Many Thanks

Dr. Richard Cummings, pictured at far left, introduces and publicly thanks the five individuals who built a storage enclosure for the Oakwood Rotary Club at the Oakwood Municipal Building. The recognition ceremony was held at the Aug. 25 Rotary breakfast at the Dayton Country Club. The project included the installation of a mechanical hoist that alleviates carrying equipment up three flights of stairs. Pictured, left to right: Dr. Harold Prigozen, Dr. Burt Saidel, Jim Schmidt, Al Leland and Mike Kelly.

16 Hine’s lawyers recognized as Super Lawyers

Thompson Hine’s Dayton office announced today that 16 of its lawyers have been recognized in Ohio Super Lawyers 2006, a joint project of Law Politics Magazine and Cincinnati Magazine.  Super Lawyers generally consist of the top 5% of the attorneys in the state and are selected through a three-step process including a peer review in which attorneys through the state cast votes on legal abilities they have personally observed. A total of 64 lawyers from Thompson Hine’s four Ohio-based offices were recognized in Ohio Super Lawyers 2006.

Lawyers from Thompson Hine’s Dayton office recognized in Ohio Super Lawyers 2006 are listed below with their primary area of practice:

J. Wray Blattner (Environmental /Land Use), Lawrence T. Burick (Bankruptcy), Richard F. Carlile (Estate Planning/Trusts), Mark A. Conway (Estate Planning/Trusts), Robert M. Curry (Real Estate), Thomas E. DeBrosse (Tax), Timothy J. Hackert (Real Estate), J. Michael Herr (Business /Corporate), Scott A. King (Business Litigation), Mark P. Levy (Intellectual Property), Crofford J. Macklin, Jr. (Estate Planning/Trusts), David A. Neuhardt (Mergers & Acquisitions), Sharen Swartz Neuhardt (Mergers & Acquisitions), Joseph M. Rigot (Mergers & Acquisitions, Joan H. Roddy (Real Estate), Arik A. Sherk (Banking).

Engagement__________________________________

Kussman – Bullock

William and Nancy Kussman of Oakwood are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Nicole Renae Kussman to John David Bullock, Jr., son of John and Gretchen Bullock of Kettering.

The bride-to-be is a graduate of Oakwood High School, The Ohio State University, and the University of Dayton. She is a special education teacher in the Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools district.

The groom-to-be is a graduate of Oakwood High School, Dartmouth College, Emory University School of Public Health, and Case Western Reserve University School of Law. The wedding will take place on September 30, 2006 at Holy Angels Catholic Church. The couple will reside in the Cleveland area.

Wedding_____________________________________

Wenzke – Hartmann

Jerry and Nancy Wenzke of Oakwood announce the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Liesl Marie, to Robert William Hartmann, son of William and Victoria Hartmann, of San Mateo, CA. The wedding will take place in Dayton on October 14, 2006.

Liesl is a 1995 graduate of Oakwood High School and a 1999 graduate of Ohio University. She earned a Master’s Degree at Kent State University in 2001. Liesl is a speech language pathologist and owns a private practice in San Francisco, CA.

Robert is a 1996 graduate of Lick Wilmerding High School in San Francisco and earned his undergraduate degree and his MBA at Loyola Marymount University in 2002. He is an equity analyst with Dolan Capital Management in Palo Alto, CA. The couple resides in San Francisco. 

Lange volunteers dazzled at annual workday and picnic!

By Kimberly Kappler
Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment and Lange Principal

On August 19, a record number of volunteers, including Lange parents and Rotarians, descended upon Lange.  They worked at a frenetic pace, weeding, mulching, pruning, painting, planting, and de-suckering.  Like so many industrious ants, they swarmed over Lange’s landscaping, utterly transforming it into expertly manicured grounds.

So massive was the pile of debris cleared by the volunteers that we filled an entire city waste truck and several pick-up trucks.  Most impressive of all were the friendly and upbeat attitudes of all of the volunteers who gave up their last Saturday of the summer to help us at Lange.  Volunteerism is what has made Lange a very special place from its beginning in 2000, when the school was founded though a bequest of $1,000,000 from the Julian and Marjorie Lange Foundation.  

After the morning’s work ended, attendees enjoyed hotdogs, chips, and ice cream.

Our volunteers ushered in a new school year with gusto.  Thanks to all to made the day such a brilliant success!

Benedict chosen as new MVS headmaster

The Miami Valley School has attracted a prominent independent school educator to lead the early childhood-grade 12 institution and Oakwood has attracted a new family of residents. Peter B. Benedict II, recent addition to the Oakwood community, has been selected as the new headmaster at MVS, only the fifth leader in the school’s 47-year history.

The Benedict family: Peter, son Peter, wife Davis and son Troy.

Benedict brings a range of experience and vision to MVS and has plans to “honor the history, respect the culture, and lead the school forward to assure our place as the premier educational setting for learning in our region.”

“I have chosen to make a life-long commitment to independent school education because of what independent schools have done for me,” Benedict said. “The independent schools I attended gave me the best of academia, traditions, athletics, arts, and personal teacher relationships. I will strive to share these experiences through my own school leadership at The Miami Valley School.”

Benedict’s wife, Davis, is a graduate of Colorado State University and has a master’s degree in education from the University of Virginia. Pete and Davis have two sons, Peter III, age 6, and Troy, age 4, and two dogs, Sadie and Moose. The family has purchased a home on Thruston Boulevard.

“We consider ourselves fortunate to have found a neighborhood so rich in history and character - and with such great neighbors,” Benedict said.

A visionary thinker committed to promoting a whole-student approach to learning through the school’s mission and core values, Benedict brings an impressive level of educational leadership to the MVS campuses.  As head of middle school at Louisville Collegiate School, his most recent position, he strengthened the division academically while increasing enrollment, hired and retained excellent teachers, founded the outreach program to attract diverse students, developed the service learning and philanthropy programs, initiated the Parent-to-Parent program, and
actively participated in a successful $12 million capital campaign. He was selected as an E.E. Ford Fellow, a National Association of Independent Schools’ program to identify aspiring heads.

Benedict attended high school at the Hill School, Pottstown, Pennsylvania. At Colorado State University, he doubled majored in English/liberal arts and received a minor in recreation and tourism, focusing on experiential education. He attended Peabody College for Teachers at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, where he received a master’s degree in secondary education. More recently, he participated in the Art and Craft of Principalship program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Benedict began his teaching career at North Cross School, Roanoke, Virginia, where he taught middle school English, coached soccer, and led the after-school and summer programs. While there he founded the outdoor education program and led over 50 trips in the South and West.

Benedict served as the associate director of Camp Pinnacle for boys in Flat Rock, North Carolina. He was also a founding member and president of the Andrus Family Fund, a New York-based foundation that supports reconciliation in communities - including the landmark settlement between the police and the city of Cincinnati, following racial tensions in that community.

Upon accepting his appointment at MVS Benedict said, “my family and I look forward to joining The Miami Valley School community.  On our visit we were very impressed with the character of the students, the enthusiasm of the faculty, and the commitment of the parents and board of trustees.”

The Miami Valley School is located at 5151 Denise Drive in Kettering.

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