Poland is big for a small town

Chad Brant

Age: 36

Family: My wife, Kim, and I have been married for almost 10 years. We’ve got two kids, Jack (6) and Mary (4). My folks and my sister moved to Cleveland several years ago. Go figure — I come home and they go away. I’ve got another sister in Chicago and extended family in Austintown, Boardman and New Wateford.

Groups: Our participation these days is whatever the kids are into: Mary does gymnastics in Boardman, Jack plays hoops at the downtown YMCA and is a Cub Scout here in Poland.

Activities: I golf poorly and need to get back into running short races. League basketball, softball and soccer, time permitting.

Education: I grew up on the west side of Youngstown, attending Kirkmere, Volney and Chaney (for one year). My family moved before my sophomore year, so I graduated from Canfield — and now live with the enemy here in Poland. I graduated from Westminster College and completed my MBA at Cleveland State.

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Q. What do you like best about living in your town?

A. It’s big, for a small town. The people are friendly, the cost of living is affordable, and you have access to good shopping and entertainment. When we tell people we moved to Poland from the Cleveland area, the common response is a wide-eyed “Why?” They don’t appreciate that we have access to many of the same activities, shopping and venues that you find in bigger cities, like Cleveland and Pittsburgh — with smaller crowds and less sticker shock. Think about it: We’ve got professional baseball and hockey, college football, an arena for sports, music and events, a playhouse, an orchestra, an art museum, etc. Plus, we’re an hour or less from catching a Steelers or Tribe game, or visiting a zoo or science center.

Q. What one thing would you add to your town if money was not an issue?

A. A zoo. Our family loves the Cleveland zoo and it would be cool to have a full-blown zoo in town.

Q. Describe the last community event you went to:

A. It wasn’t in Poland, but we dropped in on the Christmas Parade downtown. I think it was the first in many years. I liked it because I remember Youngstown being lit up for Christmas when I was a kid. Plus, I used to work downtown during summers in college, so it’s always cool to walk around the buildings I used to help maintain.

Q. If there was a store or business to add to your town, which would you like it to be?

A. A really cool steakhouse and micro brewery. Not a chain, either. Maybe an existing, old house converted.

Q. If you could name a street after someone, who would it be?

A. My dad, Dale. When Dad retired from the ATF, he received a proclamation naming a day in Youngstown after him for that year. Kim thought that was so cool. If he had a street named after him, her head would probably explode.

Q. Where is your favorite place in town to go for a little hide-away time or bite to eat?

A. Handel’s Ice Cream because it’s still the best ice cream around.

Q. What one place would you direct an outsider to visit to experience your town?

A. Mill Creek Park: Lanterman’s Mill, the Witches Caves, Lakes Milton and Newport, the flower garden, etc. I love the fact that you’ve got all of that cool park in the middle of what was once a city of heavy industry. Arco fields in the summer, to watch the Little League games. A YSU game in the fall. Rocky Ridge to sled and skate in the winter. That’s my Youngstown, anyway.

Q. Is there a song, book or movie that you hear or see and say “They’re describing me?

A. Kim would say “Working Man” by Rush, but I don’t have a song that plays in my head when I step out the door each morning. Pink Floyd, the Counting Crows and ’80s hair metal are currently in heavy rotation on my iPod, however.