< Previous%Locally SourcedLocally Sourced CONTENT SUBMITTED In June, Clearview Federal Credit Union presented two of its most esteemed awards - the Joseph C. Cirelli Community Service Award and the Ralph B. Canterbury Scholarship. These awards total $20,000 that Clearview invested back into the community to recognize the achievements of those it serves. Of that amount, Clearview awarded $15,000 in scholarships to college students from area schools. Ten students each received a $1,500 scholarship through the Ralph B. Canterbury Scholarship program. The scholarship is named in honor of former Clearview President/CEO Ralph B. Canterbury, who served the credit union for 34 years. This marks the 22nd year that Clearview has awarded the scholarship. Since its inception, Clearview has provided over $200,000 to students across Pennsylvania through the program. Clearview Federal Credit Union also selected this year’s recipient of the credit union’s Joseph C. Cirelli Community Service Award, which bears the name of the long-time Clearview employee and former president/CEO who recently passed away. Cirelli volunteered much of his time for charities and causes that fostered the spirit of Clearview’s vision - Helping People to Enjoy a Better Life. This year’s award recipient is Robin Redfern, who founded Bags & Blessings. Redfern epitomizes Cirelli’s legacy of service. Redfern, who is also a deputy sheriff, was inspired to start her organization after coping with her cancer diagnosis. In a moment when she felt like she might be giving up and giving in, Redfern received a gift bag. Inspired by that gesture, and after going into remission in 2010, she started Bags & Blessings in her kitchen. Her goal was to help people who were going through treatment for cancer by providing wellness and self-care items to help them heal their bodies and spirits. Going beyond giving these bags, the organization also helps with support groups, including one for children and teens who have lost a parent or close family member from cancer or have one currently in treatment. The charity has also partnered with local organizations to create a memorial garden at Brady’s Run Park in Beaver Falls. Bags & Blessings will receive a $5,000 donation in recognition of Redfern’s dedication. Clearview awards $20,000 to area students and volunteers Robin Redfern (pictured at center), a deputy sheriff and founder of Bags & Blessings, was named the winner of this year’s Joseph C. Cirelli Community Service Award. Pictured with her are Lisa Florian, Clearview SVP Digital Strategy & Marketing; Brian B. Notman Jr., Treasurer - Clearview Board of Directors; Rachel Marchionda from Bags & Blessings; Jack Manning, Beaver County Commissioner; Kylee Cipolla, Deputy, Beaver County Sheriff’s Department; Brian O’Connor, Redfern’s father; Paul Radatovich, Deputy Chief, Beaver County Sheriff’s Department; Cindy McConnell, Clearview Board of Directors; Tony Guy, Beaver County Sheriff; and Ron Celaschi, Clearview President and CEO. 10 • Allegheny West Magazine • August/September 2021% New in Town New in Town Chad Shipley started running several years back in order to get into better shape, but quickly realized that he was missing out on a comprehensive strength training program. “With work, family, and running, I didn’t have much time to do a properly balanced fitness program. I started looking for a place that I could just show up to and get my butt kicked, but all I found were overpriced programs that didn’t fit my busy schedule,” Shipley says. That got Shipley to thinking that there were probably a lot of other people just like him, and that idea eventually led to him opening his own gym, Sweat Bar Fitness, in 2020. The 3,000 square-foot facility sits adjacent to the Ft. Pitt Inn on Steubenville Pike and is commonly regarded for its great music, cleanliness, equipment options and unique circuit training layout. “I loved the idea of fitness because it checked all the boxes for me,” he says. “I knew it was something we could build a community around and would help people change lives. I wanted to meet needs that our customers didn’t even know they had.” Shipley considered purchasing a fitness franchise but wanted the ability to build a unique brand with a strength training focus and family culture that everyone could enjoy. He knew his background in management consulting would serve him well, but he also needed a team of professionals. Caitie Reppert was instrumental in the branding, studio design and supplier relationships. Super Deep Creative was hired on as marketing consultants. Derrick Carson served as a strategic advisor, and Maddy Martinez was hired as the head trainer to create a one-of-a-kind strength training program that utilizes core, cardio and strength conditioning. Together, they created an intense yet accessible circuit-training program for any and all levels of fitness. “We’ve made it more for the general population,” says Shipley. “It’s about integrating everyday movements and muscle groups so people feel and function better.” A team of amazing trainers followed and have all contributed to building a gym that has garnished over 400 five-star reviews since opening. Sweat Bar Fitness was also recently named Pittsburgh’s best gym by Pittsburgh Magazine. “We not only survived