Is it spring yet? All the signs are there. Every now and then spring sneaks in a couple of warm days as
we get on to March. There is just a hint of warm earth in the air on those days, and some trees are
beginning to show small buds. The seed and swimsuit catalogs are arriving in our mailbox along with
the April issue of Golf Magazine (they really get a jump on the season). Almost everyone by now has
taken their Christmas lights down or at least don’t turn them on anymore. And pancake breakfasts are in
season with locally made maple syrup. But the biggest indicator that spring is right around the corner is
the Home Builder’s Association 16th Annual Home & Flower Show at the J.S. Knight Center from
February 26th through the 28th. Akron Life & Leisure Magazine will have a presence there as usual. Our
booth number is 218. Stop by and say hello.
I’m happy to see that the Soap Box Derby will stay in Akron for the foreseeable future, as the City of Akron
has underwritten the debt owed by the Derby to FirstMerit Bank. As you may recall, FirstMerit called or
foreclosed on their loan to the Derby, which had ballooned to over half a million dollars. No small
change to anyone, especially a bank. I thought it was a terrible public relations job on the part of
FirstMerit, but in the end they forced an issue with the Derby that everyone seems to have missed. The
issue being that the All-American Soap Box Derby was losing thousands of dollars each year and getting
deeper in debt. What FirstMerit did was force someone to do something besides the bank. Mayor
Plusquellic stepped in and asked city council to approve the underwriting, which they did in a flash. Now
FirstMerit will get repaid (even if its with taxpayers’ money) and a whole bunch of business leaders,
through the Greater Akron Chamber, have stepped in to help the Derby find a sponsor, which may not be
easy in these difficult financial times.
I listened to Bob Early, promoter of Rocking on the River in Cuyahoga Falls, on WNIR (where he has a
weekend show) really tear apart the Derby management for being unimaginative and unwilling to listen t
o new ideas. Jeff Iula, the longtime face of the Derby, has won a seat on the city council in Cuyahoga
Falls, and is not returning to the Derby. Rumors are that he was eased out by the current Derby
management, what there is of it. They are down to just a couple of part-time staffers and their executive
director, Jim Huntsman, is on sick leave because he said he couldn’t take the pressure of running the
Derby in such stressful times. Maybe its time for a management change; it may be time to bring in
someone who can take the heat and will accept new ideas. We can’t lose the Derby through its own
shortcomings. Perhaps the new stakeholders, along with FirstMerit, will force the Derby to catch up with
the times, find a new national sponsor, and bring the All-American Soap Box Derby back to its rightful
spot in the national spotlight.
