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Philanthropic Trumbull 100 celebrates its 20th year
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Many projects have benefited from the efforts of the philanthropic business group Trumbull 100, which turned 20 years old this year.
Some are integral parts of their communities, such as the Warren Community Amphitheatre, where concerts draw large crowds; the Downtown Flower Basket Project, which brightens up the business district; and Veterans Memorial, which serves as the backdrop for solemn annual observances.
The projects that Trumbull 100 has promoted and carried out are highlighted in a booklet published in recognition of the organization’s anniversary. They were handed out during a celebration in the Hippodrome building Thursday.
The organization doesn’t always focus on physical improvements. For example, it raised $525,000 that was used to update and renovate the libraries in the Warren City Schools.
It also contributed grant money to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in 2005 to help identify an airline that would best serve the area’s needs.
The result was the successful launch of Allegiant Air, which has offered a steadily increasing range of flights to leisure destinations, including Myrtle Beach, S.C., and several locations in Florida.
It helped reorganize the Trumbull County Tourism Bureau and helped the Fine Arts Council of Trumbull County, Trumbull Art Guild and National Packard Museum launch the Spectacle of Speed project, which capitalized on the Packard automobile’s Goddess of Speed hood ornament in an art contest involving 35 fiberglass replicas.
Perhaps its most noteworthy early project was the Westlawn housing project demolition, which was completed in the late 1990s.
Westlawn was a “haven for crime, fires and dilapidated housing” and was blamed for families pulling their children out of Warren schools because Western Reserve Middle School was next door, according to the Trumbull 100 booklet.
Two members of Trumbull 100, John Taylor and Clyde “Skip” Cole, acquired, managed and arranged demolition of the 128-unit complex over a three-year period. They financed it through a $250,000 loan to Taylor and Cole.
Trumbull 100 remains active in Warren by providing support to the revitalization of the Central City neighborhoods, including the area north of downtown dubbed the Garden District.
“They’ve done so much, it’s amazing,” Trumbull County Commissioner Frank Fuda said while honoring the group with a commissioners’ resolution.
“We have much to be proud of and so much to look forward to,” said Diane Sauer, current Trumbull 100 president.