All right.

Good people.

Now, we will begin our program for today.

My name is Curtis Minter, Jr.

And I have the privilege to serve as president of Akron Roundtable board of directors.

The roundtable welcomes you to the great Quaker Station in the heart of downtown Akron, where we host our signature luncheons each month.

There has been so much work, so much hard work.

Put forth by the board.

Our staff, the volunteers and speakers to bring this year into fruition.

And I'd be remiss if we just not did not take a moment, to celebrate those, who do the day to day to ensure, beautiful events like these come into full fruition.

And so if all the staff and board members would take a stand, just for a few moments and be celebrated with an applause.

Thank you so much.

With that, Akron roundtable is extraordinarily proud to share that we are celebrating our 50th anniversary.

It is certainly an exciting time, and it is a milestone that offers us a meaningful moment to honor our history.

Reflect on our achievements and look ahead to the next chapter of our work.

Throughout the anniversary year, we will welcome speakers with deep Akron roots who have gone on to make a remarkable impact in the world.

Their stories will help inspire us, connect us, and remind us why Echo Roundtable's legacy is so important and why the future matters.

At this time, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge our sponsors, our title sponsor, which is State and Federal Communications.

Our luncheon sponsor, the Vorys law firm.

And our 50th anniversary sponsors Huntington Bank and the Billow funeral homes.

Let's give them a round of applause.

You may also notice, that the room looks a bit different today.

We've refreshed our visual identity for the celebration, including a commemorative commemorative.

Excuse me.

Anniversary logo, new banners and updated signage.

Please be sure to take full advantage following our time together today.

Get a selfie and take a picture with your friends and colleagues.

And now I invite you to turn your attention to the screens beside me.

So that we can share with you a special video commemorating our 50th anniversary.

Thank you.

For 50 years, the Akron Roundtable has been a source of inspiration, connection, and enlightenment as an essential part of the Akron community through its relevant and thought provoking forums.

The Akron Roundtable has distinguished itself as a place for new ideas, fresh perspectives, and compelling stories from public servants, civic leaders, young professionals, artists, educators, and more.

Since 1976, all have been welcome to attend roundtable events to create connection, foster dialog and build community Monthly signature series, luncheons and special events showcase speakers from around the globe who inform and inspire.

The Akron Roundtable celebrates its 50th anniversary.

As it looks forward to the next half century of bringing the world to Akron.

Special thanks to past board member Ed Markey and videographer Gabriel Delgado just give them a round of applause.

Now it's time for me to get out of the way.

Dan has graciously agreed to take questions from the audience, following his presentation today.

Akron roundtable board member, Mac Love will moderate the Q&A.

To submit a question, please refer to the brochures at your table or scan the QR code on either screen.

Feel free to submit your questions at any time.

If you would like to submit a question but are without access to a mobile device, please be sure to utilize the note cards at your table.

A member of our staff will be available to collect those from you all during the Q&A session.

In consideration of our speakers and audience, we ask that you take a moment to silence your phones and we look forward to our time together today.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Curtis.

My name is Bret Treier.

I'm the board chair of the Ohio and Erie Canal Coalition, and I am thrilled to be here today to introduce the first speaker of your 50th year of the Akron Roundtable.

It's just a fantastic experience for everybody, I'm sure.

It's been my privilege to have work with Dan Rice since joining the Ohio and Erie Canal Board in 2006, just two years before one of his seminal accomplishments, the restoration and relocation of the Richard Howe House.

And, Dan, we really should talk about those term limits.

You know, much of what the OECC has accomplished under Dan's leadership for over three decades, I believe, is the result primarily of two hallmark traits.

And no, they're not his laugh and they're not his phrase to be perfectly transparent, because we've heard that a few times.

No, it's his work ethic and his integrity.

James Brown may have been the hardest working man in show business, but Mr.

Rice is the hardest working man in the nonprofit world.

I think achieving a better work life balance has been one of his CEO goals every year since I've been on the board.

Right, Nancy?

But seriously, he has been indefatigable in the pursuit of the missions of the Ohio and Erie Canal Way in our national heritage area.

And throughout that pursuit, Dan has maintained the highest level of integrity.

His word is his bond.

Our partners have learned early on that when Dan makes a commitment on behalf of the OECC, they could count on it.

The benefits from that level of credibility and trust are simply immeasurable.

I believe that the combined power of these two hallmark traits helped drive the legacy that Dan leaves, leading the OECC in creating these critical spaces for all of our communities to enjoy for many lifetimes to come.

For Dan's leadership and this legacy, we're all ever grateful, and I'm sure you're looking forward to hearing more about those spaces today.

So with that, Mr.

Rice, please join us.

In my 32 years, I've never been compared to James Brown, so I'm really flattered.

I want to I want to thank Bret for that very kind and generous introduction.

I also want to thank the Akron Roundtable in their board of directors for the invitation to speak today and serve as your opening speaker for the 50th anniversary.

I am truly, deeply honored and humbled by this opportunity.

There is a direct connection between the Akron Roundtable and the Ohio and Erie Canal and Towpath Trail, because they both sit at the intersection of our past, present, and our future.

