Stone Oven and Coventry P.E.A.C.E. receive Reaching Heights awards

Krista Hawthorne, director of Reaching Heights, with Tatyana Rehn and John Emerman, owners of The Stone Oven Bakery Café.

On Dec. 11, Reaching Heights, the local nonprofit that connects the community to the Heights public schools, held its annual meeting in the former Coventry School building, home to the new Coventry P.E.A.C.E. Campus (a collaborative of seven arts and community organizations).  

Each year, Reaching Heights invites members of the community to hear the highlights of the organization’s year and to recognize individuals and local businesses for the extraordinary support they give to the Heights public schools.

Reaching Heights' board and staff members thanked Ashlie Dyer for her six years as an active board member, vice president and president. Dyer, a Heights alumna and avid Heights Tiger, will be missed for her energy, enthusiasm and endless good ideas. Mazie Adams was introduced as the newest member of the organization’s board of directors. 

Reaching Heights then recognized this year’s Friends of Public Education and Outstanding Community Partner for their contributions to the shared responsibility for the successful education of all students attending CH-UH public schools.

Coventry P.E.A.C.E. received a Friend of Public Education award for preserving and maintaining Coventry P.E.A.C.E. Park. Originally established in 1992, the organization raised money and gathered hundreds of volunteers to build the multi-level playground and learning gardens on the grounds of the former elementary school.

The group continues to support and maintain the playground. Erick Kauffman and Ray Gonzalez, volunteer officers for the past 15 years, accepted the award, along with longtime volunteers Joanne Campbell, Pam Bertaud, Sue Datta, and Marilyn McLaughlin, a founding member of the park’s planning group.

John Emerman and Tatyana Rehn, owners of the Stone Oven Bakery Café, accepted Reaching Heights’ Outstanding Community Partner award. They were honored for more than two decades of providing generous support to public school groups and events in the Heights, and for hiring many local students. Emerman and Rehn were touched to be honored, and Emerman commented that their daughters are proud graduates of Heights High.

Reaching Heights provides information, programs and events that enrich students and support teachers. For more information, call Reaching Heights at 216-932-5110, e-mail krista@reachingheights.org, or visit the office at 2843 Washington Blvd. in Cleveland Heights.

Krista Hawthorne

Krista Hawthorne is the executive director of Reaching Heights. 

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Volume 12, Issue 2, Posted 9:46 AM, 01.29.2019