Joseph Pratt: People of the Scioto Renaissance: Toni Dengel

While there are still missions to be accomplished and hurdles to leap in the greater Portsmouth area, there is massive progress being made all over by everyday people who are either providing a service, volunteering, serving in office, or donating time and money. We frequently hear that we are in a renaissance, as new developments continue to pop up, new events are added to the calendar, and progress is made. But why? These things don’t manifest themselves.

As I pointed out in my first steps into this column series last week, with a feature on the City of Portsmouth Development Director Tracy Shearer, I will be releasing a weekly column for one year, in which I plan to feature a different member of the community who strives to make our current renaissance flourish. I’ll be highlighting business owners, volunteers, faith-based leaders, professionals, and volunteers.

As we move into a new week, I am reminded of one of my favorite photographers, Ansel Adams, who once said, “a photograph is usually looked at— seldom looked into.”

In some ways, I suppose that same sentiment may be lifted and applied to the photographer as well. I’d like to change that through this week’s installment of the People of the Scioto Renaissance by looking into County’s most prolific volunteer photographer— Toni Dengel.

Toni began her professional career, post-college, at the Scioto Foundation, where she was hired in 2005 to work on graphics. According to Toni, she worked in that capacity for two years before being named the Program Officer of Marketing, where she has been since.

“Toni has always worked hard to support local nonprofits,” Scioto Foundation Executive Director Kim Cutlip said. “She is always quick to help organizations in the community by serving on nonprofit boards, volunteering for events, and of course taking the best photos.”

Prior to working for the Foundation, Toni was a waitress at Hillview, going to college, and continuing her volunteerism in the community— which was an instrumental element in the foundation of her development.

“From a young age, my parents instilled in me the belief of being helpful and serving others,” Toni explained of her volunteerism roots. “If I see a need, and I’m able to help, I try to be there. Working for an organization that does a lot of good has given me the opportunity to see how important our local nonprofits are and the crucial role they serve.”

While her career provided her with a never-ending contact list of local non-profits, Toni began her journey into community service while still a high school student. The young Toni was beginning to take the lessons from her parents and apply them to how she would practice her life for years to come.

She started by volunteering for the Red Cross and even assisted with Habitat for Humanity. These experiences were some of her favorites, according to Toni herself, saying she found the work of installing free smoke detectors inside homes important and meaningful.

Also, instead of talking about herself regarding Red Cross volunteerism, she kept insisting on using her time to attempt to talk me into writing about the massive benefits of the Red Cross, lifesaving safety tips she learned over the years, as well as regional contact numbers, rather than spend time writing a feature on herself. Perhaps I will write a refresher on this cause later, but I’m not allowing her to distract me for now.

She managed to do a lot for the organization over the years. In fact, when she participated in the Red Cross fundraising event, Dancing With Our Stars, she managed to raise $14,900 her first year with her team, which went towards 29 displaced families impacted by fires.

Today, Toni is 18 years into her employment at Scioto Foundation, and currently serves four boards—Portsmouth Connex, Portsmouth Area Ladies, Portsmouth Wind Symphony, and Scioto Heritage Museum— she also has a long history of serving on other boards and committees.

“Nowadays, I contribute more by helping with digital media, grunt work, and picking up trash around the neighborhood,” Toni humbly said of her work today, which is a drastic understatement to the endeavors she accomplishes for dozens of nonprofits.

One of the things I find most astonishing about Toni is how she spends what she considers her downtime, however, which she does not only by volunteering for community events, but oftentimes practicing an art she adores—photography.

“In the early 2010’s, I began photographing community moments to shine a light on the wonderful things happening around town. I realized that it’s often hard to appreciate the present when we’re caught up in it or see it through a nostalgic lens. I felt compelled to celebrate the positive actions in our community. By showcasing these uplifting moments, I aimed to preserve the good in our present, fostering a constructive mindset,” Toni explained of her strong dedication to community service through photography. “By focusing on the positive, we can embrace that constructive mindset, addressing challenges together and finding solutions. Positive thinking enhances resilience and improves mental well-being, as opposed to negative thinking which can change your cognitive function by activating your fight-or-flight response when stressors/negative thoughts are triggered. Just as I have witnessed good deeds growing up, hopefully sharing these acts within our community can inspire others.”

