USSIE Summer Games
Me. We. Us: The first annual USSIE Games were held Saturday at the Highmark Stadium near Station Square as a way to bridge gaps between communities and the Pittsburgh Police. Officers from all six city police zones teamed up with members of their communities for a fun day of games including tug-of-war, a threelegged race, potato sack races, balloon tosses and dodge ball.
“We are all in this together,” said Candi Castleberry Singleton. She spearheaded the endeavor after her mentor group, Bridges Mentoring Circle, as well as assistant chief of police Larry Scirotto and several Pittsburgh Police officers met last year after the Dallas shootings to identify actions to take to build better relationships in Pittsburgh. Aerion Abney of BMC suggested summer games and led the charge with Larry Scirotto, Fantasy Zellars of Bounce Unlimited, Andre Blair and Ms. Singleton from the Dignity & Respect Campaign. “The relationship between police and black communities and jury outcomes are tearing our nation apart. The USSIE Summer Games is not the answer, but it was a positive small step in Pittsburgh. The big solutions will require all of us to do our part,” Ms. Singleton added.
The six zones were led by team captains including your very own SEEN editor, as well as Gisele Fetterman, Lynn Hayes-Freeland, Chris Steel Edmonds, Saleem Ghubril, and the Rev. Marco Allan Tinor. It was a beautiful day full of laughter, friendly competition (OK, dodge ball was intense), but most important, striking up communication between those who serve communities and the people within them. The family-friendly event also included a dance off, a dunking booth featuring City Councilman Dan Gilman (who was a great sport!), and face painting. (And in case you were wondering, my team, Zone 6, came in second place. Zone One, led by the director of the Pittsburgh Promise, Mr. Ghubril, took home the trophy. Next year, that trophy is ours!)
#SEEN: Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Sonya Toler, City Councilman Corey O’Conner, comedian J. Russ, Charlie and Latasha Wilson Batch, Quincy Swatson and Alysa P. Lyon. Libations, some laughs and a great place to network? The Young (and young at heart) Ivy Alumni party had it all on Thursday night as guests mixed and mingled inside Heinz Hall’s Mozart Room, Downtown. Who worked the room best of all? Eric Zawid, who up untilrecently resided in Las Vegas. He is now the concierge at the Fairmont Pittsburgh hotel. “I’m trying to learn all the great things about Pittsburgh, and I didn’t expect there to be so many,” he said chatting with Lybbie and Bill Kofmehl before asking them about their favorites in town. So why hold this kind of event specifically targetedtoward the Ivy crowd? “A lot of young alumni are moving into Pittsburgh and didn’t really have a way to connect,” said organizer Leif Johnson Jr. “Pittsburgh’s landscape is changing and attracting talent from all over for tech and