It was 200 years ago when Captain Richard Howell, whose building that we restored that Bret referred to, engineered the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Summit Lake, which led to the founding of Akron, Summit County and the current Ohio and Erie Canal Way and Towpath Trail.

2026 also marks the 30th anniversary of the passage of the congressional legislation designating the Ohio and Erie Canal Way over the past 32 years.

I've had the privilege of working alongside thousands of passionate and dedicated residents, donors, elected officials, government agencies, and public private partners who are committed to the development of this regional project.

I'm especially grateful to our key partners in Cuyahoga County, Canal Way Partners, as well as Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Here comes that phrase.

In the interest of complete transparency.

If I come across as preachy at times, it's because, as the great grandson of a Baptist minister, I come by this naturally.

It's in my DNA.

It is very humbling to work on the Ohio and Erie Canalway and the Towpath Trail, and it is the honor of my professional career to have walked this path through the ups and downs with all of you.

A transportation system that was built over 200 years ago by hand is still here with us today, and enjoyed by over 2.5 million hikers and bicyclists.

None of us walk this road alone, and we all stand on the shoulders of giants and two giants of the Ohio and Erie Canal Way.

Are Congressman John Seiberling and Congressman Ralph Regula, both of these incredible leaders are responsible for the creation of Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Ohio and Erie Canal Way National Heritage Area.

Without them, Northeast Ohio would look very different today.

As visionary leaders, they recognize the importance of balancing resource conservation and economic development, resident led initiatives, and the power of public private partnerships.

I am grateful for their mentorship and their wisdom and two of their favorite quotes Continue to guide our work.

Congressman Regula would often quote the famous quote by President Kennedy that victory has a thousand fathers in defeat is an orphan.

Congressman Seiberling had a plaque on his desk that read, it's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't worry about who gets the credit.

And to me, those are the most powerful guiding principles of our work.

When the Ohio and Erie Canal Way National Heritage Area legislation passed in 1996, Congress directed us to build trails, preserve historic buildings, and conserve natural areas.

However, there were two catches.

One, they didn't give us all the money, and two, you don't have any authorities.

So good luck.

When the passage of the legislation was achieved, it was a major accomplishment.

It was a key milestone.

We learned quickly that passing a law was very different than developing the Ohio and Erie Canal Way and Towpath Trail.

In those early days, we were met with skepticism and doubt about why you would want to invest in and save a dirty old stinky canal, or walk or ride along a bicycle, walk or ride a bicycle on the Towpath trail.

Something that we all love and utilize today.

Believe it or not, was not a guarantee.

It was not a done deal.

And many of the folks in the room today know that.

It required polite, tenaciousness and a whole lot of faith.

Cultivating public private partnerships can be messy and challenging.

Just imagine inviting engineers, planners, tourism directors, elected officials, park agencies, chambers of commerce, government agencies and farmers to come together and develop a regional shared vision.

We asked planners and engineers to imagine a smooth, wide trail for hikers and bicycles instead of an overgrown dirt path along the littered, stinky canal.

We asked tourism directors to imagine promoting restaurants and hotels to individuals and families taking multi-day trips on the Towpath Trail.

We encourage park agencies to view the Towpath Trail as long linear parks with regional connections.

And we had to persuade elected officials to imagine this pie in the sky idea was worth political and financial capital.

That seems like a heavy lift.

But what we were really doing was asking them to imagine themselves as partners.

As my good friend Chris Thompson has often said, partnerships and collaborations are neither perfect nor painless, and they are unnatural acts amongst unconsenting adults.

Our community and partners included early believers, people on the fence, doubting Thomases that needed to be convinced.

We learned that sometimes partners can be visionary impaired since they are unable to see the future and have a scarcity of resources, mentality.

To address these challenges, we utilize the approach of how might we work together to address concerns, leverage resources, and fulfill our shared mission.

We learned the importance of being present, developing authentic relationships, and seeking understanding about the concerns of our partners.

One example of a unique partnership along the Ohio Canal Towpath Trail is a development of the PPG section of the trail in southern Summit County.

This six mile section of the Ohio and Erie Canal is privately owned by PPG industries, and prior to the development of the Towpath Trail, PPG had experienced vandalism and trespassing on their property.

and they were the least bit interested in encouraging more public access to their property.

To address PPG's concerns, we purchased ATVs and donated them to PPG in the city of Barberton so they could monitor their property and eliminate vandalism.

Through conversations with Summit Metroparks and PPG industries, we identified the route of the Ohio and Erie canal Towpath Trail on the edge of their property, away from their industrial operations in Summit Metropark.

Most importantly, offered to maintain this section of the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail.

Through the leadership of Summit Metroparks PPG industries.

Ohio and Erie Canal Way Coalition We address the concerns and identified a creative solution to develop this important section of the Towpath Trail that has since become a model for working with private partners in Tuscarawas County.

This is just one example of our creative partnerships, and believe me, every section of the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail has its own unique story.

We'd be here all night if I talked about all 92 miles.