Anytime a major community event happens, there is a very good chance Toni has photographed it. Many of these organizations have extremely limited budgets and volunteers with overworked schedules that make committing to much more of anything else impossible. Toni has volunteered her services, covering events, taking headshots, and more since I’ve known her with an extreme sense of professionalism that chronicles these important efforts within the community from the snap of a lens to hours spent editing and then sharing.

I’ve never seen her tell someone no, even when she has an overloaded schedule herself. She knows the importance of having memories preserved, not only for spreading positivity generated by these community activities, but also for marketing these types of events and programming that will only allow it to grow and continue into the future. I always feel horrible asking Toni for help, and keep from it if I can, but, over the many times I’ve had to ask, knowing I was adding something else onto her already booked schedule, she has always happily agreed whether it was 7 a.m. or 9 p.m.

“Toni’s dedication and love for our city is captured through the selflessness of her time and talents,” Portsmouth Little Theatre Vice President Kelli Riffe said. “We are very fortunate to be able to see community events and happenings come to life through her camera lens, and her willingness to share in making Portsmouth a better place to live is easily recognized by Toni’s volunteer efforts.

Toni doesn’t see her photography-based volunteerism as a heavy burden, however. She says that she has been provided with so many amazing human experiences by involving herself in so many missions across the community that are important to people she has grown to care about.

“We have so many great role models in our community that you can just tell will have a positive effect on our youth. It is just hard to narrow it down to just one moment. Between witnessing the kindness of Miss Pegi and Miss Trish embracing a student in a motherly manner who was struggling with an unknown problem just to let them know they were safe and loved; to Drew Carter encouraging his Watch Me Grow Ohio students to work together and celebrate each other’s successes; to Miss Mary and Miss Kay, at 14th Street Community Center, who make sure the kids have something to eat when they visit; to Miss Marcia, Miss Maxine, Miss Jeanette and Miss Keisha, who give those students constructive actives to be well-rounded individuals; to Mark and Virgie Hunter, who have tirelessly devoted their lives to feeding children in four counties over the past 15 plus years; to Sharee Price who goes the extra mile to help the student succeed in their high school extracurricular activities and post-secondary efforts. It’s those little human touches of compassion and kindness that you just know will stay with the student and foster growth in becoming a better person who may treat others with the same kindness when they are able.”

Of course, Toni said that there are many other heroes in the community that inspire her beyond impacting youth directly. One that came to mind was a dear friend.

“But then I have also been witness to those who have worked tirelessly in other ways, such as Scioto Foundation’s past Board Chair Julia Wisniewski, who has been active in the community for decades, making our area a better place and sharing her love of this community. These types of service acts have inspired me and others to do so as well.”

Finally, with her life being so fiercely impacted by nonprofit involvement, she understands how impactful it can be on the person performing the work and encourages other to get involved.

“The more people involved, the stronger the community becomes. Everyone can contribute, big or small, and their efforts collectively make a significant difference. Volunteering not only supports the organization but also provides personal satisfaction and fulfillment. A study conducted by the University of Michigan in 2008 found that those who donate time and money live happier, longer lives. Having a sense of purpose in helping others is a gift everyone should experience if able.”

Of all the amazing things I admire about Toni, the one that stands out to me is that she didn’t get involved in non-profits because of a professional career in them. She was involved in them before her career. She started, just as I had, in high school, when she felt the desire to step up and play a role in activating her community. She has never done it to add to her resume. She barely accepts a thank you without immediately saying it back, because her heart is in such a giving place. She is one of the most giving people I know.