The Mayor’s Corner

Charting New Courses

As Spring 2025 is right around the corner, the city has been busy executing on several projects as well as planning for the future. To which, if you did not yet have the opportunity to view the HCTV recording of the 2025 State of the City, you can watch it on the city’s website at hudson.oh.us/stateofthecity. There are many large projects and initiatives underway to not only serve the residents of Hudson, but to also ensure that Hudson remains an amazing pace to live, work, visit and attend school.

Please note that the Hudson area schools will be closed for Spring Break from March 24-28. For the students, staff and families who take vacation, please enjoy the time off and, as always, be safe. Soon after returning from break, several area cities, including Hudson, will be working to regionally promote the upcoming Ohio Rubber Duck Dash and Duck Hunt. The Duck Dash event will take place in Cuyahoga Falls on Sunday, April 27, at Waterworks Park, where thousands of rubber ducks will be released into the Cuyahoga River. The event is presented by the Six District Compact EntrepreNew Pathways program, funded by the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, and in collaboration with the Akron Rubber Ducks. Students from Hudson have been instrumental in helping to plan and design the course and overall race. The event will also include a 1-mile Waddle Run, food trucks and family-friendly entertainment. In addition and leading up to the event, the cities of Hudson, Akron, Cuyahoga Falls and Tallmadge will locally be displaying three 12-foot-tall inflatable ducks to help raise awareness and support for the program and event. Please look to the joint social media campaigns for more information as well as how to participate in the Duck Hunt contest.

Furthermore, the Hudson Area Chamber of Commerce and myself along with members of city council have conducted and are planning several additional ribbon cuttings here in town. MOD: Matter of Design is under new ownership and three new businesses have opened in the downtown area: The Spice & Tea Exchange, The Poppy Shop and Couture Amore. Thank you to these businesses as well as every business who has chosen to operate here in Hudson. Best wishes to all for much success. Information on businesses and local merchants within Hudson can be found at the chamber’s website at explorehudson.com or the city’s at hudson.oh.us/866/shopping-and-dining. Please also consider signing up for the city’s weekly E-News via the following webpage at hudson.oh.us/222/news-alerts-publications.

On a final note, did you know that Lincoln Ellsworth, the son of James W. Ellsworth was featured on a U.S. Postage Stamp for his exploits at the North Pole and Antarctica in the 1920s and ‘30s? The stamp was issued in 1988 as part of a block of four stamps featuring American polar explorers. Do you also know this is why the Hudson sports teams are called the Explorers?Thank You, Salute and Happy Spring 2025.