By Nancy Bowman

Scams are nothing new, but they have increased considerably the last few years. Everyone is a target, but the elderly are among the favorites of scammers.

Two local organizations – the Tipp City Foundation and Minster Bank - have joined efforts to present an educational program on scams.

The free seminar, Become a Pro at Not Getting Conned, by scammers is open to the community. It will be held 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. June 15 at the Tipp Center.

RSVPs should be made by June 8, at Minster Bank at 1-866-646-7837 or minsterbank.com/RSVP.

The presenter will be Sylvia Pla-Raith, director of the elder justice unit for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

“The volume of scams has increased heavily over the past few years. With technological advances, we always see increased nefarious uses for that,” said Detective Sgt. Tony Smith of the Tipp City Police Department. He and Detective Michael Morgan listed the following most common scams:

-      Calling an elderly person and telling them that their grandchild is in jail. The scammers start by telling the grandparent the child does not want their parents to know to hopefully prevent them to reaching out to someone who might recognize the scam. The caller says money is needed for the grandchild to bond out of jail and often asks for upwards of $20,000 to post bond.

-      A caller will state that the victim’s computer or phone has been contaminated by a virus or has been identified as containing child pornography. In order to avoid prosecution or to release control of the device, they need to send money.

-      A victim will receive a call from someone identifying as an officer within the IRS or the Tipp City Police Department. The caller will tell them that they have a warrant for their arrest, and they need to send money immediately in order to cancel the warrant. To be clear, neither the IRS or the Tipp City Police Department will ever call and ask for money over the phone, the detectives said.

-      Another increasingly popular scam is targeting teenagers, Smith and Morgan said. The scammer will meet the teen on a social media platform and develop a relationship. Over time, they will send nude photos and ask the teen to send some back

Once they receive nude photos of the victim, they then demand money, or they will send the photos to their family and friends. The scammer will then, much like the others, demand money be sent through electronic means or gift cards.

“Getting snapped in the trap of scammers is an increasing problem for people. It's not a big city problem, it's an everywhere problem. The confidence of criminals grows with every technological advancement,” said Heather Bailey of the Tipp City Foundation.

"These scammers are smart, so people need better tools to stay ahead of the bad guys. This seminar is a way to help our citizens hang onto their savings,” she said.

Although the foundation typically funds the work of nonprofits delivering projects to the community, the seminar presented a different type of opportunity,” Bailey said.

The invitation by Minster Bank to jointly present the consumer affairs seminar was attractive, she said. “Our co-sponsorship is also personal for several on our board. Many of us know someone who has fallen into the trap of a scammer, and we stood by helplessly as it happened,” Bailey said.

By Heather Bailey

The Tipp City Foundation recently awarded over $33,000 in scholarships. Many awards went to graduating high school seniors while $8,000 went to renewable awards from prior years. Of the 61 endowment funds within the Foundation, 18 represent scholarships.

Often these funds commemorate inspirational values of the scholarship founder; when this is the case, applicants are measured against those standards. Winners are determined through a vetting process led by an independent body of judges. To read more about the stories behind each of the scholarship funds or to apply for future scholarships, visit www.tippfoundation.org.

Graduates from Tippecanoe, Bethel, and

Miami East are represented. 

Ernest Clay Back Scholarship for History – (not awarded for 2023)

Lester & Cleon Bowers Family Scholarship – Dottie Everett

Marlene E. Chapman Memorial Scholarship – Ameila Campbell

Jeanette C. Gaston Memorial Music Scholarship – Theodore Thompson

Gilmore Family Scholarship – Kaitlyn Dankworth

Sarah Gross Scholarship for Sportsmanship – Eliza Zweizig

Life is a Journey - Don't Stop Believing Scholarship – Cami Gingrich

Katherine G. Lobo Memorial Scholarship – Sean Nicholas

McKee Family Matthew 5:16 Scholarship – Makenna Gentry

Sarah Merritt Memorial Scholarship – (not awarded for 2023)

John and Louise Miller Memorial Scholarship – Lydia Brannan

Robert E. Nessle Memorial Scholarship – Max Colby

Elizabeth Spano Scholarship – Jillian Magato

Tipp City Rotary Club Scholarship – Lydia Brannan, Emma Davis, Connor Snider,

Tipp City Rotary Club Renewal Scholarship – Kylie Balkcom, Emily Graham, Alexander Holbrook, Alayna Liskey, Kailey Longo, Luke Norman, Noah McElhose, Alicia Miller

Tippecanoe Alumni Scholarship – Ayeva Tilley, Shelby Hept

Wenzlau Family Scholarship – Connor Snider, Kayla Williams

Willhelm Family Scholarship – Benjamin Anticoli

The Tipp City Foundation is a member fund of The Troy Foundation. If you would like information about how to establish an endowment fund or to make a tax-deductible contribution, please contact Heather Bailey at (937) 528-2482.

