5 Years of Writing for Cool Cleveland
Five years ago this December I submitted my first piece to Cool Cleveland. I got my foot through the door at this publication by sharing my concert review of Chrissie Hynde’s HOB performance. Thomas liked it and welcomed me to his team.
Since then, he’s generously encouraged me to write on whatever topic was of interest. He knows that when people love what they do they’ll always deliver better quality work. So whether exploring the growing Cleveland film industry, the robust gastronomic scene, the CareerTOOLBOX column or any other cultural musing that inspired the curiosity, Thomas and, later, he and Sarah, green-lit every pitch I ever sent them. I am grateful to Thomas and team for all of it.
Reaching piece #100 and celebrating five years with Cool Cleveland wasn’t planned. In fact if I was aiming for this kind of numerical coincidence, it probably wouldn’t have happened. But it did. And that’s cool. I asked both Thomas and Sarah what would make for a memorable anniversary piece. Both liked my idea of doing the Cleveland Bucket List, which ran at #99. Then Thomas suggested the following: “…you could look back and do a bit of a greatest hits: top stories you wrote that made the most impact or where you received the biggest response.”
I genuinely liked his idea and began to do some reflection. So much has changed between December 2009 and December 2014. And some of the things I once wrote about no longer exist. But at the time they were featured in this publication, they were vivid experiences and viable businesses. Thus when putting this list together, I didn’t just aim for the timeless. The timely is just as relevant. Because at the time it was written about, a connection was made between the thing itself and the writer and then between the words and the readers.
So, without any more philosophical digest, in chronological order, here’s my Top 10:
10. CareerTOOLBOX: Entering Opportunities, Getting To Your Career Baseline – In December 2009, unemployment was at 10%. Many of my educated friends had no jobs. Cleveland, like the rest of the country, was struggling. So I started my writing path in Cool Cleveland with the CareerTOOLBOX column — specifically this piece — sharing advice based on the 20 years of experience I earned in Corporate America. The column has remained popular with the Cool Cleveland audience and as of today, 40 pieces have been written within this theme.
9. The Primal Urge for Simple Food: B-Spot Transports – This was my second Cool Cleveland submission. Of course it had be about food. Michael Symon just opened his first B-Spot, in Eaton Center, and my friend Sara and I went to check it out. We loved the experience and I worked hard to ensure that energy came through the piece. Since then, Simon’s gone on to co-host The Chew, open more B-spots, sells many, many books and yet continues to be the Cleveland Son, representing this city with his magnetic spirit.
8. Cleveland in Film: The Era of Dysfunction – I met Ben Lieblich here in Cleveland at a mutual friend’s party. We immediately became close friends and later discovered our love, no, our obsession with film. And in 2010 we wrote several articles on the topic for a few publications, especially how film has impacted Gen Exers. For Cool Cleveland, we specifically focused on how the earlier movies shot here all connected and what overall theme lingered. This was, of course, prior to The Avengers and Captain America: Winter Soldier. This piece focused on Cleveland before its cultural tipping point. And just a couple of months before we lost Harvey Pekar.
7. Music to Cleveland’s Ears: The Rise of V107.3 FM – Besides film, food and writing, my other favorite thing in life is music. And living in Cleveland is no coincidence. (Back in the mid-’90s, in Chicago, John Landecker, a DJ now featured at the Rock Hall, recruited me to his station: Oldies/WJMK.) In 2010 this totally fantastic radio station hit N.E. Ohio’s airwaves and I was hooked. So I wrote about it and secretly hoped it would be on the air forever. But, as markets never rest, the station was bought/sold/changed format. The gift in all of that was I got to befriend a certain Suzy Peters, whose entire career is steeped deep in radio. Just a few months ago, Suzy opened the door and her radio station, AM 930 WEOL, gave me my first radio interview, where we discussed my new book as well as the 2015 Rock Hall Nominees, announced just that morning.
