3 questions with Terry Welker, architect and sculptor

Here are scenes from the unveiling and dedication ceremony for The Seed of Life 8/4 Memorial, located at 530 E. Fifth St. in The Oregon District next to The Trolley Stop on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. The memorial, created to honor the victims of the Aug. 4, 2019 Oregon District shooting, is a collaboration by Terry Welker, Jes McMillan, Sierra Leone, and James Pate with help from 5,000 volunteers. TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Credit: Tom Gilliam

Credit: Tom Gilliam

Here are scenes from the unveiling and dedication ceremony for The Seed of Life 8/4 Memorial, located at 530 E. Fifth St. in The Oregon District next to The Trolley Stop on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. The memorial, created to honor the victims of the Aug. 4, 2019 Oregon District shooting, is a collaboration by Terry Welker, Jes McMillan, Sierra Leone, and James Pate with help from 5,000 volunteers. TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Editor’s Note: “Three questions with...” is a weekly feature in Ideas & Voices where you can hear from a different local leader respond to a series of three questions. Submit your own answers to the questions in the form below for consideration in a future edition.

Terry Welker, FAIA, is an architect/sculptor and the Oregon District “Seed of Life” memorial team leader.

What do you love most about your city?

Dayton is the “Goldilocks” of Ohio cities. Right sized for everything we love, surrounded by agriculture and sitting smack dab in the middle of a region with fast cars, fast horses, four seasons and fall festivals.

What issue do you feel needs more attention in our communities?

Equity in community development. Not everything can be solved with private investment. Our historic tax credits are a huge help for redevelopment projects. These tax credit financial models can be scaled down and spread wider to help small business startups and growth opportunities. Neighborhoods can be revived more quickly though small reinvestments on a wider scale creating a broader impact on community redevelopment.

What’s your Big Idea for the Dayton region?

People often ask what being the Gem City really means. I’d like for the Gem City to be known as Ohio’s best “Volunteer City.” With a shared sense of purpose our Seed of Life Memorial project brought over 5,000 volunteers together through the Mosaic Institute. Countless small “Random Acts of Kindness” became our daily gift to ourselves through volunteers.

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