UH names two as 2017 Citizen of the Year

At the Dec. 4 University Heights City Council meeting, Mayor Susan Infeld named Bonnye Klein and Sarah Staples, co-chairs of the City Beautiful Commission and its Beautiful Home Awards, Citizen of the Year.

Each year, the mayor of University Heights chooses a resident to honor as the city’s Citizen of the Year for his or her outstanding accomplishments and contributions to civic pride. As co-chairs of the City Beautiful Commission, Klein and Staples are charged with promoting civic pride and improving the appearance of the city and its homes. To help accomplish this, each year the commission recognizes residents’ home beautification efforts with awards in six categories: Curb Appeal, Best Front Door, Sit a Spell, Best Kept Secret, 2 in a Row, and 3 in a Row.

Klein and her husband, Jerry, have been residents of University Heights for 46 years, raising two children, Rochelle and Joel. As a licensed and certified geriatric occupational therapy assistant who focuses on aging in place, Klein owns a company that places private duty nurses. She is also a published author, developed a patented diagnostic tool to test the five senses, and is an accomplished artist, with charcoal work on display at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Staples and her husband, Nathaniel, have been residents of University Heights for 10 years, raising two sons, Alex and Charlie. Staples developed her interest in historic homes while she lived in England, and the brick and stone homes of University Heights remind her of the English homes she saw while she lived abroad. Growing up, Staples visited the homes of presidents, such as President Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and enjoyed seeing beautiful, lovingly maintained homes on the Tour of Homes, which her mother, a realtor, organized.

Join Klein and Staples, and the City Beautiful Commission as they recognize the beautiful homes in University Heights at the Beautiful Home Awards on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at University Heights City Hall.

Patrick Grogan-Myers

Patrick Grogan-Myers is the community development coordinator for the city of University Heights, and works with residents and businesses to promote University Heights as a great place to live, work, shop and play.

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Volume 11, Issue 2, Posted 12:18 PM, 01.23.2018