“Senator” Tim Kennedy
Radio DJ at WMRN
Marion, Ohio
Megan Rhoades
English 367.01
May 20, 2010
WMRN has served Marion, Ohio for over 40 years now. It first went on the air in the 1970’s and has had several name changes over the years. WMRN is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications and it is responsible for three radio stations. These three stations are 1490 AM Radio WMRN, FM 95.9 WYNT, and FM 94.3 WDIF. I visited Tim on May 10, 2010 at his studio where we did the interview. He gave me a tour of the building and to my surprise gave me a small interview on the air, which was definitely a first for me.
Tim has been in the radio business for many years now. He started back in 1983 when he was still in high school working for free at the Christian radio station in Upper Sandusky. Since then he also spent some time working at WNCI in Columbus which was one of his biggest successes. Tim said about WNCI, “I was so nervous when I got on the air, 175,000 watts – it was truly incredible. Just knowing I had that many listeners was a huge accomplishment for me.” Tim has many responsibilities at the studio and at home, where he does much of his work. One of the major things that Tim was working on the day of our interview was the Red Cross Radiothon that occurred Thursday, May 13th. It was a huge event at the studio that everyone had put time into for weeks. Regularly, he is the music director at WMRN which means he is responsible for the daily playlists and sweepers, the advertisements and fillers in between songs, getting made up. Tim is also the Digital Content Director, or the webmaster for all three radio stations. He updates all the websites regularly and makes sure they are running smoothly. Lastly, he is the Director of Integrated Marketing which means that he sells banner ideas for all three stations. Tim also is one of three people who are called immediately if the station has a dysfunction and goes off the air. He must figure out the problem and log into the virtual private network to get it up and running again. Tim has many jobs which he must do that keep him busy each and every day. When something comes up that needs done he gladly takes on the task and gets it done as sufficiently as possible. To me, Tim is a great definition of a hard worker at WMRN.
Tim is very passionate about his job and I could tell that just from interviewing him. He took a 4 year break in 1991 and in 1995 when he was offered a job at WMRN he took them up on their offer. “I had to go back, choosing another career just didn’t seem like an option anymore. It just seems like it’s what I was meant to do and I enjoy every day of it” says Tim. Tim explained to me that it has been his dream ever since the sixth grade. He had become interested in it way back then and had just never changed his mind about the job. When he’s on the air, there’s no place he’d rather be. Tim says, “It’s great to be on the air, connecting with listeners and speaking to them one-on-one. We truly are friends on the air.” The job gets stressful every now and then and the days can be long and tiring but each and every minute is worth it.
Tim has a big connection to his family which is one of the reasons he didn’t thoroughly enjoy working at WNCI. The studio was an hour away from home and he rarely got to see his family. He wasn’t at all used to that and decided to return to Upper Sandusky, his hometown. Throughout his career, his family has always given him love and support. At first they wanted him to be a musician but they saw that he really loved being on the radio so they decided to support him in whatever choice he made. Tim’s biggest life influences were his parents so when his father passed away last year it was very hard on him. They have never been unsupportive of his decisions and have helped him get to where he is today. Tim said about his parents, “I think having that kind of support in my life really pushed me to strive to achieve my biggest goals.” In the future, Tim hopes to have his own business. He would like to create websites for others and also do some audio work on the side. There’s no place he would rather be and he knows that for a fact because he has experienced many different opportunities in his life. From taking a break from his job to being a part-time worker for WNCI, WMRN has always been his favorite place to work. While discussing co-workers with Tim, I realized he really thinks greatly of everyone he works with. “It’s like a second family,” Tim says, “They are so supportive of you and everyone gladly helps one another at the studio.” He introduced me to his boss and the secretaries that were working that day and everyone was glad to hear that OSUM was putting students out into the community to do their work. Everyone was very polite and I understood why Tim had said his radio crew was just like his second family.
Tim strongly believes that if you try your best, you will get rewarded for it. He explained to me that persevering is one of the most important themes in how he got where he is today. Tim had absolutely no experience in the radio business when he first began. It all started with a demo tape that he had made by himself at home. He sent it along with a resume to several radio stations and received no response from any of them. Although he could have just given up then and changed his mind, he didn’t. Finally after trying for several weeks, he was offered at position in Upper Sandusky. Although he didn’t receive pay for his work there it was still good to get some experience in the business. If he had given up then, he would have never made it to where he is today. I asked Tim if he had any advice for those pursuing a new career. He explained that you should learn to deal with rejection because you’re not always going to get the job the first time. Also motivation was a big part of his job search and he thought that it would be recommended for anyone. Finally I asked Tim his view of what the American Dream really was. It truly showed me how much he loved his job when he responded with, “I think for me, I’m living my dream!”
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Staceymarie Dodge
Staceymarie Dodge
Professional Hairstylist
Hilliard, Ohio
When I walked into Studio 31 Salons I met a very pleasant, small, blond woman named Staceymarie Dodge. I could tell right away that I had never met anyone like her before. She has her own way of doing things and takes pride in being different. The thing that made her stand out to me during our interview was the way she described herself. She said she’s “spiritual,” rather than religious, she’s” domestic,” while being “fiercely independent,” and my favorite, her explanation of how she’s a “walking contradiction.” She is twenty-six years old and has been doing hair for going on nine years. She says, “One of the reasons I love doing hair is because I would just like to have an impact on as many people as possible and hopefully it’s a positive impact.” Staceymarie is definitely a people person. She loves meeting new people and learning as much as she can about them. There were several things about her that made her seem rather eccentric.
How would you describe yourself?
This is something I have put a lot of thought into over the years. I really think that I have come to the conclusion that I’m a walking contradiction. So it’s hard for me to really say, “This is who I am.” I think that I am kind of all over the spectrum. For example, I know I was raised Catholic but I’m going to be an Anthropologist. I would still call myself a Catholic, but also an evolutionist. I am single by preference and very, very independent but I am extremely domestic in that I cook and clean and sew and I enjoy doing those things. I was always considered one of the preppy kids or popular kids in school, but I was also a huge geek and still kind of am. I think that whenever people first look at me, even now, they would never think that I was smart, that I was a science fiction nerd and that I was good with computers. I have always felt the way I feel about myself being a contradiction. As far as who I am as a person goes, you may see one thing but what you think is not really the case, so I think irony is a big theme in my life.
What are some highlights of your life that you feel have led you to where you are today?
