It was 1990 and Akron was to celebrate the first of many triumphs in a decade of growth, following a much less fortunate era. Inventure Place hadn’t been built yet, but the first induction ceremonies in Akron required more than a quiet reception. Ann Brennan remembers working on the committee for the celebration, which ended up taking place in one of the largest free-standing structures in the world-the Goodyear Air Dock.
“It was the first time we were doing the induction here in Akron, so we really wanted to pull out all the stops and make things terrific,” Brennan says. “We came up with the idea for the venue, and early on, for various reasons, people were convinced it wouldn’t happen. I was convinced it could, and it would, and it did.” Brennan describes the set-up for the event as “an invasion,” with people working in teams to bring in everything from bathrooms to the kitchen sink.
Brennan herself takes little credit. It’s a characteristic Akron has come to expect from one of its leading civic boosters.
“Fortunately, Mary Ann Jackson took care of the logistics for much of that event, and as usual, everything went well,” Brennan says. “I served as a questioner, asking things like ‘how will we get this in and out?'” Jackson, well-known in the civic circles that Brennan helped define, now serves as board president for the Akron Civic Theatre.
“But it was an outstanding event, and I don’t think anybody who was there will forget it,” Brennan adds.
Brennan grew up in the Akron of another era. She remembers when rubber ruled, paying for all the amenities that Ohio’s biggest little city could hope for. She then watched it all grow rusty.
But her confidence in Akron has never wavered, and it has never been stronger than it is today. That’s why, when asked to come up with a defining moment of civic pride, she recalls that first Inventure Place induction.
From co-founding the Akron Area Arts Alliance to serving on the boards of everything from area hospitals to Blossom Music Center, Brennan’s list of accomplishments could fill a book. But as with most overachievers, it’s never enough.
Just recently, at an age when most people start to look inward and make some decisions that could be considered justifiably selfish, Brennan has taken a lead role in the ownership of a once failing hotel complex in the heart of downtown Akron, which now operates under the Radisson nameplate. She is also continuing her work in the nonprofit sector, most notably at the moment on behalf of local hospitals.
Charitable giving and community activism are the kinds of things people tend to think about during the holiday season. That’s why SBN sought out Akron’s other Brennan-wife of the white-hatted David Brennan, lawyer, landowner and empire builder, who casts a shadow so large that others tend to get lost in it.
We asked Brennan (Ann, that is) what makes a civic leader tick? What motivates and challenges her? And most important, where will the next generation of do-gooders come from?
Brennan has spent many years serving the community and has some important thoughts on these issues.
After spending time with her, we realized that activism isn’t necessarily taught or inherited. We found that making a difference in the community is often a learned skill, honed over the years. And through the eyes of a veteran volunteer, we see the changing face of civic pride and the challenges that modern life brings to the social arena.
Motivated to work hard … for free
“Think about making your place in the world a little better than you found it,” is Brennan’s first advice to novice volunteers.
But something less lofty helps make that feeling come naturally.
Brennan thinks the best motivator is getting involved with a “face-to-face” activity, such as the local chapter of Big Brothers and Big Sisters, local hospitals or nursing homes.
“If people are able to get involved, they will find more satisfaction by doing a one-on-one activity,” Brennan says. “We need, many times, to see the people we’re helping, and that becomes a motivator in itself. Most hospitals have people who put together and deliver holiday baskets. Those people see that the things they’re doing are really making a difference in somebody else’s life.”
Brennan wasn’t born an activist. Her mother wasn’t involved in the community, but Brennan says that’s what helped motivate her. Her mother, she says, was from another era, when women stayed in the home.
“I think she believes the more success an individual has in this world, the more obligated that person is to help others,” David Brennan says. Today, what continues to drive Brennan, at least in part, is the fear of becoming stagnant.
“One of the reasons I still continue as much as I am now is I need to have something to do,” she says. “Otherwise I will get out of sync.” Brennan says her first priority among causes is education.
“People can’t be interested in the arts if they don’t have a place to sleep or if they’re hungry. The basis for everything is education. If we get kids and adults who can read, write and think for themselves, the rest of it will flow … it will happen.
“Part of what motivates me is probably pride,” she continues. “I always figured I knew how to do these things as well or better than anyone else. If nobody knows how it should turn out, I can make it however I want it to be. It’s sort of like giving a baby that first bath. She’s never had a bath before, so if I act like I know what I’m doing, she won’t know the difference.”
There is, of course, the simple issue of longevity. People who volunteer enough, over enough years, develop a large circle of friends who will at least accept “the phone call.”
Brennan’s most recent contributions to community causes have been through fund-raising, a natural progression for any civic leader. Still, there are other activities she misses.
“I like seeing the people I’m doing something for face to face,” Brennan says. “Now I’m on that policymaking level or serving on a board, and those opportunities don’t present themselves very often. I’ve learned how to raise money, but I don’t get to rub up against people we’re ultimately trying to help as much. It’s like any other job you do, there’s an evolution to it as you learn new skills you just keep going higher.
“You always get more than you give,” Brennan continues. “You get to meet truly wonderful people and find out how the community is connected, and the resources that are available-if you just ask for them.”
