Journalists tour state, connecting with Ohioans, but crowds are hard to find without urgent issue

The urgency drove Alison Seefeldt from Akron.

The churchgoing humanitarian needed someone to hear her concerns about the deteriorated state of Akron’s recreational programming and parks. Then she saw a note in the newspaper about two events hosted by Your Voice Ohio.

The organization, led by former Beacon Journal Managing Editor Doug Oplinger, was rounding the halfway mark in a nine-stop tour across Ohio. At each location, a collaborative of local radio, television and print journalists listened to whatever was on residents’ minds. The open-ended topic of the tour sought to define economic vibrancy and the unique problems, assets and solutions of individual communities.

In Akron, 25 people showed up earlier this month. Seefeldt couldn’t make that meeting. She attended the next night in Stow. There, journalists outnumbered residents nearly two to one as the more heavily marketed second gathering in Summit County drew a retired superintendent, a housing advocate and Seefeldt, who quickly got down to the business of why she was so determined to be heard.

In the Heritage Barn at Silver Springs, on 12 acres of well-maintained parkland bordering a bike-and-hiketrail that connects baseball and soccer fields, picnic areas and a dog park with a pond, Seefeldt made the case for parks as welcoming spaces that build community. When affordable and accessible, the programming can lift up the youths and help seniors stay active and involved. In Akron, she reminded a table of mostly reporters, there are only two outdoor swimming pools in neighborhoods that reflect the city’s historic racial segregation, while Cleveland has 22 outdoor pools.

Akron is now issuing three annual grants of $100,000 each to help residents fix up their neighborhood parks. Even with that, Seefeldt said her research puts Akron’s per capita spending on parks far below that of other Ohio cities.

So she gave her email address to a reporter who agreed to take a deeper look as the city’s leaders prepare the 2019 budget.

“I was beginning to feel I was just tilting at windmills,” Seefeldt said.

Everywhere Your Voice Ohio has convened residents and journalists, and the conversation has drifted toward building relationships and connecting communities as towns and cities continue to struggle in an uneven economic recovery.

In a previous statewide engagement tour, Your Voice Ohio was flooded with participants wanting to talk about the opioid crisis, which permeates all walks of life. Solving Ohio’s opiate addiction was a grave concern regardless of each community’s socioeconomic status. Oplinger said he’s finding it more difficult to generate discussion on community vibrancy, the economy and creating good-paying jobs.

“It’s interesting that in the opioid crisis we had almost no problem getting decent crowds,” Oplinger said. “That’s a matter of life and death. It’s much more urgent. It’s harder to get people to come out about something as esoteric as creating vibrancy and a better economy.”