot of
suburban communities that have the level ofcommercial activity that we do. So we've
always said in Blue Ash that we'reabout one third residential, one third parks,
another government spaces, and one thirdbusiness. And most communities suburban in
(04:47):
particular, you would find our largelygeared towards residential activities and so forth.
I would think that residential communities wouldn'thave major highways going through them, do
you think perhaps maybe the the juctapositionof the you know, the Cross County
Highway in seventy one makes business easierto do in Blue Ash. Oh,
certainly. The you know, alot of what we reap now in terms
(05:12):
of economic activity and the desire ofbusinesses to located Blush, whether that's in
their own facility or whether it's leasingspace in a big corporate office building or
something like that has to do withdecisions that were made a long, long
time ago by the folks who werereally involved in Blue Ash before when it
was a farming community and when therewas a lot of rural stuff. You
know, you've heard that Reid HartmanHighway is. You know, it's a
(05:34):
commonplace term around the greater Cincinnati area. Reid Hartman was developed back when most
of the land adjacent to it wasfarmland. There were a few neighborhoods through
there, but most of it wasfarmland. And it was the folks who
were running Blue Ash at the timethat said, you know, if we
put this in, they will come. It's kind of like that story.
(05:55):
It's if we build this highway highway, I did that finger quotes. If
we built this highway through what isblue ash and you know, connect it
well so that it's easy access.We can get a lot of commercial activity
that would not go anywhere else.And it worked, it really did,
and you see that, you know, today we feel the effects of that
decision that was made. I believeit was back in the nineteen seventies when
(06:19):
they when they were doing that.Obviously things have changed every time. That
at that point in time, itwas an expectation that we'd see more like
factory type of activity. You know. Obviously over time some of that was
removed and they built office buildings andso the nature of even what they were
trying to seek is different now,you know, than it was back then
(06:40):
in an airfield which I never saw, but understand that that's part of the
new development there at Summit Park.And I was asking your communications coordinator,
Rachel Murray about the plans there havejust seemed to kind of explode in the
last few years with the tower beingbuilt, all the shops and the brewery
(07:00):
is now coming up roundabouts and theinfrastructure you're working on that I would imagine
on a on a daily basis.So the city certainly is we have seen
a lot of what was originally plannedalready get developed in terms of a lot
of what's immediately adjacent to the park. We're still waiting for, you know,
offices and some of the more heavilycommercial activity to show up in the
(07:25):
property that's adjacent. I think,unfortunately that the timing of the COVID really
hurt what was going to be aslightly different plan in terms of how,
you know, what we would haveexpected in terms of offices and other commercial
activity coming in adjacent at the park. I'm Sandy Collins. My guest today
is Dan Johnson. He's the communityand economic development director in Blue Ash.
(07:50):
Dan, what drew you to thiscareer? What do you like about it?
Because you're just lighting up whenever you'retalking about this or eyes just twinkle
and it's you know you We werejoking on the way in about how to
how to make it sound fun,but it's clearly enjoyable for you, it
is. It's fascinating for me anyway, if you just look at the world
around you, you know, Ialways question like why is it like that?
(08:13):
Why why is that building there versussomething else? Why does the street
like this? Why is it twolanes versus four? And and why does
everybody want to turn left there?And how do you control that better and
make it more functional? And Ijust think it's a fascination with the with
the world around us that we've created. You know, obviously we're all in
this in this socially close environment.I mean that's the nature of cities in
(08:37):
general. And to me, justwatching everything and wondering why we make things
the way we do was what drewme to it. Originally, I didn't
really think about how that would translateinto a job so much, but it
was. It's turned out to besomething that, you know, I feel
like I'm lucky to be able todo this by number of people who also
(09:01):
seem to be fascinated when they saywhen you go through that conversation where you
say, oh, and what doyou do for living? And I say,
well, this is what do youdo? Maybe they're just being friendly
and you know, socially normal,but it's amazing how many people find it
fascinating and ask a lot of questionsthat I think, oh, well that's
it. Sounds like you're actually interestedin my answer. Yeah, so so
(09:22):
it must be interesting to other folksas well. It's just something you don't
really think about them. Right,What would you say is the most rewarding
part of your job of watching thingsin Blue Ash develop? I mean,
honestly, I think it's it's thatwe have a great community. I mean,
people are you know, our residentsare tend to be very happy,
and you know, I think,I don't know, I mean, I
(09:48):
guess that's it. It's just thatit's a really nice place to live and
we seem to be very successful atyou know, businesses want to be there.
