SweetheART!

The third annual SweetheART fundraiser was held on Saturday, February 9th at the Center Road school in Mantua Ohio. The event was sponsored by the Mantua Restoration Society staffed by a team of dedicated volunteers. The show featured an array of homemade baked goods and other items for sale. The main event was an auction of artwork donated by local artists. This year the auction also included an array of delectable homemade desserts. Rick Painley returned as the auctioneer and. Skip Schweitzer and Cal Craig were on hand to provide musical entertainment. Proceeds support the ongoing efforts to revitalize the old Center Road school.

I was honored to be invited back to photograph the fundraiser. As with every MRSI event I have attended, there was an overwhelming g sense of small-town atmosphere. I was impressed with the amount of prep required of the volunteers to stage the event and to ensure that everyone was well fed. I love the sense of community fostered by these events. At every turn I see people laughing, carrying on, embracing, and genuinely having fun while at the same time supporting a good cause. I was saddened to learn of the passing of Tony Kaminski back in November. A dedicated MRSI volunteer and just a nice guy in general. I last saw and photographed Tony at the Celebrate Summer event in July, not realizing it would be our final conversation.

Photos and story by Dave Dreimiller