Our Family

Our family of Certified Recovery Coaches are here to help.

Office Staff

Kim Eberle
LSW, LCDC III
​​Executive Director & Certified
​Peer Recovery Supporter​

Mark Kaselak
Outreach Coordinator
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Melanie Williamson
Executive Assistant 
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Stacey Leonard
Outreach Coordinator

Jessica Furci, BSW, LSW
Analytics Specialist &
​Peer Recovery Supporter​ Supervisor 

Outreach Coordinator

Treasure Dougan
Billing & Payroll Specialist

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Jody Frimel
Volunteer

Certified Peer Recovery Supporters

Kathy Brunner
​CDCA, Supervisor & Certified Peer Recovery Supporter​

Cathleen Loede
Certified Peer Recovery Supporter​​​

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Stacey Livelsberger, LSW
Peer Support Trainer, Certified Peer Recovery Supporter​

John Carter
Certified Peer Recovery Supporter​

Barb Urbin
Supervisor, ​Certified Peer Recovery Supporter​

Jose Flores
Peer Support Trainer, Certified Peer Recovery Supporter​​, OCPS, ICPS, CDCA, OCPRS

Reginald Cremeans
Certified Peer Recovery Supporter​​
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Crystal Spaetzel
Certified Peer Recovery Supporter

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Greg Klima
​Peer Support Trainer, Certified Peer Recovery Supporter​

Michael Plas
​LSW, CDCA & Certified Peer
Recovery Supporter​
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Ross Taylor
​Certified Peer Recovery Supporter​​
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Barry Burdue
Certified Peer Recovery Supporter​

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Meet the Board of Directors

Kenneth Blackman, Ph.D.
Ken and his wife Terri moved to Ohio from North Carolina in Jan.2017 and one of the first things Ken did after he moved to Ohio was complete the Ohio requirements to be certified as an Ohio Peer Recovery Supporter. Ken was a North Carolina Certified Peer Support Specialist and a certified Peer Support Specialist trainer for over 12 years prior to moving to Ohio. Ken is very passionate about the positive role that Peers can have in encouraging and assisting struggling addicts into recovery. The 4th of July ,1995 near death of his daughter by an overdose triggered Ken to examine his own life and addictions. His own continuous recovery started on 8/8/1995 and by actively working with others his growth in recovery continues which is why he decided to become a Board Member of LGR .

Ken’s over 22 years of diverse and extensive experience in MH/SA can be of the greatest value in a mentoring/teaching role. Throughout his working career, he has always been the problem-solving team member. His ability to evaluate situations and think out of the box has resulted in unexpected positive outcomes in several situations. Ken is excited to bring his extensive experience in doing advocacy work at any level to LGR where he can help educate people to understand that recovery is possible, and he says, “I am the evidence”. Ken has received awards from the States of Maryland and North Carolina for his advocacy work with individuals with mental health and substance misuse challenges.

Ken joined CoastalCare in May 2013 as a member of their Community Development team. In that capacity, he was part of a team of people focused on developing community resources to fill the gaps in services to assist people to recover from their mental health and/or substance abuse challenges. As a veteran, he has a passion to make a difference for other veterans. One of the most successful programs in helping veterans and preventing them from falling into the cracks is the Peer Specialist Program. While at Coastal Care, he was certified as a North Carolina instructor of the Peer Specialist training program. He was successful in having the course approved at each of the four community colleges in his area and taught the course at each college at least once. Ken holds several certifications and converted a 6400 sg ft “Gentlemen’s club” into a recovery home which is now a licensed as a 15 bed halfway house (5600E). 

Ken served 4 years in the USAF Communications Intelligence, trained as an Arabic linguist and spent the last 18 months of his military service at the National Security Agency (NSA). Ken received his BS from Georgetown University, and his MS and Ph.D. from University of Cincinnati working with Dr. Albert Sabin, developer of the Oral Polio vaccine. Ken spent 25 years in the biopharmaceutical industry in senior management prior to entering recovery.  