People want to be there, sothe property values are high, and
people take care of there's stuff andit's just a really nice place. And
I think that's it that it allcomes down. I think this would be
true for any community. It allcomes down to are people who live there
happy? You didn't want to bethere? And I would say certainly in
(10:11):
Blue Ash they do. You know. I think that has to do with
the city a lot. Sycamore Schoolsare great school district. You know,
it's it's not just the city ofBluosh, it's everything that's around us and
that is covers the city that's alsonot the city and Sycamore we're lucky to
have a really good school district.Too. What are your new plants now
that you have the roundabouts done andyou're coming into wintertime? Now, do
(10:35):
you have any major announcements any scoops? I always try to pull something out
of Rachel Murray to find out what'swho's the upcoming concert next summer for the
fourth of July, who's the headliner? And I always get the same mole.
You'll find out when I'm ready totell you. Well, for me,
it's you'll find I could tell youafter Rachel's told me, because I
(10:56):
don't. I never know those thingsin advance either, all right. Also,
as far as you asked about theroundabouts in our big projects, the
roundabouts that we installed along Hunt Roadand playing Field leading up into read Hartman,
they're just incredibly successful. I amshocked at how infrequent any sort of
(11:18):
traffic backup is in that area.I've been with Blush for eighteen plus years,
and until those roundabouts were done,I would avoid, like the plague,
going to that area of town becauseyou couldn't get through, and you
know, there'll be times you'd haveto wait through three or four light cycles.
And now I've been that way,I don't know a couple dozen times,
(11:41):
and I've never stopped, not once. It's incredible. Even in rush
hour traffic, it is phenomenally successful. And you know, if it were
up to me, I think wewould do quite a bit more of that.
Once you get through it and youunderstand it. Each each roundabout is
different too. I mean the conceptis the same, but coming off of
(12:01):
Ronald Reagan onto the Hunt Road,you know, you have several different lanes
to take, but you got totake the far left one if you want
to go around the round about.Otherwise you're going to have to go to
the right of the roundabout. SoI got caught a couple of times not
knowing where to go, and Iknow these directions don't make sense. But
the point is is that once youdo figure it out, it's just a
breeze. It's those poor people thatare coming up on it on the first
(12:24):
time and are overwhelmed by what's happening. Hopefully those people are slowing down a
little bit and people will be more, you know, more reasonable in their
response to them and not just honkingat him and yelling at them because they
don't know which lane to be.In Sandy, you can't turn left from
the right hand lane. I learnedthat last time I talked to Rachel's.
(12:48):
I think that that one movement thatyou're describing is the one that has caused
the most issues. Right there arepublic works directors said that is really the
only problem there is there any waythat they can change that. I think
they're looking at, you know,potential ways to resolve that. I mean,
honestly, I just believe that withso many things in the traffic world,
(13:09):
it's a matter of folks getting usedto it. Well. I really
appreciate Dan Johnson coming in from theCity Blue Ash Community and Economic Development director.
I think we made your job soundfun. I don't know about you,
I hope so. I was toldbefore we started this that we should
talk about this in monopoly terms.But I don't ever win a monopoly,
so I probably would not. Itwouldn't be a good example. Do you
(13:35):
win it that? By the way, you know, I don't know.
It's been so long since I've playedbecause it takes way too it's just exhausting.
Final question, which was your favoritetoken in monopoly? I think I
liked the dog? Actually, howabout you that? Or the little car?
How about you? Rachel? Ialways like to be the iron.
(13:58):
I like to be the iron.What were the other ones? There's a
horse like this, turn a microroum. There was a thimble. Oh that's
right. I think I like theiron because you could like slide it really
easily. You have to lift upyour arm to and have any exert any
writing at all. You're just solazy. And I don't like to iron,
(14:22):
so it has nothing to do withthat. And there was a car
on the top hat. Yeah thatwas that bad, except that when you
put it down, it with rocks. Yeah. Kind of like the tables
at some of the restaurants. Yeah, sit down and there goes the table
and you're looking for your matchboxes tolettle it out. Thank you very much
(14:43):
for coming in. I really appreciateit. It's gonna be a fun show.
