What led you to become so involved in the West End and why is it so important for individuals to get involved in their community?

“It’s been so long ago… I was living in the West End and housing and everything was deplorable. It was the kind of thing where we had to have meetings with the city of Cincinnati to get them to do something about it. We had big rats in the backyards, there was a junkyard at Court and John, and we were tired of it. So I became President of West End Community Council and I became President of Queensgate II Community Club. So I became involved and began to call meetings to get citizens out. I think you have to get involved where you live, it is very important. Although I declared I would never do it again because I gave so much of my time. It was a rewarding experience, but I think you should be involved where you live. You should know your neighbors. Everything is so bad now, it’s worse than it was then, but you have to know who is living next door to you. So it is important to get to know the people in your neighborhood. I think you have to get involved in it (your community) because if you don’t you’re just living there and you don’t know what is happening.”

Volunteer Involvement

Co-Founder of Senior Ball. Residential Neighborhood Community Association, West End Community Council, Queens Gate II Community Club, American Red Cross, West End Development Corporation, Ohio Criminal Justice Supervisory Commission and Cincinnati Bell Lifeline Board, and West End Task Force.