Fort Wayne Observed

The Mitson Link

Fort Wayne mayoral public information officer Ozzie Mitson will be getting a new detail. Mayor Tom Henry is announcing at 2 PM today that Mr. Mitson will become a mayoral liason to the business community and the stae legislature.

Mr. Mitson will be retained by the City of Fort Wayne at the same salary level he has received as one of three public information officers on the mayor's staff.

Ozzie Mitson worked for the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce in governmental relations prior to becoming campaign manager for the mayoral campaign of F. Nelson Peters.=

The Obama lunch bunch

Funny what pops up when doing a simple Google "blog search" on the term "Fort Wayne."

Not quite sure what to make of this event listed on the Barack Obama website here.  There is no name, telephone number or email provided so that more clarification could be requested.

Does this mean lunch will be provided at the City-County Building? And is it intended there is to be lunch before or after a vote is cast?

The Details

Hungry for Change- Fort Wayne (Early Voting Event)

Are you hungry for change?

Join fellow Obama supporters for a lunch to kick off the start of Early Vote and cast your vote for Sen. Obama!

Time:	Monday, October 6 at 12:00 PM
Duration:	1 hour
Host:	Indiana For Obama
Location:	Fort Wayne City County Building (Fort Wayne, IN) 1 East Main Street Fort Wayne, IN 46802

Boscia back in the saddle; new president of Sun Life

Former Lincoln Financial CEO Jon Boscia is back.  Sun Life has chosen Mr. Boscia as its new president.

Andrew Willis of the Toronto Globe and Mail  also reports Mr. Boscia has recruited former Lincoln executives Westley Thompson to become president of Sun Life's U.S. division and Terrence Mullen to become president of Sun Life Financial Distributors.

Mr. Boscia led the removal of Lincoln Financial's corporate headquarters from Fort Wayne to Philadelphia.

Start to the Fort 4 Fitness

The start of the Fort 4 Fitness Half Marathon and 4 Miler in downtown Fort Wayne on September 27, 2008.

It's not too early to be thinking about the Galloping Gobbler 4 Miler on Thanksgiving Day at St. Francis.

Video credit: Fort Wayne Observed / Mitch Harper.

Young Souder Supporter at the Auburn Parade

A special Mark Souder supporter made an appearance at the Auburn parade on Saturday.

Photo credit: Jason Blosser

Bike Ride! September Critical Mass Grows.

The September Critical Mass bike ride attracted a growing number of riders. The types of riders represented kept growing, too. Older riders, touring riders and riders with children joined the ride at 6:30 PM at Lawton Park on Friday night. 

There were a range of bikes, too, including the two-seater grill bike shown below.  Pork chops and hot dogs were cooked over the coals during the ride.

The ride went north on Spy Run, then to State, north on Sherman and east on Franke Park Drive to Wells. From there it was up Lima Road to Cook, then east on Cook and past Northrop's Spuller Stadium, then Coldwater to Washington Center, east to St. Joe Road,  then across the Willis bridge to IPFW (shown at left).  From there it was back to Lawton Park.

The next Critical Mass takes place on Halloween night.

A video montage of the September ride may be viewed here. More September photos can be seen at What's Going Down(town). David Spaulding's video of the August Critical Mass may be viewed here.

Marathoner Matt Carney switched transportation modes Friday night:

Photo credit: Fort Wayne Observed / Mitch Harper.

Manchester College Invites Goldner and Harper to Discuss the Conventions

Fort Wayne City Council members Karen Goldner (D-2nd) and Mitch Harper (R-4th) spoke to a combined class on Thursday afternoon at Manchester College about the experience of being a delegate to a national party convention.

It was not comparable to the invitation Knox College issued to Douglas and Lincoln.  Rather, it was a collegial discussion on the role of conventions, the effectiveness in communicating an intended message to the nation, and the role of the news media.

Yet, each personalized the talks, as well. Both speakers covered the delegate-eye's view of the experience including a humorous, Andy Rooney like look at the advertising specialties provided to each delegate. Those items included the Kraft Mac and Cheese box each received.

Photo credit: Fort Wayne Observed / Mitch Harper.

Another Convention Note

Tomorrow afternoon, City Councilwoman Karen Goldner and I will be talking with Manchester College students about our experiences as delegates at our respective party national conventions.  We were invited to speak with political science students by Manchester College faculty.

One of my experiences at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, was meeting the young man shown above.  I was hoping to meet him after reading a feature about him last June in The New York Times.  The New York Times article  article told of how he planned to serve as a page at the Republican National Convention.   

His name is Yosef Abrahamson.  He is originally from Omaha, Nebraska.  However, as a Hasidic Jew, his family decided to move last year to Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York, to advance his religious studies.

The New York Times focused on his experiences in New York as a Hasidic Jew of color and how those experiences relate to the larger questions of relations between the African American and Jewish communities of Brooklyn.

His mother was a Republican delegate from Nebraska; they are both McCain supporters.

New Deputy Mayor Greg Purcell: Marathons and Michigan

New Deputy Mayor Greg Purcell addressed the Fort Wayne Common Council last night in his new role with the City of Fort Wayne.

While he greeted the new Council, he also has had to say goodbye to his former colleagues at his last post in Michigan.  A story in the Battle Creek Enquirer covered the farewells last week.

I know Greg as a runner as well as from his past roles with the City of Fort Week. The Enquirer's Darby Prater touched on that aspect of his makeup as well as highlighting the manner in which he served as County Executive there.

Commissioner Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, said working with Purcell has been a pleasure, and that the administrator has weathered many challenges.

"You had your gray hair before I got here, but you probably have wanted to pull it out many times on my accord," Bolger joked. "You've taken some arrows ... but it didn't stop you from doing your job and doing it well."

What's Going Down(town) this weekend

The weblog What's Going Down(town) often cites upcoming events in and near downtown Fort Wayne.

However, we haven't seen this event posted yet.

Perhaps Mr. Spaulding couldn't determine just how to categorize a "cow-punk-psychobilly hoedown".