I think we need to make aCity of Blue Ash Monopoly game.
Rachel Murray, Communications coordinator. That'snot a bad idea, the City of
Blue Ash Monopoly game. It couldbe fun. This is my Heart.
Come up, there are the coolestkids on the block on Halloween. This
(15:05):
is fifty five KRC and iHeartRadio Station. Why is iHeartRadio the number one streaming
radio app? Free music free liveradio stations from all over the country.
Free podcasts, free playlists, freecontests, free artist radio stations, commercial
free stations. It's free. ILove iHeartRadio. Join the millions of music
(15:28):
radio and podcast fans on the numberone streaming radio app Now iHeartRadio, iHeartRadio,
iHeartRadio Free. Never sounded so good. This is iHeart CINCI, a
triestate public affairs program produced right herein Cincinnati. I'm Sandy Collins. My
next guests have dedicated their professional livesto help those living with disabilities. Rob
(15:52):
Sideman is the executive director of MayWe Help, along with Brianne Wilkerson,
their programs director, and from theBridge Adaptive Sports and Recreation Danny Meyer,
whose work in physical therapy at CincinnatiChildren's led him to a nonprofit to adapt
sports to allow those with disabilities toplay. So welcome to the show,
Rob, Bree and Danny Welcome back. Rob. If you would start out
(16:15):
and give us your elevator speech,if you will to get everybody up to
speed on what is may we Helpsmission? Sure. So, sometimes if
you have a disability, the onlything standing in the way of you getting
on with your life is the rightdevice or the right technology. But when
that device is not available commercially inthe marketplace, what are you supposed to
do? You can give up onyour dreams. I mean, there's people
(16:37):
with disabilities that want to achieve amore innate lifestyle. There's people with disabilities
that want to pursue a particular passion, but they need that device or that
technology. So that's why May weHelp exists is or a team of volunteers
who will create custom devices for you. We do it for hundreds of people
every year, and we never chargefor our services. And the way we're
able to do that is we've gota team of about seventy five volunteers whose
(16:59):
skill sets rain from being engineers andindustrial designers to welders and woodworkers and seamstresses,
to occupational physical and physical therapists anddoctors, and they all team up
to create these one of the kinddevices. And Danny, tell me about
the Bridge Adaptive Sports we met before, but tell me again quickly about your
your group and how you get peopleback into the sports world that has disabilities.
(17:23):
So we were, you know,a similar mission to May We Help,
and that we're serving people with disabilities, but we primarily are focused on
improving access and opportunities and awareness foradaptive sports and recreations. So I always
tell the story about, you know, the for you and I to go
out and pick up pick up baseballor something like that, it costs ten
(17:45):
dollars to go to you know,play it against sports and buy a glove
and then you're in. You canplay. But for someone to play wheelchair
basketball or get into hand cycling orwheelchair tennis, it requires highly specialized equipment
and you have to know where toget that stuff, and you have to
know how to access it and reallyjust know that there is a team or
a sport available to play those thingsin the area. So we are a
(18:08):
nonprofit that's dedicated to increasing opportunities forpeople to access these adaptive sports, whether
it's us running the programming or connectingwith a local partner and community group that
is running the programming. And wealso want to help with some of the
equipment needs by having like a loanprogram of used equipment that's able to go
out so people can get in atennis wheelchair that would otherwise cost four or
(18:32):
five thousand dollars to get into.We'll give the contact information at the end,
but just very quickly, if somebodywants to get a hold of you,
Danny and the Bridge Adaptive Sports andRecreation, what's the best way to
find you? Yeah, so weour website is www dot the Bridge Adaptive
dot org. And then we alsoare on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter,
(18:52):
constantly monitoring those. So any whichway, either hopping on our website or
social media, we can connect withyou and Brie. How do we get
ahold of may we Help similar socialmedia for sure, but also through our
website at www Dot Mayehelp dot org. So, Danny, You've got some
new opportunities for people in golf andlearning how to coach people with disabilities.