Through the incredible dedication and commitment of our park agencies and public private partners.

92 miles of the 101 miles of the Towpath trail are completed, and the remaining nine miles are in planning and development.

Working together, we developed a coalition of the willing who recognize the importance and value of resource conservation and its relationship to community and economic development by engaging local businesses, corporations, park agencies, convention and visitors bureau health care professionals.

We changed the perception from just being an environmental project to a community and economic development project, gaining the support of companies like Goodyear, Huntington, PNC, First Energy, Akron Children's Hospital, Enbridge and Cleveland Clinic, Akron General, just to name a few, marked Another key milestone in the development of the Ohio and Erie Canal Way and Towpath trail.

By incorporating our mission of resource conservation parks and trails into their everyday way of doing business.

We successfully positioned the Ohio and Erie Canal Way and the Towpath Trail as a catalyst for regional, community and economic development.

Public private partnerships are the foundation of our work, and we cannot fulfill our mission without the active engagement, investment and support of our partners, residents, corporate members and donors.

One of the most important lessons that we have learned is that the Ohio and Erie Canal Way and Towpath Trail are more than just a trail for recreation.

It is truly a catalyst for regional thinking and community economic development that generates annually $408 million in economic impact, supports 4200 jobs, and generates $34 million in tax revenue.

And most importantly, it is a transportation corridor with regional connections that is a refuge for our health and wellness.

Over the past ten years, due to the polarization in our society and the impacts of Covid, our shared work is now more relevant and more important than ever before.

When the world shut down in 2020 and nobody could go to the movies, concerts, sporting events or even church, where did we go?

We went to our parks, trails and public spaces for physical and emotional relief as well as mental healing.

This experience affirmed our belief that parks, trails and public spaces are truly essential services just like water, sewer and public safety.

And we believe that everyone deserves high quality design, accessible, equitable and welcoming parks, trails and public spaces regardless of their race, gender, education, income and experience.

I told you, wed get to the preaching part, didn't I?

When we spend time together in civic spaces with people who look differently than us, have a different age, gender, income, education and experience.

We find that we have more in common with each other than divides us.

Our shared love of place enhances our connectivity to each other and increases increases appreciation for different perspectives.

Through our resident led Akron Civic Commons work in partnership with the City of Akron.

We learn that the residents of the Summit Lake neighborhood did not have access to high quality parks and public spaces.

We learned that there was only one bench at Summit Lake, and it did not even face the lake Since there were no seats available.

Through surveys, we talked with residents who informed us that they had to sit in their cars to write poetry and sit in chairs on a hot asphalt parking lot with a legacy of things done to and not with, and things promised and not delivered.

We were met with justified skepticism and a gulf of mistrust.

Thanks to the willingness of residents to be vulnerable and take a risk in the leadership of community leaders like Grace Hudson and Sandy Salisbury, we began the process of earning trust and building authentic relationships with neighbors through resident lead dinners.

Neighborhood surveys.

S'mores parties.

We tested ideas and improvements at Summit Lake, including swings, grills, a pop up nature center, and shaded seating.

Built on the initial success of that prototyping Summit Metroparks built a brand new $2.2 million nature center and working with neighborhood residents.

We are co-creating the Summit Lake Vision Plan, including a 2.25 mile trail around Summit Lake, a picnic pavilion, a boathouse, a fishing pier, an accessible canoe, a kayak launch, a boat launch, and shaded seating.

And I am proud to report to you today that the Summit Lake North Shore Park, is on budget and it is on schedule with a proposed ribbon cutting in the spring of this year.

Akron citizens have taught all of us, including me, about the importance of earning trust, honoring commitments and delivering results, and showing that your words match your deeds.

As I previously stated, we do not walk this road alone, and we do it with grace and humility.

I want to recognize and express my gratitude to my mentors, partners, donors, and colleagues who made my career possible.

Special thanks to our Board of Directors, our team members, and all of our volunteers for their tremendous commitment to support.

And I'm especially grateful to my family.

My lovely wife Nancy and her daughter Rachel for their unconditional love and support.

I could not do my job without them, and so I am so grateful to my family and all my partners.

So thank you.

While I appreciate the kind words and accolades.

This Is Not About Me is about the thousands of advocates and champions, elected officials, government agencies, residents, donors, past, present, and future who are making the Ohio and Erie Canal Way and the Towpath Trail a reality.

While we have achieved great progress with the completion of 92 miles of the Towpath Trail.

The preservation of the Mustill store and the Richard Howe House.

The development of lock three and Summit Lake Northshore parks and regional trail connections.

Much work remains some of the project over the next five years, including completing the Towpath Trail.

The reimagining of Lock Two Park updating the Summit County Trail plan, and the development of the Rubber City Heritage Trail.

As I move to my conclusion, the Ohio and Erie Canal, Way and the Towpath Trail, have evolved from an idea to a national model of how to build trust with residents while co-creating accessible, equitable and welcoming parks, trails and public spaces.

Working together, we are truly creating a legacy for future generations.

Thank you very much.

