By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
One by one, the award recipients at Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting dinner and awards program insisted there were others more deserving of the recognition.
But their stories, read by emcees Jerry Anderson and Clint Corpe, told of lives spent improving their community, helping school kids, and offering support to women in abusive situations.
Receiving the awards Saturday evening were Sandy Rowland, Nick Snyder, Dr. Mary Krueger and Matt Reger.
Rowland, a townie who is a cheerleader for her community in her roles as a Realtor and at-large member of Bowling Green City Council, was named Outstanding Female Citizen of the Year.
“Everyone knows that she cares deeply about Bowling Green, its heritage, and its future,” Anderson said.
In her terms on City Council, Rowland has demonstrated a deep understanding of civil service and the obligations of servant leadership, Corpe said. She is forward thinking and dedicated to the prospect of creating a community that has appeal as a wonderful place to work, raise children, interact with vibrant community members, and play.
Rowland has helped move vision into reality through her work on Wooster Green and the Court Street Connects Festivals.
She shows her leadership qualities in the organizations she chooses to serve – Bowling Green Exchange Club, BG Human Relations Commission, Habitat for Humanity of Wood County, and Maumee Valley Unitarian Church. She volunteers with Black Swamp Arts Festival, Project Connect, BG Art Walk, La Conexion, Firefly Nights, Winterfest, Not In Our Town and the League of Women Voters.
Rowland almost didn’t make it to Saturday’s program since she is recovering from knee replacement surgery. “It took a lot of hard work to get me here tonight,” she said with her family and team of friends standing behind her on the stage.
“So I got an award,” she said, expressing her surprise.
Then, with her 12-year-old grandson Trace Pierce standing next to her at the podium, Rowland shared her honor with others in the audience.
“I look out here tonight and I see so many people who deserve this more,” she said.
Then she asked to share her award with those who work at the Cocoon shelter, those who provide social services, those who work with LaConexion, those who staff the Brown Bag Food Project every week, and those who teach in the schools.
“Our teachers deserve this after a year of non-stop complaining by some people,” she said. “They have not given up.”
Nick Snyder was named Outstanding Male Citizen of the Year for his volunteer efforts to improve the lives of Bowling Green students. He has transformed fun events into fundraisers to help pay off overdue lunch charges at Bowling Green City Schools, and give students scholarships for future studies.
Snyder was born and raised in Bowling Green and was a multi-sport athlete at BGHS. His career moved him around the state, then he returned home to live in Bowling Green. He rekindled his love for hockey by coaching a Bowling Green Youth Hockey Travel Team and playing in a BG Men’s League.
When his employer decided to move out of the area, Snyder was offered the opportunity to go with the company, but he didn’t want to leave BG. He decided to establish his own financial management firm in Bowling Green.
Snyder still finds time to coach a BG youth hockey team, and a BG youth baseball team. He is also involved with the BGSU Falcon Club and BGHS Foundation Board, where he has been an integral part of the “Trivia Night” fundraiser. He helps with an annual golf outing that raises scholarship funds.
He also works with BGCS on a program to supply backpacks and school supplies to students in need.
In 2017 he started using his annual Christmas party to collect donations to cover outstanding lunch bills at BG schools. In the second year, he raised enough money to pay off all outstanding balances, as well as pay forward some extra money for the following year.
Snyder was unable to attend Saturday, but his family accepted the award, and in a videotape he talked about his desire to help others in the community.
“To be able to raise some funds and do good, makes you feel good,” he said. “Bowling Green is a special place to me. We do live in a great community.”
Snyder credited his father with teaching him the value of a strong work ethic and respect for others. He thanked his mother, Linda, who passed away two years ago.
“She has left a lasting impression on many,” he said. “She’s my inspiration for all the good deeds.”
Dr. Mary Krueger was given the Athena Award for spending her entire career advocating for women – opening doors for them, initiating paths for them, mentoring them along those paths, and celebrating their successes.
When she arrived in Northwest Ohio, Krueger continued her self-proclaimed passion for “starting things” as she began a teen pregnancy prevention program in Lucas County schools, served as the first director of the BGSU Women’s Center, and co-founded the Cocoon Shelter.
As the founding director of the Women’s Center, she mentored a multitude of women and instigated many initiatives that supported women’s advancement and leadership development.
Much of her work has been associated with prevention of sexual violence and the protection of survivors of such violence. In 2000 through the Women’s Center and the Transformation Project, she co-founded the Cocoon Domestic Violence Shelter for survivors of domestic violence.
She served as president of the Cocoon’s first board of directors and built the foundation into a strong community resource that continues to provide shelter and advocacy services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, stalking and adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Krueger and her staff also founded the Northwest Ohio chapter of the Silent Witness National Initiative, which memorializes more than 50 girls and women murdered by their intimate partners – all from the Bowling Green area. Among many other initiatives of the Women’s Center was the establishment of the Elizabeth Boyer Fund for Student Mothers.
“I’m really gratified and humbled,” Krueger said as her family joined her on stage.
She talked about the difference between clocking hours at a job, and performing work that one loves.
“We all have work to do in the world,” she said. “We all have it.”
Krueger shared that unlike many who work with domestic violence survivors, she has never experienced that violence herself.
“I was privileged enough, lucky enough to not have that as part of my life,” she said. “Our good fortune calls us to work on behalf of those less fortunate.”
Wood County Common Pleas Judge Matt Reger was given the Zeus Award for his commitment to the community that extends beyond the courthouse.
He has served as chair of youth arts for the Black Swamp Arts Festival, on the Wood County Airport Authority, Wood Lane Industries Board, Bowling Green Kiwanis, Wood County Bar Association and as a Wood County Committee on Aging Meal on Wheels volunteer.
He is a presenter for the Bowling Green High School leadership and the adult leadership programs. He leads students on tours of the county courthouse and encourages them to learn about the history of Bowling Green and Wood County. He introduces students to the idea that both males and females can be public servants.
Reger took a year’s sabbatical and became a volunteer with the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative serving as a criminal law legal specialist in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. He worked with parliamentary members, attorneys, and judges to help bring understanding and technical training in the adversarial trial system. He trained judges on a new domestic violence law and also encouraged the new judicial system to include women.
Reger also established the Community Christian Legal Services Organization – a monthly nonprofit legal clinic that serves the needs of those who cannot afford to hire an attorney.
As he looked at the line of family members, friends and colleagues who joined him on the stage, Reger shared his surprise. “Oh my gosh,” he said.
Then he shared his award with the roomful of community members in BGSU’s Grand Ballroom.
“I’m accepting this for everybody here,” he said. “There are a lot of people here who do a lot for other people.”
