Nicole Condrey’s unique journey led her to current role as mayor
Late Dayton Journal Herald columnist Mickey Davis would always tell me, “Buch, everyone has a story.” And Middletown’s high-flying mayor Nicole Condrey’s story has no end in sight.
She is a performer with Team Fastrax, competitor with the United States Parachute Team and works with Start Skydiving. Oh and has time for mayoral duties. Whew!
“I finished my last overseas tour in Khartoum, Sudan, and had been dying for years to pick up an adventurous hobby. During my home leave, I gave both rock climbing and skydiving a shot. A few too many poorly anchored rock holds later, skydiving seemed to be more successful for my personal hand-eye coordination,” she says.
This is where she met the love of her life.
“I invited my brother to visit me as I finished my student program in Virginia. In the aircraft, I was sitting toward the rear by the exit door, ready to perform my low altitude student jump, while my brother was sitting in the front, strapped to an instructor. I waved to my brother, and he waved back. His instructor, whom I can now confidently identify as Ron Condrey, said to my brother, ‘Hey, that cute chick is waving at me,’ to which my brother disgustingly corrected, ‘That is my sister. She is waving at ME.’
“Ron proceeded to ask my brother for my phone number, jokingly referencing that he had my brother’s life in his hands. Naturally, my brother had an incredible, safe skydive…and he offered my hand in marriage to Ron upon landing. (There are a few more steps in the middle, but I like this story the best),” Condrey says.
Soon, they did marry and her now husband was retiring from the Navy. He had suffered multiple traumatic brain injuries as well as post-traumatic stress. Their journey landed them with their heads in the clouds in Middletown, Ohio.
“Searching for a job that was hands-on to try and help Ron heal some of the injured synapses in his brain, we went through lists and lists of potential next careers and directions. We had been performing skydiving demonstrations on the east coast and knew of Team Fastrax as the largest and most accomplished professional skydiving team in the world. As we traveled from Virginia to visit my parents in Iowa the summer of 2016, we strategically stopped in Middletown, to check out the national training headquarters of this team.
“When we arrived, we realized this wasn’t a skydiving team. This was a community-service team with a skydiving problem. After witnessing the team’s dedication to our wounded veterans and Gold Star families, interacting with team members, and being prompted to complete applications, the next step in our journey together was as clear as a cloudless day: We were heading to Middletown, Ohio, to try out for Team Fastrax,” she says.
They uprooted from the sandy shores of Virginia Beach in favor of the swiftly flowing beauty of the Great Miami River in Middletown. Ron’s TBIs began to significantly impact his executive functioning skills, making it nearly impossible to compose emails, focus on tasks and maintain emotional composure.
“He felt like the shell of a warrior he once was. His first attempt to take his life landed him waist deep in the Atlantic Ocean with a gun in his hand. He had run from the house, down the beach, warning me not to follow. I paused, wondering what was the best action for his own safety that I could take, and then I followed. I found him wading out into the water, crying but wanting nothing to do with the world. By a miracle, I was able to talk him back to shore and bring him safely home. Program after program, extreme effort after extreme effort, Ron fought these symptoms and diagnosis for three years before ultimately taking his own life,” Condrey says.
But unimaginable as it seemed, she kept going.
“Ron would have been pissed at me if I gave in after he died. Warriors don’t give in. And I don’t dare consider Ron to have given in either. Ron fought harder than any warrior ever could, and I am proud of him for it. He is still fighting at my side now.”
She stayed in Middletown and continued to skydive. It’s there that she found a new calling.
“I had zero interest in politics. I still have zero interest in politics. A fellow Notre Dame graduate recently coined me a ‘reluctant politician,’ which sums up my experience quite nicely,” Condrey says.
Never reluctant to pass up a challenge, one of her teammates mentioned that the position of mayor was up for election.” She confronted his oddly serious comment with nearly spewing out her beer, laughing at how polar opposite of a lifestyle that would be and how Ron would be laughing at the idea of it.
“Overnight, I recognized that this was a purposeful challenge that had just crossed my path. I felt Middletown needed new energy, a focus on transparency and communications, and a voice for its people. I previously thought of service to our country on a national and international level. Mayor? You could directly impact the livelihood of your neighbors, actually see the progress,” she says.
Know what? She ran and won!
“I am very proud of Middletown. We are taking control of our city and having pride in ourselves! In 10 years? Middletown will be where its citizens want it to be. It is their city, and the future can only be created by them,” Condrey says.
So far, Nicole is enjoying her time as mayor with unofficial vice-mayor Via.
“Rebuilding Warriors donated Via to Ron upon his retirement from the Navy. She is a Belgian Malinois and was trained for 10 months specifically for Ron as a service dog for PTSD and TBIs. She has many jumps under her collar and I am certain Ron’s adventurous soul is in her,” she says.
Next chapter? She won’t say if she’ll run again, but for now the personal mission continues.
“On Memorial Day, I will organize and run my second iteration of Run 4 Brains, in which I run 1 mile on the hour every hour starting at midnight in an effort to acquire brain pledge donations through projectenlist.org,” she says.
For now, the next time you’re in Middletown look up. Yep, that is a skydiving dog along with her friend the mayor.
Cheers!
Buch