At this time, I have the honor and privilege of inviting Bridget Marquis, who is the national director of the Reimagine Civic Commons Initiative.

This is an initiative that has been conducted over the past 12 years.

Bridget has coordinated ten cities across the country.

Akron was incredibly blessed and fortunate to be one of those cities selected, really through the persistence and leadership of Kyle Kutuchief of the Knight Foundation And so we're just humbled and honored that Bridget is here with us today.

And so she, over the past 12 years, she has, personally championed Akron and challenged us to aspire higher.

So, quite honestly, any success we've had in Akron is really do a lot to Bridgets leadership.

So, Bridget, welcome to the table here.

Well thank you, Dan.

As everyone who knows Dan knows, he might be the humblest man and gives credit to just about everyone else instead of taking it for himself.

So before I ask my first question, please, a huge round of applause.

For this leader in Akron.

So, Dan, you talked about this in your remarks, but I would love to just dig in.

You're a true visionary leader.

When most people saw an old dirty canal.

You saw a potential regional asset.

And now you're 90% complete on that 101 mile trail.

It serves more than 2.5 million visitors each year.

Similarly, when many Akronites saw Summit Lake as a liability Right?

A lake that residents wanted fenced off, you saw it as a gathering space and a natural amenity, really waiting to be rediscovered by Summit Lake residents and all of Akron.

What inspires you to see a different future for some of these latent assets?

Id say it's a couple things.

And I, you know, I mentioned, you know, kind of the giants of our work.

We stand on the shoulders of them.

And Mr.

Regula and Mr.

Seiberling I mean, you know, they had that same vision.

I can't even imagine because they they started it in the 1960s to try to champion these initiatives, both Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Ohio and Erie Canal Way and the Towpath Trail.

And and so I'm really inspired by, you know, visionary leaders.

You know, John F.- President John F Kennedy had it as a great quote as well that, you know, some people see things as they are and ask why other people see things and ask why not?

And, you know, as you know, Bridget, I've always been a positive person.

Because life is way too short to be miserable is the approach that I take, and I always like a challenge, to be honest with you.

Maybe it's because I was just a ornery, stubborn kid growing up.

But, you know, sometimes when people tell me that I can't do something that actually pretty much guarantees I'm going to do everything I can to make sure to see if I can make it happen.

And so really, I think it's an unwillingness to accept the status quo.

And so when you look at, you know, whether it's development of Cuyahoga Valley National Park The Ohio and Erie Canal Way and the Towpath Trail or Summit Lake It just because it's been that way doesn't mean it has to be that way.

And the other inspiration that I derive from are really community leaders, to be perfectly honest with you.

People like, Kyle Kueuchief, Bill and Becky Considine, Roger and Sally Read, who they dedicate their lives, as well as many other people in this room to this community to make it better.

And one of the phrases that Kyle and I often talk to talk about is leadership matters.

Leadership matters at every level.

It matters at the front line It matters at the middle level matters at the top level.

And you know it when you see it.

And you also know it when you don't have it.

And so for all those reasons combined, when you have visionary leaders who provide you inspiration, and are committed to doing better in this community, it really is to me an obligation to step up.

And then lastly, I would say the residents, the residents really inspired us.

I mean, early and Grace Hudson sitting over here, she can tell the story probably better than I can.

But I remember when we first started having conversations with neighborhood residents.

In the first reaction, when we asked what what they'd like to see at Summit Lake, or why would you want to come there?

The first response was, as you well know, was just put a fence around the lake because they were literally afraid because they couldn't see where the water began and the land ended they were afraid their kids were going to drown.

Very legitimate concern.

And and so we kind of checked ourselves.

We could have immediately kind of jumped and said, you know, we should do this.

But the residents led the way.

And I know Grace, you were there, and the residents were the ones that said, no, we need to create some shaded seating.

We need to put some picnic benches.

We need to put some grills there.

The phrase we heard was, we just want a place to sit, talk, and have a grill.

And, thanks to Lisa King, Summit Metro Parks.

I mean, you know, it is not about me.

I should be clear about this.

But Lisa came forward and helped to install those early activations, and it was a game changer.

It really so I think residents were really, you know, surprised.

And lastly, I will share with you that there's a great book.

My team members know this, by secretary, Secretary of State Colin Powell.

It's called lessons I Learned in Life and Leadership.

And he had 13 rules on his desk.

He kept them everywhere he went.

I've copied those same rules because they're really great rules.

One of them I love a lot is a positive attitude.

is a force multiplier.

And the other phrase he used was always show more kindness than seems necessary, because the other person needs it more than you ever know.

And I thought that those are really two good points.

Well, you are definitely a force multiplier Dan Rice.

I also I run this national network with 11 cities across the country.

And when we onboard new cities, I often described Dan as the ultimate collaborator.

Right.

I mean, you heard him list the millions of people in this room and beyond that he has worked with over his career, to get things done.

Can you talk about sort of how have you moved people to come alongside you in this visionary work?

And also, importantly, what strategies have you used to overcome those who will simply never be moved?

We all know those people exist in every community, right?

What is how do you get over that?

