Back from the Black Sea

by Ryan Markiewicz | Jun 6, 2025 | Berlin's Wall

Well, back in Erie safe and sound. LONG trip home (26 hours!) and a bit jet-lagged — but all good.

As you’ve probably seen from my posts, this was a successful and memorable trip.

The main events were:

1. Visiting the Chornomorets Soccer Stadium in Odesa
2. Helping launch the Allrise Girls Soccer School in Chornomorsk
3. Exchanging ceremonial keys with the Mayor of Chornomorsk

But there were many other moments worth noting:

We had great drives to and from Odesa with Mikhail and Melissa from Allrise. Got to know them better and look forward to doing more good together — in Ukraine and beyond.

The four of us grabbing Road Dogs—an LP tradition in Ukraine. YUMMY!!!

Even though I saw this on my last visit there, still amazes me that they sell this at gas stations along the highway 😳

We had dinner at a beautiful seaside hotel owned by friends of theirs — one of the port operators there. Four proud generations of their family in Odesa. Amazing food, even better company.

The seaside hotel

Melissa from Allrise before heading home from Chisinau. Fun companions.

Dinner looked scary but tasted pretty good!

Our dinner host Slava Kruk. Beautiful home. Lovely family. Great meal. And some music 🙂

We spent time with our friends at the Atlantic Council, who’ve been bringing people to Ukraine to see the truth for themselves and who remain stalwart supporters of Ukraine’s war effort. Solid friends. Solid people.

The group from Allrise and The Atlantic Council at the stadium

The Black Sea Security Conference was going on during our visit, and I had the chance to hear Mike Pompeo deliver closing remarks.

Former US Secretary of State, CIA Director Mike Pompeo closing out the Black Sea Security Forum

Irina Paliashvili of the U.S.–Ukraine Business Council — a longtime LP friend and ally — got us into a performance of the Odesa Symphony in their stunning concert hall. Afterward, she introduced us to her friend Hobart Earle — an American and the conductor of the Odesa Philharmonic.

The Odesa Symphony Orchestra—led by American-born conductor, Hobart Earle.

The beautiful Odesa Opera House

(Funny story: we almost didn’t get in. Two huge guards at the door, no English. I kept saying “Irina Paliashvili” hoping they’d let us in. A nearby staffer overheard and asked who we were. I said, “Logistics Plus,” and she lit up: “LOGISTICS PLUS??? Oh, PLEASE come in.” That felt good.)

And of course — we spent time with our people: Andriy, Sasha, Ole, and OD. Always the best part of any trip. Just hanging out, catching up, and letting them know that LP is behind them. Strong, brave, wonderful people.

Sasha proudly sporting the hockey shirts for the camps sponsored by Lilly Broadcasting, Vorex and LP

We took Sasha on this. She wasn’t happy. (But neither was Gordie 😝)

Special thanks to my buddy Gordie Naughton, the only guy I know crazy enough to say “Sure!” when I call a week before and ask if he wants to fly to Odesa. Gordie’s been a great friend, a great travel buddy — and an unsung hero in LP history. He played a key role in helping us win (and succeed big with) WeWork — a life-changing client for us.

Gordie helped make this trip special

But that’s a story for another day. 😉

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this trip special. A few more pics at the bottom of this blog.

Onward! (After a nap to fight off this jet lag 😄)

The Port of Odesa—you can see the damage done by Russian missiles

2 loudmouth ex truckdrivers 😊

Chornomorsk – Afternoon Event

by Ryan Markiewicz | Jun 2, 2025 | Berlin's Wall

All,

We went from the girls soccer training school to the Mayor’s office to give him the key to the city. Erie and Chornomorsk are both ports and earlier this year became Sister Cities. The Mayor even put on a sport coat for the event 😉

It was an easy meeting. I told Mayor Huliaiev that I am here representing the Mayor and City of Erie, though I am not in government/just business, and that I used to be a truck driver.

He looked very pleasantly surprised and said, “ME TOO!!!”

And I told him that I had a big mouth and kept getting fired so I started my own company.

And he said, “ME TOO!”

So…good bonding point :). We then exchanged keys to the city.

Gordie, Andriy, the Mayor, Sasha and Ole

Exchanging keys!

Here is the city of Erie key

We also gave him one of the hockey jerseys from the camps for Ukrainian kids we have been sponsoring along with Vorex and Lilly Broadcasting, in Erie, Buffalo, and Romania since the start of the war. The Mayor is a big sports fan. He went into a closet and came out like this 🙂

Mayor Huliaiev greeting Ole (the Professor looking sharper than all of us actually 😉)

A great day in Chornomorsk.  The sister city designation is mostly symbolic, I know. But in 1812, Erie played a major role in the continuing struggle for independence for America, so our heart reaches out to this port city doing the same today.

