STATEHOUSE NEWS

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The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board and Capitol Square Foundation are seeking nominations for the 2013 class of “Great Ohioans.” The award commemorates special Ohioans who have played a significant role in an event, or series of events, of lasting significance in World, American or Ohio history. Additional criteria include being born in Ohio or lived in Ohio for a minimum of five years. At least 25 years must have passed since the commemorated event, in which the nominee participated.

This award is an opportunity to recognize Ohioans who have made an impact in a number of important areas. A complete explanation of the nomination process and nomination forms can be found online at www.ohiostatehouse.org or http://www.capitolsquarefoundation.org/Great_Ohioan.htm.

All Ohioans, including teachers and students, are encouraged to participate in the nomination process.

Great Ohioan nomination categories include:
• inventions/medicine/science
• literature/journalism/history
• academics
• communications/education
• entertainment/sports
• government/military/public service/religion

Deadline for nominations is Friday, November 30, 2012. The Capitol Square Foundation may select up to three nominees to submit for selection to the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, the oversight body for the Capitol Square complex. The Great Ohioan Award recipients will be announced and recognized in early 2013.

Since 2003, 30 Great Ohioans have been recognized with the award for the special roles they played in history. The Great Ohioans include;

2003 Class: Orville and Wilbur Wright, inventors; John Glenn, first American to orbit the earth; and Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon;

2008 Class: Jesse Owens, Olympic track and field star; Thomas Edison, inventor; Harriet Beecher Stowe, author; James Thurber, journalist and author; Colonel Charles Young, military leader; and Dr. George Crile, founder of the Cleveland Clinic;

2009 Class: Catherine Nelson Black, health care humanitarian; Salmon P. Chase, Ohio Governor, Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice; Paul Laurence Dunbar, poet and author; Charles F. Kettering, inventor; Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I fighter ace; and Denton T. “Cy” Young, baseball legend.

2010 Class: James M. Cox, journalist, member of the United States House of Representatives, Ohio Governor; Florence Ellinwood Allen, first woman Ohio Supreme Court Justice; Bob Feller, baseball legend; and Bill Willis, National Football League hall of famer.

2011 Class: Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War General and U.S. President; William Moore McCulloch, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, U.S. Congressman and civil rights advocate; William Howard Taft, U.S. President and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice; and Harriet Taylor Upton, women’s rights advocate and author.

2012 Class: Gordon Battelle, philanthropist and researcher, Dominic Salavtore “Don” Gentile, World War II fighter pilot; Washington Gladden, clergyman and social reformer; Albert Belmont Graham, founder of the 4-H program; Albert Sabin, medical researcher best known for the oral polio vaccine; and William T. Sherman, Civil War general.

A special exhibit in the Ohio Statehouse Museum pays tribute to all Great Ohioan Award recipients. The Great Ohioans exhibit presents recipients of the Great Ohioan award on a large touch monitor. A host of options are available for visitors to explore the life and accomplishments of each recipient. While countless Ohioans have performed great actions for their community and beyond, only a select few have been named a “Great Ohioan.” The exhibit allows visitors to have a greater understanding of the recipients of the Great Ohioan award and discover how they affected local, national and world history. The exhibit uses video, photos, facts and web based technology to explore the life and legacy of each Great Ohioan. The Capitol Square Foundation has raised more than $5 million in private donations for the new museum and enhanced education programming at the Ohio Statehouse.

The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board is responsible for maintaining the historic character of the Statehouse and Capitol Square while providing for the health, safety and convenience of those who work in or visit the complex. The Ohio Statehouse Museum shines a light on the history of this great edifice, its symbolic meaning and its vital historic and ongoing connections to the daily lives of all Ohioans.

The Capitol Square Foundation was established in 1987 to increase public awareness of and to involve citizens in the history of the Ohio Statehouse. Its purpose is to raise funds to obtain, restore and maintain artifacts and other items related to the history and enhancement of this grand monument and its adjoining grounds, so that the seat of Ohio's government may reflect the dignity of the state and its citizens.

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