Pittsburgh Connections Archives

This weekend, Create Columbus Commission, will be bringing a delegation of young leaders from Columbus, OH to Pittsburgh to learn more about what we have going on here in the Steel City. I met Jordan Davis, who is the director of Smart Columbus, when she was in Pittsburgh last summer for the Millennial Trains Project. (I was a participant in the 2013 Millennial Trains Project trip and you can read about some of the things I brought back to Pittsburgh from my journey here.)

When I spoke to Jordan last week, she told me that everyone in the group is eager to come to Pittsburgh and based on her visit last summer there are many reasons that Pittsburghers should meet our Columbus counterparts.

Your Invited… Meet the Columbus Delegation at East End Brewing

Consider this your formal invitation to meet our new friends from Columbus. All are welcome to attend the happy hour on Friday at East End Brewing in Larimer. Please take a look at the delegation members below and share the Facebook event with any other Pittsburghers who might be interested in attending.

Meet the Create Columbus Delegation
Friday, July 21, 2017
6-8pm
East End Brewing, 147 Julius Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Facebook Event

About the Create Columbus Commission

Here is the official blurb on the Create Columbus Commission which sounds quite similar to some of the projects that have taken place to help Pittsburgh grow into the thriving city that you see today.

The Create Columbus Commission (CCC) is a board of young professionals (YP), appointed and funded by the Mayor and City Council President to serve as the community’s foremost thought leader on young professional interests, experiences, and priorities. Through strategic community building efforts and a targeted YP grants program, the CCC strives to make Columbus the next great American city and the nation’s number one place for YPs to live, work, and play.

The CCC believes that the City of Columbus will be better positioned to attract and retain talent if there are YPs at the decision making table co-creating a forwardthinking city with a vibrant, accessible, and integrated urban environment that is a magnet for talent.

As a representative body, the CCC works to advocate and pursue initiatives that
• Improve personal financial health and wellness
• Decrease dependency on personal vehicles
• Amplify the urban pulse
• Position young professionals as co-creators of the city

Meet the Create Columbus Commission Delegation

Joey Clark	Claims Innovation, Nationwide
Jay Clouse	Organizer, StartUp Weekend Columbus Founder, Unreal Collective
Jordan Davis	Director, Smart Columbus; Columbus Partnership Chair, Create Columbus Commission
Alex Frommeyer	Founder; Beam Dental Chair, Pizzuti Collection Pacesetters
Tim Fulton	Marketing Manager, Chepri, LLC Executive Director, Motive
Amelia Gandara	Community Leader, FUSE, General Electric (Fro’s GF)
Matt Goldstein	Executive Director; BESA
Andy Hutter	Director of Operations, RocketCode
Robert Perryman	Attorney; Isaac Wiles Burkholder & Teetor
Chris Ritchie	Chief of Staff; CrossChx
Mike Schott	Director of Community Development, Kaufman Development
Wolf Starr	Interim Director, Connects Columbus (Small Business Community Leader; community Organizer)
Yohannan Terrell	Founder; Warhol & Wall Street Co-Founder, BLK Hack
Lora Zotter	Director, First Connect Programs, Rev1 Ventures

Thanks to a reader (Hi Rachel!) for just pointing out that Shanice, who hit the Billboard charts in the late-80s and early-90s with songs like “I Love Your Smile” and “Saving Forever For You” is from the ‘burgh. Fact, she is from Hays Manor, in McKees Rocks, PA. So forget H-Town for your early 90s R&B needs, we got SHANICE! She just came out with an album in 2006 … check it out!

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This reminds me of another DIVA who grew up in the ‘burgh. Every few months I put the groovadelic very best of Deee-lite album in rotation. During its most recent pass-through my CD player, I found out that Lady Miss Kier was born in Youngstown, Ohio and then actually spent her childhood in Pittsburgh and Sewickley while her moms went to college here. But unfortunately:

“When she was nine, Kier designed her brownie outfit so that it would include brown bell-bottom pants. The troop rewarded her by kicking her out.”

Oh well. That’s okay because … (I can’t believe this), while doing this search, I found out that Snap! has Pittsburgh roots?! Huh? According to this site:

This Pittsburgh male/female dance duo had a huge international smash in 1990 with “The Power.” London-based rapper Turbo B and his cousin Jackie Harris teamed on “The Power,” with Harris’ curdling vocal elevating Turbo B’s pedestrian rap.

It’s true! Turbo-B was born in Pittsburgh, and was a session drummer for Maze and Chaka Chan; he toured with the Fat Boys. Thea Austin is also from here; she co-wrote some songs for Snap! is still busting out some wicked dance hits today.

I feel like I’ve been violated. How could I have lived my life not knowing that “Rhythm is a Dancer” or for God’s sakes – “I Got the Power!” – started with Pittsburgh angst? Let this code of silence now be broken!

So kids, what have we learned today? Pittsburgh + 90s = Represent. As Miss Kier would say, “Ooh la la, la la-la-la-la-la!”