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In the summer of
1986, Dr Carl Jeffery (a Van Wert Dentist and Ohio State
Graduate) contacted the Ohio State Alumni Association to see if
an alumni club could be formed for Van Wert and Paulding
counties. He was put in touch with Tim Brooks, who was the field
director for the alumni association. It was Tim's goal to have
an OSU alumni club in every Ohio county.
A committee was formed consisting of Dr Jeffery, Tim Brooks,
Myra Miller, and Larry Stittsworth. A series of meetings was
held at Dr Jeffery's residence.
It was decided to combine Van Wert and Paulding counties into
one club. It was also decided that non-alumni could be members
of the club. A chief concern was getting enough people to attend
meetings and events because both counties are small in
population.
Tim Brooks told Dr Jeffery that for the kick-off event, he would
try to obtain any speaker that the committee wanted in order to
draw a large crowd. The committee chose Earle Bruce, who at the
time was the head football coach at Ohio State.
The kick-off event was held at the Van Wert High School
gymnasium in the Spring of 1987. Most clubs draw about 50 to 80
people for these events. Our club had 300 Buckeye fans attend.
Tim Brooks said that this was the largest crowd of any alumni
club gathering of that year.
As they say..."the rest is history". |