I guess my parents would be the first and foremost highlight of my life, and the single largest contributor to who I am and where I am today. I always thought that my childhood was pretty traditional but the older I get I realize it really wasn’t that traditional. I mean both of my parents worked; they 50/50 shared responsibilities and they were very gender neutral. My dad was equally in charge of childcare. In that sense, it was untraditional. My whole family bases their identities on being a member of this family. Which is a good thing, but I was always very different. I was fiercely independent and I wanted an identity outside of my family and what my family thought my life should be like. I would say that was definitely the biggest struggle. Originally I faced it by running away, moving to Oklahoma. I guess you could say running away or you could say it was an expedition to find my individuality. I guess removing myself from my family is how I faced that struggle. I definitely think that they have influenced the decisions that I’ve made, but they weren’t always positive decisions. They didn’t always have positive outcomes. I think I went through a phase where I did the opposite of what my parents expected of me or the opposite of how they would’ve wanted to influence me. But as I get older I realize that it was all of the positive things I was working towards. I would say that my dad is my hero. I’m a daddy’s girl so he can really do no wrong in my eyes. He has been the shining example of what it means to be a man, what hard work is, what dignity, self-respect, sacrifice, standing up for yourself, all of that is. Yeah, he’s definitely my hero. I would say meeting my ex boyfriend Brock and moving to Oklahoma, was a pretty huge event and obviously had a lasting effect on my life for many different reasons. It kind of gave me time to figure out who I was separate from my family and helped me gain a sense of independence that I could do things on my own. That was something that I think I really needed to do before I could be back with my family.
Almost immediately I started to see what Staceymarie meant when she said she contradicts herself. She is talking about how her family is the biggest highlight and the number one reason she is where she is today; at the very same time she is talking about how she ran away from them to find herself because she desired an identity apart from them.
What do you think has led you to your career, hobbies and your behaviors?
Career, that’s a funny one because if you would’ve told me in high school that I was going to be doing hair or that I would even want to become an Anthropologist one day, I would have laughed at you. So, those are things that I kind of just fell into. I have been a hairstylist, which I consider a career, for I think it’ll be nine years in September, isn’t that a long time?!? I know, man I’m old! It’s a good fit, but one that I never really intended. Hairstylist slash full time student or what do they say? Professional student, that’s what I want to be. I think that I’m successful. Am
Professional Hairstylist
Hilliard, Ohio
When I walked into Studio 31 Salons I met a very pleasant, small, blond woman named Staceymarie Dodge. I could tell right away that I had never met anyone like her before. She has her own way of doing things and takes pride in being different. The thing that made her stand out to me during our interview was the way she described herself. She said she’s “spiritual,” rather than religious, she’s” domestic,” while being “fiercely independent,” and my favorite, her explanation of how she’s a “walking contradiction.” She is twenty-six years old and has been doing hair for going on nine years. She says, “One of the reasons I love doing hair is because I would just like to have an impact on as many people as possible and hopefully it’s a positive impact.” Staceymarie is definitely a people person. She loves meeting new people and learning as much as she can about them. There were several things about her that made her seem rather eccentric.
How would you describe yourself?
This is something I have put a lot of thought into over the years. I really think that I have come to the conclusion that I’m a walking contradiction. So it’s hard for me to really say, “This is who I am.” I think that I am kind of all over the spectrum. For example, I know I was raised Catholic but I’m going to be an Anthropologist. I would still call myself a Catholic, but also an evolutionist. I am single by preference and very, very independent but I am extremely domestic in that I cook and clean and sew and I enjoy doing those things. I was always considered one of the preppy kids or popular kids in school, but I was also a huge geek and still kind of am. I think that whenever people first look at me, even now, they would never think that I was smart, that I was a science fiction nerd and that I was good with computers. I have always felt the way I feel about myself being a contradiction. As far as who I am as a person goes, you may see one thing but what you think is not really the case, so I think irony is a big theme in my life.
What are some highlights of your life that you feel have led you to where you are today?
I guess my parents would be the first and foremost highlight of my life, and the single largest contributor to who I am and where I am today. I always thought that my childhood was pretty traditional but the older I get I realize it really wasn’t that traditional. I mean both of my parents worked; they 50/50 shared responsibilities and they were very gender neutral. My dad was equally in charge of childcare. In that sense, it was untraditional. My whole family bases their identities on being a member of this family. Which is a good thing, but I was always very different. I was fiercely independent and I wanted an identity outside of my family and what my family thought my life should be like. I would say that was definitely the biggest struggle. Originally I faced it by running away, moving to Oklahoma. I guess you could say running away or you could say it was an expedition to find my individuality. I guess removing myself from my family is how I faced that struggle. I definitely think that they have influenced the decisions that I’ve made, but they weren’t always positive decisions. They didn’t always have positive outcomes. I think I went through a phase where I did the opposite of what my parents expected of me or the opposite of how they would’ve wanted to influence me. But as I get older I realize that it was all of the positive things I was working towards. I would say that my dad is my hero. I’m a daddy’s girl so he can really do no wrong in my eyes. He has been the shining example of what it means to be a man, what hard work is, what dignity, self-respect, sacrifice, standing up for yourself, all of that is. Yeah, he’s definitely my hero. I would say meeting my ex boyfriend Brock and moving to Oklahoma, was a pretty huge event and obviously had a lasting effect on my life for many different reasons. It kind of gave me time to figure out who I was separate from my family and helped me gain a sense of independence that I could do things on my own. That was something that I think I really needed to do before I could be back with my family.
Almost immediately I started to see what Staceymarie meant when she said she contradicts herself. She is talking about how her family is the biggest highlight and the number one reason she is where she is today; at the very same time she is talking about how she ran away from them to find herself because she desired an identity apart from them.
What do you think has led you to your career, hobbies and your behaviors?
Career, that’s a funny one because if you would’ve told me in high school that I was going to be doing hair or that I would even want to become an Anthropologist one day, I would have laughed at you. So, those are things that I kind of just fell into. I have been a hairstylist, which I consider a career, for I think it’ll be nine years in September, isn’t that a long time?!? I know, man I’m old! It’s a good fit, but one that I never really intended. Hairstylist slash full time student or what do they say? Professional student, that’s what I want to be. I think that I’m successful. Am
I as successful as I want to be, no, but I think I’m successful in two ways: one just because I pretty much do whatever I want and believe that I can do whatever I want, when I want. That sounds so selfish [laughs], but you know what I mean don’t you? And secondly, how I envisioned my life when I was much younger is consistent with how my life is now. I don’t feel like I’m behind on any preset goals. Hobbies? Reading, sewing, playing basketball, running, cooking, baking, playing Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, movies I love movies, learning. Honestly, everything (with the exception of cooking, playing basketball and sports those things stem from family) but really everything else: behavior, hobbies and even career wise comes from something I have maybe experienced along the way and thought, “Oh, I really like this I’m going to continue doing this,” just gained through life experience. I think that I’ve always had the attitude that I’ll try anything once. I guess those things have spontaneously come through experience of my life. Which is what I think what life is really all about.