Giovanna Bremke
​Giovanna is an attorney at Bremke Law in Avon, Ohio and experienced in a variety of legal matters including representing clients in both civil litigation, civil transactional work, appellate practice, and criminal defense. Giovanna actively represents individuals facing criminal traffic, misdemeanor, and felony charges. She also dedicates a large area of her practice to appellate practice and has argued before the Ninth District Court of Appeals and Sixth District Court of Appeals. She represents individuals in civil litigation and transactional work in the areas of real estate, landlord/tenant disputes and evictions, guardianship, estate planning, and small business matters. In 2018, Giovanna became the Lorain County Recovery Court defense attorney representing individuals in addiction recovery. 
Giovanna is proud to serve on the executive board of the Lorain County Bar Association, a group comprised of local attorneys and judges.


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Marnie Butler
Marnie has always been passionate with her community work through volunteering or giving back especially when the “cause” of the project hits home and has served on the Board since July of 2017. Marnie has been her son and sister's best advocate for the past 25 years. Marnie's sister was diagnosed with mental illness while a senior in high school and as a parent of a child in the 90's, she trusted a doctor's recommendation to put her child on medication for ADHD which she believes was the root cause for substance abuse later in his life. A few years ago, Marnie and her son participated in a BBC documentary that was filmed in Lorain County in hopes this would help him realize how bad his substance abuse problem was. She also wanted to save other families from the hard road their family took to in finding treatment while in an immediate crisis knowing they are not alone.

Marnie is a member of TAP United (AKA The Addicts Parents United) and has coordinated their “Blessing Bag Drive” project here in Lorain County for the past few years taking personal care type of items to the various recovery homes and Let's Get Real. She is proud to say that her son has been in recovery for almost two years. Several people have reached out to Marnie since the documentary seeking help over the past few years.  She saw the passion and growth of Let's Get Real with getting people in detox and treatment.  She refers them to LGR to get the help they need and realized this organization is a better fit for her volunteer efforts by serving on the Board. Marnie has been a lifelong resident of Lorain County. She earned her Associates in Communications and was a few classes shy of completing her Bachelors in Marketing from the University of Phoenix. She decided to focus on growing her photo booth & event planning business which has allowed her to have the flexibility to help where needed with the fast paced growth of Let's Get Real.  

Chris Carter
Chris was recently invited to join the LGR Board because of his passion and dedication to helping others, and his commitment to the recovery community.   His commitment to service is evident in his involvement in many civic and community organizations and activities.  Chris currently works for Midwest recovery in community relations. He also is on the Ohio can advisory Board helping those were searching for recovery and answering any questions about treatment centers including his own. Chris has been in the recovery scene for over 8 years. Being in recovery himself he definitely cares about the community and surrounding communities. Chris is married with two beautiful children and a wife who also serve the community as a psychologist. Chris believes the education starts within the families and develops into the community that will help fight against this epidemic of addiction. He believes in LGR and their movement the help those who are sick and suffering to show them the path of recovery when they're ready. Chris's motto is the word FREE , Focus on your thoughts, Remember where it leads, Eliminate the error, Explore other options.

Fred Weimer
Fred is a Senior Finance Manager having a wealth of knowledge and experience improving profitability and cash flow for manufacturers, distributors and transportation companies.  He has worked to improve accounting and finance functions for companies in North America as well as Japan and Europe. 

As a proud veteran of our military, Fred served as a sergeant in the US Army. He was honorably discharged after serving 2 consecutive terms in the 75th Ranger Regiment, the remainder of his time was spent overseas.  Having a strong belief in community outreach programs, Fred has participated in various roles of increased responsibility to bring food, shelter and education to those in need. 

Fred holds a master’s degree in Finance from Baldwin Wallace University along with an Associate in Risk Management (ARM) from the Insurance Institute of America. He lives in Northeast Ohio with his wife, their two children and one glorious pet. In his free time, Fred enjoys spending time with friends and family, traveling and competing in sports.