Hopefully, we can begin to have exchanges–medical, educational, cultural, sports between our two cities, and that will knit us closer together 🙏

Chornomorsk Sunday Event #1

by Ryan Markiewicz | Jun 2, 2025 | Berlin's Wall

All,

On Sunday, we drove the hour from Odesa to Chornomorsk. As I’ve mentioned, these are 2 of the 3 Black Sea ports remaining under Ukrainian control. So, vital to Ukraine’s success and its future. We have gotten to meet with many of the folks who run them. They appreciate all the work LP has done to support Ukraine. And we appreciate their bravery and strength.

Today, our first event was with our good friends from Allrise Capital. They are the ones who own that magnificent stadium in Odesa and the women’s soccer team, the Seasters. Part of what they are doing is building a series of soccer schools for girls across Ukraine to give them good activities and to also build a feeder program. (The Seasters have gone from #16 to #4 in Ukraine already.)  LP is a proud supporter of this program and was graciously invited to attend the school’s grand opening, led by the Mayor of Chornomorsk, Vasyl Huliaiev.

Mikhail and Melissa, our good friends from Allrise

Melissa, from Allrise, with the LP team

The LP team

We got to watch the kids practice and play. It was another sunny day, and another day with no bombs dropping – which makes it a MUCH more enjoyable visit 😉

These girls have some serious skill!

It’s funny that those of you who know me know I usually wear t-shirts, sneakers, and jeans (or Hawaiian shirts 😉), but for this event, and the one in the afternoon, I actually went out and bought a new suit, new tie, new shirt, and new dress shoes. I did it while visiting my daughter in Philly. Went to a men’s shop–said “Dress me nice, please!”, and came back to Erie with a new outfit.  Hallie was SO proud of me that I could do that. Said I’m finally growing up 😆.

Gordie and I observing the festivities

Such a cool experience

Anyway, I get to the field, and the Mayor and everyone else is in shorts and t-shirts (of course!). Duh.

The Mayor (dressed appropriately in a black t-shirt. You TRY to do the right thing and dress up. And actually, though I don’t speak a word of Ukrainian, I’m pretty sure the Master of Ceremonies made fun of me for wearing a suit to a soccer field 🤪

And cool that Ole S., one of our guys in the Odesa region, pointed out the 2 schools on either side of the field. Said, “School # 2 over there is a bunch of idiots and slackers. School #3 over there is where I went.” hahahahaha

Ole S (“The Professor”) and the only guy other than me who wore a suit and tie 😅

After this, we are onto our next Chornomorsk event with Mayor Huliaiev. The exchange of keys with their newest sister city, Erie.

More pics from our good friend, Anna at Allrise Capital: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1auyz8hSAorrpRBGRJUUGCxQygGiXAFlm?usp=sharing

Onward!

Sergiy, our good friend and the unsung hero of the Chornomets Stadium.

Can’t wait to go back when the war is over and stadium is full of Seasters fans 🙂

Chornomorets Stadium

by Ryan Markiewicz | May 30, 2025 | Berlin's Wall

All,

One of the main goals of our visit was to see the progress our good friends from Allrise Capital have made on the stadium and the women’s soccer team they own here in Odesa.

They acquired this stadium, built 15 years ago, about 5 years ago, just before Covid hit, which prohibited any games from being played. Then, 3 years ago, the Russian invasion did the same.

So, since they acquired this stadium, they haven’t had any paying fans, which is a challenging financial situation, as you can well imagine.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chornomorets_Stadium

Nonetheless, they have kept their focus (and invested their money) into improving the facility (it’s called a stadium, but trust me, inside it is more like a palace–Beautiful!) and they anxiously await the time when life here gets back to normal and the games, concerts and other activities can begin again.

The stadium also has a beautiful hotel, with 79 rooms, conference rooms, an incredible gym, and a pool.  Plus, their women’s soccer team, the Seasters, has become one of the top teams in the country, bringing together young women from across Ukraine as well as from Africa and South America.

And Allrise is further investing in soccer training schools in Ukraine, with 11 of them now, to help create a feeder program that can make the Seasters even more competitive worldwide. This weekend, we will attend the opening ceremony of their newest women’s soccer training school in Chornomorsk, Erie’s sister city.

I’m excited.

Here’s the stadium

The view from the stands

View from the field

Sasha

Mikhail in front of the team bus. It’s amazing how much the bus driver looked like me. Even had a Buffalo Bills cap!

The stadium is right next to the Port of Odesa. It will be one of the crown jewels of Ukraine in the city that will fuel Ukraine’s economic connection with the rest of the world. We are terrifically proud to be a very small part of this. Thanks to Mikhail and Allrise for the opportunity.

Onward!