Tagged: cincinnati

Cincinnati East Poetry Meetup

Cincinnati East Poetry Meetup

Cincinnati East Poetry Meetup

I wanted to share that I started a Meetup.com group for poetry, Cincinnati East Poetry Meetup, where we workshop each other’s poetry.We listen and offer constructive feedback after the poet has read her or his work. And if we have time, we write together.

The prompt for our next meetup (from Kelli Russell Agodon – www.agodon.com – PDF): “Grab the closest book. Go to page 29. Write down 10 words that catch your eye. Use 7 of words in a poem. For extra credit, have 4 of them appear at the end of a line.We are a new group that shares our own poetry in an inclusive and supportive environment.  At the end of each meetup, we will decide a prompt for the next meeting, for those who need it.”

We’ve held two workshops so far, which went great. We meet on the last Wednesdays of the month. Sign up to get workshop info and join our community (it’s FREE)!

Thanks, Dad

When I was graduating from Ohio State with my master’s, my dad, Mike, was retiring.

He had built a respectable business for over 20 years as an insurance salesman. It was a hard roundup; many others rode beside him and couldn’t keep up. The key, he said, was don’t try to just snap up the big game and feast, but go for the small wins and keep the chuck wagon well-stocked.

So he asked me one day if I wanted to take over his business. He’d get me started, handing me his clients and teaching me his cowboy ways. But I brushed it off immediately. I wanted to mold myself myself.

I see now it was a privileged thing for him to offer me this gift. It was something tangible for me to start my life with. I never thanked him properly for his offer. I was a daughter engulfed in riches, being presented with nothing but opportunities.

So I thank you now, Dad, even though you are gone. I wanted to tell you I was selected in this year’s local Forty Under 40 Class. I know you would have been proud I’m thriving on this cattle drive.

Melissa Currence Forty Under 40

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National Voter Registration Day!

National Voter Registration DayToday is National Voter Registration Day!

Your vote is your voice! Make sure you’re registered to vote and you’ll be able to vote Tuesday, Nov. 3.

In 2008, 6 million Americans didn’t vote because they missed a registration deadline or didn’t know how to register. In 2015, we want to make sure no one is left out. On September 22, 2015, volunteers, celebrities, and organizations from all over the country will “hit the streets” for National Voter Registration Day.

This single day of coordinated field, technology and media efforts will create pervasive awareness of voter registration opportunities–allowing us to reach tens of thousands of voters who we could not reach otherwise.

If you are already registered to vote but have moved within Ohio and/or changed your name, you must update your voter registration. Click here to learn how to update your voter registration.

In Hamilton County, Ohio, you can:

Find out more about National Voter Registration Day!

#CelebrateNVRD

Over-the-Rhine Community Housing

Poverty is the focus of Blog Action Day this year. And since I serve on the board of Over-the-Rhine Community Housing, I wanted to let you know more about this nonprofit community development corporation in Cincinnati.

OTRCH’s mission is to stop homelessness by providing affordable housing. According to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, the loss of income and lack of affordable housing are the top reasons for homelessness in our area, and, in the past 15 years, homelessness in Cincinnati has increased by 150 percent.

OTRCH uses countless hours of volunteer time to turn buildings into affordable housing. This ‘sweat equity’ helps keeps costs low and rents affordable. Groups (schools, churches or businesses) and individuals are welcome to volunteer. OTRCH also has a wonderful internship program–which I can recommend being a former intern myself.

If you want to know more or get involved, OTRCH is hosting its annual fund raising event this week on Thursday, October, 16 at Music Hall (PDF of invitation). Historian and newscaster Dan Hurley is scheduled to speak about It’s About People: The History and Future of Over-the-Rhine.”

I hope to see you there.

Electricity!

We’ve been dealing with the after-effects of Hurricane Ike in Cincinnati this week. The wind damage knocked out power to most of the region for a few days, and some people are still without service. It was such a strange event and demonstrated just how vulnerable we all are.

On a lighter note, I had the perfect song stuck in my head for the event: The folk song “Electricity” by Paul Burch.

“I’ve got fire in a wire…”