Citizen of the Year

Nominations for the 2024 Citizen of the Year closed on April 5, 2024.  Nominations received after that date will be considered for the 2025 selection process.

We used to open nominations for a brief time staring in January.  We have updated our policy to accept nominations all year long.  This change will give everyone more time, and support a more spontaneous nomination process.  If you know of someone who is deserving, you no longer have to wait to nominate them–act while you’re thinking about it!    

Who Is Eligible?

The North Olmsted Citizen of the Year is recognized for contributions and services rendered to the North Olmsted Community. 

IMPORTANT:  The selection committee is instructed to evaluate the person based solely on the written contents of the nomination form. Personal knowledge of the nominee should not be considered by the committee, so when you write the ‘resume’ of your nominee, be sure to include all the relevant details, no matter how well known your nominee may be.  Pay particular attention to requirement #2 below.  For example, if your nominee is very active in the schools and everyone on the selection committee personally knows about it, but you fail to mention it in writing, the committee cannot recognize that as fulfilling part of requirement 2.

  1. Nominee must have been an adult (18 years of age) resident of North Olmsted for at least five (5) years and be a current North Olmsted resident.
  2. Nominee must have made a contribution to the betterment of North Olmsted in at least two (2) of the following areas: church, school, civic, or recreation.
  3. The nominee must not have received monetary reimbursement for contributions cited.
  4.  Current President and Vice-President of the Executive Board of Community Council are not eligible for consideration during their term of office. All other Board Members are eligible.
  5. Since Community Council is a non-political organization and should attempt to avoid the appearance of endorsing a candidate, candidates for political office, the elected members of City Administration, and members of City Council are not eligible for consideration during their term of office.

 

 

COTY Nomination FAQs

We like to say ‘recipient’ instead of ‘winner’ since most everyone nominated is deserving. In any case, the selection committee is made up of the NOCC President, Vice President, and the three most recent COTY recipients.  If any of the most recent COTYs are not available for some reason, we go down the list until there are three former COTYs on the comittee.

We retain the nomination forms for one more year. If your nominee is not selected the year you submit the nomination, your form is retained and entered into consideration the following year. Nomination forms are not retained past the second year, but you can always nominate them again!

No. Nominations are not made public by Community Council.

Multiple nominations are basically combined and the nominee is evaluated one time. There is no greater chance a person will be selected based on the number of applications received.

Absolutely! There are so many deserving people in North Olmsted, why limit yourself to nominating only one?

Yes. The selection committee is instructed to evaluate the person based solely on the written contents of the nomination form. Personal knowledge of the nominee should not be considered, so when you write your ‘resume’ of your nominee, be sure to include all the relevant details.

We don’t have a specific format. Some people choose to write lengthy paragraph style essays, while others stick to bullet points or a combination of styles. There is no preferred format, but keep in mind you are trying to convey a well rounded description of your nominee. Don’t be so brief as to overlook important points.

That’s up to you. Keep in mind that being nominated is not a guarantee of being selected. Most people keep their nominations to themselves so as not to cause disappointment if their nominee is not selected, but that’s really up to your discretion.

2024 Citizen of the Year - Terry Groden

The 2024 Citizen of the Year, Terry Groden, was announced on April 25, 2024. Congratulations Terry!

Past Citizens of the Year

  • 1954 William Kahler * °
  • 1955 Harvey S. Levy* °
  • 1956 Carolyn Rankin* °
  • 1957 Charles B. Lewis, M.D. *
  • 1958 Robert Decker*
  • 1959 Elroy M. Christman*
  • 1960 George Christman*
  • 1961 Nina Morse*
  • 1962 Levi Morse*
  • 1963 Charlotte B. Phillips*
  • 1964 Walter C. Mason*
  • 1965 Clark W. Peck, D.D.S.*°
  • 1966 Donald T. Ford*
  • 1967 Donald R. Packe °
  • 1968 Adolph E. Spakowski*
  • 1969 Norman T. Musial*
  • 1970 Gerald T. Coleman* °
  • 1971 Gerry Swormstedt
  • 1972 Delores Christman*
  • 1973 James M. Davis*
  • 1974 Tony Hart
  • 1975 Sally Myers*
  • 1976 William J. Greene*

.

  • 1977 Hugh Patton* °
  • 1978 Jeanne Flow*
  • 1979 Marlene Orzechowski
  • 1980 Evelyn Peltz
  • 1981 Marie Case*
  • 1982 Margaret McKay*
  • 1983 James Boehmer* °
  • 1984 Jack Boss
  • 1985 Alice Holmok*
  • 1986 Ruth Love*
  • 1987 Patricia Martin*
  • 1988 Mary Anne Fischer*
  • 1989 Lois Zolar*
  • 1990 Lois DeBrodt* °
  • 1991 Dave Dillon
  • 1992 M. Yvonne Petrigac °
  • 1993 Fred Hatton*
  • 1994 Glenn Knight*
  • 1995 Roy Seitz*
  • 1996 Thomas R. Herbster °
  • 1997 Robert Wendt*
  • 1998 Glenn Vannoy*
  • 1999 James Cater* °
  • 2000 Brian Zergott
  • 2001 Dorothy Kitzerow*
  • 2002 Beryl Peck
  • 2003 Henry Caster*
  • 2004 Pat Dillon*
  • 2005 Stanley Ball
  • 2006 Gretchen Schuler
  • 2007 John Kepperley*
  • 2008 Robert Klabunde*
  • 2009 Donna Smeal °
  • 2010 Marie Peepers °
  • 2011 Paul Schumann
  • 2012 Marilyn Ransom
  • 2013 Randi Jones* °
  • 2014 Vera Brewer
  • 2015 Jeff Peepers°
  • 2016 Tom Dubowski
  • 2017 Beth Roshetko
  • 2018 Duane Limpert
  • 2019 Ken Neuzil°
  • 2020 Christie Kort
  • 2021 Bryan O’Malley°
  • 2022 Eve Uhland
  • 2023 David Furin°
  • 2024 Terry Groden

* = Deceased
° = Past NOCC President