May 2010 Captured at the Speed of LIFE Community West Foundation was pleased to be presenting sponsor of one of the great events of the season! As hundreds of West Shore live well Magazine readers voted for the best places to eat, shop and have fun on the West Side, LaCentre in Westlake played host to the 4th Annual Best of the West Celebration. Best of the West finalists from more than 60 categories were on hand to showcase what’s made them a West Side favorite. Everything from restaurants to bowling alleys were there! Yes, it was the public’s turn to decide who comes out on top in the 2010 Best of the West competition. 1000 ballots were turned in, and results will be published in summer edition of live well Magazine. After that, you’ll see plenty of banners around town in front of the businesses and organizations that earned the right to lay claim to a Best of the West designation for 2010. Best of the West…. Community West Foundation… The Best of the West party, held April 27, Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough, Frank Bird of Great Lakes Linda Spencer and Peter Schindler of Community West brought rave reviews: “I have been to a lot of Publishing, and Edgar Alhajj of Spa West enjoyed the 2010 Best Foundation welcomed guests to this years’s Best of the West these type of events, most of them much more of the West celebration at LaCentre in Westlake April 27. The gathering at LaCentre in Westlake. Well known for it leadership costly, this one was unbelievable!! For $15.00 you annual event hosted by Cleveland Magazine and West Shore’s role in West Side philanthropic efforts, Community West Live Well Magazine brings friendly competition among local Foundation proved once again you can have a blast while got 2 drinks, a ton of delicious samples of food, businesses in a variety of consumer and community catego- also networking to help those in need within our community. Continued on page 2 ries. Yes, there is more on the shore! Put Your Best Foot Forward! Joel Collins of the Lake Erie Crushers has moved into the Josh Faiola Suite at The Belvedere of Westlake for the baseball season. He might also be hoping to borrow the keys to Belvedere’s PT Cruiser – now decked out with a Crusher paint job. After all, he autographed it! Play Ball! See page 6 for pictures & story. See page 4 for story and pictures. May 2010 Page 2 Continued from page 1 desserts, wine & beer. You also got a free subscription to the Cleveland Magazine!! They had drawings, giveaways, chair massages, and the place was gorgeous!!,” wrote a blogger on a related web site. “Even for the amount of people there, you didn’t have to wait in line for food and it didn’t feel crowded. They are having The Best of the East on Thursday, which I will be attending and posting. Hope to see you at the next one!” Admission included two complimentary drink tickets, light appetizers, entertainment and a ballot to cast a vote for the businesses you love most. This year’s event ticket also includes a 1-year subscription to both Cleveland Magazine and West Shore live well. Guests came for the food, stayed for the entertainment and helped prove there really is more to the shore! Live well Magazine is part of The Belvedere of Westlake got baseball season off to a the Great Lakes Publishing family, great start by sponsoring an appearance by Stomper of the which includes Back Fence Lake Erie Crushers at the Best of the West fest. Magazine, Cleveland Magazine, Inside Business, Lake Erie Living, Long Weekends and Ohio John Simacek and Pat Kubene-Simacek, representing Community Magazine. West Foundation, with Dana Kuhn, and Kevin Kuhn of 87 West enjoyed The event was also sponsored the Best of the West event as sponsored by Community West by PNC Bank. Foundation at LaCentre in Westlake April 27. Let the kids vote! A little visitor to the Best of the West fest at LaCentre says all you need to know about Joann Moell’s Kiddie Kollege display. With 33 years of serving the Pearl of the Orient owner George Hwang presents West Shore, Kiddie Kollege has become the regional leader a delicious offering from his diner’s choice restaurant in child care and preschool education. within Beachcliff Market Square. After 25 years of ex- cellence, Pearl of the Orient is a contender once again for Best of the West honors. Over the years, North Coast Challenge has become an annual community event, comprised of events such as a 5-mile run, 3- mile walk and a kids fun run. Started as Celebrate Westlake, the premier late summer event is once again a Best of the West