What was your first dream and how has it changed over time? Has age had an effect on your dreams?
Dreams, I don’t really like the terminology “dreams,” because I think saying I have a dream about this, kind of gives the impression that I don’t really think it’s going to happen. I guess that you could say I have always thought of my dreams as my goals and maybe that goes back to how me and my sisters were raised. We were raised under the impression that we could achieve whatever we wanted. I remember being a flamboyant kid. Anything I did I wanted to be the best at it. And I was into a lot of different things as a kid like I sewed as a child and always wanted to be a fashion designer. I guess anything that I wanted to do, I wanted to do it big, although I may have changed my mind a lot. Age? Yes and no. It’s like being in little league football and wanting to be the NFL star. Of course you’re going to want to be a pro-football player, but once you get older that’s not always a plausible goal to have. A world renowned hair stylist is not really a plausible goal for somebody who wants to live in Columbus, Ohio. So I would say age, yeah just because you change your mind and you look toward the future more so that kind of goes into your decision making. You decide where you want to live and what’s important to you. But no because I have always (even when I was five, six, seven years old and you can call up my grandma and ask her) said, “I’m never getting married.” You know even today I’ll hear girls my age say, “You know, I always saw myself at 25 and 26 and thought I’d be married with kids.” And I can honestly say I have never thought that about myself. So even though maybe I do want that at some point I don’t feel like I’m behind in that sense. So I guess in that way, no, age has not had an impact. The other day I was talking to one of my friends (I guess I have always been different in this sense), it was her, me and my mom. She says, “You know Staceymarie, I always thought by 25-26 I would be married and have kids and I just always wanted that white dress and da-da-da-da-d.” And I just thought to myself, “No! I never thought that [laughs].” You know what I mean? I mean maybe most girls do think about that. I guess I am open to be getting married one day, but for some reason I was just never like that. I think that is kind of ironic growing up like I did. My parents stayed together which is a rarity. Both of my sisters are now married and always wanted children and a family. Everybody around me followed that model and for some reason from a very young age I knew that wasn’t exactly how my life was going to turn out.
Would you consider yourself an intellectual?
Like intellect? Yeah, definitely, oh I am so psychic [laughs]. I definitely think that I can manifest things. Really anything from an event to a relationship and right down to specifics, but the thing is if I try to do it on purpose, it’s not always what you need. It may be what you wanted but never what you need. So I think there’s a bummer to manifesting or to intellect. Am I religious? I am religious, but not in the organized religion sense. I am spiritual, that’s what I’m saying. Spiritual in that I pray to God every day I say Catholic prayers every day. I wouldn’t say I pray The Rosary every day, maybe like half of The Rosary every day [laughs]. I also meditate at least four times a week which is when I do Yoga and is more of a connection to the universe and I kind of think God and the universe are essentially the same thing. So I guess I am spiritual in that I have faith in a higher power. I don’t believe that anything in life or in this world or in this universe, or multi-verse (whichever way you look at it), is an accident. I think things are on purpose. So in that sense I think that I’m spiritual. I would have to think things are on purpose, because I can manifest things. It wasn’t like, “Oh, I’m going to decide to try to manifest things,” and “Oh, I can, so things must be on purpose.” It didn’t work like that; I realized early that I had kind of a sixth sense if you will, and so I think I’ve always just kind of known that things happen on purpose. The universe or God always brings you what you need. The universe always wants you to be happy. I identify with a lot of Catholic or Christian morals or values, but I do not take the Bible in a literal sense whatsoever.
Catholics believe that God uses creation for His purposes and that it is good. Anthropology, on the other hand, is the study of humanity and how the evolutionary past of humans effect their behaviors. I thought this was bizarre. She relates to a religion that sets morals and values because of who they believe their creator is; but she claims what she really believes in is a higher power and she’s an evolutionist. Another contradictory stand, I thought.
What do you think makes you stand out from others?
I think my appearance is the obvious one: not only am I really blond, but I am also very small. And honestly as soon as I open my mouth to speak that sets me apart in that I think that people instantly know, “I probably have never met somebody like her before.” This is kind of the double edged sword of being me. I would just say I have always thought that I am an easy target to be stereotyped. When people first see me, they might think, “Oh, she’s dumb, oh, she’s superficial, oh she’s desperate, she likes attention or she’s only into shopping,” or that I’m snotty or obnoxious even or that I have to be the center of attention, but I actually think I’m kind of shy when it comes to first meeting somebody. So even if my appearance is flamboyant I don’t think that I’m that outgoing. I don’t know it’s just like the oddest outcome always happens to me. It sometimes may appear that I have a very clear view of what I want or where I’m going but in reality I just let things happen to me. And like I said about my hobbies, things just kind of spontaneously fall into me. That is a contradiction because I know what I want although I let life happen to me.
Kelly Grace
English 367.01
Professor Lohre
5-20-10
What was your first dream and how has it changed over time? Has age had an effect on your dreams?
Dreams, I don’t really like the terminology “dreams,” because I think saying I have a dream about this, kind of gives the impression that I don’t really think it’s going to happen. I guess that you could say I have always thought of my dreams as my goals and maybe that goes back to how me and my sisters were raised. We were raised under the impression that we could achieve whatever we wanted. I remember being a flamboyant kid. Anything I did I wanted to be the best at it. And I was into a lot of different things as a kid like I sewed as a child and always wanted to be a fashion designer. I guess anything that I wanted to do, I wanted to do it big, although I may have changed my mind a lot. Age? Yes and no. It’s like being in little league football and wanting to be the NFL star. Of course you’re going to want to be a pro-football player, but once you get older that’s not always a plausible goal to have. A world renowned hair stylist is not really a plausible goal for somebody who wants to live in Columbus, Ohio. So I would say age, yeah just because you change your mind and you look toward the future more so that kind of goes into your decision making. You decide where you want to live and what’s important to you. But no because I have always (even when I was five, six, seven years old and you can call up my grandma and ask her) said, “I’m never getting married.” You know even today I’ll hear girls my age say, “You know, I always saw myself at 25 and 26 and thought I’d be married with kids.” And I can honestly say I have never thought that about myself. So even though maybe I do want that at some point I don’t feel like I’m behind in that sense. So I guess in that way, no, age has not had an impact. The other day I was talking to one of my friends (I guess I have always been different in this sense), it was her, me and my mom. She says, “You know Staceymarie, I always thought by 25-26 I would be married and have kids and I just always wanted that white dress and da-da-da-da-d.” And I just thought to myself, “No! I never thought that [laughs].” You know what I mean? I mean maybe most girls do think about that. I guess I am open to be getting married one day, but for some reason I was just never like that. I think that is kind of ironic growing up like I did. My parents stayed together which is a rarity. Both of my sisters are now married and always wanted children and a family. Everybody around me followed that model and for some reason from a very young age I knew that wasn’t exactly how my life was going to turn out.