How do you move them or at least move around them?

Correct.

So we employ a tactic, as I mentioned in my remarks, that phrase of ‘how might we And again, we learned this, the rematches of a commons.

And what I love about that phrase, ‘how might we is it's, it's very aspirational.

It's for invitation.

And it implies we're doing this together.

It's not one agency doing this, and it changes the way organizations work.

And a huge compliment to the city of Akron.

All of our funders, all of our partners, because they've actually incorporated these values in the way they do business.

And so I think that's the challenge.

You know, how might we reimagine a public space where people feel welcome and there are things to do there that they would like to do there But then you also mentioned, you know, concerns about, just people who are, opposed or not on board yet.

The doubting Thomases that I, the phrase I used earlier and probably the poster child for that really was the The Summit Lake Trail that was developed.

Many folks were part of that process.

It was a concept that the residents asked for on both sides of the lake.

But we did receive opposition, and, I kind of put it into three different buckets of opposition.

You know, Bret referred to my lovely wife Nancy, as I did as well.

The first bucket is some people just don't like change.

Ask Nancy if she moves something at home, all of a sudden I don't like it because it's changed.

I mean, so by by human nature, we just don't like change.

And then secondarily, on the west side of Summit Lake, there were no sidewalks.

So there was a perception of, well, this is kind of an extension of my property, the edge of the lake.

And then to be perfectly transparent with you.

We definitely encountered racial bias, where some folks just actually made statements that we don't want those people on our side of the lake, and that's hurtful.

And it's wrong.

And when those things are said, we need we need to correct them.

And so we had to very politely say, first of all, it's not your lake, it's the city of Akrons lake it's everybody's lake, everybody's deserves it.

And so how might we, you know, test this idea.

And we learned from Detroit.

As you all know, our colleagues in Detroit have this great phrase to to test ideas.

Light quick.

They use the word cheap.

We don't like cheap.

So we use inexpensive.

So test ideas light cheap and inexpensive.

And so as many folks know, we tested the Summit Lake Trail for two years because, people were concerned that there'd be vandalism, there'd be theft.

And after two years, none of those things happened.

So prototyping is a very, very powerful tool.

And then the other thing we've learned is, some people's reality is a perception, but it's not.

But it is their reality.

And so we need to recognize that and show them a different reality.

You know, not all people using trails are bad people.

And you folks here are you trail users, I suspect.

And so it just it's just trying to show them a different world.

And we will do make every attempt to do that.

Take them and and have them talk to other adjacent property owners where there's existing trails.

Show them other examples.

But then sometimes they're just they're just not willing to be moved and, I accept that.

But but if a coalition of the willing and we as a community have identified this as a priority, then we need to move forward.

But I never I never give up on folks like that because these are always trying to meet them where they are.

I think that's important.

- Always the optimist.

- Try.

I want to talk about trust for a moment.

So Dan brought this up in his remarks.

But the trend lines on trust across the country are quite dismal.

Yeah.

Here in Akron, Civic Commons work is really bucking this trend.

Right?

So residents, we did metrics work, and did a lot of surveying work.

Residents of all three neighborhoods of focus downtown Ohio and Erie Canal Park and Summit Lake saw trust in local institutions increase across all three geographies.

In fact, this figure nearly doubled, among Summit Lake residents.

So how?

Right?

What's your secret in a, in a moment where trust is literally on the decline just about everywhere in this country.

What's your secret for building trust through these efforts?

What's your what's your process?

How does that work for you?

And what might others learn from that?

I think it just starts with the conversation sitting down and truly seeking understanding while listening, being present.

You know, there's another great phrase.

As many folks know, I love my quotes.

One of my favorite quotes is there's a reason why God gave you two ears and one mouth.

You're supposed to listen twice as much as you talk.

And so we really try to apply that principle and meet people where they are.

And because there clearly have been valid examples of where there's been a legacy of things done to people and not with them.

And what I found in those circumstances, I wasn't there for when it happened.

But I have to show empathy.

I have to recognize that that's not the way we do business and that we need to reckon with that.

And then, to be perfectly honest with you, the next step then, is the question.

And I actually did it last night at a meeting where we had a trail meeting.

When this woman was sharing with me, you know, you know, the things that had basically created mistrust for her.

I said, you're right.

It shouldn't be done that way.

Now, my my, my next question to you, ma'am, is, are you willing to try one more time?

Are you willing to be vulnerable?

Are you willing to work with us and hold me accountable?

Hold us accountable to make sure that our words match our deeds?

And it's a stretch.

And that's why, as I continue to say, it's the residents who deserve the credit because they chose to be vulnerable.

They could have easily said, forget it.

Here comes another white, middle aged privileged male.

I've heard it all before.

You know we don't need we don't need to be heard again.

I get it.

But for residents to be vulnerable to me, that's the ball game.

It really is.

And then how might we work together?

It's no different than our relationships with our family members, with our coworkers.

It's being transparent.

It's being present.

And really trying to understand.

And then can we work this together?

I think you nailed it, Bridget.

In our society today, we're way too quick to respond to what somebody says as opposed to really listen to what they say.

