Kurt Ruehr networking to improve lives in Portage County | Along the Way
The newly reconstituted Ravenna School District Foundation, through which alumni and friends can make tax-deductible gifts to support Ravenna schools, owes some of its new leadership to networking opportunities made possible by Leadership Portage County.
That is the assessment of Kurt Ruehr, who stepped down last June after six years as Leadership Portage County’s executive director to become the chief financial officer at Townhall II. Ruehr continues to enthusiastically tout LPC and its positives.
“Kurt is absolutely correct,” Ravenna Superintendent Laura Hebert said.
As a member of Leadership Portage County’s Class of 2023, Hebert became acquainted with fellow classmate and business leader Matt Ferrell, who is president of Buckeye Residential and the Battlegrounds Game Center in Ravenna.
Ferrell, a proud Ravenna alumnus, expressed interest in helping his alma mater, she said.
“With his great work ethic and intelligence, he seemed a natural for the foundation, which we were reconstituting,” Hebert said.
Hebert said Ruehr and Leadership Portage County facilitated her networking with Town Hall II and its director Tamara Hunter.
Together, they are working to set up a youth sports program for the school district that “will keep kids busy after school and away from drugs.”
Ferrell quickly emerged as a leader and now oversees the Ravenna School District Foundation, which has its own board and operates in a supportive role, although independently of the schools.
Hebert also noted that Leadership Portage County alumni residing in Ravenna have been supportive of school levy passage efforts to keep the school district solvent and strong.
An engaging personality, Ruehr bowls a person over with his enthusiasm.
He invited me to visit him at Townhall II’s offices in downtown Kent. There, he led me through the premises while talking about Townhall II, Leadership Portage County and Portage County Park District, all in an hour’s time.
Leadership Portage County, he said, helped Juvenile Court Judge Patricia Smith network with individuals who supported her efforts to set up the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program.
He said Brian Adams of UH Portage Medical Center helped the judge improve the intake program for juveniles and Nicole Thomas of Children’s Advantage teaches CASA volunteers how to handle trauma issues.
Other networking successes that began at Leadership Portage County, Ruehr said, include Ravenna City Council Clerk Chelsea Gregor and Dia Ray, who have produced a T-shirt line to benefit Main Street Ravenna, and Ray’s connection with Jared Hostetler that led to Ray and her husband, Jordan, starting Live With Honor, an organization that assists veterans.
Before leading Leadership Portage County, Ruehr enrolled in its Class of 2006. There, he met fellow classmate Scott McKinney of Kent State. The two became founding members of the Portage Park District Foundation, a charitable citizen organization set up to support the Portage Park District and its executive director, Christine Craycroft, after Portage County commissioners, citing a lack of money, discussed shutting down the park district and selling off its only park, Towner’s Woods.
Ruehr and McKinney eventually were appointed to the Portage County Park District Board, which oversees the park system. With Craycroft’s leadership and the public’s willingness to tax itself, it has grown into a countywide network of parks, trails and nature preserves that add up to nearly 3,000 acres.
Ruehr continues on the park board and also volunteers as emcee for the annual Portage Parks Foundation Environmental Awards Dinner. McKinney resigned last year to pursue a doctorate at Kent State. He was succeeded by Renee Ruchotzke, Kent Environmental Council board member and an affiliated community minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent.
Townhall II began 52 years ago as a drug crisis hotline cooperative staffed by volunteers from the Kent community and Kent State University. Its mission has grown.
Ruehr said his new employer, in addition to its drug crisis hotline, offers professional counseling for mental health issues. Townhall II also provides specialized counseling for employers to create a recovery-friendly environment for employees who suffer from substance abuse.
The agency also offers clinical services for victims of crime including sexual abuse. Townhall II’s Horizon House is a 14-bed treatment facility for women with substance abuse disorders. Townhall II has declared itself a Sanctuary Institute that models itself after a nationally recognized treatment program that began in Philadelphia.
As chief financial officer, Ruehr’s responsibilities will be to oversee the finances of Townhall II and to participate in grant writing. The core funding of Townhall II comes from the Portage County Mental Health and Recovery Board. He said Townhall II is expanding operations into Ravenna and has taken possession of the building on North Chestnut Street that formerly housed Portage County Children’s Services.
Ruehr said his philosophy mirrors that of others who say: Think globally, act locally.
“I know I cannot change the world, but I can work to improve the lives of those of us who call Portage County home,” he said. “Like my previous employer, Leadership Portage County, Townhall II gives me a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the betterment of Portage County.”
David E. Dix is a retired publisher of the Record-Courier.
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kurt Ruehr networking to improve lives in Portage County
