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University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

University Circle was once again named one of the nation's top ten arts districts in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice competition! Vote daily to help us win!

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Remembering former Greater Circle Business Alliance President, Deborah Rutledge

Posted on 02/26/20 in Greater Circle Business Alliance

Remembering former Greater Circle Business Alliance President, Deborah Rutledge
Remembering former Greater Circle Business Alliance President, Deborah Rutledge
Remembering former Greater Circle Business Alliance President, Deborah Rutledge
Remembering former Greater Circle Business Alliance President, Deborah Rutledge
Remembering former Greater Circle Business Alliance President, Deborah Rutledge

Deborah Rutledge may not be a name you immediately recognize but you have likely felt her impact on Northeast Ohio. Her obituary starts, “that bright star, that was Deborah Bradford Rutledge, is now guiding us from Heaven.” She certainly was a guiding force for many organizations and businesses and, as indicated in her obituary, that leadership was not lost on her family.

Deb started her career as an educator. She attended Miami University and earned her master’s in education at Bowling Green State University. She taught within the Cleveland Metropolitan School District throughout the 1970s rising to department & curriculum development chair in a short amount of time. She changed careers shortly after to the private sector working at the retailer Sears for over 20 years where she earned her MBA from John Carroll University. After serving at Sears for over two decades, she began working at the insurance firm established by her husband Darwin, The Rutledge Group, as Chief Operating Officer.

Around the time of Deb’s retirement from Sears, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood. She started finding ways to serve the community on behalf of those diagnosed with cancer. In a 2007 article in Crain’s Cleveland, Deb said, “I thought, ‘There’s probably something more I should and could be doing,’” and that she did. She joined the board of The Gathering Place, a Beachwood nonprofit offering services to patients and families effected by cancer, with the intent of expanding representation of the communities they serve, including people of color.

Her commitment to community did not end there. She served on the board of The Council of Small Enterprises, Uptown Business Association (now Greater Circle Business Alliance), National Small Business Association, Greater Cleveland Partnership, and the Cleveland Transformation Alliance where, as recently as June, she served as its interim executive director. A member of the 2014 class of Leadership Cleveland, she and Darwin also jointly served on the Seidman Cancer Leadership Council for University Hospitals.

Deb was a founding member of the Uptown Business Association, now Greater Circle Business Alliance, a program operated by University Circle Inc. She served five years as president of the executive committee succeeded by current president Ben Williams Jr. of Ben’s Auto Body Specialists. During her last remarks serving as president, Deb said, “I’m excited for what’s to come and will remain dedicated to strengthening our businesses.” We thank Deb for that lifelong dedication and will continue to live by those words.

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