And I'm probably just as guilty of that as well.

And it's something, you know, we're all works in progress.

We just need to keep working at it.

- Yeah, I really appreciate the sort of deep listening and then validation as being step one of trust building.

Right.

And, and that we can do things together and kind of reframing.

- Well, because the other thing I'd add to that is and again this is something Grace Hudson has seen us always, as always talked about.

And early on in our reimagine civic commons work because our four values with the reimagine civic commons: building relationships, Socioeconomic mixing, environmental sustainability, and value creation.

In early on, there was a lot of, you know, encouragement to build something, to do something, to do a project.

And we were really trying to build trust.

And it just takes time.

And I remember asking you, which is more important is it building the relationship or getting the project done?

And to your credit, You said it's getting the relationship, and that's when we learn that projects move at the speed of trust.

You cannot rush the relationship because if you don't focus on the people, it doesn't matter what you build.

You get to focus on the people.

- And you have.

So the work that you're leading is, is your legacy.

Right?

But it's also generational in nature.

And I know you will never take credit for it.

Can you talk about how your approach is creating kind of positive, lasting momentum?

How will this work continue in the future?

- Yeah, so that is one of the tensions and challenges within our work.

And really, it is a credit to the city of Akron for their willingness to come along with us in this initiative.

And it's very exciting to see people like, Eufrancia Lash, and Michelle DiFiore, and Chris Ludle and all our city of Akron partners who've embraced, you know, this new way of doing business.

But it's not just the city of Akron, it's Summit Metroparks, it's Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority, its Akron Community Foundation.

You know, you know, Summit County government, you know, all those partners, you know, the Knight Foundation.

It's all those partners working together who basically incorporate all those values into their everyday way of doing business.

And, you know, one of the tensions that we face is that the work that we do on parks, trails and public spaces, it's five, ten, 15, 20 years.

It's the payback, isn't it's not going to happen in 2 or 3 years.

And the tension there is with the elected officials.

Oftentimes they're working on a time frame of a two year term, four year term in a six year term.

And so that's truly one of the tensions in our work.

And really, to the credit of Mayor Malik and definitely Mayor Horrigan.

This project has spanned two administrations and there's not been any hiccup at all.

It worked seamlessly.

And to me, that's that's actually the way you sustain that is you make sure that you embed this in all organizations at all levels, not just at the top levels, not just at the service director level, but the Michelle DiFiore level and the Travis Capper level.

And that what that way it becomes sustainable.

And then the other initiative that we have is, as you all know, we, hire youth, led by Marcus Salisbury on our team whos a Summit Lake Resident, hes right over there.

Marcus leads our Summit, Lake youth ambassador program, in which we hire youth from the neighborhood to help steward Summit lake park Tuesday.

Wednesday.

Thursday, nine to noon.

We have, some, team leaders.

Ms Grace Hudson's a team leader.

My wife's a team leader, and they serve as mentors to the kids.

George as well.

And Mary and, you know, they they learn how to steward the space and they also are part of the reimagine Civic Commons network.

And they have these really bright blue vests, people on the Towpath Trail I know many folks have stopped and thank them for picking up the trash or weeding.

And, to me, that's building what started out.

Just stewarding a space is more than stewarding a space.

It's now providing employment, skill development and also really reinvigorating pride in the Summit Lake neighborhood.

- Yeah, it's a great example of civic engagement and action.

What keeps you up at night?

What what are your big concerns in this moment?

- Yeah.

Really sustaining the work.

And making sure that people commit to it 100% and are responsible for it.

You know, oftentimes people think that, money is the issue.

Money is not the issue.

I said this for 32 years, and I'm retiring later this year, and I'm going to go out on a high note, because in 32 years, I've never seen a project fail because of lack of money.

Never.

Zero.

Bet at a thousand.

It's about the vision.

And sometimes partners have a scarcity of mentality approach where I literally had a partner tell me once, I can't afford to partner in.

My response was, you can't afford not to partner because you don't have enough resources.

And so how do we still maintain that coalition?

How do we continue to leverage resources at the local, private, state and federal level?

And then also, how do we really start to build a attitude of an abundance of resources as opposed to a scarcity of resources, because the money is always out there.

I've had many elected officials tell me, oh, well, the money's not there.

And I understand there's there's there are constraints.

Absolutely.

But there's also choices we make.

Do we want to have clean water, safe streets, water and sewer.

And I happen to believe and I know I'm biased, but parks, trails and public spaces are just as important as those things.

- It's about priorities.

- Absolutely.

So we have time for about one more question before we take questions from all of you.

You're retiring later this year after 32 years of service through this organization.

- Thank you.

So what advice would you give to your successor?

- It's a good question.

And I will start by saying that we are incredibly blessed that our organization is strong.

We have an amazing, talented team over here.

Right to my left, right here in the front row, who are passionate, dedicated.

We have amazing board of directors who provide amazing governance.

And we got great partners, donors.

So it's not broken.

So my advice is it's a great opportunity.

Appreciate and recognize the past and those who came before you, but build on it.