(19:18):
Is that right? That is correct? Yeah, So, like I mentioned
before, we are trying to improveaccess in the community, and so one
of the ways we do that.You know, we can run the programming,
but I would rather have the prosand the experts in that respective sport
know how to work with people withdisabilities. And so we're bringing on October
twentieth and twenty first, the USAdaptive Golf Alliance is coming here to Cincinnati
(19:41):
to do a day long training onthe twentieth, and then on October twenty
feet. We'll have a clinic daywhere people with disabilities can come out and
the coaches can use their newly learnedskills to help coach people and just do
like a couple hour clinic in golfand get exposed to golf with all the
(20:02):
different tools and tricks that you mightneed to make sure that you can do
it. Yeah, my mind iskind of racing, like what kind of
things would you be learning? There'sso many different challenges that need to be
adapted to. So what are youtalking about here? Yeah, there's so
many different products, and that's youknow, with people like may we help?
There are so many different ways thatyou can customize to the individual to
(20:25):
adapt to what they need. Sowhat this training will do is show a
lot of different pieces of equipment thatcan be universally used. For someone in
say in a wheelchair that would liketo play, you can play in your
chair. It can be challenging becausea lot of times you have to shift
over and play one handed if youdon't have the trunk control. That's not
always easy. So actually in Cincinnati, at the Cincinnati Recreation Courses and Great
(20:49):
Parks of Hamilton County, I'm puttinga plug in for them because they have
solo riders, which are carts thatallow you to strap yourself into the cart
and swivel and it tilts you forwardover the ball so that you if you
have paraplegia you can't utilize your legs, you can lean over the ball still
and contact the ball. So there'sa lot of different options and opportunities.
(21:14):
We have one golfer. Let's saythat one again because that people are gonna
go we what what did he say? Yeah? So what's the place?
Oh? So the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, those courses all have access to solo
riders, So I think they havea few of them that they can just
deliver to different courses. If youlet them know ahead of time, they
can drop them off to a courseso that you can play. Yeah.
(21:36):
And then I know Great Parks ofHamilton County has several solo riders, and
I believe the same process that youcan contact them and get them to a
Great Parks course. It's just fantastic. So how do we get involved with
the training? Yeah, so atfirst and foremost, the golf pros in
the area, someone that is workingat a golf course. What I would
love is when if someone comes tous as the bridge and says, hey,
(22:00):
I want to golf, I cansay where do you live? And
I know that this person, thisperson they went to the training. I'm
comfortable with you going to them tolearn how to play golf. But also
like clinicians, like myself, aphysical therapist, occupational therapist, physicians,
it's really beneficial to have some ofthat knowledge to know if you have a
patient with a disability that wants toget back into golf or would like to
(22:22):
try golf, you can incorporate thatinto your therapy and make them aware of
some of the resources so that theyhave some added value and motivation when it
comes to going through the rehab.And then lastly, I would just say
anybody with a disability that is playinggolf right now. There's several people in
Cincinnati that I know that are reallyreally good golfers who also have a disability,
(22:44):
and I would love for them tocome out and be a voice and
be kind of a role model forother people coming through to say, hey,
you can golf, and this ishow I do it, and I
can show you how to do it. Now. The registration for this it's
open The register station is open rightnow. If you go onto our website
and look at our front page,you'll see current programming. You go to
(23:07):
active registration and you'll see the coach'ssign up clinic right there. Freeman,
what's the society again? Www dotthe Bridge Adaptive dot org, The Bridge
Adaptive dot Org. Let's move nowto the Halloween Festival that's coming up.
Robin Bree, tell me kind ofwhere we're at right now, and explain
again what the Halloween Festival is goingto do this year again. Yeah,
(23:32):
So each year at Halloween, Maywe Help creates custom wheelchair costumes and we
started doing that about five years agoand decided that in addition to the costumes,
it would be fun to give thekids an extra opportunity to wear the
costumes, so we started a Halloweenfestival. The Halloween Festival is at May
we Help. It is open tothe public and free of costs to attend.
(23:57):
This year, it's on October twentysecond, from one to four pm.
