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Have you ever had to reinvent yourself, because of the big changes in our local economy or in your personal life? Did you lose a job, go back to school, do things you never thought you’d be doing? What is that like?

ReInvention Stories: Tad Erichsen and John Footh

John Footh and Tad Erichsen
Jerry Kenney
John Footh and Tad Erichsen

Today on ReInvention Stories, we'll visit Five Oaks, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Dayton. Five Oaks has been in decline for 25 years, and plagued with crime. Since 2008, home foreclosures have been rampant and vacant properties are common.

Some Five Oaks residents have dedicated themselves to their community's reinvention, and they're working with the city to bring their neighborhood back. Tad Erichsen and John Footh are recent transplants to Five Oaks, who are reinventing themselves along the way.

Major funding for the second season of ReInvention Stories comes from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation with support from Wright State University CELIA fund, the Yellow Springs Community Foundation and Antioch College.

Jerry began volunteering at WYSO in 1991 and hosting Sunday night's Alpha Rhythms in 1992. He joined the YSO staff in 2007 as Morning Edition Host, then All Things Considered. He's hosted Sunday morning's WYSO Weekend since 2008 and produced several radio dramas and specials . In 2009 Jerry received the Best Feature award from Public Radio News Directors Inc., and was named the 2023 winner of the Ohio Associated Press Media Editors Best Anchor/News Host award. His current, heart-felt projects include the occasional series Bulletin Board Diaries, which focuses on local, old-school advertisers and small business owners. He has also returned as the co-host Alpha Rhythms.
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