a global pandemic a few months after opening, we went on to be voted the #1 gym in Pittsburgh because of a community that believed in us,” says Shipley. Shipley says that community consists of both elite athletes and people who have never been to a gym. A number of members who had zero experience coming in have since had great results, including many over the age of 45. “They would have never thought they would enjoy lifting weights, but they love it,” he says. Shipley says a workout at Sweat Bar utilizes 14 stations that clients cycle through during a one-hour workout. Members switch from station to station every few minutes, mixing in core, cardio, and strength exercises. As the head trainer, Martinez ensures that every workout is very different and hits all muscle groups. Members love the workouts because they’re highly engaging and go by very fast. “We design the workouts, teach the proper technique, and ensure people are getting the help and modifications that they need,” says Shipley. “All they have to do is show up and be ready to have an amazing workout.” Because there’s a technical aspect to any form of lifting, a trainer assists members. “That’s part of why it’s so awesome,” says Shipley, “because you’re getting very individualized attention from trainers for a fraction of the price. You’re learning how to strength train, but you’re in a group setting, which makes it fun and affordable.” Sweat Bar offers classes all day, from as early as 5 a.m. to as late as 5:45 p.m. Shipley says class sizes range from one to 28, with an average class size of 10. Open gym times are also available. Compared to other group-focused training programs, Sweat Bar is very affordable. For $99 every four weeks, gym users can drop in as much or as little as they want, and there are no long-term contracts. Newcomers can get three weeks of unlimited sessions for only $30 by texting “30” to (412) 214-8935. Outside of the gym, Sweat Bar’s members have also built something of a community. Members compete in and have held various fundraisers and fitness events. Shipley likens it to “a force of nature.” For more about Sweat Bar, text “agent” to (412) 214-8935, email drip@sweatbarfitness.com, or visit their website www. sweatbarfitness.com. Don’t forget to check out their amazing testimonials page. Find them on Facebook and Instagram: @SweatBarFitness. New local gym Sweat Bar Fitness voted #1 in Pittsburgh after first year STORY SUBMITTED PHOTOS BY DOUG HUGHEY ABOVE: Chad Shipley is pictured outside his gym, Sweat Bar. BELOW: The group gathers following a workout. Sweat Bar members cycle through stations during a workout. LEFT: Head trainer Maddie Martinez shows members proper form for kettlebell deadlifts. SECOND FROM LEFT OVER: Box step jumps are one station while oblique raises and battle rope slams are two others. August/September 2021 • www.awmagazine.com • 11CAround Your Town Around Your Town Before Wally Wasik of North Fayette Township lost his leg in 2013, he loved to spend time in his garden. A Vietnam veteran, Wasik says he lost his leg due to complications following a knee replacement. The two things he’s missed most since then, he says, are gardening and hunting. In June, about a half dozen teenagers and a couple of adults who Wasik had never met showed up at his house to help him rekindle one of those interests. They built him a new wheelchair ramp and a planter box right on his front porch. Though it’s hardly the kind of garden he once had, the planter and ramp have allowed Wasik to do something he’s been aching to do for some time. The not-so-random act of kindness wasn’t the only one that took place during the week of June 20 in the West Allegheny community. In all, about 50 residents across the area received assistance from approximately 250 people who traveled from as far away as Minnesota, Indiana and Connecticut. Throughout the week, participants performed exterior work such as painting, caulking and weatherproofing. Some also built handrails, steps and wheelchair ramps. Many participants said they came from churches and youth groups to take part in the effort, known as West Allegheny Workcamp. Group Mission Trips, a national faith-based organization, helped connect the groups with the camp, which operates under the umbrella of the local nonprofit Heroes Supporting Heroes. That organization assists area veterans and seniors with a variety of needs, including home repairs. According to camp director Brian Anderson from Group Mission Trips, volunteers taking part in the camp raise their own funds for travel, lodging and even supplies that are used throughout the week. “Typically, a youth group will raise funds based on how many people want to go,” says Anderson. “The churches kick in money, too. It’s a lot of work to do it.” This work camp marked the fourth that has taken place in the West Allegheny community. According to Jeff Lutz, who helps head up the local effort for Heroes Supporting Heroes, a work camp was supposed to take place in 2020 but was cancelled due to COVID-19. As a result, numerous projects that he and other volunteers had identified had been put off a year. He says those projects were largely from elderly residents or those experiencing hardships. By the time this year’s camp rolled around, he says, those projects were long overdue. Lutz commended the numerous local businesses that once again assisted with the effort, including Dennis Dumpsters, Rock Mulch and More and others. West Allegheny School District also pitched in by once again allowing work camp participants to sleep at a district building. In the past, work camp participants stayed at the middle school but this year they stayed at Donaldson Elementary School. Lutz says participants once again reimbursed the school for custodial and other related expenses. “West Allegheny is awesome as far as being supportive of this,” says Lutz. “The custodial staff could not do more for us. As with everybody - so many businesses I ask for help, and they’re like, ‘We’re there for you.’ The whole thing I just love...it’s that old-fashioned barn raising thing if you will.” Anderson says camp participants’ motivations may vary from person to person, but that they all come away with the satisfaction of having helped someone who needed it. He says that experience has become all the more valuable in recent years as digital devices and social media have eroded inter-personal relationships. “So many kids spend their time on social media, and all their interaction happens right here,” he says, pointing to his phone. “And this is face to face. I’m looking at someone who needs something. I’m taking care of that need. Even if they didn’t come for the purpose of that - they came with the purpose of hanging out with their buddies - they get to leave with this experience of caring for other people.” A number of camp participants echoed that same sentiment, saying that what they enjoy most about the camp are the connections they form with homeowners. For example, Coco, a teenager who helped with the work at Wasik’s house, said she valued learning about the Vietnam War from Wasik and how soldiers like him were treated when they returned home. “The work itself isn’t the important part,” says Coco. “Of course, it’s important to see the finished product and help someone out but it’s all about the relationships. Meeting Wally and learning about his life, and being able to talk with him and learn from him.” Catelyn, a 16-year-old from Indiana, says her group got involved in the effort through family members who were involved in similar work camps. Another teenager in Catelyn’s group named West Allegheny Workcamp returns for fourth year STORY AND PHOTOS BY DOUG HUGHEY ABOVE: A youth group from Indiana helped build a planter and wheelchair ramp for Wally Wasik of North Fayette Township during this year’s West Allegheny Workcamp. BELOW: Ed Zalenski of Shoemakersville builds a new set of steps at another home in North Fayette. BOTTOM: Tim, 18, from Southberry, Connecticut, paints siding at an area home. 12 • Allegheny West Magazine • August/September 2021Sophia, 16, says she had volunteered for another type of work camp for middle-schoolers with a different format. She says what she liked about the type of camp that took place in this area is that she got to interact with residents. “It’s more of a personal experience that you’re getting with your residents,” she says. “Because we’re getting to know this family. And so you’re gonna meet the people that you’re going to have this lifelong impact on. And they’re having that impact on us.” Mary Yoder of Shoemakersville similarly says the work camp has a way of changing peoples’ outlook, regardless of age. She says that this past work camp was her 21st. “I always say the kids never come back the same person they left as,” she says. “Even the adults, it changes us, helps us grow closer to God and just seeing a resident, how happy it makes them when we come out, whatever we do for them.” Stephanie Loberg of Minnesota, who also took part in the camp, echoes those same sentiments. “I just love this week,” she says. “I get more out of this week faith-wise than I get going to church the entire year…but this really builds your faith and the kids really get a good lesson out of it, too. It’s good to see them working hard for a purpose and they know they’re helping someone.” Lutz says that many area homeowners, too, enjoy the interactions throughout the week. In all, Group Mission Trips sends participants to about a few dozen different camps across the county each summer. Lutz says each area has its own method of identifying promising projects but that the effort in this area has been facilitated by volunteers from Heroes Supporting Heroes and an application for home repairs published in Allegheny West Magazine. Residents have been able to tear the application out of the magazine and mail it back to Heroes Supporting Heroes for review. The application is typically printed the year prior to the camp, which gives Heroes Supporting Heroes time to review projects. At this past camp, participants could only take on projects outdoors due to COVID-19, he says. However, in years past participants have also helped with some interior projects, such as painting. For more information, visit heroessupportingheroes.org. August/September 2021 • www.awmagazine.com • 13CAround Your Town Around Your Town Members of the West Allegheny community paid their respects to Dan Hanczar on July 17. For at least two hours on a rainy Saturday afternoon, people stood in a line that stretched through