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All,
Time flies when you are having fun, and it would seem many of us in Lakewood are having
more fun than we counted on weeks ago! Great news on all fronts, and good news for Lakewood.
In the midst of all of this good news came another windstorm taking down 21 more trees,
and causing all sorts of damage, and I was not exempt, with my tree falling on the house
next door, which I also own! Owww! But through the whole storm and days that followed
the crews from Fire, Police and City Hall were very much on their game, both protecting
and helping us. A city's number one priority is the service it provides to businesses and
residents. I can think of none better this week, than Lakewood's workers.
It was also a week that saw one of the founders stop back in Lakewood for a poetry ready
at the Lakewood Public Library. It is always good to see Kenneth Warren, who has
published yet another book, been traveling all over the country, and teaching at the
University of Texas. While the celebration of Daniel Thompson's life and words at the
Library was fun, it was not as much fun nor as rewarding as walking the streets of
Lakewood with Ken, hearing from him what he sees out there and what he is seeing in
Lakewood. While Ken was the director of the library, he was also one of the brightest
minds in the city when it came to understanding the forces at work in a community, and
in the surrounding areas. He brought back some wonderful knowledge to feed into the
Visionary Alignment for Lakewood about what is working in other areas like Lakewood,
and I will be writing about that in later issues after I go out and see firsthand the details,
and how it is working. After all the devil is often in the details.
Finally, it gives me great pride to announce the birth of yet another Observer Project, "The Campus District Observer." We have been working on this for nearly 9 months with the
head of Tri C, Dr. Schoop, Cleveland State, St. Vincent Charity Hospital, and yes even the
Plain Dealer. Headed up by the Campus District Development Group, they came to us to
help build a project that would allow the area to build the brand for the Campus District. It
has been known as the Quadrangle for decades and they felt it was a time for a new look
and feel. One of the biggest challenges was creating a project that would keep all the
residents and businesses informed, while giving themselves a chance to grow, and attract
new businesses and people to this growing and changing area of Cleveland. After
many months and the stakeholders looking at every option out there, AGS was chosen
and the Observer model was put in place because they felt it was the best fit, and ideal for
amplifying the district and building economic and community development. I am very
proud of our crew headed by Rich Weiss, one of the founders of the Ingenuity Fest, for putting this together. First Paper July 1.
Final piece of news for us, AGS Software,Inc. is now being headed by Chuck Birchall, who has just
finished 2 years with JumpStart on their board, and now is looking to put into practice
what he preached at JumpStart. Before that he was with the Angel Fund, and other
growth investment groups. He comes to AGS because of the incredible potential he and
other members of JumpStart saw when we were working with them. So if you see him
walking down the street say hello. A fascinating person with a ton to offer AGS and some
of the businesses in Lakewood.
Peace
James C. O'Bryan
Publisher
Lakewood Observer, Inc.