For more information visit www.tippfoundation.org or Tipp Foundation on Facebook.

By Nancy Bowman

Read Across America Week was celebrated earlier this month at Nevin Coppock Elementary School with local illustrator Liz Ball drawing students into the world of hidden pictures.

Ball, creator of the Hidden Picture Puzzles books, shared tips on developing a hidden picture using items associated with the students' and their teachers’ interests to grab the young people’s attention.

Read Across America Week is celebrated each year on or near March 2, which is the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss.

The nationwide celebration of reading was created by the National Education Association in 1997 as a means to promote literacy and encourage a love of reading among young children, said Nancy Carus, a Nevin Coppock teacher. The Nevin Coppock Literacy Committee developed the local activity.

Ball was invited this year to demonstrate for kindergarten and first grade students the creative stages of developing illustrations.

The week’s theme, “We Can Be Reading Detectives,” was reflected in activities centered around the hidden pictures and mystery books.

“Students read with magnifying glasses, flashlights, solved clues of a mystery reader and dressed as their favorite book character. During Liz’s visit, students enjoyed having the opportunity to create their own hidden picture,” Carus said. “They were proud of their work and had fun finding the objects in the pictures Liz created.”

Ball said she first led students and teachers in an exercise where she made a personalized hidden picture for a teacher with students helping provide information on the teacher’s favorite things such as animals, hobbies and activities.

She then led students through a step by step how to make a hidden picture. “This is always fun, and their drawings are adorable!” Ball said.

She also allowed time for the students to ask her questions.

"Their enthusiasm, concentration on drawing and behavior made it a pleasure to be part of their day.  Besides helping with spatial skills, hidden pictures also improve eye coordination, memory retention and concentration--but kids (and adults) just look at them as fun,” she said.

The Read Across America Week project received funding through a grant sought from and awarded by the Tipp City Foundation.

By Nancy Bowman

Read Across America Week was celebrated earlier this month at Nevin Coppock Elementary School with local illustrator Liz Ball drawing students into the world of hidden pictures.

Ball, creator of the Hidden Picture Puzzles books, shared tips on developing a hidden picture using items associated with the students' and their teachers’ interests to grab the young people’s attention.

Read Across America Week is celebrated each year on or near March 2, which is the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss.

The nationwide celebration of reading was created by the National Education Association in 1997 as a means to promote literacy and encourage a love of reading among young children, said Nancy Carus, a Nevin Coppock teacher. The Nevin Coppock Literacy Committee developed the local activity.

Ball was invited this year to demonstrate for kindergarten and first grade students the creative stages of developing illustrations.

The week’s theme, “We Can Be Reading Detectives,” was reflected in activities centered around the hidden pictures and mystery books.

“Students read with magnifying glasses, flashlights, solved clues of a mystery reader and dressed as their favorite book character. During Liz’s visit, students enjoyed having the opportunity to create their own hidden picture,” Carus said. “They were proud of their work and had fun finding the objects in the pictures Liz created.”

Ball said she first led students and teachers in an exercise where she made a personalized hidden picture for a teacher with students helping provide information on the teacher’s favorite things such as animals, hobbies and activities.

She then led students through a step by step how to make a hidden picture. “This is always fun, and their drawings are adorable!” Ball said.

She also allowed time for the students to ask her questions.

"Their enthusiasm, concentration on drawing and behavior made it a pleasure to be part of their day.  Besides helping with spatial skills, hidden pictures also improve eye coordination, memory retention and concentration--but kids (and adults) just look at them as fun,” she said.

The Read Across America Week project received funding through a grant sought from and awarded by the Tipp City Foundation.

A robust variety of grant requests were submitted for the Tipp City Foundation’s first quarterly meeting. Perennial favorites among them addressed literacy, children’s dental care, and new high school stadiums. Read more about these below.

Other requests stood out for the scale and scope of the need. One of those is Bethel Hope’s expansion into book bags and backpacks for incoming refugee students. These essentials for building a new life in a new country are in demand as resettled families move into the Bethel community.

Ultimately, 12 organizations were chosen to receive 13 awards. Grants totaled $43,612 for the first quarter.

The following is a list of recipients, award levels and the impact these grants will make. Any additional support that donor advisors gave through their grantmaking is included.