the aisles at Oakdale United Presbyterian Church and at times out the door as they waited to see Dan’s immediate family members. Among those who visited to pay tribute were numerous former teachers from West Allegheny, where Dan taught for 37 years before retiring. On hand to greet visitors were a number of Dan’s relatives, including his widow, Kate; sons Nils and Rory; daughters Katia and Danielle; and siblings Dave, Greg, Bill and Connie. At the same time, family photos were projected on a screen above the altar. Prior to inviting people into the church, the family also held a private service for Dan and, afterwards, hosted a festive event on the family farm outside of Oakdale. Dan passed away Nov. 28, 2020 at the age of 68 following a lengthy battle with COVID-19. The day was a fitting tribute to Dan, who was well-known locally, not just for his decades of teaching but also for being a prodigious local musician who was active in the community. Dan performed at many area festivals, community events and fundraisers over the years. In his retirement, he also released several albums. Throughout the day, family members honored Dan’s final wishes, and many of those wishes appropriately concerned music. The private service they held included a combination of Russian Orthodox music and several pieces Dan had requested. Sisters Sons, a band made up of family members that Dan founded, performed Johnny Cash’s arrangement of “I’ll Fly Away” and John Prine’s “Boundless Love.” The band closed out the service by playing a hymn Dan wrote called “God’s Love” that he also recorded for his “Be Thankful” album. On that track, Dan’s younger family members accompany him on kazoos. Fittingly, his five grandchildren broke out their own kazoos to perform along with the band at the end of the service. “It ended on a positive note,” says Rory. The family then blasted John Prine’s “When I Get to Heaven” immediately following the service. The colorful tune is one that their dad once said he wanted played at his funeral, says Rory. After welcoming guests to the church, the family fulfilled what they felt would have been another of Dan’s final wishes by throwing a big party with live music on the family farm outside of Oakdale. In many ways, it resembled the kinds of get-togethers that Dan and his large family have become accustomed to over the years. It was the first such get-together held by the family in some time due to COVID-19, however. Throughout the afternoon, family members performed classic rock pieces by Eric Clapton, The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival and others in an old barn in front of a large banner with a picture of Dan accompanied by one of his favorite sayings: “Take loving care of one another.” The phrase, which is based on a Russian saying, is one that Dan often scrawled on notes and even carved into woodworking. The band also performed a version of “Gloria” that Dave wrote in memory of Dan, with “D-a-n-n-y” switched out for Gloria in the chorus. Greg says his brother was known for performing the song with different peoples’ names for birthdays and other events. “God’s love and Dan’s love were with us the whole day,” says Greg. “That’s how we got through it.” The tribute was one that family members had been planning for some time, after they were unable to hold any kind of large gathering when Dan passed away in November. At that time, the country was still in the grips of one of the worst stretches of the pandemic and the family held a small vigil on the family farm. Only immediate family members were permitted to attend Dan’s viewing and had to say their goodbyes through a sheet of glass. “It was very surreal,” recalls Danielle. No less surreal was when people would come by to leave food on their back patio and have to wave at them through the window, she recalls. Last October, both Dan and Kate contracted COVID-19 and fell ill. As Dan’s condition continued to deteriorate, Kate took him to the hospital. Even then, though, Kate says she never expected Dan not to come home. “We both had COVID and I just dropped him off and thought I’d be picking him up in a week,” she says. Throughout his hospital stay, family members had to communicate with Dan from a distance via Zoom. Still, they say he remained positive and even continued recording music from his hospital bed. The last time the family spoke with him was right before he was intubated, but even then he was in good spirits, they recall. “He was very positive before he went on the ventilator,” says Nils. “We had our last family Zoom and he was like, ‘See you in a week.’” Family members say Dan’s decline took them all by surprise, particularly since he was in excellent shape. “The week before he got sick, he and my husband were on the roof cleaning the chimney and I was more worried about my husband than my dad,” says Danielle. “He was in great shape and really healthy. Even the doctors when they would call they’d say things like, ‘Normally someone his age I might not try this but he’s a really healthy guy.’” A self-taught musician, Greg says his brother began playing guitar in church and, at the urging of their mother, started toting along his instrument to family gatherings. Over the years, Dan fostered a love of music among those family members and taught many of them how to play. It eventually got to the point that their gatherings became an occasion for a performance. Greg says Dan would invite anyone to perform with them, no matter their skill level. STORY AND PHOTOS BY DOUG HUGHEY Dan Hanczar, pictured here at his home in 2014, passed away this past November. He was 68. 