The first fruits of their labor started during Operation Pumpkin last weekend, when a series of five posters with the theme “Hamilton Inspires” were placed downtown featuring six individuals who have made a difference in the city.
The posters were a combination of several ideas that were floated at committee meetings, Moeller said.
“Dave Belew came up with the idea of highlighting citizens who have made a difference,” he said, “and Brandon Saurber (assistant to the city manager) came up with the angle of being inspired by the city.”
“I liked the idea of laying claim to some of the more decorated residents we’ve had, playing off the city of arts but showing that it’s not just limited to the arts,” Saurber said.
In 2012, after winning state awards the two previous years, Hamilton City Schools was the first district to be named a “District of Character” by the Washington, D.C.-based Character Education Partnership.
Joni Copas, spokeswoman for the school district, said the district is excited to be a partner in expanding the concept of character to the entire city.
“We believe that positive adult role models are the best influence on our school children,” she said.
Moeller said the committee displayed five pumpkins during Operation Pumpkin based on the same five character traits used by the school district: personal responsibility, respect, honesty, acceptance and compassion.
The five people included in the first round of posters are:
- Miami University Hamilton students Kofi Ansah and Shan Qureshi, founders of the Project Civility initiative, which Belew said was inspiration behind the City of Character movement.
- Paul Stanbery, musical director of the Hamilton Fairfield Symphony Orchestra, who has expanded the orchestra's reach during his tenure by adding a chorale and founding the Ohio Mozart Festival.
- Hamilton's first female mayor, Ann Antenan, who is "synonymous with historic preservation," her poster says, as the founder of Citizens for Historic and Preservation Services.
- The late Joe Nuxhall, a person whom Moeller said "defines good character" and was the founder of the Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund.
- Musician David Shaw, a Hamilton native who is the leader of The Revivalists, the New Orleans-based band that opened the first summer concert series in the RiversEdge Amphitheatre.
Each poster contains the tag line, “The fabric of our community is strongest when each strand is pulled together for a common purpose.”
Moeller said the next project for the City of Character committee may be to have “character banners” installed across the High-Main Bridge.
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