Would you consider yourself an intellectual?
Like intellect? Yeah, definitely, oh I am so psychic [laughs]. I definitely think that I can manifest things. Really anything from an event to a relationship and right down to specifics, but the thing is if I try to do it on purpose, it’s not always what you need. It may be what you wanted but never what you need. So I think there’s a bummer to manifesting or to intellect. Am I religious? I am religious, but not in the organized religion sense. I am spiritual, that’s what I’m saying. Spiritual in that I pray to God every day I say Catholic prayers every day. I wouldn’t say I pray The Rosary every day, maybe like half of The Rosary every day [laughs]. I also meditate at least four times a week which is when I do Yoga and is more of a connection to the universe and I kind of think God and the universe are essentially the same thing. So I guess I am spiritual in that I have faith in a higher power. I don’t believe that anything in life or in this world or in this universe, or multi-verse (whichever way you look at it), is an accident. I think things are on purpose. So in that sense I think that I’m spiritual. I would have to think things are on purpose, because I can manifest things. It wasn’t like, “Oh, I’m going to decide to try to manifest things,” and “Oh, I can, so things must be on purpose.” It didn’t work like that; I realized early that I had kind of a sixth sense if you will, and so I think I’ve always just kind of known that things happen on purpose. The universe or God always brings you what you need. The universe always wants you to be happy. I identify with a lot of Catholic or Christian morals or values, but I do not take the Bible in a literal sense whatsoever.
Catholics believe that God uses creation for His purposes and that it is good. Anthropology, on the other hand, is the study of humanity and how the evolutionary past of humans effect their behaviors. I thought this was bizarre. She relates to a religion that sets morals and values because of who they believe their creator is; but she claims what she really believes in is a higher power and she’s an evolutionist. Another contradictory stand, I thought.
What do you think makes you stand out from others?
I think my appearance is the obvious one: not only am I really blond, but I am also very small. And honestly as soon as I open my mouth to speak that sets me apart in that I think that people instantly know, “I probably have never met somebody like her before.” This is kind of the double edged sword of being me. I would just say I have always thought that I am an easy target to be stereotyped. When people first see me, they might think, “Oh, she’s dumb, oh, she’s superficial, oh she’s desperate, she likes attention or she’s only into shopping,” or that I’m snotty or obnoxious even or that I have to be the center of attention, but I actually think I’m kind of shy when it comes to first meeting somebody. So even if my appearance is flamboyant I don’t think that I’m that outgoing. I don’t know it’s just like the oddest outcome always happens to me. It sometimes may appear that I have a very clear view of what I want or where I’m going but in reality I just let things happen to me. And like I said about my hobbies, things just kind of spontaneously fall into me. That is a contradiction because I know what I want although I let life happen to me.
Kelly Grace
English 367.01
Professor Lohre
5-20-10
The Hobart Shakespearians
Sorry guys, I missed class so my response is going to be mixed in with the profile essays.
I think Rafe is a visionary because he tries to make all of the students in his classroom feel like they are Americans. He is also a teacher and wants to educate these children because he feels it is going to improve the quality of each and everyone of their lives. The quote I like the most is where Rafe said, " I could make more money but I don't know if I could find a better job." I think this truly showss how much he loves teaching these children and how much he loves his job in general.
I think Rafe's teaching style is unique because he incorporates many things into this teaching such as music, sports, and theater. He has the children act out Shakespeare which helps them better understand what they are doing. It is especially unique because Shakespeare is high school literature and he is teaching it to fifth graders at an elementary school.
I was inspired by how much patience he had. He never gave up on his students and even when they got in trouble he would sit down with them and calmly ask why they had done whatever it was they were in trouble for. He worked with each and every child to meet their needs. It is amazing how much one teacher can impact the lives of their students and maybe even change their entire future.
Since I will be transfering to main campus, my goal is to stay on task and not get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the new environment. Also I aim to procrastinate less and stay on the Deans list for my sophomore year
I think Rafe is a visionary because he tries to make all of the students in his classroom feel like they are Americans. He is also a teacher and wants to educate these children because he feels it is going to improve the quality of each and everyone of their lives. The quote I like the most is where Rafe said, " I could make more money but I don't know if I could find a better job." I think this truly showss how much he loves teaching these children and how much he loves his job in general.
I think Rafe's teaching style is unique because he incorporates many things into this teaching such as music, sports, and theater. He has the children act out Shakespeare which helps them better understand what they are doing. It is especially unique because Shakespeare is high school literature and he is teaching it to fifth graders at an elementary school.
I was inspired by how much patience he had. He never gave up on his students and even when they got in trouble he would sit down with them and calmly ask why they had done whatever it was they were in trouble for. He worked with each and every child to meet their needs. It is amazing how much one teacher can impact the lives of their students and maybe even change their entire future.
Since I will be transfering to main campus, my goal is to stay on task and not get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the new environment. Also I aim to procrastinate less and stay on the Deans list for my sophomore year
Marilyn Maniaci McBride
Katie Carmichael Carmichael 1
English 367
Mike Lohre
Profile
Marilyn Maniaci McBride
Dance Teacher/ Director at Douce Dance Studios
Marion, Ohio/ Mt. Gilead, Ohio
I first met Marilyn in 2005 when I started dancing at Douce my freshman year of high school. She was my teacher, and the more I danced, I became friends with her daughter Courtney. Knowing Marilyn and her mother, some stories I hear every once in a while drew me to her for this project. I had to find out more. ‘Mimi’ as we call her has been directing the dance studio in Marion ever since her dad died in 2002, which is how we met.
Carmichael 2
I’m Marilyn McBride and I’ve been dancing [long pause] well I started dancing when I was two, and I’m going to be 58. So what is that, 56? 56 years. I started teaching my own classes when I was 12. My mom always had me teach older people. You know, people who were older than me, not old people, anyways. I always hated that, and I was scared since I was younger than them, but I did it. This is my 39th year out at Mt Gilead. So I’ve been the director out there for almost 40 years. In 2002 I started directing the Marion studio too, when my daddy passed away. I had basically been directing it since before that, but it became official then, in 2002. There are seven studios in all: Cincinnati, Galion, Bucyrus, Marion, Mt. Gilead, Waldo, Delaware and Cleveland coming in June, making it eight studios throughout Ohio. LuAnn, you know the middle sister, runs the Cincinnati studio. Baby Suzy runs Delaware and Waldo, Tammy runs Bucyrus and will run Cleveland, Missy runs Galion and I run Marion and Mt. Gilead
How did Tammy and Missy become the director of some studios, they aren’t family?
