Dublin-Worthington News Stories
Membership Spotlight: Jeff Appel
By Paul J. CynkarSunday, December 26, 2021
Advancing the Leadership Mindset
Finding Success in the Success of Others
Paul Cynkar, October 2021
This is another in a series of member profiles based on discovery interviews that were designed to get an up close view of the traits and strengths of the members who provide leadership to this organization.
Membership Spotlight: Jeff Appel
Family Focused, Attorney, BBQ Master
Finding Success in the Success of Others
Paul Cynkar, October 2021
This is another in a series of member profiles based on discovery interviews that were designed to get an up close view of the traits and strengths of the members who provide leadership to this organization.
Membership Spotlight: Jeff Appel
Family Focused, Attorney, BBQ Master
Tell us about yourself. Give us three facts that include information about your family, your career and your pastimes.I am a lifelong resident of Worthington and grew up on Halligan Avenue. I attended Wilson Hill Elementary, Worthingway Middle School and Worthington High School. I’ve been married to Heather for 21 years. Heather is a Dentist and also grew up in Worthington (but we did not know each other growing up). We have two children. Our son is in his first year at Purdue studying engineering and our daughter is a sophomore at Wellington. Since 2003, I have been practicing law locally here in Worthington with my partner Jon Hellstedt at Appel & Hellstedt LLP (Jon is also a Rotarian in the UA club). Our practice is focused in the areas of Probate and Estate Administration and Estate Planning.
How long have you belonged to Rotary? What’s the best thing about membership?
Harvey Minton encouraged me to join Rotary in 2003 and I have been a member since then. I enjoy the collegiality and the community service projects. The great thing about Rotary is that pretty much wherever your interests lie (international service, local community causes, or mentoring youth, etc…), you can find your place in Rotary.
As you look back on your life and your career, where and when did you have the biggest impact on others? Who was impacted and how?
I feel fortunate that I can have a positive impact every day with my clients. The thing I like the most about our practice areas is that it puts us in the position to really help people in times of uncertainty or emotional crisis. Clients almost always leave our office feeling better than when they arrived. This can’t be said for many other areas of practice in the legal profession. Earlier in my career I was involved in the more contentious side of the legal profession. Oftentimes, the best a client could hope for was compromise in which everyone leaves somewhat unhappy. Having my own practice has also allowed for scheduling freedom and the opportunity to volunteer in the community which has been impactful and rewarding.
As you look back, which of the opportunities you’ve had has been the most fulfilling to you personally? Why?
I’d have to say that it’s all been fulfilling. It has been very fulfilling to be able to work and volunteer in the community you grew up in. With Rotary specifically, I have been involved in the evolution of the Worthington Family Picnic and I’m pleased to see that it was back this year (hopefully even bigger and better next year). I also worked with other Rotarians on the planning and fundraising for the Mirolo Community Pavilion, which was the former outdoor education building on the Thomas Worthington High School property.
Describe the most challenging project you’ve ever worked on. What was your role? What was the result? What did you learn?
From a career perspective, I would say it was early in my practice when I was representing public employers with their labor negotiations. These contract negotiations could be complex and challenging with multiple parties involved. There are strong interests and much diversity of thought. Coming to agreement was never easy.
What are some things you are passionate about? What really excites you? What gets your adrenalin flowing? What makes your heart sing?
I’m passionate about my family, our community and travel. I especially enjoy spending time away with my family at our place in Sarasota (fishing, relaxing and exploring new places).
What are you especially skilled at? What is something that others often tell you that they think makes you stand out?
I’ve been told that I smoke the best pulled pork in town and that I make a great martini. In my profession I feel that I am able to build trust, calm people down and help them to focus and see the light at the end of the tunnel. Calming people in crisis is important so they can get to a place where they can take care of themselves and their loved ones.
When you have a moment to sit back and think (dream) about your future, what do you think about? What things would you like to do in your life that you haven’t gotten around to yet? Is there something else you would like to accomplish?
I would definitely like to travel more, especially international travel. I also recently became licensed to practice law in Florida and hopefully can continue to build that client base. This will hopefully give me the opportunity to get down there on a more regular basis. I am not taking any more bar exams!
If you could choose anyone (alive or deceased) to have lunch with, who would it be? Why?
I’d like to have lunch with my dad. He died when I was seventeen and a senior in high school. There would be lots of things for us to talk about.