contender. Heather Hurd, Tim Curran and Race Director Dave Camerino are mainstays of this community cause that benefits so many on the grounds of St. Johm Medical Center. Smiles for Sophie hosts a number of local fundraisers The gang from Westlake Village showed why their for victims of pediatric cancer. The group greeted many retirement facility is one of the best in Westlake and supporters at Best of the West. Marc and Emily Quayle of the West Shore. Avon Lake, who felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness Visit www.TheVillagerNewspaper.com when learning there was nothing the doctors could do to save Sophie’s precious life in 2007, founded the for a photo gallery of this event. organization. Page 3 - Paparazzi in the Park - May, 2010 How Mike Cooper Does It! Cooper Disposal: Where Business is Always Picking Up! When you are in the waste disposal business, it always have carte blanche when it comes to customer service brings a smile when you say business is picking up. because they are out there and able to address ques- But Mike Cooper of Cooper Disposal in Avon really tions immediately.” does make a difference, both in the local economy and in “We have a good problem. We are growing fast,” the community……. added Cooper, reporting that sales are already Mike’s heart for people was evident back in 2001, when Continued on page 4 the then-Bay resident drove non-stop to New York City to pitch in with volunteer 9-11 recovery assistance. Four years ago, he founded Cooper Disposal in Avon. It was a natural for him to immediately ener- gize his venture with community involvement. Today, he is riding a wave of dramatic growth in his expanding business. Cooper says the growth of his business from scratch to a $2.5 million annual venture is based on a simple social equation: To be recognized as a company that gives back to the community. “It is all just a way to give back. I am always looking to give back. “People wondered why I would start a business when the economy was heading down. And yet, it is coming back to me. I have been richly blessed, no doubt,” said Coop from his headquarters at 4645 Jaycox Road in Avon last week. Administrative Assistant Debbie Friss, Owner Mike Cooper His business of providing waste hauling ser- Mike Cooper, Roger and Heather Hill and Operations Manager Erin Morgan. vices, clean-out of homes and buildings, and providing waste removal containers for con- struction companies, roofers, and residential D.I.Y. homeowners is already $250,000 ahead of last year’s pace. But Cooper would rather talk about the dif- ference his company can make in helping the local economy recover or assisting those in need. His community spirit emerged from his rough and tumble beginnings in Canton, where a team-spirited gridiron mentality still sees Cooper on the sidelines for Bulldog games each fall at McKinley High. “I love those kids. I want them to know that if someone like me can make it, they can, too,” he said. “They should set their goals to make it. There is nothing I want more than to show these kids the future is what they can make it.” His annual Cleveland Browns home opener tailgate party is famed. Last year’s “World’s Biggest Beer Cooler” event literally tugged at heartstrings, however, as Cooper Dis- posal used it as a heart transplant fundraiser for 43-year old Roger Hill, a fellow McKinley grad faced with a critical cardiac crisis. The year before, he assisted a cancer patient. “Thank you to Mike Cooper for the very successful Cleveland Browns Tailgate Party on Sept. 13, 2009. Mike Cooper owner of Cooper Disposal, an old classmate of Roger’s, held the party before the game with the idea of having the world’s largest beer cooler with the proceeds going towards Roger’s medical expenses. It was great fun and we realized Mike Cooper has the world’s largest heart!” Posted by A Heart for Roger Hill www.AHeart4Roger.com Mike’s “people first” attitude is a driving force behind the rapid success of Cooper Dis- posal. A veteran of the waste management in- dustry, Mike broke away from the big compa- nies and earned contracts on his own in 2007. He was seen driving a golf cart and pro- viding clean-up for downtown Cleveland’s Gravity Games three summers ago. The ven- ture grew quickly and won enviable contracts for Cooper Disposal. Local contracts include the new Cleveland Clinic construction site in Avon and Westgate Mall in Fairview Park. With 126 containers in the field, Cooper and his team log dispatch drivers for daily runs that work more efficiently than scheduled routes.