Monday, December 30, 2002
What is it about downtown that led you here?
I've always been more of an urban type person. When I met Jill ... she took it a step further. She was really big into the urban thing. When I thought about buying this building ... she wasn't looking at the business end. She looked at upstairs ... and said this is where I want to live. We both got excited about the idea.
What's it like living in downtown Youngstown?
Actually, it's really quiet. At nighttime around here, other than maybe Friday or Saturday nights where you get a bar crowd, it's really quiet. I don't have a garage. I have to pay for parking. As far as convenience, the North Side is very close. I can go up Market Street. Stores are really close.
Best thing about living downtown?
The style of it all. When I go upstairs and sit on my couch and I look out the window, I can see the top of the Sky Bank building or the National City Bank building all lit up. The sky. The lights. I'm looking for something different. We're never going to be the type of couple that gets a house in the suburbs. It's just not us. Someday if we do have children, they're going to live down here. We'll make that work.
Worst thing about living downtown?
Cable TV. I'm not a big television watcher, but I like my sports. Time Warner doesn't run any lines. Getting services like that are a lot more difficult. There's no way I can get satellite television. Where you have to turn the satellite faces right into eight-story city hall.
The most rewarding thing about your work?
I get paid for being a friend. With my classes and my group homes ... I'm just being a friend.
The most frustrating part?
Dealing with bureaucracy. A lot of what I do is government funding. I'd be a liar if I said I really love business. My forte is dealing with the problems that my clients have, having good times with my clients. The business end? It's been difficult.
How many clients do you have?
Our residential facilities, 25. We probably service, between our classes and our trips, over 100. We do a lot of respite care, too. It's not baby-sitting. We work on goals when we're with them or we take them places.
How many staffers?
Close to 60 now.
Tell me about the cats patrolling the office.
Our cats were stray. We found one downtown. Two in the Glenwood-Fosterville area. I was a bit hesitant at first, but the cats have been wonderful. Number one, with our clients. All three of the cats let people pick them up.
What's your favorite candy?
I'm a big Kit Kat fan. I'm very big into pop culture. I'm still one of those people, when you get a box of cereal you send away for things that are on the back of the box. I just got what they call a Wacky Wobbler from Frankenberry cereal.
What's your least favorite food?
Sauerkraut. I can't stand it.
If you could go off anywhere today, what vacation spot would you pick?
I would go back to Malta. I had a friend who was studying in Malta. It's right off the coast of Sicily by Italy. I was able to live there for three months. It's close to the Middle East, too. I don't know if now would be the greatest time to go over there. But I think about it daily, how nice it was, the sea. The whole aura.
Your most embarrassing moment?
I'm not embarrassed easily. At a banquet I was giving the invocation. Right as I was saying "dear God" my pager went off. I can't even make a simple prayer without my work calling me. That was embarrassing.
Biggest surprise of your life?
This business. I went into this thinking I would do it a few hours a week because I loved it so much. Now, I work a lot.
I can't believe you didn't stick with us in the news business.
It was the TV journalism that rubbed me wrong. I was bored. I was doing some news writing. They said write at a fifth- or sixth-grade level. I just couldn't see myself doing that the rest of my life. Now, what you do would be different. I'm kind of envious.