We will be having a wheelchair hauntedobstacle course that's new this year,
so that's going to be pretty fun. We have a group of volunteers working
on that. We have about sixto eight people who will be creating adaptive
festival games and companies that will besponsoring those booths. So food, we're
(24:22):
gonna have walking tacos and Coney's andchili and that kind of thing. ConA
Ice will be there for the kiddos. So just lots of fun and activities,
so Brees, So the children thatare getting their costs, they are
getting them that day, isn't thatright? Yes, that is correct.
So costumes are in progress right now. We're working with twenty different children,
(24:42):
so all of those children will receivetheir costume prior to the festival. It's
a really cool It's actually Rob's favoritepart. I think in our big main
room at Maybe Help, everybody gathersthere about an hour before the festival and
all of the costume makers fit thekid for their costumes and get them all
ready to debut the costumes at thefestival. And Rob, is there any
(25:04):
room for anybody else this year ordo they have to wait till next year
and sign up? I think theyprobably have to wait till next year at
this stage, but but please doIt's Brees said it. The keyword is
fun. I mean, it isso much fun. And these kids and
these families, they spend so muchtime in hospitals and with therapists and with
(25:25):
doctors. I mean sometimes once ortwice a day, that's what they're doing.
It makes up the bulk of theirday. In fact, in some
cases, I know parents who willwork four days and take off three because
those three days are packed with therapyand hospital and doctor visits. And when
we when they come to me,we help. We want them to be
able to celebrate their disability in essence, and that's what they get to do.
(25:45):
In this particular instance, they're they'rethe coolest kids on the block on
Halloween. And when they come tome with help, they're not coming for
a fitting or a therapy visit.They're common, as Brees said, to
discover what their costume look. It'slike that they've been awaiting for the last
four to six weeks and and theyget and all of a sudden it's disclosed
to them, and just to seethe discovery and the joy on their faces
(26:07):
just awesome. Can you describe maybeone or two of the costumes that you've
either done or that's in progress rightnow, kind of describe it for the
audience of you know what you're actuallybuilding. I'll share with you my favorite
the lot of bruces to share withher, share with you her favorite,
But mine was last year's, whichwas The Child. And I think Dad
had a lot to do with this, but the child wanted to be Phil
(26:29):
Collins and so and so and Genesis, right, the drummer, the drummer
who left, Yeah, Genesis start. Yeah, and anyway, it was
just this really elaborate, beautiful drumkit that around the power cha No no,
okay, no, I didn't know, but you'd never know the difference.
(26:51):
I mean really, yeah, Philmight, but yeah he didn't.
But it was really cool. Oneof my favorites was this very elaborate dragon.
It was almost like the dragons youwould see it a Chinese New Year.
And the girl that received it,she's a teenager and she's really into
music and movies and all of thosekind of things, and she's nonverbal.
(27:14):
But the dragon had these wings thatattached to her arms, and so she
was able to flap her arms andit looked like she was flying as the
dragon, and she flapped those wingsto the music and it was just incredible,
and she was just so excited.I mean overjoid. That's terrific.
Well, how do we come downand see this great event again. It's
on the twenty second of October.Twenty second of October one to four pm
(27:37):
at May We Help. Everybody's welcome. It's open to the public and free
of free of cost, and youhave some great pictures on the May We
Help our side of the previous costumesand previous collaborations. So all right,
well we'll get everybody out there tothe Halloween Festival at May We Help.
You don't have to have a disabilityto come to this event, and the
vast majority of that people don't.They just come because it's really fine festival
(28:00):
for sure. And you're located thereon Wooster Pike. Yeah, oh yeah,
seven five zero one Wooster Pike,just outside marymot My best landmark is
is the Tired Discounters there. We'relocated directly behind Tied Discounters and share parking
lot with them. Sounds good,Yeah, Rob and Brie and Danny,
thank you for being back here.Let us know how we can help you
(28:21):
anytime. Thanks, yeah, thankyou for having us, and thanks to
all my guests. There's more informationon how to contact them on the podcast
version. Of this show available onthe iHeart Radio app. It's free.
Just go to podcasts and search formy name, Sandy Collins. We'll see
you next week with more of whatCincinnati has to offer. iHeart Cincy is
(28:41):
a production of iHeart Media Cincinnati
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