Columbus Monthly / November 2011 / Dublin: Coming home

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Dublin: Coming home

There’s no place like home, and for the past 20 years, that’s what Dublin has been for me. I was born and raised in Amherst, Ohio, and I’ve lived in great cities such as Charleston, South Carolina; Ellicott City, Maryland, and Farmington Hills, Michigan—and in suburbs of Atlanta and Washington, D.C.—but Dublin is my hometown.

I’m a frequent business traveler, having logged about
two million domestic miles on roughly 1,500 flights to every major city in the U.S. When I’m sitting in an airplane, the person next to me often asks where I’m from. They’re always amazed at the pride that comes through as I tell them what a great place Dublin, Ohio, is.

I tell them about the sound leadership, the top-notch city services, the excellent school district, the great vibe of Historic Dublin and world-class events such as the Dublin Irish Festival and the Memorial Tournament. They often tell me it sounds like I’m describing a scene out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

I’ll go on to explain how our forward-thinking city leaders set the course for the Dublin we know today. How our diverse industries have helped us weather national economic upheavals and how a focus on green space, bike trails and neighborhoods bring people together. Intertwined with a great school system, the city has maintained a well-executed plan that has kept it true to the community it was set up to be.

I get the biggest kick whenever it snows and I look out the window to see the snowplows hit the streets. It’s certainly not like some other major cities I’ve lived in, as I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than three inches of snow on the road without it being plowed. From the spirit of volunteerism to assisting businesses and presenting special events, Dublin just does it right.

And yet the city remains Midwestern-friendly. It’s the kind of place where people will hold the door open for you, you run into someone you know wherever you go and you recognize the joggers running along the North High Street path on a clear, crisp Saturday morning.

My wife, Brenda, and I moved here 20 years ago when I was recruited away from Frito-Lay Inc. by Borden Snacks, which operated where Wendy’s headquarters is today. Having grown up in a town of about 10,000 people, to me Dublin felt like a great place to raise a family. It was a small town with a big vision. My wife felt the same way, and we were right. It’s a decision we’ve never regretted.

Brenda owns a business in Historic Dublin called Modern Male, and I can tell you there is no other place she would have considered. She has been there for eight years and has watched Dublin’s historic downtown transform and evolve into the thriving business community it is today.

We’re all ambassadors for the cities in which we live. I’m proud to call Dublin home.

 

Brian Kocak, director of national accounts for Heineken USA, and his wife, Brenda, are the parents of Brian Jr., 23, and Bethany, 20, both graduates of Dublin Jerome High School. When he’s not traveling, Brian can be found at the Dublin Community Recreation Center playing pickup games of basketball. Rec center staff estimate the “iron man of basketball” has played in more than 7,000 games since the DCRC opened in 1996.