J. Patrick Toomey Small Businessperson Award for 2025: Kate Albert:

The J. Patrick Toomey Small Businessperson Award highlights a company or individual who puts community first, oftentimes utilizing their own skill-sets and talents to support the community in a unique way. This year, the Milford Miami Township Chamber of Commerce would like to recognize Kate Albert, a local artist who puts her heart and soul into her projects to create something meaningful for our communities.

Most recently, she took on the public mural project for the Township, where she researched with professional mural artists, found the contacts needed, gathered estimates, and provided the model for other communities. When the opportunity arose for the mural to come to life, Kate jumped in and worked day and night to complete the project, as it is typically a six month endeavor that she finished in just a handful of weeks. 

Kate has been creating art since she could hold a pencil, but she has been professionally painting since 2005. “I wanted to learn how to apply my artistic ambition to a business model,” Kate recalls, which led her to study graphic design at Raymond Walters College, a branch of the University of Cincinnati. During her studies, she learned how to use Macintosh computers, including how to navigate the printing processes, how to communicate through design and graphics, and basic marketing. “I began doing art shows on weekends, and created my first painting in the fall of 2005 after months of working in the evenings on a painting of Cincinnati. Fortunately for me, it became a hit and I was off and running from there.”

As an artist, Kate views herself as a lifelong learner: “My work as an artist involves more than you might think. Not only do I paint, but there’s a lot of work that goes into each piece that you don’t see. There’s a lot of research, study, sketching, photography, and even drone flying at times! All of these things, combined with a lot of imagination, help me to create my compositions, which become paintings.” 

Much of Kate’s inspiration comes from nature and the community itself, as she says, “Getting to know people, listening to them and learning about them – what they do and how they contribute to society is a great interest to me. Moving my studio to downtown Milford has helped me connect more with people, allowing me to dig in and tune in. It has been a real blessing to be a part of Painted River and the downtown business community.”

Kate was excited to be considered for the mural project, which was originally conceived as part of a larger national project called America 250. In tandem with the Chamber of Commerce, they underwent months of research as they gathered the information needed to make the project come to life. “Ed and Andrea Brady contributed so much to this project before it was even guaranteed to happen,” Kate recalls. “In fact, it wasn’t picked up for a grant, but a separate opportunity came up to create this mural for Miami Township, and we started the ball rolling again. Ed helped me come up with so many of the historical details for the painting, and even included many historical photos that I referenced directly for the painting.”

The typical timeline for a piece of this brevity includes, on average, 12-18 months of research before taking on the creation process. In order to make this project happen, Kate’s work day was doubled, and she found herself working nights and weekends to meet the deadline.

“I knew the Township was depending on me, and in my mind, the community was depending on me to create not only this piece, but all of my paintings. I truly enjoy making other people happy, and when I see how happy a piece of my art makes another person, it becomes very simple: get the job done,” she adds. 

Being a part of this community has propelled Kate to look deeper at the interconnections that bring us all together. “Community is everything. Our community, just like our local ecology, depends on the health of every individual that is a part of it. When one of us is strong, we help others to become stronger, and then hopefully they do their part to help others, as well. We can all thrive together if we help each other. Stronger together!” 

In addition, the connection between art and community has been a large motivator for Kate, and she works to be an active member in strengthening that connection. “Public art can have a much broader and immediate impact, especially if it’s placed in a prominent place,” she continues. “It can inspire people to want to create something for themselves and make something they can be proud of; it can instill a sense of pride in the community. Public art creates jobs for passionate people and helps them to achieve their dreams, goals, and pursue a passion that must be fulfilled in order for them to feel whole and connected to their community.”