From visiting a local nursing home to becoming involved in pre-organized events at the local church, needs can be found in every area.
“The only thing that will inhibit any of this is your creativity. You can do almost anything.”
Modern challenges
Once upon a time, when a person wanted to help others, he or she simply did it. Not so today.
With dual-income families, soccer games and all the other activities that keep society moving, there is little time to give. People may see the need to help and readily donate to well-known charities, but it raises the question of whether a monetary gift is enough.
Brennan doesn’t think so, but she definitely understands.
“When I first started working with different activities in the ’60s, it was a way to get a break from the children,” Brennan says. “It was a real reward to be able to be out and do things. We would spend a lot of time working on projects. There were no paid staff at the local charities, and we were used to that.
“Now it’s a little disappointing when people from the younger generation don’t want to do that. You don’t have time, you’re overworked and just trying to keep your families going. Women particularly are just really struggling to stay afloat.
“People my age are doing other things, too. It’s hard to get people of any age to be involved.” She hopes a new generation is simply finding its own way to prepare to meet a new set of community challenges. But she’s concerned that volunteerism has just become too hard-riddled with pol
ic
ies, procedures and unwelcoming stipulations.
“People are busy raising their families and establishing a career, but they will soon realize it’s necessary to share and give back. Just like the people who proceeded them, they will make the community a better place, a place where they can flourish and bring up a family.”
But as the environment for nonprofits has become more competitive and, shall we say, businesslike, too many have adopted risk aversion as an operating belief.
“They say, ‘We’ve always done it that way.’ That kind of attitude is stale and sometimes scares people away.”
Resume of a leader
As a child, Ann Amer wanted to be an actress. She attended Our Lady of the Elms School and, growing ever more practical, attended Catholic University, where she got a degree in political science.”
“My dad said to me, ‘What will you have to fall back on?’ So, I went to the University of Akron and got a teaching certificate.” She taught for a year at Thornton Junior High School in Akron before marrying David.
Over the years, her husband has made most of the headlines, whether for his mammoth land deals, his industrial holdings or his high-level political (Republican) fund-raising. But, he says, “In certain circles, I’m known as Mr. Ann Brennan.”
The two had four children, and when the youngest was a senior in high school, Ann started law school.
“It was a real shock,” Brennan says. “I had always been a very good student, but I had been out of school for 23 years. I was older than all my classmates and all the professors.”
She graduated in 1982, and practiced estate and probate law at Amer, Cunningham & Brennan. It was a relatively short episode in her career. She practiced for three years.
“She was a good lawyer,” David says of his wife. “It was more demanding than she thought it would be, and with her civic interests, she decided she couldn’t do both. She wanted to pursue civic activities. But her law degree has proven very useful to her. In certain groups, it gives her more credibility.”
Rebuilding a hotel
When the Brennans bought what is now the Radisson Hotel Akron City Centre in 1993, it was like many other downtown businesses-barely treading water.
So why would Ann, nearing retirement age, want to take on a leadership role in turning around a failing hotel-an undeniably brutal and exhausting business in even the best markets? A few reasons: The city’s ongoing revitalization needed the property to succeed and thrive; the Brennans had the money; and Ann thought she could get the job done.
“Akron is a first class city and it deserves a first class hotel,” Brennan says.
So far, the money has gone into it. It’s too soon to determine whether the work will pay off, but you have to respect the quality of the effort.
By the time Ann and her husband purchased the hotel, it had already changed hands several times, and Holiday Inn had pulled its franchise based on poor performance.
The Brennans bought a Ramada Inn franchise for the hotel and remodeled it in 1996, but that didn’t last either.
“We wanted a label that would attract the business traveler. There will always be leisure travelers, but the business traveler is the guts of the business.” So earlier this year, the 273-room hotel underwent another face lift, costing about $2 million.
The former home of the Akron City Club was revamped into a 17,000- square-foot meeting facility and conference center. In August, the Radisson name went up on the building.
Lane Hospitality Inc., headquartered in Illinois, was hired to manage the facility. Jeffrey Smith, former manager of the Omni International Hotel in Cleveland, was hired as general manager.
Smith would not reveal the hotel’s occupancy rate-the key measure of whether a hotel is operating at a profit, but he did say the rate has increased since the Radisson name was added.
Aside from making the venture more profitable, Brennan says adding to an already growing downtown is priority for her.
“I’m so excited with all the new restaurants here. We recently went to the symphony, and I called Treva’s for a dinner reservation, and they were already sold out at 5 o’clock. I think it’s wonderful this is happening. This is one of those things that will build on itself. The more people we attract downtown, the more people will come downtown.”
And what started it all, Brennan says, was a simple idea from one individual. Local attorney Ned Oldham wanted to bring Inventure Place to Akron.
“The mayor got behind the idea and many, many, many people have been involved. Even before we had a building, people were carrying the dream and making sure it happened.
“Somebody always has to have the idea first and then the vision and the skill to find the right implementers.”
As for Brennan herself, it’s characteristic that she doesn’t need to claim credit for being there at the beginning. It’s enough to know she’ll be there at all.