Million Father March Endorsed by Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory

I am pleased to learn that Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory is calling on fathers to drop their children off at school on the first day as part of a nationwide initiative: the Million Father March. He has also asked elected officials to visit a local school on the morning of August 16th, which is the first day of classes for Cincinnati Public Schools. Mayor Mallory will be attending his alma mater, Woodward Career and Technical High School.

"This is a great way to get fathers involved in their child's education. There is a strong connection between attending school on the first day, active involvement by a father, and high student achievement. That is why I am asking all local fathers to participate by dropping their children off at school on the first day," Mayor Mark Mallory said.

The Million Father March was founded by the Black Star Project, a Chicago nonprofit organization. Ten Chicago fathers organized the first March in 1996, and it has grown to a nationwide initiative. Last year, 800,000 men in 500 cities nationwide participated in the Million Father March by dropping their children off at school on the first day. This year the Million Father March predicts that 1,000,000 fathers will participate.

Mayor Mallory hopes that Cincinnati will help The Million Father March reach their national 1,000,000 father goal. All local fathers, mentors, brothers, uncles, and any important figures in a child's life are encouraged to be a part of this initiative by dropping their children off at school on the first day.

I hope that all villagers with children still in public schools will participate in this effort regardless of where you might live. What say u?

Worst First Pitch in the History of Baseball * John Wall vs. Mariah Carey vs. Mayor Mallory

John Wall was the #1 pick in the NBA draft last year. He is a world-class basketball player. I guess he didn't fully realize that throwing a first pitch at a baseball game is not the same as throwing a bounce pass in a NBA game.   This pitch was thrown on June 17, 2011.







I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. As such, I'm very proud of our city's mayor. Mayor Mallory is a young brother with a strong family legacy in local and state politics. So, we were surprised, shamed and humiliated when Mayor Mallory made the first pitch last year at a major league baseball game. Take 35 seconds to relive the horror of it all:







Fast forward to May 2008. Someone thinks it is a bright idea for Mariah Carey to throw out the first pitch at a major league game in Japan. Mariah Carey has many skills ... throwing a baseball ain't one of them ... especially when you are wearing 5-inch heels to do so:







John's pitch may have been picture-perfect on the fast break of a basketball game ... Mariah's pitch had better direction ... Mayor Mallory's pitch had more distance. I dunno. Which one do you think earns the honor of being the 'Worst First Pitch in the History of Baseball'?

Cincinnati State of the City

Mark Mallory was sworn in as the 68th Mayor of the City of Cincinnati on December 1, 2005. Mayor Mallory’s election marks the first time in over 70 years that Cincinnati has elected a Mayor who was not previously a member of City Council. Mallory is also the first directly elected African American Mayor in Cincinnati’s history. Mayor Mallory is a life-long Cincinnatian, born and raised in the West End. He is a graduate of the Cincinnati Academy of Math and Science and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Administrative Management from the University of Cincinnati. Personally, I think that Mayor Mallory is a breath of fresh air in our town. I've lived here for most of the past 13 years and I think that he is a leader in all sense of the word. I don't know him personally. I've been in the audience on a couple of occassions when he was the speaker.

In any case, I enjoy the annual State of the Union exercise from our president. However, I've never paid much attention to the State of the City speeches put on by the Cincinnati mayor. Frankly, I don't even know if they have done them before. However, I see that Mayor Mallory gave a State of the City speech at a downtown venue earlier this week. Click here if you would like a copy of his speech. If you are more visual ... you can click here to see his speech online.

I would be interested in your comment on the part(s) of his speech that you found the most interesting.