Take it to the next level.

This is how far we've taken it.

Where are you going to take it?

Because there's plenty of work to do.

And the work we do is really important because it impacts people's lives.

The other thing I would encourage them to do, just like I talked today, make sure that you maintain authentic, transparent relationships.

Make sure that your words match your deeds and listen when you go into those community meetings.

Just be a sponge.

Listen because the residents are the expert.

Always remember to keep the residents at the center of our work.

And lastly, have fun and be kind.

- Great words of advice.

As I bring up the moderator for Q&A, can we give Dan a big round.

Of applause and a thank you for your work?

- Thank you.

Dan, Bridget, thank you so much for this wonderful conversation.

I can't think of a better way to kick off our 50th anniversary year.

We've received several questions.

Actually, many questions in here from everyone.

So I'll try to cover, them as best I can.

First, I would like to ask if you could draw a line on a map of our region to represent a new multi-purpose trail.

Where would you put it?

Where would you like to see the next meaningful connection?

- I love that question.

Because it's actually already underway.

It's called the Industrial Heartland Trail.

That would actually if we would continue south of Tuscarawas County and Roger Reid and (unintelligable), they know this project well.

Head to the east, head to Pittsburgh.

Once we get to Pittsburgh, we get to Washington, DC.

And now we've connected within the Great Allegheny Passage.

So now the Ohio and Erie Canal Way Towpath Trail is part of a 700 mile trail network.

We're already part of the Ohio to Erie Trail.

Literally, if we wanted to go outside, we could head down to Columbus.

Once you get to Columbus.

You get to Cincinnati about a 300 mile trail network.

So we literally if that were to happen, we would be part of a thousand mile trail network.

You wouldn't have to get on the car, hop on your bicycle or walk.

So I love that question.

And it's not.

It's not going to happen in my tenure, but hopefully in the next 20 years.

- Well, we've got a lot of other great ones here.

I think it's a testament to how much your work has touched people's lives here.

While there were thousands of lessons, learned, experiences and memories over your 20 plus years.

What is the one that stands out above the rest that you hold near and dear to yourself?

- What's most stood out, to be honest with you, is our experience with the summit lake residents over the past ten years.

Unfortunately, Sandy Salisbury couldn't be here today because shes feeling under the weather.

But, I will never forget when I first met Sandy.

It didn't turn out well for me.

I'll be honest with you, because I made the statement of how we went out and talked with neighbors, and she reminded me that I didn't come to her house.

And then she proceeded to explain how, later that she googled me because she was trying to find some dirt on me, to which I said, Sandy, I'm sorry you wasted your time because I'm really not that interesting.

But this work changes you.

And for Sandy Salisbury, Grace Hudson and all the Summit Lake residents.

Tom, everybody.

You know, Joe Tucker, you know, Lisa Nunn For them to, choose to be vulnerable and choose to, willing to go on this journey with us.

That's the ball game.

And so I've gotten to know Sandy and her family, Marcus.

And it just means the world to me.

We have picnics, family picnics together now.

We mourn together, losing family members.

And it just it touches you.

And I've never had that opportunity before.

And I'm just very grateful for it.

And so I think that's probably, you know, probably the most memorable moment.

But there is one other memorable moment too, that, it's somewhat ironic.

So we were having a meeting, along the Ohio and Erie canal and towpath trail.

In one of the neighborhoods.

And we were talking about, you know, asking them what they'd like to see from a public space activation.

And there was one gentleman who was kept getting up and interrupting, and he was pretty adamant.

I mean, you know, Grace remembers the story Im going to tell here And so Grace Hudson was there.

Sandy Salisbury was there.

Shirley Finney was there.

It's after about 20 minutes of this, My mama bears.

as I will call them finally turned to this gentleman said, Will you please sit down and let this gentleman talk?

And to me, that was a moment because we developed a relationship and trust where, you know, they they were they were invested.

They were just as invested as everybody else was.

And that gentleman ended up leaving the meeting actually, unfortunately.

But- - Cant win em all - Cant win em all, no No, no, but the fact that Grace and Sandy and Miss Finney came immediately, that really meant a lot to me.

And it still does this day.

- So what specifically is on the top of your wish list for the city of Akron or Summit County for the next 15 years?

There's a lot of things.

Obviously, I'm going to focus more on parks, trails and public spaces.

But continue the work through, you know, Lisa King's incredible leadership, executive Shapiros leadership, Phil Montgomery, Ryan Nelson.

We are partnering on the Summit County Trail plan.

It is a 5- not 5 hundred, 250 mile plan for Summit County.

Our goal is that no resident is any more than a 20 minute walk or bicycle ride away from Regional Connector Trail.

We've made great progress on that.

We're about ready to kick off in March.

An update to that trail plan.

We hope you all come out to the public meetings you'll meet.

You'll be made aware of them, but we need to implement that.

Summit County was the first county to come up with the Summit County Trail plan, and it was through the leadership of Russ Pry, James McCarthy, and another young lady by name of Fran Buckles.

She's actually over here.

She was a metro Park commissioner at the time.

