Ben and Joyce Holbert didn’t plan to sit in a nearly deserted parking lot on a Friday afternoon and give a “where are they now?” update, and certainly not under these circumstances.
Parking usually is a matter of luck at Eaton Chagrin Boulevard shopping center in Woodmere. But not today. A security guard drives what seems to be pointless rounds past the locked stores on a sun-filled afternoon. An occasional shopper taps on the Barnes & Noble door and grabs a bag, carryout style.
For anyone, but for the Holberts in particular, it’s got to seem like they’re a long way from Cleveland TV reporter and personality to Woodmere village mayor, from busy IT consultant and volunteer to a homebound community activist. Throw in a pandemic, and the distance is more like a chasm. They’re up to the challenge: outgoing, engaged, and philosophical about the future, they practice social distancing but it’s not an easy fit. They prefer to be with people, not sitting six feet apart from them.
Outward Focus
The Holberts are a big presence in a small village. Married 32 years with three grown sons, they’ve become mentors and leaders both together and in their own right.
Joyce is a former member of Woodmere’s village council, serving from 2001-2005, a long-time community volunteer, and is promoting the 2020 census and voter registration. Both are issues that are vital among under-represented populations and are areas of interest for Delta Sigma Theta, a historically African American sorority. A member of the Greater Cleveland Chapter, she participates in its mentoring, scholarship and other development programs for young people.
Ben is in his third year of a four-year term as Woodmere’s mayor. With 884 residents, most people know it as the home of the upscale Eaton Chagrin Boulevard with its Tiffany & Co., Brooks Brothers and Apple Store.
Holbert was a Cleveland-area TV news reporter and anchor for 18 years. He worked for WUAB, WOIO and WKYC, among others. He was elected to Woodmere council in 2011 and became council president.
With his news background, experience covering government officials and long ties to the village, Holbert’s election to mayor didn’t seem like much of a leap. The transition has been occasionally bumpy with divisions surfacing over economic development and other issues. He’s diplomatic about it. “We all have the desire to do what we believe is best for the community and village,” he says.
A mayor in a village gets called about all sorts of things: power outages, errant tree branches, sidewalk repairs. This spring and into summer, Holbert is grappling with a new reality: governing in a pandemic. He reassures residents that while daily life is certainly disrupted, village services will continue, and has been pitching in to call senior citizens to make sure they have what they need.
Village work aside, Holbert maintains close ties with his alma mater, Kent State University, and was its summer commencement speaker in August.
Until the world gets back to normal — whatever that means this year and beyond — the Holberts will continue with their community outreach work and maintaining family ties. Their son Ben, 28, lives at home with them, works at the Cleveland Airport and has a clothing line. Joseph, 26, is a hip-hop artist in Columbus who goes by the name “Joey Aich.” And, yes, they’ve gone to see him perform many times and are developing an appreciation for the genre. Their youngest, David, 23, is a graduate of Baldwin Wallace University, and an actor. He was touring with “The Color Purple” before the virus shut it down. He’s been staying with family down South and doing video auditions.
“This is a time when kids will remember being home with their parents or having more family time,” Joyce says. “It will make us appreciate all the little things that you did before.”
Adds Holbert, “I think that people now will recognize how serious things can be and how humanity comes into play.”
Marie Elium is editor of Northeast Ohio Boomer and Beyond. She misses looking for a parking spot at Eaton Chagrin Boulevard.