14 • Allegheny West Magazine • August/September 2021 Special tribute honors memory of Dan Hanczar CAround Your Town Around Your Town “He’d help you and tell you where to put your fingers and how to strum,” says Greg. “It didn’t matter how good you were. He was a patient man and that was evident in his teaching.” That temperament lent itself to Dan’s full-time job at West Allegheny Middle School, where he taught geography for the better part of four decades. He was also interested in environmental issues and family members recall how he regularly headed up an Arbor Day effort at the school. They recalled how the family Christmas tree each year still had the roots attached and went right back in the ground after the holiday. “Most of the trees on our street are former Christmas trees,” says Danielle. In between raising four children and teaching full time, Dan also found time for his other passion, and often performed at various local festivals and fairs. Locals may recall hearing him play with fellow teacher Cliff Howell at Findlay’s Fair in the Woodlands, McSummerfest, Rock the Quarry, the Oakdale Hose Company Festival and other events. Dan also played at the annual Oakdale Light Up Night, where he would perform “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” from atop a fire truck. As well, Dan wrote several hymns, including “God’s Love,” which was regularly performed at Oakdale United Presbyterian Church. It was a song Danielle says she grew up singing in church and only later realized her dad had written after he recorded it for an album. Dan also performed at Riley’s Pour House in Carnegie on St. Patrick’s Day each year, and Nils remembers one rocking original tune in particular about Carnegie’s Irish residents chasing a KKK march out of town. He says he believes it was based on true events that occurred in 1931, the same year his grandfather was born. “It’s a good song,” Nils says. “I always told him, ‘You need to record that.’ He’d always say, ‘One of these days.’” After retiring from teaching, Dan did get busy recording albums and released his first, “Be Thankful,” in 2012. His second album, “Summer,” he released in 2014 followed by “Christmas of the Ancestors” in 2016. He also wrote another song, “Bahama Wedding,” for Danielle’s wedding in 2013 and “Ancient Dreams,” an EP of four songs. Last year, he submitted an original song, “Dolores Kelly,” to a songwriting contest hosted by WYEP. After passing, the station played a special tribute to Dan. “It was like he raised us and then he went all out making albums,” says Danielle. “I felt like he was busier in his retirement than he was before.” Greg thinks his brother probably still had plenty to contribute, not only to music, but also to the next generation of his family. He says Dan may have only been getting started. “He was a talent for so many years,” he says. “He had so much more in him and so much to give, especially to his grandkids.” In their own gesture, West Allegheny teachers raised money to install a bench in Dan’s memory adjacent to the playground at Donaldson Park. The bench reads “Take loving care of one another.” For more about Dan and his music, visit www.danhanczar.com. ABOVE: Community members pay their respects to the family of Dan Hanczar on June 17 at Oakdale United Presbyterian Church. BELOW: Friends and family gathered that same day on the family farm outside of Oakdale for a festive event in Dan’s memory. The banner reads “Take care of one another,” which was a favorite saying of Dan’s. PHOTOS BY DOUG HUGHEY August/September 2021 • www.awmagazine.com • 15CAround Your Town Around Your Town Mike Roberts of North Fayette Township still remembers how he felt the day the realization hit him that he had turned 50. “I was walking up a hill to my car and thinking, ‘I can’t believe I’m 50.’ I was feeling down a little and thinking, I want to change this feeling,” he says. Not long afterward, a friend of Roberts’ tried to break him out of his funk by suggesting he try to run the Pittsburgh Marathon. Roberts had long been a casual runner and even coached the cross- country team at Archangel Gabriel Catholic School (formerly Holy Trinity). He had never even considered running a marathon, however. In fact, he says the idea sounded crazy. “I could never fathom running 26 miles,” says Roberts. “But my buddy said he would run it with me. Even when I signed up for it, I said, ‘I can’t do this.’ But I did it anyways because it was sort of a peer pressure thing.” In the end, Roberts’ friend didn’t run with him, but Roberts went through with the race and finished it. Since completing that race in 2016, he’s completed four additional marathons and is currently preparing for his sixth. He’ll run that race, the Chicago Marathon, in October. It will be the second time he’s taken on the race. Roberts, though, isn’t just looking to finish. He’s shooting to conquer the course in under three hours and thirty-five minutes. That time would qualify him to run in the Boston Marathon, which is a feat he’s been chasing for years. It’s a goal that will require him to tick off mile splits at about eight minutes apiece. He says he came close the first time he ran the marathon in 2019. After a great start, though, he says he made a mid-race miscalculation that cost him his opportunity. Worried about his electrolyte levels, he says he started drinking more Gatorade than water, and that led to him developing a cramp that hampered him the rest of the race. “Normally when I run a marathon I hit every water stop, and every fourth you hit the Gatorade,” he says. “But I [drank] Gatorade too much, which leads to cramping and I got a major cramp at mile 15 and could never get that cadence back.” Such is the way that a minor detail can have huge consequences during a physical challenge like a marathon, which tests the body’s absolute limits. It’s a challenge that also requires months of preparation. Roberts says that before he even steps up to the starting line, he’ll put in 800 miles. He follows a strict workout regimen while doing so. A father of six who also works full time as a postmaster, finding the time to stick to that schedule isn’t always easy. “If I know I can’t run after work I’ll squeeze the miles in before,” he says. “Normally I’m also training in the winter, so if it’s two degrees out and I had five miles on the calendar, I did it. If it’s on the calendar, I did it.” To prepare for his first marathon, Roberts joined a local running club in 2015. Matt Imhof, who headed up that group, says that what stuck out most to him about Roberts was his upbeat attitude. “He would show up and he was just one of the happiest people to be around,” says Imhof. “He always had a great disposition and was super humble.” Imhof says that even when Roberts experienced a setback, he’d still find a way to be positive and that he enjoyed being around him. He says Roberts has come far. In the beginning, he says it was evident that Roberts was a seasoned runner, but only just beginning to train for marathons. He began tackling marathons at 50, and is now preparing for his sixth STORY BY DOUG HUGHEY PHOTO SUBMITTED ABOVE: Mike Roberts shows off his medal after completing the Chicago Marathon in 2019. He’ll take on the race again in October with hopes of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. BELOW: Roberts is running to raise sponsorship dollars for Inspire Hope. Scan the QR code to learn more. 16 • Allegheny West Magazine • August/September 2021 Mike’s daughter, Catherine, has also witnessed her father’s progression. A runner as well, she used to train with her dad and says that, for a long time, it was her who was running ahead of him. Now that she’s in medical school and just runs for exercise, the tables have turned. In high school, Catherine ran cross country for West Allegheny and also wrote a Youth Corner column for this publication. “It was really great watching him find his passion in life,” she says. “For a long time he was focused on raising us because there are six of us. It was great to see him get into something like this.” She says that her father also enjoys the social aspect of running, and sharing life lessons with his running groups and those he coaches. “I just think he really loves sharing his passion with other people,” she says. “You can tell he’s genuine about it because people gravitate to him.” In 2018, Mike connected with a nonprofit organization called Inheritance of Hope and has been raising funds for the organization as a sponsored runner in his past three marathons. The first time he did so was for the U.S. Marines Marathon in Washington, D.C. Mike says he came across the organization after missing the race’s registration cut-off and was able to get in as one of its sponsored runners. He was battling an injury at the time, and despite an IT band flaring at mile 14, finished all 26.2 miles. He’s stuck with the nonprofit since. According to its website, Inheritance of Hope provides families faced with the loss of a parent with an all-expense-paid retreat. Mike says the organization has been a source of inspiration for him. In turn, he says he’s hoping his example will also prove to be an inspiration for others. “Anybody can do a marathon as long as you have some kneecaps,” says Mike. “I‘m doing my passion. I’m doing something that’s important to me. But more importantly, I’m helping someone at the same time.” Anyone who would like to donate by sponsoring Mike can do so by scanning the QR code at left with their smart phone. August/September 2021 • www.awmagazine.com • 17CAround Your Town Around Your Town This past June, Lt. Joshua Chops and Deputy Chief of Police Jason Haberman of the Mt. Lebanon Police Department had the unenviable yet honorable duty of doing something they had never done previously. They planned a funeral for an active duty police officer. That officer was Jerrod Withrow of North Fayette Township, who passed away June 11 at the age of 43. Withrow had been battling advanced colon cancer for a year. On June 16, a formal funeral service was held for Withrow at Thomas-Little Funeral Service in Imperial. A procession comprised of officers from multiple departments - including Mt. Lebanon, North Fayette, Findlay, the City