Well, Cindy Sparks danced here with us and she was Louie’s best friend, well through Lu being my sister, I became friends with Cindy too. Us three would run around and just have fun, well eventually we wanted to start a studio in Galion, so started it and Cindy helped. Tammy took dance from Cindy in Galion. Wait, how did Tammy get from Galion to Bucyrus? Oh yea that’s right, The Bucyrus studio was about to close and Cindy said that she had a student that she thought could take over Bucyrus. So Tammy took the Bucyrus studio and then Missy who taught here in Marion took over Galion when Cindy was ready to retire. Tammy actually lives up by Cleveland, and she drives every week to Bucyrus, so that is how she got to be directing the soon to come Cleveland studio. My favorite style of dance would have to be tap! And I really like Patton too.
Growing up with successful business parents was a lot of fun, being around people all the time! Meeting new people and meeting new friends! It was all so amazing. I know you may not remember, but your teacher may remember, Flippo the clown was a family friend and I got to see him all the time! I felt so cool. Attending parties with my parents was a lot of fun too. They would have parties out at the house oh it was just oodles of fun! It was definitely a very exciting childhood. Al Gilbert from California, somehow my parents became friends with him, he is the voice in all the TA songs
(teachers aids) and every time he would come visit he would sleep in my room so I’d go sleep in Lu’s or Suzy’s room. It was just a lot of fun. My parents had a dance club they hosted once a month and they would go out of town for a day or two. Well my mom had a lot of nice, expensive fancy jewelry and ball gowns and me and my sisters would go into my parent’s room and play with all of mom’s things. Before we knew it the babysitter would yell up saying our parents were home so we would shove it in the closest. All these nice dresses just throw them in there! And we would have to go hang them back up later when my mom was busy [laughs]. As a girl I would just admirer my mom and I would love to watch her teach the beauty pageant girls, and this room that were in now, it wasn’t even a studio at first. It just to be our big concrete porch/patio area and my room was right there [points up]. We would have to go to bed, and I would go and sit by my window and watch all the props being made for pageants and competitions.
No, I didn’t think I would take over for my mom. Not when I was younger. It was just something fun to do. I started teaching when I was 12 years old. To me then, it was
Carmichael 3
just an after school activity. The older I got the more I thought about teaching on a long term basis. But even then, I thought I would just always be teaching and my mom would be directing everything, but things change. I actually wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. That is what I went out here to the branch for. But my freshman year of college my mom got sick and my dad came to me and said. “Listen I really need you, no one else can do this.” So I dropped out and starting teaching full time. I feel lucky enough to have had the privilege to start teaching full time though. “It is not a job to me it is a hobby, something I love to do and thank God I have such an understanding husband because of all the hours I put in here.”
You want to hear a good story from teaching? Or a bad one? A Good story would have to be, Kristi Cooke.
Like the cheographer for Pleasants show choir?
Oh yeah, her, well she’s Kristi Wink now. So Kristi Cooke Wink. She was in my wedding. Our little flower girl when she was four. She used to take here, and just watching her through the years grow was something special. So for my 40th birthday Russ, my husband, took me to New York to see Kristi and I got to watch her dance on Broadway! I really enjoyed that. Here’s a bad story. Back when I was teaching in Mt Gilead, we would teach in an old fairgrounds building before there was a studio. And we would use the kitchen as a room. Well I was teaching this girl how to do a frog stand. It’s a Patton move where you put the Patton behind your legs like this, so it’s behind your ankles kind of and you grab it. So your hands go through your legs and behind them. This girl was trying to do it, and she fell right over. Flat on her face on that hard floor and onto her teeth, she broke her teeth! She stood up whining and looked at me and I screamed so loud in my head I scarred myself. I didn’t know what to do. I just kept thinking oh my God! What do I do?! I felt so bad. I swore from then on I would never teach that move again, and I haven’t still, till this day. The girl had to have surgery on her teeth and everything. She ended up being a teacher for me, but still… [laughs]. Oh man.
[Giggles] You want to know about Russ? Well, we were dancing out at the fairgrounds. Mom always had a show out there for the July 4th festivals. It was a week long, almost like the fair. And he was dating one of my best friends from dance. Well on July 1, 1966 his friend asked him if he wanted to go to the fair with him. He says “That Maniaci girl will be there” So he came out and watched. We talked that day, I mean we had seen each other at parties. But that day we hung out for a little bit then we held hands. And we have been together ever since. Well we broke up one week my sophomore year. He broke up with me for some girl, then he went with this girls sister. Then we came back to me and said he wanted me back. But I said no “I have dates” It was fun all the boys flirting with me that week, but I needed to see if Russ was the one. So for that week I stayed single, but then we got back together and we dated 6 years, 1 month and 19 days before we got married. I can’t believe I remembered all that. Ha.
After all these years Russ is still here, and now I’m scared it’s coming to an end. I don’t know. I always thought Courtney would take over after me, but I don’t know anymore. With her being a nurse now her hours are crazy and you have to be committed to this job, you can’t ‘just do it’. I used to think I would seriously leave this studio to Heather and Courtney, but Heather moved to Florida so that’s out of the question. But
Carmichael 4
who knows, out of the grandkids probably Mya would take over, even though she’s just a baby; I wonder if Leah would ever take over?
I was looking at Shelby’s interview with Martha and your mom thinks Nadalee will take over, then Mya, Paxton and AJ.
[laughs real hard] Paxton and AJ would never want to take over. But Nadalee is good. I never thought about that, yea I could see her taking over and then maybe Mya.
Want to know something? “I am successful – I don’t get a lot of money out of it, but it is what I love to do. I’m not successful like my mother was – because family meant for to me. [Looks over at her mom] To be truly successful at this business you have to be 100% devoted. I’m devoted to what I do, but still, my family came first and to me that makes me successful; running a business, loving every minute of it, having good health, raising three children to be responsible caring adults and having enough money to live our life to the fullest. That is why I’m successful.”
