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Stephen A. Perry, President/Executive Director, Pro Football Hall of Fame
2013 Community Salute Award of Merit recipient[/caption] CANTON, OH (October 16, 2013) – Stephen A. Perry, president and executive director for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, will be recognized with the highest honor, the Award of Merit, at the upcoming Community Salute Awards. The award will be presented along with four Awards of Appreciation on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at the Canton Regional Chamber’s Community Salute Awards dinner, held at The University Center at Kent State University at Stark. Tickets are available online for $50 at CantonChamber.org or by calling (330) 458-2070. Community Salute Award of Appreciation winners include: Leo E. Doyle, retired senior vice president, United National Bank and Trust, Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Stark County, Pathway Caring for Children, and Progressive Chevrolet. Sponsors of this year’s Community Salute Awards (to date) include: Aultman Health Foundation, Grabowski & Company, Huntington Bank, Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co., LPA, National Football League Foundation, The Repository, Stark Community Foundation, The Timken Company and Walsh University. Advertising in the evening’s program is still available. Contact Whitney J. Prather, events and marketing manager, at whitneyp@cantonchamber.org or (330) 458-2073 for more information.
ABOUT THE HONOREES
Canton native Stephen A. Perry has been an active leader in the greater Canton region for more than 45 years, most recently at the helm of America’s premier sports museum and showplace. His work at the Pro Football Hall of Fame and throughout the community is a shining example of the spirit of the Canton Regional Chamber’s highest honor, the Community Salute Award of Merit. Under his leadership, several major program and facility improvements have been completed, including the recent $27 million expansion, dubbed The “Future 50” Expansion & Renovation Project. The project was the largest in the Hall’s 50-year history, and completed in time for this summer’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. The project greatly enhances the visitor experience and features a new main entrance and grand lobby, the Ralph Wilson, Jr. Pro Football Research and Preservation Center, a new indoor event center and outdoor event spaces, an expanded museum store and enhancements to the surrounding campus. Perry led an aggressive national fundraising campaign to fund the Future 50 project. He also led efforts to create and implement a strategic plan for the Hall of Fame, setting the direction of the organization for the years to come. In addition to his role at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Perry has extensive leadership experience in government, at both the federal and state level. In addition to his appointment as 17th administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration from 2001 to 2005, Perry served in the cabinet of then-Governor of Ohio George Voinovich as director of the Department of Administration Services from 1991 to 1993. Mr. Perry previously retired from The Timken Company as senior vice president, human resources, purchasing and communications, marking the conclusion of his 37-year career at the Canton company. Perry recently announced his plans to retire soon from the Pro Football Hall of Fame after seven-plus years as president and executive director. Perry has been active for many years in diverse civic and professional associations. He served as a member of the Ohio Board of Regents (1993-2001), the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Trustees (1993-2001), the Canton Urban League Board of Trustees (1968-1983), Mercy Medical Center Board of Trustees (1984-1991 and again beginning in 2006), member of the board of trustees for the Stark County District library (1970-1986), including three terms as chairman during the period of financing and construction of the main branch in downtown Canton. He was chairman of the United Way of Central Stark County Annual Campaign (1996) and member of the United Way board of directors (beginning in 2006). He served as the General Chairman of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival (1999), is a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Kappa Tau Chapter, as well as numerous other community-oriented organizations. He has received the Canton Jaycees Distinguished Service Award, Kent State University’s President’s Social Responsibility Award and Distinguished Alumni Award, the University of Akron College of Business Dr. Frank L. Simonetti Distinguished Business Alumnus Award, and the Timken High School Distinguished Alumni Award. Perry holds a bachelor’s in accounting from The University of Akron, and a master’s in management from Stanford University in California. He also attended the University of Michigan Executive Development program. He is a lifelong resident of Canton. He and his wife, Sondra, have five adult children and eight grandchildren. Perry was nominated by Tom Schervish, Sr., CEO of Stark Management Services.
Leo E. Doyle is receiving the Award of Appreciation for outstanding performance in his profession, which ultimately has benefited the Stark County community. He has used his knowledge and expertise in finance and investment to assist many local nonprofits in their financial strategies, and has continued to take a leadership role and dedicate significant time to his many nonprofit interests since his retirement. He has served on the Aultman Health Foundation board of directors, as well as subsidiary boards Aultra and McKinley Assurance, along with board committees at Aultman, including the finance, investment, executive, joint commission and independent hospital network committees. He served as chairman of the board of Aultman Health Foundation in 2007. In addition, he has served on the Stark Community Foundation audit committee, the Boy Scouts Buckeye Council investment committee, the North Canton YMCA board, and the board of the Stark County Historical Society and William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum. He has served on the board for Central Allied Enterprises Inc. and is currently secretary and board member for the Canton Student Loan Foundation program. Other service has included the endowment fund committee of St. Paul’s Catholic Church, North Canton City Schools education endowment and the levy committee, Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine board, and others. Doyle was nominated by Brian Layman of Layman D’Atri & Associates.
Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Stark County is receiving an Award of Appreciation for enhancing the welfare of Stark County citizens for outstanding success in service. Mental Health and Recovery Services Board has existed as a combined board for five years, and has been in operation as separate boards for over 30 years. MHRSB is universally recognized as one of the most progressive of the mental health boards serving the 88 counties of Ohio. In 2013 MHRSB took landmark steps by relocating their 32 staff members to new downtown Canton offices, and implementing the first wide-scale Electronic Health Records (EHR) programs, linking mental health patients in Stark County to their medical records. Today, MHRS funds 18 mental health organizations throughout the county to the tune of over $29 million. MHRSB has done the work of maintaining a safety net for the approximately 25% of Stark County residents who suffer from mental health issues. The activities of the organization touch Stark County residents through programs in schools, courts and medical facilities. A brief list of activities that the MHRSB undertakes includes: the Opiate Taskforce, Stark County Anti-Drug Coalition, YOUng People Matter, Project Homeless Connect, Polaris Program, Stark County Drug Court, Annual Drug Take Back Day, Stark County Homeless Hotline, and the Stark County Suicide Prevention Coalition. The organization’s data department, Heartland East Administrative Services, was recognized by Governor Kasich this year as part of "Beyond Boundaries" initiative for good government collaboration. They were also recognized in 2013 by the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities for developing a best practice model to bolster the efficiency of the behavioral health system in Stark County, specifically in the area of IT, shared services and marketing. In addition, two clinicians at the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, Patrice Fetzer and Michelle Boone, were two of only a handful of trainers from across Ohio able to facilitate the T.I.P.S. Model of training for clinical staffs. Mental Health and Recovery Services Board was nominated by Mark Spaner, president of Spaner Marketing Communications.
Pathway Caring for Children is receiving an Award of Appreciation for enhancing the welfare of Stark County citizens through outstanding success in service. Pathway has been serving the needs of abused, neglected and abandoned children for 40 years. Founded by Jim and Velma Bridges in 1973 with a group home serving five boys, it has evolved and grown to provide foster care, adoption, independent living and mental health services to over 600 children each year. Pathway Caring for Children’s activities revolve around their mission to empower children and families to realize their potential and achieve the possibilities of their lives through innovative mental health, foster care and adoption services. Foster parents are recruited, qualified and supported by Pathway staff with the goal of being the best parents they can be to abused, neglected and abandoned children. Family Services offers adoptive families, wherever the adoption took place, support groups and education to help weather the storms adoptive families face. The Independent Living staff work with children who will emancipate from foster care at age 18, preparing them for life on their own. The newly dedicated JBridges Learning Center is a permanent home for this program. Mental Health counseling at Pathway began as a service to foster and adoptive children and has grown to meet the needs of the community by offering therapy and counseling in the office as well as in schools in East Canton, Malvern, Minerva and Carrollton. Pathway was nominated by Sue Grabowski, president of Grabowski & Co., and Kari Groh, vice president of communications and PR, The Timken Company.
Progressive Chevrolet is receiving an Award of Appreciation for enhancing the welfare of Stark County citizens through outstanding philanthropy to the community and its causes. The Fourth generation dealership and service center, incorporated in 1937, has been serving the needs of area residents through corporate, personal and employee philanthropy, as well as the creation of fundraising opportunities for local non-profits. Most notably, in 2013, Progressive Chevrolet donated a brand new 2014 Chevy Impala to help Stark County Hunger Task Force fight local hunger. All proceeds from the "Food for the People" car raffle will be donated to the cause of uniting residents in the fight for our most basic need: food. Progressive has also worked to increase awareness of the Task Force’s mission to alleviate hunger in Stark County. Over the past five years, owners Craig and Tim Sanders and Progressive Chevrolet have donated $100,000 to new Salvation Army facility in Massillon, and annually provide vehicles to aid in the logistics of transporting the Salvation Army’s donation kettles. They also provide a van for Obie, the Massillon Football team’s mascot, in his travel to games as well as for elementary school and nursing home visits. In 2012, they donated two new cars to two local schools. The proceeds from the raffles supported school clubs and after school activities. Progressive Chevrolet employees have contributed over $310,000 to local charities over the past 10 years through the company’s civic fund. And the dealership’s donations were instrumental in making the Vietnam Veterans Bridge in Massillon a reality. Progressive Chevrolet was nominated by Amy Weisbrod, executive director of Stark County Hunger Task Force.
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