Pioneer Days in Greenhills

I've always enjoyed the Pioneer Day weekend in Greenhills. It typifies summer and is truly a great opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate its heritage.

I often think we sell short the hard work of those individuals who make these volunteer-run events so successful. This event takes hours and hours of prep time, over many months for it to run smoothly, which, from all reports, seemed to be the case this year, as well.

I was a hanger-on with my wife, Liz who was walking with the Greenhills Gators floats in the parade. She was the registrar for the Gators this past season. I saw her and our neighbors, the Suffoleta's work very hard to make sure things ran smoothly prior to and during the season. My two youngest sons were on the team this summer with 100+ other young athletes this summer. Again, yet another great local institution in the community, with a host of great volunteers and a modestly paid staff of young trainers who work to teach the kids the proper technique, and at the same time help make the sport fun for every child.

One of my brushes with greatness during the parade was the opportunity to get my photo with "Binny," the official Rumpke mascot. I was genuinely suprised that Binny actually talked in costume. I was Yogi Bear for a summer at Kings Island, and we were sworn to silence while on International Street, on within earshot of any guest.

The continued development and facilitation of strong recreational programs, such as baseball, swimming and soccer, along a full calendar of community events throughout the year, is an important focus for me in maintaining a quality of life we've come to appreciate in Greenhills. I look forward to hearing your ideas on how we can best do that in the coming weeks as I get out in the community and hear your thoughts on what we need to do.