English 367
Mike Lohre
Profile
Marilyn Maniaci McBride
Dance Teacher/ Director at Douce Dance Studios
Marion, Ohio/ Mt. Gilead, Ohio
I first met Marilyn in 2005 when I started dancing at Douce my freshman year of high school. She was my teacher, and the more I danced, I became friends with her daughter Courtney. Knowing Marilyn and her mother, some stories I hear every once in a while drew me to her for this project. I had to find out more. ‘Mimi’ as we call her has been directing the dance studio in Marion ever since her dad died in 2002, which is how we met.
Carmichael 2
I’m Marilyn McBride and I’ve been dancing [long pause] well I started dancing when I was two, and I’m going to be 58. So what is that, 56? 56 years. I started teaching my own classes when I was 12. My mom always had me teach older people. You know, people who were older than me, not old people, anyways. I always hated that, and I was scared since I was younger than them, but I did it. This is my 39th year out at Mt Gilead. So I’ve been the director out there for almost 40 years. In 2002 I started directing the Marion studio too, when my daddy passed away. I had basically been directing it since before that, but it became official then, in 2002. There are seven studios in all: Cincinnati, Galion, Bucyrus, Marion, Mt. Gilead, Waldo, Delaware and Cleveland coming in June, making it eight studios throughout Ohio. LuAnn, you know the middle sister, runs the Cincinnati studio. Baby Suzy runs Delaware and Waldo, Tammy runs Bucyrus and will run Cleveland, Missy runs Galion and I run Marion and Mt. Gilead
How did Tammy and Missy become the director of some studios, they aren’t family?
Well, Cindy Sparks danced here with us and she was Louie’s best friend, well through Lu being my sister, I became friends with Cindy too. Us three would run around and just have fun, well eventually we wanted to start a studio in Galion, so started it and Cindy helped. Tammy took dance from Cindy in Galion. Wait, how did Tammy get from Galion to Bucyrus? Oh yea that’s right, The Bucyrus studio was about to close and Cindy said that she had a student that she thought could take over Bucyrus. So Tammy took the Bucyrus studio and then Missy who taught here in Marion took over Galion when Cindy was ready to retire. Tammy actually lives up by Cleveland, and she drives every week to Bucyrus, so that is how she got to be directing the soon to come Cleveland studio. My favorite style of dance would have to be tap! And I really like Patton too.
Growing up with successful business parents was a lot of fun, being around people all the time! Meeting new people and meeting new friends! It was all so amazing. I know you may not remember, but your teacher may remember, Flippo the clown was a family friend and I got to see him all the time! I felt so cool. Attending parties with my parents was a lot of fun too. They would have parties out at the house oh it was just oodles of fun! It was definitely a very exciting childhood. Al Gilbert from California, somehow my parents became friends with him, he is the voice in all the TA songs
(teachers aids) and every time he would come visit he would sleep in my room so I’d go sleep in Lu’s or Suzy’s room. It was just a lot of fun. My parents had a dance club they hosted once a month and they would go out of town for a day or two. Well my mom had a lot of nice, expensive fancy jewelry and ball gowns and me and my sisters would go into my parent’s room and play with all of mom’s things. Before we knew it the babysitter would yell up saying our parents were home so we would shove it in the closest. All these nice dresses just throw them in there! And we would have to go hang them back up later when my mom was busy [laughs]. As a girl I would just admirer my mom and I would love to watch her teach the beauty pageant girls, and this room that were in now, it wasn’t even a studio at first. It just to be our big concrete porch/patio area and my room was right there [points up]. We would have to go to bed, and I would go and sit by my window and watch all the props being made for pageants and competitions.
No, I didn’t think I would take over for my mom. Not when I was younger. It was just something fun to do. I started teaching when I was 12 years old. To me then, it was
Carmichael 3
just an after school activity. The older I got the more I thought about teaching on a long term basis. But even then, I thought I would just always be teaching and my mom would be directing everything, but things change. I actually wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. That is what I went out here to the branch for. But my freshman year of college my mom got sick and my dad came to me and said. “Listen I really need you, no one else can do this.” So I dropped out and starting teaching full time. I feel lucky enough to have had the privilege to start teaching full time though. “It is not a job to me it is a hobby, something I love to do and thank God I have such an understanding husband because of all the hours I put in here.”
You want to hear a good story from teaching? Or a bad one? A Good story would have to be, Kristi Cooke.
Like the cheographer for Pleasants show choir?
Oh yeah, her, well she’s Kristi Wink now. So Kristi Cooke Wink. She was in my wedding. Our little flower girl when she was four. She used to take here, and just watching her through the years grow was something special. So for my 40th birthday Russ, my husband, took me to New York to see Kristi and I got to watch her dance on Broadway! I really enjoyed that. Here’s a bad story. Back when I was teaching in Mt Gilead, we would teach in an old fairgrounds building before there was a studio. And we would use the kitchen as a room. Well I was teaching this girl how to do a frog stand. It’s a Patton move where you put the Patton behind your legs like this, so it’s behind your ankles kind of and you grab it. So your hands go through your legs and behind them. This girl was trying to do it, and she fell right over. Flat on her face on that hard floor and onto her teeth, she broke her teeth! She stood up whining and looked at me and I screamed so loud in my head I scarred myself. I didn’t know what to do. I just kept thinking oh my God! What do I do?! I felt so bad. I swore from then on I would never teach that move again, and I haven’t still, till this day. The girl had to have surgery on her teeth and everything. She ended up being a teacher for me, but still… [laughs]. Oh man.
[Giggles] You want to know about Russ? Well, we were dancing out at the fairgrounds. Mom always had a show out there for the July 4th festivals. It was a week long, almost like the fair. And he was dating one of my best friends from dance. Well on July 1, 1966 his friend asked him if he wanted to go to the fair with him. He says “That Maniaci girl will be there” So he came out and watched. We talked that day, I mean we had seen each other at parties. But that day we hung out for a little bit then we held hands. And we have been together ever since. Well we broke up one week my sophomore year. He broke up with me for some girl, then he went with this girls sister. Then we came back to me and said he wanted me back. But I said no “I have dates” It was fun all the boys flirting with me that week, but I needed to see if Russ was the one. So for that week I stayed single, but then we got back together and we dated 6 years, 1 month and 19 days before we got married. I can’t believe I remembered all that. Ha.
After all these years Russ is still here, and now I’m scared it’s coming to an end. I don’t know. I always thought Courtney would take over after me, but I don’t know anymore. With her being a nurse now her hours are crazy and you have to be committed to this job, you can’t ‘just do it’. I used to think I would seriously leave this studio to Heather and Courtney, but Heather moved to Florida so that’s out of the question. But
Carmichael 4
who knows, out of the grandkids probably Mya would take over, even though she’s just a baby; I wonder if Leah would ever take over?
I was looking at Shelby’s interview with Martha and your mom thinks Nadalee will take over, then Mya, Paxton and AJ.
