Walbridge mayor balances many duties

Walbridge native and Lake High School graduate, Ed Kolanko, serves many roles within the local community.

Most people know him as the mayor of Walbridge, a role in which he has served since being appointed in 2013. Others may know him for being a self-employed financial advisor or as the husband of Melissa or the father to Eddie and Gracie.

However, there’s one more thing that takes up a good portion of Kolanko’s free time, and that’s officiating high school basketball games. In fact, the longest-serving mayor in Walbridge’s history was recently selected to officiate a state tournament game for the third time.

In 2019, he was assigned a girls basketball state semifinal game at The Ohio State University. Last year, he officiated the Division II girls basketball state championship game in Dayton between Cincinnati Purcell Marian and Shaker Heights Laurel.

This year, he’s not sure which division he’ll officiate, but it will be a state semifinal.

“The first time I went in 2019, it seemed so fast and your adrenaline is going,” Kolanko said. “You’re excited and before you know it, it’s over. It’s kind of crazy. I can remember the game, but I remember more of the mistakes than I do the right calls, but as an official you tend to focus on that stuff.”

The second time around, Kolanko said he was more relaxed, and he had his whole family with him as his wife, two children and family friends, Mark and Lisa, also went.

Despite being relaxed, there was one “wrinkle” thrown in as Kolanko officiated with TV timeouts for the first time as the championship game was broadcasted live.

“That was a first (for me),” he said. “When you kind of throw a little bit of a wrinkle into a game, you get a little bit nervous, but you handle it. It was fun.”

The Journey Begins

Kolanko got his officiating license 16 years ago after serving time helping out CYO leagues on Saturdays and Sundays every week as part of his then job as athletic director at St. Jerome. Jeff Mielcarek, who was in charge of the CYO, suggested that he get a license.

“I took him up on the offer,” Kolanko said.

Sixteen years later, Kolanko hasn’t thought about officiating other sports. He sticks to basketball, in part because he’s not a big winter guy.

“It's something to do inside,” he said. “People love to do football, they do baseball, softball, but you're outside in the elements. This really just started off as something to do in the winter time. And it's kind of definitely morphed into kind of being a passion and a hobby and something I really enjoyed doing.”

In terms of what makes officiating fun for Kolanko, he said the camaraderie he experiences with players, fellow officials and game workers is great, but he also enjoys the shared experience with his family.

“It changes over time,” he said. “It changes because life changes, and the experiences change. If you asked me that back in 2019, I would have told you the experience of having my wife and son there was cool. Now I'm going to tell you that the experience that happened last year (was great) because my whole family and friends were there. It was much more impactful.

“It changes, but I think a common theme (that I enjoy) is the family's included and having your family kind of see you on a bigger stage, you know doing good stuff (makes me happy). “Plus, I’m serving in a way. As basketball officials, we’re not getting paid a ton of money, but it's definitely a level of service that we do.”

The relationships Kolanko develops with people in the community speaks to the camaraderie aspect.

“There's a lot of camaraderie that only exists because you're a basketball official and not something you would get elsewhere,” he said. “That's definitely a plus, too, and then working with the kids and doing something that you love is definitely important, as well.”

Juggling Act

In all, life can be pretty hectic for Kolanko, especially during basketball season as he balances officiating, his 25-year career as a financial advisor, his family and mayoral duties.

“It's tricky,” he said. “Google scheduling has become a very important part of my life. The schedule is very difficult trying to balance everything. I make it work, I think, really, because I have a great supporting cast at home.”

He credits his wife as a huge part of his balancing act.

“Without Melissa kind of really taking the reins during basketball season, I wouldn't be able to do what I do,” he said. “To juggle two things is okay. To juggle the three, you need help, and she's a huge, helpful part to that scenario.”

That juggling act includes a 24/7 aspect in which he’s ready for anything, which includes phone calls at various times, work on the weekends, working with the maintenance crew during bad weather, handling police issues, etc. Kolanko also has separate laptops, one for his mayoral duties and another for financial advising.

“It really isn’t possible without a good home cast,” he said. “Melissa helping out and my kids being supportive, I mean if that didn't happen none of this would be even possible because the job itself or the jobs take you in different directions at different times of the day. And she knows that. I know that, and she works with me and sometimes, you know, doesn't want to but she understands.”

Big Games

Some of Kolanko’s most memorable games involve respectful fan participation and ones that involve crucial calls.

“Most of the ones that stick out are the ones where you have a great amount of participation from the fans,” he said. “That's fun. As long as they are cheering their teams on, they can question calls. What really sticks out is sometimes when there's a there's an impactful call at the end of the game that we talked about or just the fact that it's a crowded gym or there’s standing room only.”

The Future Ahead

Kolanko is currently in his third full term as Walbridge’s mayor after filling the seat in January 2013, and he’s proud of being the town’s longest-serving mayor.

“Maybe it’s because nobody else wants to do it, I don’t know,” he said. “Hopefully it’s a testament to the good things we do, but at some point it’ll come to an end.”

And Kolanko knows that weeks such as last week, in which he worked seven games with two on Saturday, won’t last forever.

“I'm grateful that I'm able to do it,” he said. “But at some point, the run will be over because family has to come first. And that’s a good thing. I don’t know when that’s going to be, but there’s a point when the rainbow ends.”