6. The Desert of Forbidden Art: An International Treasure Resurfaces in Cleveland – In 2010, I had that rare impeccable gift of acquiring an all-access press pass to the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF). During that week, I lost track of the films I watched. Yet some remained forever memorable.
I saw The Desert of Forbidden Art, a documentary about an art museum in the place where you’d least expect it, and also got to meet two of the movie’s key filmmakers: Amanda Pope and Tchavdar Georgiev. The overlaps and connections made that day continue to deliver on life’s best surprises. Since then, Tchavdar has generously introduced me to his peers, including the talented Lisa Leeman, whose One Lucky Elephant screened at the 2011 CIFF and also Doug Blush, whom I first met when, in 2012, he screened Of Two Minds. This year Doug won an Oscar for his editorial work on 20 Feet From Stardom. And just this October we got to break bread in Akron, where he was working on his next project.
5. CareerTOOLBOX: High Aspirations? High Heels! – Seems like whenever I write about gender related issues for CareerTOOLBOX, it instigates something within people. Sometimes they get mad, sometimes they agree, but there tends to be a stirring reaction. I just do my best on telling people how it is. When this piece came out in 2011, the comments on Facebook were quite something! It was as though I was the one telling women to break their backs. No, just sharing professional cues and what the price of success is these days.
4. REVIEW: Road to Red Carpet – Cleveland Celebrates the Oscars – Just weeks prior to exiting Corporate America, I was introduced to Ivan Schwarz of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission. That introduction altered the trajectory of my career. Ivan and his team have been working tirelessly, attracting the business of show business to the 216. They also started throwing Red Carpet Oscar events and I was fortunate enough to have attended the very first one, back in 2009. In 2012, I attended again and then shared with the Cleveland community the positive impact and growth the GCFC is having on our city.
3. CareerTOOLBOX: Why Are These Executives Making Everyone So Nervous? The Influence of Marissa Mayer and Sheryl Sandberg – In 2013, both Marissa Mayer (Yahoo) and Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook) made corporate history by earning their power at the top. This propelled a nervous tick within America’s corporate walls. As a woman who climbed her way into management positions at multiple international corporations, I witnessed a thing or two. For this specific article I also wanted the stats to speak for themselves and did a lot of research on the topic. Receiving strong and positive comments, both public and private, from former coworkers as well as former female bosses, was the most gratifying part of the process.
2. CareerTOOLBOX #29: 3 Lessons from Kelly Blazek’s LinkedIn Debacle – It was my second to last night in Dublin, Ireland, February, 2014, and I was walking through a mall when Thomas Mulready sent me an email asking me to write a quick turnaround piece about the social media fiasco that everyone was talking about. I immediately reached out to Cleveland graphic designer Tony Ramos and asked him for his POV. Together that night we put together a raw piece that, Dublin time, I submitted to Cool Cleveland at 4am. Our goal wasn’t to further crucify someone. Instead, using our mutually favorite Netflix show House of Cards as as the anchor to our story we simply wanted to point out how the business world, and its expected etiquette, has pivoted. And those still stuck in the same place will no longer have room at the table.
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – How It Makes Cleveland Look – In April, 2014, I was nestled in Austin, Texas, where I thought I was going to live next. My one month there was so absurd that I even wrote a story about it. Down there, I met Priscilla, a mutual friend of a mutual friend, and together, at least once a week, we saw a movie or two. By the time we saw Captain America, I knew that I’d be moving back to Cleveland. But watching that movie, and seeing how cool this city really is, strongly contributed to my return. Because sometimes it really does take a superhero to save a damsel in geographical distress.
Alexsandra (Alex) Sukhoy, a globally-networked creative and business professional, is CEO of Creative Cadence LLC. Her Career Coaching skills have resulted in numerous success stories for her clients.Her new novella, Diary of the Dumped: 30 Days From Break Up to Breakthrough, is now available on Amazon, in paperback and Kindle.
Alex recently completed her new book: The Dating GPS™, with childhood friend and Relationship Coach Anita Myers.
Follow Alex on Twitter: @creativecadence.