[laughs real hard] Paxton and AJ would never want to take over. But Nadalee is good. I never thought about that, yea I could see her taking over and then maybe Mya.
Want to know something? “I am successful – I don’t get a lot of money out of it, but it is what I love to do. I’m not successful like my mother was – because family meant for to me. [Looks over at her mom] To be truly successful at this business you have to be 100% devoted. I’m devoted to what I do, but still, my family came first and to me that makes me successful; running a business, loving every minute of it, having good health, raising three children to be responsible caring adults and having enough money to live our life to the fullest. That is why I’m successful.”
Essay Two Profile
Harry Garverick has always been an active person. He was always into sports and had a passion for baseball. “I owe it all to my former high school baseball coach, Dick Cannon. Without him I never would have started thinking about a career in baseball, he really lit the fire under my butt about it.” As we sit in his living room Harry looks out the window and fondly recalls those days. It is hard for him to play the sports he loves anymore because he has been severely affected with Multiple Sclerosis. It has left him in a wheel chair and unable to do the things he loves. His battle with MS started in 1997 and it has slowly gotten worse. He now struggles to even hold a basketball in the air for a few seconds. “Sports were my life and true passion, I miss playing them everyday.” I sat down with Harry to talk to him about his pro baseball career and how that led him to coaching basketball. Here is what he had to say.
“Well every young person has the aspirations of being a pro athlete and I had a chance and I just didn’t think at the time that I was ready to do it.“ Harry Garverick was only seventeen when he decided to try out for the Washington Senators. Now at 72 a lot has changed in Harrys life and he talks about the “good old days” and of how things used to be. You see he was not only an excellent baseball player he turned out to be a good basketball player as well. After hurting his elbow and deciding that the life of a pro baseball player was not all it seemed to be he decided to head to college and start his career in another path.
Harry attended Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. It was there that he met his future wife, Faye, and took on a sport that would eventually take him down a great path in his life, basketball. He had played varsity basketball in high school for three years and then chose to quit and pursue the path of becoming a pro athlete. When baseball did not work out for him he was offered a scholarship to play basketball at Delta State and according to Harry, “Coaching just naturally followed.”
Harry coached all over the country. He had head coaching jobs at Liberty Center after that he and his family headed to North Green in Mississippi. After that he headed to South Western Louisiana and then onto Zane Trace in Ohio. He left to head to Louisville Kentucky and then finally back to Ohio in Upper Scioto Valley where he eventually retired. While he loved working with young kids he said the traveling could get a little hard. He did not like being away from his family for long periods of time.
One of Harry’s fondest memories and the moment he claims he was most proud of was when he was coaching at Zane Trace. His team was in the regional finals and state bound. They got beat by 1 point at the buzzer by Monroeville. Even though they lost Harry was still proud of his boys. “That was a real nice highlight to my career, out of all the teams I coached and all the things I accomplished this was my favorite moment.”
He started coaching at the age of 25 and while he was not always the head coach at the schools he coached at he always had a lot to do. At South Western Louisiana he was assistant coach and he also was their recruiter. When asked how he became a recruiter he said “It was part of my duties as assistant basketball coach, I had to go out and recruit. This was my favorite part of my job also because I loved all the young men that I met with. They were all great guys and went far with their careers.”
While Harry is not one to brag he gave me a list of the best recruits he had and their stats. It is very obvious that he is still very proud of his boys and their accomplishments. “ Let’s see, there was Dwight Lamar Guard out of Columbus East. He was number one draft pick for the Los Angeles Lakers in ‘77. He averaged around 3,493 points in his whole college career. He averaged about 31 points a game. Another one was Fred Saunders out of Columbus Mohawk High School he was the number one pick for the Boston Celtics in the ‘70s as well. He only averaged about 9 points per game but man, was he something to watch, absolutely beautiful out on that court. Another one was Marvin Winkler out of Indianapolis and he was the number two draft pick for the Milwaukee Bucks. The last one was Roy Hebron and he was the number one pick for San Diego.”
While Harry loved all of his boys equally his favorite recruit was Robert Parish. He ended up being drafted by the Boston Celtics. He and Harry still keep in very close contact today and are still good friends. Robert Parish played for the Celtics for fourteen years and formed the big three with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale. He played in more games than any other NBA player in the history of basketball. While all of Harry’s boys were successful Parish was his most outstanding player. “He was a great guy and an amazing athlete. When he was out on the court people stared he was truly unstoppable. He is a legend and I am proud to call him my friend.” [Harry pauses for a moment and stares off into space before saying] “I should probably give him a call after this interview, see how he is doing. Why yes I think I’ll do that.”
The best coaching advice Harry ever obtained was this “Just make your athletes work, but make sure they appreciate you. In other words, be a players coach.” A player’s coach he was indeed. He went out of his way for all of his players making sure they were keeping up with their schoolwork and helping them out when needed. Harry had attended college to become a teacher so he was always tutoring his boys or trying to help them out in some way. “I wanted to make sure that my boys saw me as more than Coach Garverick. I wanted them to see me as a friend too; I think as a team it is very important to have that family-like chemistry. It makes for a good team in season and a good family of brothers for the rest of your life.”
“Practice all the time, give it 100% and go hard. Keep your grades up too!” This is the advice Harry would give to any athlete trying to make a career out of their sport. He talks about determination and true love of the game. As he is holding a basketball in his hands he says “It does not matter how good you are or how many three pointers you can shoot or how many players you can pitch out. None of that matters, if you don’t have the love of the game you will never be truly good. It has to come from within you, and it is what makes you shoot those 100 free throws or makes you pitch those 200 balls. It is what makes you good and without heart, determination, and a pure love for the game you will get nowhere. Well, I guess a little practice never hurt anyone either” he says, with a little wink and a chuckle.
Essay 2
Martha Douce Manianci has been teaching dance for more than 65 years. She still lives in the house that she taught dance in and now has been passed down to her daughters. On the day of the interview she was celebrating her 79th birthday. We sat down in the waiting room of the main studio, surrounded by dance pictures and awards from Martha, family, and past and present students. Before we began the interview we started talking to a mother that was out in the waiting room about the wedding of her grandchild on Saturday. You could just see her glowing with joy. She was just so happy for the newlyweds.
Martha is the perfect example of a person who knows how to follow her dreams. At the age of thirteen, Homer Huffman, the band director of the Harding High School band took Martha and her fellow band mates to a band camp at Baldwin Wallace College. She saw someone who was teaching majorettes and Martha asked her if she could help. She stayed there for two weeks and helped her with the majorettes. When Martha’s mother came to pick her up, the teacher stated, “go home and put an ad in the paper for baton lessons, limited number of students.” Martha’s first class had a total of 15 students in it.
