HEART ASSOCIATION Two community leaders to be honored at ball

The evening will include gourmet dining, dancing, and live and silent auctions.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The American Heart Association will celebrate American Heart Month by sponsoring the 2004 Heart Ball Feb. 7 at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex Center.
Festivities will begin at 6 p.m., and the evening will include gourmet dining, dancing and a live and silent auction. The highlight of the event will the presentation of awards to two men who have made major contributions to the community through their professional and public concern for residents of the Mahoning Valley.
The Heart of the Community Award will be presented to Joseph S. Nohra, business and community leader. Prior to retiring in 2000, he served on the board of trustees and as senior vice president of finance for the Cafaro Company.
He graduated with honors from Youngstown State University, and in 1995 was appointed by Gov. George Voinovich to serve a nine-year term as a trustee at the university. He chaired the university board of trustees from 2002 to 2003. He serves on the Higher Education Funding Commission of Ohio Board of Regents and the advisory board of Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center Community.
Nohra also serves with the Hine Memorial Fund, Youngstown Foundation, Antonine Sisters Adult Day Care Center, and was appointed director of St. Elizabeth Hospital Development Foundation Board.
A permanent deacon in the Catholic church, he serves St. Maron and Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishes. He has also served with Youngstown Diocesan Board of Education, Villa Maria High School board of trustees, Assumption Village board of directors, and as trustee and president of Millcreek Child Development Center. He and his wife, Betty, are the parents of eight children and live in Liberty Township.
Also feted
Chosen as the recipient of the Cardiac Service Award is Dr. J. Ronald Mikolich, cardiologist and research investigator. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University, earned his medical degree from Ohio State University, and did his internship at Riverside Hospital in Columbus where he was chief medical resident.
Dr. Mikolich was awarded a fellowship in cardiology at Emory University in Atlanta, and is a fellow of both the American College of Cardiology and the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions.
At Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Dr. Mikolich is chief of the section of cardiology, professor of clinical internal medicine, and cardiology module director for the principles of medical science course.
His research has been presented at scientific sessions of the American Heart Association and he has been a presenter at meetings of American College of Cardiology and American College of Chest Physicians and served on the research committee of the American Heart Association's Ohio Affiliate.
Mikolich is a member of the Society of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance, American College of Physicians, and Sigma XI Professional Research Society. He is a charter member of the Diocese of Youngstown Catholic Physicians Association, and a member of the Diocesan Review Board and Holy Family Church.
Mikolich and his wife, Dr. Lynn Mikolich, have two children and live in Poland.
Serving as sponsors
Presenting sponsor for the ball is the Heart and Vascular Center at St. Elizabeth, and gold sponsors are Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Diagnostic Cardiology Associates, Guidant, Kenilworth Steel, and Medtronic.
The live auction sponsor is the Heart Hospital at Forum Health, and silver sponsors are AstraZeneca, Compco Industries, Diocese of Youngstown, Key Bank N.A./McDonald Financial Group, National City Bank, Nemenz Food Stores, Pepsi Cola Bottlers of Youngstown, Second National Bank, Source Products, St. Jude Valve, The Cafaro Company, and Wern and Associates/Wern-Harries Data Express.
Bronze sponsors are Alltel, Dr. Chander Kohli, Coca Cola Bottlers of Northern Ohio, Cohen and Company, First Place Bank, Hill Barth & amp; King, Home Savings and Loan/Butler Wick, Mahoning Valley Hospital, Morris Financial, Ohio Steel Sheet and Plate, Schwebel's, Sky Bank, Stoneridge Inc., Thoracic and Vascular Consultants Inc., Warren McDonald Operators, and Warren Medical Specialists. The media sponsor is WKBN-TV.
Behind the scenes
Chairwomen for the event are Elizabeth Maiorana and Regina Rebhan, and on their committee are Trudy Bayman, Christine Begalia, Anthony Bettile, Tami Cook, Heather DeMalio, Don Dragish, Zandra Dragish, Roseann Duraney, Michael Hoso, Mary Ann McCann, Marie Scott, Mary Sims, Dr. Grace Smith, Patte Ulery, Dr. Bridgett Urban and Maureen Wern.
Tickets for the event are $100, and tables of eight are available for $800. For information or reservations call the American Heart Association, (330) 965-9230.