Ed
Kasputis
A Man Of Integrity

by Patricia Mitchell
In a busy corporate cafe, Ed Kasputis' voice is clear and distinct
above the crowd's chatter. His oratory skills may have been perfected in
law school or as the 16th District representative in the Ohio House of
Representatives. Nevertheless his voice is strong and robust, but even
more importantly, Kasputis is a man whose voice has helped accomplish many
dreams.
Kasputis shared his salvation testimony in a matter of fact fashion.
"I became a Christian at 20 years old, my mother at the time was dying
of brain cancer." He continued, "I was dating a young lady that was a Born-again
Christian and it changed by paradigm. A few months later, I accepted Jesus
into my heart; about a month later, my mother died and a couple of weeks
later, I started my first business." He also added, "And during the same
summer, my political philosophy was formed."
Kasputis started an ice creme company through the summers of graduate
school and law school. He graduated from both law school and graduate business
school in December of 1987. In 1990, he started his own law practice and
was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. He represents the 16th
House District in Cuyahoga County. The district includes Bay Village, part
of Brook Park, North Olmsted, Olmsted Township, Rocky River, and Westlake.
For the past two years, Kasputis campaigned to be the next Secretary
of State. Although his attempt was unsuccessful, he realized how crucial
it is for Christians to be in the political forefront. "We need to get
Christians more involved in the political arena." He stressed, "The Christian
community must be organized financially. We need to train and understand
that sometimes the cost of good government is tied directly to godly leaders."
Explaining the contrast, he says, "The ungodly people are giving a lot
of money because they want power. However, we understand that all power
is derived from God. Government coupled with godly leaders can be an instrument
of God."
Looking at new horizons, Kasputis" future plans do include, "preparing
for my return as a political candidate for an office in the State of Ohio."
He is reasonable with his aspirations as he explains, "I look forward to
still chasing dreams. All great leaders, like Abraham Lincoln, were in
and out of public service."
With a strong work ethic and commitment to family, Kasputis smiles
as he talks about the benefits of the private sector. He chuckles, "After
serving in the Ohio House for the last seven years, it is one thing to
work a 12-hour day in Cleveland and it is another thing to work a 12-hour
day in Columbus, so far away from home." Kasputis plans to continuing working
twelve-hour days as an entrepreneur. His desire is to start a seminar company
to teach business people how to be strong, ethical, godly leaders.
In speaking about his private life and his wife Lee, Kasputis'
voice subsides to an undercurrent of ease and pure joy. "Let me tell you
about my wife," he exclaims, "she is an attorney, who is a stay at home
mom, by choice. She is a Proverbs 31 woman, who is home schooling our children."
Acknowledging her strengths, he says, "She has a passion for adoption and
helping other families adopt babies. She is an expert at it."
Lee is responsible for having started an adoption support group at Bay
Presbyterian Church. Kasputis says that his wife's love and passion is
fueled by her generous heart. With humility, Kasputis shares, "There has
been a few times in my life when I did not have vision in a particular
area. One of those times was prior to the adoption of our children. At
the beginning, it was my wife dragging me across the finish line."
Recalling the first time he saw his adopted daughter Megan, he says,
"She was only 20 hours old when we walked into the bonding room. When I
saw my daughter for the first time, I literally began to weep. It was at
that moment, I knew how much God loved me." The Kasputis family now includes
two other children, a son named Jake and their youngest daughter Zoe.
Kasputis encourages potential adopting fathers, and addresses the question,
"Can you love a child that is not your own?" Kasputis is certain, "God
knows that you are supposed to be that child's father. It is a leap of
faith and with it, God will bless you." He reminds the men that the ultimate
adoption was Joseph adopting Jesus as his own.
"We are looking forward to going to China in the next six months to
adopt another child." Kasputis says that his wife wants 10 children and
he chuckles, "I continue to negotiate with her. It's my wife's passion
that makes my home such an enjoyable place to go."
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