Welcome to the Torch Club of Columbus, Ohio. Join us for intelligent and respectful discussion in challenging, even chaotic, times. Our club has people from many different professions and disciplines. They meet monthly in the spirit of good fellowship to share their knowledge and exchange points of view through the presentation and discussion of a Torch paper.
Meetings are at the OSU Faculty Club. (For directions, click on OSU Faculty Club Directions and enter your address as a starting point.)
Dues, which are payed annually, include a three course dinner, coffee and tea, and a subscription to The Torch, the magazine of the International Association of Torch Clubs. (See below)
For list of recent and upcoming programs, click here
Slight dues increase for Torch’s 2026-27 program year
The Columbus Torch Club’s Board of Directors at its summer meeting August 9 approved a slight increase in dues for the 2026-27 program year as a result of the uncertainty of the Faculty Club’s food costs. The dues for 2026-27 will be $485 per person and $920 per household of two members.
The cost for a guest, which should be paid by the club member inviting the guest, will be $45 (except for the December meeting when it will be $50).
Thom Seelbach, the club’s secretary, will distribute a notice for the dues in September. Payment may be made by mail or at the club’s meeting in October.
To pay your dues, make your check payable to: Torch Club of Columbus and send to our Treasurer, Kent Bermingham, 521 Retreat Lane W, Powell, Ohio 43065. Or bring your check to the first Torch Club meeting on October 2, 2025 at the OSU Faculty Club.
Presentation by Jerry Rampelt on November 5:
“How analytics, voter modeling and voter targeting
have changed political campaigns”
Quite appropriate in this election season, Jerry Rampelt will deliver a Torch paper explaining how data analytics, voter modeling, and voter targeting have taken over campaigns of both political parties and issue organizations. He maintains these tactics have driven how campaigns operate. The Torch meeting will be Thursday, November 5, at The Ohio State University Faculty Club.
“At the same time political parties have used analytics for campaigns, there has been a rise in political organizations and individuals who have also created voter databases as a means of influencing voters,” Jerry says. “Few media organizations understand the complexity of voter analytics, plus, it is a topic that would be difficult for the average voter to comprehend in a sixty second news report. None of this would have been possible without the growth of computers.”
Jerry brings personal experience to election and issue campaigns. In 2009, he created the nonprofit Support Ohio Schools, which assists school levy campaign committees. Jerry has worked with over 325 school levy campaign committees and trained over 1,000 school levy volunteers.
Biography of Jerry Rampelt
Jerry Rampelt, current Torch Club president and a member since 2012, taught school for 10 years and then worked for the Ohio Education Association for two decades. In 1998, Jerry established a performance improvement consulting practice and later founded Support Ohio Schools.
Jerry has had a long interest in open-air activities. He was executive director of the Ohio to Erie Trail Fund from 2004-2014 and served on the board from 2014 to 2022. He was a volunteer and board president of Columbus Outdoor Pursuits from 2018-2024. He also was board president of the Ohio Crime Victims Justice Center from 2018-2023.
Jerry was inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizen Hall of Fame in 2022.
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Two ways to support the Columbus Torch Club and its members The Board of Directors asks you to consider two ways to contribute to your Torch Club and to keep our fellowship strong as we look forward to our club’s centennial in 2026.
1. You may contribute funds directly to support the club by writing a check to “Torch Club of Columbus, Ohio.” Mail the check to our club’s treasurer, Kent Bermingham,521 RetreatLane W., Powell, Ohio 43065. (Donations to the club do not qualify as a charitable tax deduction.)
2. You may pay for the crudités or other foods served during the cocktail hour that precedes the monthly meetings. Anonymous donors paid for the crudités served at the October and November meetings and for the December meeting. The cost for the crudités is about $430, but there also are less expensive options. For information on donating the crudités or other options, please contact the club’s treasurer, Kent Bermingham who works closely with the Faculty Club on the menu and costs of the monthly dinners. Kent is at Kent1942@gmail.com
Torch Club’s monthly meeting agenda:
4:30-5:30 p.m. Board of Directors meeting
5:30-6:15 p.m. Cocktails and conversation
6:15-6:35 p.m. Business matters
6:35-7:30 p.m. Speaker
7:30-8:45 pm. Dinner and table discussion
Jerry Rampelt