The Grapevine

February is designated as National Kindness Month, the goal being to remind us that every kind act matters. Our community makes kindness a habit every day of every month, and I am honored to highlight a few of these difference-making acts. 

Kaitlyn Newey, Lucy Prewitt and Milena Blagojevic, fifth-graders at Bath Elementary School, founded the Kindness Clubto encourage kindness and make acts of kindness more visible in the school building. Meeting at recess with the support of Kristi Kerrigan, they hand-wrote 74 notes, one for each of the teachers and staff, and are working on 200 notes to place in the lockers of the entire fifth-grade student body. The club has since grown to include Catherine Steiger, Brielle Witenzgroff and Josie Stanos.  

Scheduling to receive the COVID-19 vaccine is not always a user-friendly process and requires time, patience and internet-enabled devices. Catherine Harris and her daughter Caitlyn realized a need in our community to help after navigating through the procedure for their elderly loved ones. They made it their mission to help others find a vaccination appointment through a community forum. In just a few short weeks, they helped more than 70 people get scheduled.  

Bath Community Fund recently surpassed $1 million in endowment assets. This allows the fund to award $50,000 in grants every year in perpetuity to nonprofits serving the Bath community. The milestone was reached because of the generosity of more than 300 donors, as well as the dedication and tireless efforts of BCF Advisory Board. Kathy Sidaway is the chair and Jody Miller Konstand serves as development chair. Nancy Fay, Scott Siddall, Diana McCool, Jim Bernard, the Rev. Mark Frey, Jen Hardin, Mary Anne Krejci and Kevin Kroskey also volunteer their time on the advisory board. 

Dylan Newey shows off his Team Player of the Season certificate.

Congratulations to second-grader Dylan Newey, son of Drs. Sarah and Christopher Newey, for being named Team Player of the Season for the Game Day basketball program at Grace Church in Bath.  

From left, Laura Guilliam and her daughter Elyssa Zablo, Dana McKinney and her mother Debbie McVay Williams, and Faye Konstantinopoulo and her daughter Sia Konstantinopoulo celebrate 18 years of friendship.

To celebrate more than 18 years of friendship, Faye Konstantinopoulo and her daughter, Sia Konstantinopoulo; Debbie McVay Williams and her daughter, Dana McKinney; and Laura Guilliam and her daughter, Elyssa Zablo; get together annually for dinner at Fleming’s in Montrose. They have been friends since their days at Hillcrest (Richfield) Elementary School and started this tradition about a decade ago.  

Julie Staiger and her It’s All About Kids Preschool team have taught together for more than 25 years, 10 in Bath. They are searching for a new location in the Bath area, as their building on Granger Road was recently sold and their lease was not renewed. They are passionate about serving all children and offering a fun, meaningful place of learning that fosters inclusion.  

Lisa and David Craine pose before the Terminal Tower that was lit up in green in honor of World Cholangiocarcinoma Day.

Terminal Tower in downtown Cleveland was lit up a vibrant shade of green on Feb. 12 in honor of World Cholangiocarcinoma Day. Lisa Craine, founder ofCraine’s Cholangiocarcinoma Crew, has made it her mission to support patients and their families and raise money for life-saving research. She received the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award last year for her volunteer work raising funds and awareness for bile duct cancers. 

Suzie Dorner talks on a Zoom call with Revere Communications Specialist Jennifer Reece.

Suzie Dorner, a 2008 Revere graduate and COVID-19 ICU nurse manager at Tampa General Hospital, performed the pregame coin toss at the Super Bowl on Feb. 7. She was surprised to be chosen as one of three honorary captains for the game, she told Revere Communications Specialist Jennifer Reece in a Zoom interview.

Dorner got a Zoom call from the executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. “I was assuming he was going to be presenting me with a few [Super Bowl] tickets to pass out to my team members,” she told Reece.

But retired Tampa Bay Pro Bowler Derrick Brooks got on the call and said Dorner was going to be one of the honorary captains of Super Bowl LV.

She appreciates the recognition of the tireless work all front-line healthcare workers have done throughout the pandemic.

“I have an amazing team that I work with, and we try to keep things positive and hold each other up, because day in and day out, we show up,” Dorner told Reece. “We’re here, providing world-class care to this patient population.”

Madeleine Slesnick has been named to the dean’s list for the fall 2020 semester at High Point University. Eddie Schwertner a graduate of Revere High School, graduated with a Master of Accountancy from Baldwin Wallace University.

Please share your stories, milestones and news by emailing it to me at AVukoder@scriptype.com. ∞