Robert Frimel

​Bio Coming Soon



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Kathy Fritsch

Kathy is an Accomplished Communications/Media Relations Leader & Independent Communication Specialist who has been active in community organizations since the 1990’s to create and/or promote special events, or individuals.  Combined training in journalism, and television to configure the most effective marketing to attract media coverage to an organization, or issue.  Kathy has worked on diversified projects drawing attention both statewide and nationally through television, print and magazine coverage. Locally she promoted the Underground Railroad (Black River Landing, Lorain, OH. Monument) and serves as the publicist to New York author Kathie Dolgin, Jackie Mayer who was Miss America 1963.  Kathy worked on the passage Ohio Tort Reform Senate Bill 281 in 2002.  "With dedication and integrity, it is an honor to serve Let’s Get Real Inc., an organization promoting dignity and action to clients and families while overcoming addiction-- a National Epidemic."

Larry Heller
Larry Heller was recently invited to join the LGR Board because of his passion and dedication to helping others, and his commitment to the recovery community.   His commitment to service is evident in his involvement in many civic and community organizations and activities.  Larry is actively engaged in many outreach activities, serving people struggling with addiction, mental illness, recovery, reentry, or homelessness. 
        
Larry serves on several Opiate Task Forces, including the Cuyahoga County Opiate Task Force, the Ohio Attorney General's "Ideas for Advocacy" Opiate Task Force, and the U.S. Attorney's "Heroin and Opioid Action Plan" Committee, as well as serving on a Mental Health Advisory Committee, created and required by the recent Consent Decree between the U.S. Department of Justice and the City of Cleveland.   Larry is actively engaged in the community, and was awarded the first ever Cleveland State University "Outstanding Community Engagement" Award. 

Larry has very recently (April, 2018) been awarded the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), Ohio Chapter "Emerging Leader" Award for Region 3, and received a commendation from the Ohio House of Representatives, for his ongoing dedication to civic and community service, and to improving our community.  Larry also recently (May, 2018) was recognized by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Cleveland Chapter, and received the Scott Adamson Memorial Peer Service Award. Larry has earned many honors and awards, but constantly reminds us that the greatest reward is being able to see the look in someone's eyes when they first begin to realize Hope!

Let's Get Real Inc. works collaboratively with many partnerships and organizations.  Here are a few of our fellow "soldiers in the battle"....

Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board of Lorain County

The Salvation Army, Oberlin Services Unit
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Solace of Lorain County

ASSIST Communities

Lorain County Recovery Court

​Lorain County General Health District

Sandusky Artisans Recovery Community Center

Mercy Regional Medical Center

​Cleveland Clinic - Avon

LINC - Wellington

WeCARE Vermilion

Southeast Lorain County Community Group

Amherst Community Task Force

Stop the Chaos Recovery Matters - C.R. Carter

​Coalition for the Uninsured Lorain County

New London Community Action Group

Ohio Citizen Advocates for Addiction Recovery

​TAP United

Here is what our clients had to say....

"I am sending a huge thank you!  Had it not been for you and Kathy Brunner I would still be in active use or dead.  I am very grateful for having you help me on this sober journey.  I talk about you all the time and how you saved my life.  We will never forget about Let's Get Real!!"
      - Amy S.

