A view of last year’s Ignite Columbus event. Photo by Tony Vasquez
Persistent rainstorms washed out Our Hospice of South Central Indiana’s annual Labor Day weekend concert. But while big crowds missed out on 40 Years of College and Yacht Rock Review, the reason for the organization’s marquee fundraiser remains in the spotlight.
The annual event, which also has been impacted by COVID in recent years, was expected to raise $125,000 to $130,00 this year, but organizers expect a shortfall of about $10,000, The Republic’s Brian Blair reported. Organizers are trying to make up the difference, and we have faith the community will rally to do just that.
Hospice’s value is beyond dollars, as many can attest. Compassionate, comforting palliative care for people with advanced illness and dignified end-of-life care are worth more than we can measure. But as Blair reported, that need for hospice services is greater than ever.
If you are able to support the worthy mission of Our Hospice, consider donating or volunteering. Learn more, including how you can help, at ourhospice.org.
Ignite Columbus is thinking big
Think fast: Do you have a great idea that will make Columbus a better place? Jot it down — or better yet, get to work on a PowerPoint — and get ready to pitch!
Ignite Columbus invites presenters to show and tell their innovative and enlightening ideas in a brainstorm of a competition. Presenters have five minutes to make their case while running through 20 slides. Judges recognize the most innovative and most enlightening presentations while the audience selects a people’s choice award.
And as The Republic’s Jana Wiersema reported, the audience at these Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce events can be pretty good crowds — about 100 people turned out at the last such event at Helen Haddad Hall on April 27. Chamber President Cindy Frey said that event “resulted in the launch of two businesses, Transcriptly and The Hive. In fact, Transcriptly recently secured a $20,000 investment from Velocities and Elevate Ventures. Teacher Kilah Dickey teamed up with software developer Brian Slater to create a platform to seamlessly transfer student transcripts at the middle school and high school level.”
Clearly, this is a lot more than just pie-in-the-sky visioning. If you’d like to participate in the Nov. 3 edition of Ignite Columbus, apply by Oct. 10 at airtable.com/shr5DT70coAOzxnOY. For information on attending the next event, go to columbusareachamber.com.
Tomorrow, remember 9/11
We made a pledge to one another as Americans, 21 years ago tomorrow. We said we would never forget.
Do you remember where you were that morning, Sept. 11, 2001? How your world stopped after an airliner struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York at 8:46 a.m.? How we watched on live television the smoldering tower, an unthinkable image, as confused broadcasters tried to make sense of what we were witnessing?
Even more unthinkable, a second airliner struck the South Tower at 9:03 a.m., then at 9:37 a.m., another flew into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. In less than one hour, we knew we were under attack. We worried more might follow.
Sept. 11 cast a long shadow and forever changed our country and our lives. We confronted the threats of terrorism, none more heroically than our veterans who served, fought and died to secure our freedoms.
A remembrance ceremony commemorating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will take place at 8:40 a.m. Sunday at Columbus City Hall.
As we remember, may we also recall what history tends to forget: In the days and weeks that followed the attacks of 9/11, for the briefest moment, in one of our darkest hours, we united as we never had in most of our lifetimes.
Do you remember?