Martha and her husband, Joe started began their dancing in Columbus, Ohio from Jack Sherit at the Jorg Fasting Dance School. Besides baton, tap was one of the first dances that the couple started teaching. Followed by ballroom and lastly jazz. Even to this day, Martha still teaches ballroom to couples. Currently, there are Martha Douce Dance Studios in Marion, Bucyrus, Galion, Mt. Gilead, Waldo, Delaware, Cincinnati, and one coming soon in Cleveland. Each studio is being run by a daughter of Martha and Joe’s or a family friend. The thing Martha hopes for in the future is that the studios will always be family owned. She hopes for one day that her great grandchildren will run all eight of the studios. When I asked Martha why she wanted to start a dance studio, she told me she did not really know why she wanted to. It was just something to do. Martha just had the passion for dancing and wanted to share that passion with the rest of the community.
Not only is dance something that is close to her heart but family is as well. She currently has twenty-eight grandchildren and the family is constantly expanding. When asked what she wants to be remembered for she told me, “for being a good mother and good catholic.” It was not for being a good dance teacher or having many successful dance studios; it was religion and family. The two most important things a person needs in life. Martha even stated that even her role models would have to be her daughters. She told me this is because they mean everything in the world to her. To prove this point, the picture above is of her and her daughter, Marilyn who runs the Marion and Mt. Gilead studios.
A few of the accomplishments that Martha is most proud of is receiving the Ohio Distinguished Citizen award. Only ten women received the award. Another thing Martha is very proud of is her Martha Douce Dance Club for ballroom. This club lasted for twenty-five years. Together, the dance club raised $90,000 for children’s leukemia. With that money, Children’s hospital was able to open up a research wing that was named after a young boy that had passed away from cancer that Martha and Joe knew from their church.
When Martha started telling me about her activities, I started to get exhausted myself. When Martha is not at the YMCA exercising, swimming, or teaching the electric slide to the ladies in her water aerobics class, she loves to knit, and spend time with her family in the spare time she has. Martha also has routine interviews with the local radio stations and is constantly attending numerous dance shows. She also loves to attend the Marion Midget Football games. She is currently the secretary for Marion Midget Football.
To herself and many others, Martha has lived a very successful life. Opening up eight studios around Ohio, having a loving family that is constantly growing, and spending so much time doing the activities she has been doing for years. It’s great to even the community of Marion, Ohio has great stories to tell about when they were a young child and danced for Martha. I know even myself have gathered up a few great stories of the time I have shared with Martha over the years. I am so glad I have gotten the chance to dance in the presence of Martha and do this interview today.
Martha is the perfect example of a person who knows how to follow her dreams. At the age of thirteen, Homer Huffman, the band director of the Harding High School band took Martha and her fellow band mates to a band camp at Baldwin Wallace College. She saw someone who was teaching majorettes and Martha asked her if she could help. She stayed there for two weeks and helped her with the majorettes. When Martha’s mother came to pick her up, the teacher stated, “go home and put an ad in the paper for baton lessons, limited number of students.” Martha’s first class had a total of 15 students in it.
Martha and her husband, Joe started began their dancing in Columbus, Ohio from Jack Sherit at the Jorg Fasting Dance School. Besides baton, tap was one of the first dances that the couple started teaching. Followed by ballroom and lastly jazz. Even to this day, Martha still teaches ballroom to couples. Currently, there are Martha Douce Dance Studios in Marion, Bucyrus, Galion, Mt. Gilead, Waldo, Delaware, Cincinnati, and one coming soon in Cleveland. Each studio is being run by a daughter of Martha and Joe’s or a family friend. The thing Martha hopes for in the future is that the studios will always be family owned. She hopes for one day that her great grandchildren will run all eight of the studios. When I asked Martha why she wanted to start a dance studio, she told me she did not really know why she wanted to. It was just something to do. Martha just had the passion for dancing and wanted to share that passion with the rest of the community.
Not only is dance something that is close to her heart but family is as well. She currently has twenty-eight grandchildren and the family is constantly expanding. When asked what she wants to be remembered for she told me, “for being a good mother and good catholic.” It was not for being a good dance teacher or having many successful dance studios; it was religion and family. The two most important things a person needs in life. Martha even stated that even her role models would have to be her daughters. She told me this is because they mean everything in the world to her. To prove this point, the picture above is of her and her daughter, Marilyn who runs the Marion and Mt. Gilead studios.
A few of the accomplishments that Martha is most proud of is receiving the Ohio Distinguished Citizen award. Only ten women received the award. Another thing Martha is very proud of is her Martha Douce Dance Club for ballroom. This club lasted for twenty-five years. Together, the dance club raised $90,000 for children’s leukemia. With that money, Children’s hospital was able to open up a research wing that was named after a young boy that had passed away from cancer that Martha and Joe knew from their church.
When Martha started telling me about her activities, I started to get exhausted myself. When Martha is not at the YMCA exercising, swimming, or teaching the electric slide to the ladies in her water aerobics class, she loves to knit, and spend time with her family in the spare time she has. Martha also has routine interviews with the local radio stations and is constantly attending numerous dance shows. She also loves to attend the Marion Midget Football games. She is currently the secretary for Marion Midget Football.
To herself and many others, Martha has lived a very successful life. Opening up eight studios around Ohio, having a loving family that is constantly growing, and spending so much time doing the activities she has been doing for years. It’s great to even the community of Marion, Ohio has great stories to tell about when they were a young child and danced for Martha. I know even myself have gathered up a few great stories of the time I have shared with Martha over the years. I am so glad I have gotten the chance to dance in the presence of Martha and do this interview today.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Rafe's Example
In my experience with the public school system, the students were treated as if they were incompetent by nature and that the teachers always had low expectations for performance and behavior. Rafe's teaching style challenges this completely, teaching the students that they are all capable individuals and can accomplish anything, with the right work ethic and self discipline. Rafe understands that not all students will perform to the best of their abilities, but creates a positive learning environment and works hard to ensure that all of his students leave with a perspective that promotes future improvement. I find his teaching style very refreshing and more like that of a college professor than of a typical elementary school teacher. I can recall two teachers that remind me of Rafe, and, using the same style of high student expectations and positive encouragement, these classes changed my perspective on learning and brought lasting benefits that I have retained to this day. As Rafe said, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and I think this is especially true of the early education system. Rafe's dedication and enthusiasm sets a high standard, one that can't be expected of all teachers, but the results of his efforts are something that all teachers should take a lesson from.
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