The Teller Family
Chances are if you ever took your kids to Breakfast with Santa, enjoyed authentic Italian cuisine at Taste of Italy or bought a hot dog at the high school concession stand for sporting and/or theater events in Mayfield Heights, you crossed paths with the Teller family, longtime residents of the city.
The family has a significant and loyal allegiance to the city’s parks and recreation department. As both volunteers and employees over the years, members of the family have helped support a myriad of well-run and successful programs and activities.
Kim Teller was a young child when her family moved into the community in 1969. As an adult, Teller’s own children benefited from the city’s many family-oriented activities. She became a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission in 1997, eager to give back to the organization that meant so much to her family. Kim served until 2012, resigning to follow her son’s baseball career in college.
But, she isn’t the only Teller to hold that position. Son Drew Teller became a member of the Commission in January. (His first job was a parks and rec employee at age 15.) Drew’s fiancée, Rachel, is the newest member of the family, and a new Mayfield Heights resident.
Kim’s husband, Andy Teller, who also grew up in Mayfield Heights, volunteered alongside Kim for several decades and now is a member of the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals. Daughter Samantha (Teller) Bakkar remembers as a child helping her mom fill 3,000 Easter eggs for the city’s Breakfast with the Easter Bunny. Samantha has also enlisted her husband to become part of the Teller family legacy of volunteerism in Mayfield Heights.
“My husband, Laith, and I are thinking about starting a family. I had a great childhood in Mayfield Heights,” says Samantha. “It’s a very family-oriented community, and we like living here.”
And don’t forget Emery Teller, 87, a 50-year resident of the city who gets credit for moving to Mayfield Heights in the first place, according to his son, Andy.
“Every time we do an event, so many people come up to us and say hi. It’s like a reunion every time,” says Andy. “It’s nice to be recognized and appreciated.”
Joe Brunello
Joe Brunello hung up his coaching cleats in 2024. But his name is still remembered for his association with the Highland Heights Recreation League, as well as the local Mayfield Wildcat Youth Football Club (WYFC). He was also the head coach of the Highland Heights Cougars travel baseball team.
You might still see Brunello and his family enjoying Fornaro Field and City Park. Many great memories and proud moments were created there by the coach, his players and their parents.
But Brunello’s roots in Mayfield Heights go even deeper than sports. Born and raised in the community, Brunello says his hometown is, well, home.
“I have seen this city grow and evolve, and never has there been a real reason for us to move. We could have gone elsewhere, but my wife and I chose to build a house here in 2014,” says Brunello, president of his homeowners’ association.
Brunello and his wife, Ashlee, send their three children (Santino, Silvio and Sofia) to school in the Mayfield City School District, and he appreciates the opportunities the district offers.
“My oldest son has Down syndrome, and the resources in this community are important to us. Everyone knows my son here, and he is safe here,” says Brunello, director of training and development for Penn Mutual-Leap Systems.
Since his coaching days are mostly behind him, Brunello has become interested in serving his community on a different level. He became a member of the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals and was named chairperson this past January.
“I appreciate that this is a diverse community with people from every walk of life. This position is a good opportunity for me to learn more about the inner workings of city government and explore other possibilities down the road,” says Brunello, whose brother, Chuck Brunello Jr., is mayor of Highland Heights.
When you’re out and about, you might spot Brunello at Piccolo Italian Restaurant or Marco’s Pizza in Mayfield Heights, two of his favorite local eateries, or at the city’s aquatic center with his family.
Howard Berlas
Schnurmann House is my home away from home,” says Howard Berlas, executive director of the interdenominational apartment community for those 62 and older in Mayfield Heights.
Berlas has earned the right to identify the complex, with its 250 tenants and 198 units, as such. He is only the fourth executive director in the community’s history and is now the individual with the longest term.
Schnurmann House is named for Cornelia Schnurmann, a German-Jewish refugee who came to America in 1941 with very little money and only a small suitcase. Schnurmann dedicated her life to helping the elderly and left an estate that enabled the founding of Schnurmann House in 1968.
Berlas found his way to Schnurmann House after being awarded degrees in therapeutic recreation and gerontology, working in several nursing homes in the region and earning a nursing home administrator license.
“I always wanted to work with the elderly,” says Berlas, whose daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren all live in Mayfield Heights. “I was fortunate to know my grandparents and my great-grandparents. They were certainly inspirational to me.”
Berlas praises Mayfield Heights for its many community and civic resources that make living in the city so positive and convenient for seniors. The city is also part of the Community Partnership on Aging, an organization that includes several other nearby cities. It provides programs and support to seniors so they can live full and independent lives.
Schnurmann House is within walking distance to shopping and restaurants, and close to the city’s aquatic center. Nearby medical facilities give residents peace of mind.
“We are very grateful to the city’s paramedics, police and fire departments and honor them each year with a lunch,” adds Berlas. “Everyone here — including tenants — joke that we want them to get to know us while we are still upright.”