of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania State Police - escorted Withrow’s body from his family’s home in Walden Woods. The Imperial and Mt. Lebanon VFDs also formed an arch with their ladder trucks in the parking lot across the street from the funeral home in the Findlay Township Activity Center parking lot. Prior to that service, multiple departments assisted in escorting an ambulance carrying Withrow from his hospital bed in Pittsburgh to his home, where he remained in hospice until passing. When Withrow was diagnosed with cancer last August, it came as a shock to those who knew him in the Mt. Lebanon and West Allegheny communities. A larger than life individual, Withrow, who was about 6’1” tall and weighed around 250 pounds, had an outgoing personality that attracted those around him, recalls Chops. Both he and his wife, Lisa, were also dedicated public servants. Lisa was, and still is, a reservist with the 171st Air Refueling Wing in Moon Township. The two met while working for the Spokane County 911 center in 2001 and married in 2005. Following Withrow’s diagnosis, community members held numerous fundraisers in both communities to support Jerrod, Lisa and their three sons: James, Brayden and Ben. “He was a giant human and had a giant personality,” recalls Chops. “He had a pretty big smile and a sinister smirk when his dry humor came out for sure. First responders [tend to have] a little bit of sarcasm, and he was a master of it.” Chops says those qualities, along with Jerrod’s high level of professionalism, helped him mesh with other officers when he joined the department in 2014. A seasoned first responder, Jerrod had also previously spent time with the Pittsburgh Police Department and Cornell University Police Department. Chops says the typical hire in the Mt. Lebanon department isn’t always so seasoned, and that Jerrod’s combination of experience and maturity helped him mesh with the other officers there immediately. Lisa says her husband loved being a Mt. Lebanon police officer, even though he enjoyed the excitement of working in the city just as much - if not maybe a little more. “It was a lot of action for a young guy,” she says. “It was a hard decision for him…Obviously, the suburbs are less action, but he did like the community part of it. He’d send me a picture of himself stopping to get lemonade from the kids’ lemonade stand…. He enjoyed that community aspect of it.” Jerrod, though, did find another way to pursue his penchant for adrenaline. In the spring of 2018, he joined the South Hills Allegheny Council of Governments Critical Incident Response Team. Lisa says her husband loved the camaraderie of the team, along with the training and general excitement of it. That October, however, both Chops and Jerrod ended up responding to one of the worst tragedies in the area’s recent history as part of that team, after they heard a call about a shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill. Last year during an interview with this publication, Jerrod recalled that experience, saying shots were still being exchanged with the gunman as he arrived on the scene. Jerrod said he was part of a team that cleared the synagogue as the gunman was being restrained. Eleven people were murdered that day, making it the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in U.S. history. “It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Jerrod said during that interview. “I was very proud of our team but it was rough.” That following year, in 2019, Jerrod was forced off the critical response team, not for a lack of passion for it but for failing a portion of the annual physical test that members are required to take. Jerrod failed what’s known as a beep run, which is a kind of anaerobic shuttle run. It’s a test that doesn’t lend itself to large and muscular individuals like Jerrod, says Chops. “It was a big crush,” recalls Chops. “I was on the team and his supervisor at work. We had multiple conversations about that. He used that. It was a 100% driving force for him to become an animal in the gym.” Honoring Jerrod Withrow STORY BY DOUG HUGHEY ABOVE: The Mt. Lebanon and Imperial VFDs form an arch in honor of Jerrod Withrow during his funeral June 15. PHOTO BY DOUG HUGHEY BELOW: Pennsylvania State Police troopers fold a flag draped over Jerrod Withrow’s casket. BOTTOM: Members of the South Hills Allegheny Council of Governments Critical Incident Response Team, 171st Air Refueling Wing reservists and police from various departments pay tribute at Jerrod Withrow’s funeral. PHOTOS BY DAVID NOVAK 18 • Allegheny West Magazine • August/September 2021CAround Your Town Around Your Town Lisa recalls that her husband had always worked out but that after he failed the test he “upped his game.” She says her husband would take a kettlebell out to the West Allegheny track and do shuttle runs with it. Around that time, Jerrod also joined a new gym called Sweat Bar that was opening not far from his home. During group workouts at the gym, fellow members took note of Jerrod’s intensity. “Jerrod didn’t push anything off,” says Sweat Bar owner Chad Shipley. “He was always living in the moment at 100% speed. It’s so awesome to meet someone like that. He went after everything he wanted at 500 miles per hour.” In the months