ARTS & CULTURE

Project T.I.P.P. (Teens Impacting and Promoting Philanthropy), $5,000, gives teens grantmaking responsibility in conjunction with the Tipp City Chamber of Commerce’s Teen Leadership Academy. 

Tipp City Exempted Village Schools, $1,635, hosts children’s book author and illustrator Will Hillenbrand in K-1 classes, to discuss the creative stages of making a book.

Tipp City Exempted Village Schools, $699, updates the high school band room with a Harmony Director, a keyboard that helps make teaching more effective.

Tipp City Seniors, $5,000, fills out a newly renovated space by purchasing tables and chairs. Members will be able to show off this new space in just a few months. Awarded, in part, from the Jim and June Kyle Family Fund and the August Henke Comfort for the Needy Fund.

EDUCATION

Bethel Local Schools, award, pilots the Positive Behavior Support Rewards project in the elementary. A Robinson-Walters Family Fund grant.

Troy-Miami County Public Library, $2,000, supports Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

ENVIRONMENT

Brukner Nature Center, $1,278, warms orphaned and injured wildlife in three new incubators. Nearly 1,300 wild patients pass through this rehabilitation unit annually. 

HEALTH & SAFETY

Miami County Dental Clinic, $5,000, supports Traveling Smiles, a dental care program for uninsured and underinsured children from our community.

RECREATION

Bethel Local Schools, $5,000, represents a payment towards the Foundation’s commitment of $25,000 to build a new stadium. Awarded, in part, from the Bethel Arts Fund.

Tipp Monroe Community Services, $3,600, defrays Camp Kern excursion costs for 95 campers.

Tipp Pride Association, $7,500, represents a payment towards the Foundation’s commitment of $75,000 to build a new stadium in City Park.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Bethel Hope, $3,000, purchases book bags and school supplies for incoming students in need. Many of these students are from resettled refugee families.

DREAM Pet Rescue, $2,400, spays and neuters dogs from the Miami County Animal Shelter.

GIVE Medical Ministry, $1,500, supplements durable medical equipment for this lending source.

Quarterly grant deadlines are February 15, May 15, August 15, and November 15 each year. Jim Ranft is available for your grant-related questions at 937-528-2482. Applications are available online at www.tippfoundation.org.

Since 1943, the Tipp City Foundation has awarded $2,713,187.86 through December 31, 2022.

Members of the Foundation are Heather Bailey, Richard Bender, vice president, Bryan Blake, Mary Bowman, Diana Featherstone, treasurer, Dee Gillis, Joellen Heatherly, Bruce McKenzie, Glen McMurry, Patrick Reese, Jim Ranft, president and distribution chair, Julie Taylor, Jackie Wahl, and Bill Wendel, secretary.

The Tipp City Foundation is a component fund of The Troy Foundation. If you would like information about how to make a tax-deductible contribution or how to establish an endowment fund, please contact Heather Bailey at (937) 528-2482.

For more information visit www.tippfoundation.org or Tipp Foundation on Facebook and Instagram.

Claudia Houdeshell Koerner has returned to her hometown after more than 50 years. She has established a legacy connection with two funds, focusing on supporting those interested in the trades and providing equipment and facilities to related educational institutions. The funds, established in recent months, honor her husband Phil, who passed away in 2021, and his decades-long respect for those who work in the trades.

Philip Koerner, an east coast native whom Claudia met when she moved to Hartford, Connecticut, following graduation from Miami University, worked as an insurance company executive. Claudia worked in the insurance business for a time, then later obtained a master's degree in library science and also worked in real estate. 

The Koerners lived in Hartford and then in New Hampshire. Through the years, they owned many houses and came to appreciate the skill and pride which so many brought to their work. “His fear was that the emphasis on education in the trades was no longer a priority,” said Claudia. “Hopefully, these funds will be an encouragement for some who might not otherwise consider entering these fields.” The Road Less Traveled Scholarship Fund is for anyone of any age who wants to pursue the trades. The Koerner Family Fund is more geared toward providing equipment and facilities for trade-associated colleges and trade schools. 

The Koerners were planning on moving back to Tipp City in 2021. However, Philip passed unexpectedly before he could make the move. So, Claudia is again making Tipp City her home. “I am happy to be here” she said, noting that her sister and nieces and their families live locally, as well as some old school friends. She was familiar with the Tipp City Foundation through a bequest left by her parents, Gene and Jean Houdeshell. “The Foundation does good work, and I am happy to help where I can. This is where I'm from and where I plan to stay. The Tipp City Foundation was the right way for me to go. I'm happy with my choice.”