"Hello I would like to start by saying that I will forever be grateful to the people that work at Let's Get Real. Not only but the place as well for it has served me well in my journey of recovery! I will tell you a little about myself and how my journey has led me to writing this now. I am 25 years old and have been battling heroin for about 6 years along with many other drugs as of the time. I am writing this I am 3 days away from celebrating 6 months of sobriety. I am blessed today so much so but I will get more in to that. So I was born in Amherst OH and raised in Vermilion OH and alcohol has affected my life from the time I was born. My Dad died due to alcoholism when I was 8 years old and it runs heavily in my family. So when I was 18 I had my first run in with the law because of alcohol but never thought nothing of it and for the next 4 years I was off and running around getting locked up and doing things I never thought I would do to get drugs. So I ended up getting on probation and had to go to AA meetings. I did what I was told because anything was better then jail at this point. I went into AA giving it about half what I should have and it worked for a short time. But this is where Let's Get Real comes in to play. When I was coming to these meetings there were people who stood out to me who would come up to me with a smile and it felt like they really cared and what would you know a lot of them are really a big part of Let's Get Real. So I started going up there, kinda peakin my head in to say Hi and get a nice conversation in. What do you know? They were more than welcoming to me. And just real people ya know it is called “Let' Get Real” for a reason they don't judge you or think there better, they care and want to help and to me that was something I never seen before it was a fresh breath of life in a world that seamed to be falling apart anywhere I went. So I was kinda doing my own thing then happen to get locked back up knowing where I went wrong and I was so lost but had such hope that once I got out that I could stay sober and live a happy life (like the people here) so I wrote a letter to Let's Get Real while I was locked up and once again the people here reached out and I had someone whom I am truly blessed to call a friend today start to work with me in this recovery thing. So as I was locked up I was getting busy in the 12 steps of AA and everything was going great then the day arrived when I was released. That's when the real test starts and I was going home and something happened that was out of my control let's just say I lost the place I was living and the person I was living with went to do her own thing. Now I was messed up about this and what did I want to do? Well go get high ,but thank you Let's Get Real I was driving by and saw some heads through the window and said “ya know what I am going to go talk to someone”., and that's just what I did. I went in here and was a mess and they talked with me and let me just sit here that whole week just cuz I needed to be around safe and sober people it's amazing what a little bit of love from another person can do. I would like to say to whoever is reading this that give it a shot. It is a really a cool life! If you know someone or are a family member of someone battling this there are people who can help and they might not have all the answers but your not alone we can do this together and I would not have that any other way today! I am truly blessed to have these people in my life and this amazing place to come sit and talk with true friends today. I am so amazed that someone would care about me, to even care about what I think and ask me to share my story with you. This is a pleasure. Thank you so much and come on down there is he;p for everyone."
      - Patrick S.

"My name is Melissa, proud mother of a heroin addicted son in recovery. My journey began with many years of a very strained and difficult relationship with my first born. I guess I chalked much of it up to him being a typical teenager and that it would pass. It did not. It escalated into many more years of lying, stealing, incredible rage and mood swings. My amazing family home has turned into a house of chaos and tension. When my family was struck by this horrific disease eight years ago, I was absolutely dumbfounded and completely taken aback. I, like many others, believed this was a junkie disease and could never hit my quiet, beautiful affluent town of Huron, Ohio. Humiliation set in quickly and I did everything I could do to hide and withdraw in solitaire. In time, his house of cards fell of course and I found out the truth. I immersed myself into the internet and books and documentaries to learn everything I could about heroin addiction.  I eventually found solace with “Let’s Get Real”. I have finally found there is relief with acceptability. There is comfort with others’ stories similar to my own. There is comfort with mutual friends. I want to thank the group as a whole for being such an amazing support. You have treated me and my story with nothing but respect and compassion. As we all know, this addiction, just like many others, can begin with emotions of shame, embarrassment and disgrace. With education and group conversations, these horrific feelings begin to lessen. I additionally want to thank Kim. She has been rock solid when it comes to this fight against addiction. I for one, am incredibly proud to join this fight. We all have so much more to do, but we have at least started the race."
      - Wish Recovery, Melissa F.

"My name is Donna and I started attending Let's Get Real's meetings in order to help me learn to deal with my grandson who is addicted to heroin.  I desperately needed help.  Let's Get Real helped me to deal with my enabling and to take care of myself.  I met other people going through the same thing and it helped me knowing I wasn't alone in this and help each other accept our situation to get stronger.  We also learn ways to help addicts get into programs that help them deal with their addiction.  Finding this place has been a blessing to me and Kim Eberle is a great inspiration and extremely helpful to all of us.  I m still attending the meetings and would advise anyone in need of help that this is a great place to receive it."
      - Donna S.

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