following, Shipley and Jerrod became close friends and Shipley says working on the beep workout was one of Jerrod’s priorities. Lisa says it wasn’t unusual for Jerrod to work out at Sweat Bar two times per day and she says he even squeezed in workouts during his lunch break at work. “He made it is his mission to pass that test,” she says. In April of 2020, Jerrod retook the test and passed with flying colors. That feat alone was impressive, yet what’s even more incredible is that, by then, he was beginning to experience symptoms caused by tumors growing in his abdomen. During a subsequent trip to Washington to see his family in July, Jerrod began experiencing severe abdominal pain and difficulty breathing. That landed him in an emergency room and a CT scan revealed masses on Jerrod’s liver and colon. Soon after, he began receiving chemotherapy treatments. While being interviewed last September, Jerrod said doctors drained almost 30 pounds of fluid from his abdomen. “If you’re looking for a good weight loss plan...,” he said, joking, in that interview. Just like when he failed his critical response team test, Jerrod might have been down but he was hardly out. Lisa says her husband responded well to chemotherapy and before long was even able to get back into the gym. Amid rising COVID-19 numbers, Sweat Bar had to close at times, but Shipley says they were able to hold virtual workouts. At one point, Jerrod, expressing his unique sense of humor, shared a picture on the gym’s social media group of himself on a treadmill wearing full tactical gear. Shipley says they also held some outdoor workouts in the parking lot outside the gym and that he had one of those workouts filmed for promotional purposes. He says that, in the video, one member is kicking a bag while another is riding a bike. “But in the background, Jerrod had knocked over the punching bag and was punching it in the face,” Shipley recalls. Four months into chemotherapy, Shipley recorded a video of Jerrod pushing an 850-pound sled. “He was doing awesome,” Shipley says. Last year, Jerrod told this publication that those workouts were the best kind of therapy he could get. “If I can get into that gym and just move, I feel much better,” he said. “I used to walk out of the gym, I’d have sweat dripping off me…Now I’m not sweating as much but I still move for an hour. Everything feels better when I can do something like that.” At the same time, gym members organized fundraisers for the Withrows, including a spaghetti dinner last September at Helicon Brewery in Oakdale. The event ended up serving 1,000 spaghetti dinners and auctioning off upwards of 100 gift baskets that were donated by local businesses. The effort was spearheaded by Sharon Abner, who said she was shocked - as were many others - by Jerrod’s cancer diagnosis. Jerrod called the show of support at the time humbling, saying, “I don’t even know where [all of the baskets] came from.” Chops says that the Mt. Lebanon Police Department also held several fundraisers, including a no-shave November where officers paid a penalty for not shaving. That, however, quickly turned into no-shave April, as officers continued to donate over the course of five months. The department also held several raffles, drives and dinners, Chops says. Mt. Lebanon has since named a gym at the public safety building for first responders the Withrow Wellness Center. To Jerrod’s father, Randy, the outpouring of support was extraordinary. “I couldn’t believe the turnout,” he says. “I told [Jerrod], that’s the community you’re in.” Randy says his son was the fourth generation family member to enter into the profession, yet he says he never pushed policing on him. Rather, he says Jerrod always wanted to do something that would let him make a difference. “He never looked for glory,” Randy says. “He just did his thing.” He also recalled that his son had a sense of humor no one could match, and that served him well in the field when he had to de- escalate a situation. “He treated people with respect,” he says. Randy says that he thinks he met just about every Mt. Lebanon police officer at his son’s funeral. He says a rabbi from the Tree of Life Synagogue also attended and personally thanked Randy and his wife for their son’s service. Lisa says that as of January, her husband was doing well and responding to chemotherapy, but that he began to decline in the months following. She says that since her husband’s cancer diagnosis, the outpouring of support has been incredible. “Everyone was doing little fundraisers here and there, even people in Spokane who he knew in college were raising money,” she says. “People from his work were mowing our lawn and we didn’t even know who had done that.” She recalls at one point some members of the critical incident response team coming to build a fence in their lawn because it was something Jerrod had been wanting to do. “Everyone just rallied around and offered support almost daily,” she says. Anyone who would like to donate to support the Withrow family can send funds electronically via Venmo to WithrowStrong. Donations can also be made through the Western Pennsylvania Police Benevolent Foundation. Jerrod Withrow is pictured with his wife, Lisa. PHOTO SUBMITTED August/September 2021 • www.awmagazine.com • 19Next >