Bay Village residents, organizations honored on Memorial Day

The Bay Village Foundation awarded grants and scholarships as part of its Memorial Day celebration. Recipients were: (back row) Dr. Charlie Farrell, The Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation; Cathy Flament, Bay Village Historical Society and Destination Bay; Tim Jasinski, Lake Erie Nature & Science Center; Barb Harrell, Village Project; Mary Sue Tanis, Youth Challenge; and Kathryn Boehnlein, Bay Village Green Team; (front row) Steve Ruscher, BVF grants committee chair; scholarship winners Anna Walker, Will Huntington and Madison Noren; and BVF scholarships committee chair Ellie Bricmont. Photo by Tara Wendell

The Bay Village Foundation honored local residents and organizations during their annual Memorial Day observance in Cahoon Park on May 29. Jon Loufman, emcee and Channel 19 weatherman delivered a picture perfect day, while singers Emma Russell and Maggie Williams and the Bay High String Quintet delivered perfect performances for the celebration that has become a beloved tradition in the city.

This year the Foundation honored Bay Village residents Herman and Joyce Bredenbeck, Edward (Ned) Matthews, Robert Thomas and the Hawthorne family with permanent bronze plaques to be installed at the T. Richard Martin Cahoon Memorial Bridge. Honorees, past and present, have demonstrated a love for their families, friends and for the Bay community.

Herman "Herm" Bredenbeck and his wife Joy moved to Bay Village in 1959 and have been active in Bay United Methodist Church throughout the years. Herm was President of Advance Manufacturing and Joy worked as a Patient Education Coordinator at Lakewood Hospital.

Ned Matthews moved his family to Bay Village after World War ll where he spent the remaining years of his life. Ned lived to be 100 years of age and his favorite pastime was to fish by the pier in Bay Village with his son Craig.

Robert Thomas and his family moved to Bay Village in 1977. Bob worked in many industries before he and his wife, Monica, opened Thomas & Thomas West Shore Studio in 1986. The business quickly became one of Cleveland's most respected studios.

Robert, Ruth, Robert ll and Ronald Hawthorne moved from Springfield, Illinois, to Bay Village in 1952. Robert was an executive at American Greetings Corporation for 30 years. Ruth was a teacher at Normandy and Westerly Elementary Schools for 20 years.

Steve Ruscher, Bay Village Foundation trustee and chair of the Grants Committee presented checks to the grant recipients for 2017. Awards from the Bay Village Foundation will serve a wide variety of needs in the community.

• Youth Challenge accepted a grant to be used for an Adaptive Arts program at BAYarts.

• Destination Bay accepted an award for signage and flyers to promote the citywide day of fun on June 17.

• The Lake Erie Nature & Science Center received a grant to be used for a new exhibit for the Eastern Hellbender, Ohio's largest salamander and an endangered species.

• The Bay Village Historical Society received a grant to organize, catalogue and store their entire historical collection with a new computer system, specialized software and archival storage containers.

• The Bay Village Green Team received a grant to purchase a water bottle refilling station to reduce litter from single-use plastic containers in Cahoon Park.

• The Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation accepted a grant to be used to extend the Foundation's SweetArts Cafe program outdoors to Huntington Park.

• The Village Project received money to purchase a high density mobile shelving system that will double the food storage space allowing the Village Project to serve more people.

Three Bay High School graduating seniors who were awarded a one-time $2,000 scholarship during the Memorial Day ceremony. Will Huntington received the T. Richard and Betsy Martin Scholarship. Madison Noren and Anna Walker also received Bay Village Foundation scholarships.

"The Foundation is pleased to award scholarships to these three hardworking and deserving students," said Bay Village Foundation trustee Ellie Bricmont, chair of the Scholarship Committee. "Each of their applications possessed a vision for improving and enhancing the quality of life in Bay Village."

Mike Romanchek, a veteran of the Marines and Bay Village Foundation trustee, read the names of past honorees who are deceased military veterans. The ceremony closed with a moment of silence followed by the playing of taps by Chris Gepperth and Jamie Dailey.