It was her inspiration.

So we need to implement that Summit County trail plan.

We also have other park projects, other park initiatives throughout the county.

We're working with the City of Akron on Lock two park.

We have much, much more work to do.

We also need to come together to develop strategies to help maintain and steward them as well.

We have endowment set up, but we need to do more.

So what type of strategies can we come up with to help maintain these?

So they look just as beautiful at 20 years from now as they do today.

- I think you've spoken to this a little bit, but given that next year is the 2027 bicentennial of the Akron Cleveland portion of the canal.

What can we do to help support it?

And also to just share the story of the success, this success.

- So, thank you so much, Mac, because, the Ohio and Erie Canal construction started in 1825 and it was completed 1827.

The first section of it.

And so we are working with our partners in Cleveland.

the Canal way partners, Caleb Metzger on our team to plan, some celebrations or commemorations to mark that celebration.

But it will also be an ongoing celebration because it was completed in 1832.

So their will also will be a celebration in 2032.

So it's going to be kind of a long celebration, but it definitely is going to recognize and celebrate the heritage of the Ohio and Erie Canal as really a transportation corridor and for community and economic development.

So more to come on that.

- Excellent.

And then here's another one that just came in.

How has the Civic Commons leveraged the civic and the over 182,000 people They brought downtown last year to help people who may not see themselves comfortable in nature, using it to connect to trails.

- Well, again, a lot of credit is due to the city of Akron for allowing us that permissiveness to work with them and to ask neighborhood residents of how we might reimagine lock three Park and also to Kyle Kutuchief my partner in, in this my key partner in this.

And, as many of you folks probably remember, lock three.

It was steep.

You couldn't get into it, had a fence around it.

Rightfully so, because of, there were alcohol permits.

But, it's really the residents who deserve the credit and asked, you know, why can't we have a high quality designed park, a central park in the center of our community, just like Detroit, Memphis and Philadelphia?

Why not Akron?

Akron deserves it just as much as anybody else.

Because as Kyle reminds me, where did LeBron James come to bring the trophy for the NBA championship?

He brought it to lock three Park.

And so that really was the inspiration is how can we make it a world class destination.

So working with the city, working with Olin studios, Howard Parr with the Akron Civic Theater does an amazing job of programing the space.

Work with Anser Advisory or construction manager, helping to manage it with Kenmore construction.

And the- We heard the residents loud and clear they wanted shaded seating.

They wanted a world class performance pavilion.

They wanted landscaped gardens.

They wanted access.

And Ill end on this note that after it was open, I- as I oftentimes do in these spaces, you probably see me loitering or just kind of lingering because I love these public spaces.

And also for those random conversations and I happened to run into a woman in a wheelchair, was walking her dog.

She had no idea who I was.

I didn't really introduce myself I wasn't interested in that.

And she immediately comment to me.

She goes, I'm so thankful that it's designed this way because now I can come into lock three Park because previously she couldn't get in there and she was just beaming on a bright spring day.

And to me, that's the ball game.

When you see people's lives who are impacted by parks, trails and public spaces.

It doesn't get any better than that.

You can't pay me enough.

It doesn't matter.

It's having impact on people's lives.

- And you've given us so many great quotes and also some book references here I am want to finish with just asking, what are you reading right now?

And who are some up and coming trail and historic preservation champions?

We should be keeping an eye on?

- Well, one of them happens to be sitting next to me right here, Bridget Marquis.

I mean, we have our whole room full of them, Mac.

To be honest with you, Kyle Kutuchief amazing mentor, Mitchell Silver.

Mitchell silver.

We had an Akron.

Lisas nodding her head out there.

He's the one We use the phrase of people believe the change that they experience and see.

Carol Coletta, from Memphis.

Alexa Bush from Detroit.

We are so blessed.

To have people who've mentored us and made a difference in our lives.

The book I'm reading, it's called The Girl in the photograph.

It's actually a fascinating book about a photograph of these Civil War peace commissioners as an air quotations, by the way, negotiating with the American Indians.

And there is a young woman in the center of the photograph.

And what the book is talking about is who is this young woman and why is she there?

And kind of the history of all the people associated in the photograph.

So it's actually a really fascinating book.

My wife Nancy knows I pick up books at one of my many roles is I gotta finish the book.

I don't ever put it down without finishing it.

And so but, that's that's one of my books I'm reading now.

But thank you.

- All right.

Thank you very much.

- Dan's lasting impact and legacy, is well represented in this room.

I received note that there are nearly 400 people here today.

And this is an amazing launch into our 50th anniversary.

So let's give Dan and everybody here today.

A round of applause.

At this time, I'd like to invite Angie Silva, to the podium to present our signature contemplative sun.

Along with a new special anniversary, sun, that our all of our speakers will receive, this year.

So appreciate you so much.

And thank you again, Dan Rice.

The artwork was created by Donn Drumm And is generously sponsored by Gardens Wealth Management.

With that, nearly brings our program to a close But we are extraordinarily proud that all of our speakers this year, either grew up in the area or spent a significant part of their life here.