BOTKINS — A Sidney man who has dedicated his life to community service for the betterment for the residents of Shelby County was named the 2016 Zenith Award winner by the Sidney-Shelby County Chamber of Commerce during its annual dinner at the Palazzo.
John Dunlap, of Sidney, was named the 26th recipient of the Zenith Award, which is the highest award given by the Chamber of Commerce.
“I pride myself on being in the know,” said Dunlap after receiving the award. “I thought I had this all figured out.
“This is totally unexpected. I humbly thank Ken (Schlater) and most certainly my friend Dennis Ruble.”
Dunlap said he has always believed in giving back to the community in which he grew up.
“I know a lot of you in this room are doing it, too,” he said. “Without the level of volunteerism in this community we wouldn’t have the community we do today.”
Dunlap said volunteerism is the second backbone of the community.
“I have worked with fabulous people on the volunteer side and on the business side. I’ve worked with fabulous people in my professional life that have allowed me to do all these things.”
Dunlap also thanked his wife, Nettie, who supported him through all his endeavors.
“I am humbled by this,” said Dunlap. “The past Zenith Award winners is an elite group. I am proud to join them.”
After the ceremony Dunlap said he had the recipient figured out one way.
“As soon as they said born and raised in Sidney, I threw out the one I was thinking of. Things weren’t adding up to what I thought it would be.”
As the description of the winner was announced, the field of recipients narrowed.
“The process continued to narrow the options in the room. Then there were the specific things I had done. This is truly a humbling experience to be in the group with the past Zenith winners. I didn’t do it (volunteering) to amass a resume. I just stepped forward to help. Everyone in this room does that.”
Dunlap said he is most proud of bringing the Monarch Legacy Fund back to the county.
“That fund has $2 million in it. We’re able to give back to the community and support its activities. The fund will be here forever,” he said.
Nettie Dunlap said she’s known since December her husband was receiving the award.
“He’s a very in-the-know person, so it was hard keeping it a secret from him. But I was able to pull it off.”
His children also kept the secret and surprised him with their attendance as he was being announced the Zenith winner.
Daughter Heather Clements and her daughters, Megan and Emily, and son Benjamin Dunlap and his daughter, Winnie, were present. Their spouses, Jeff Clements and Amy Dunlap, were unable to attend.
Ruble, a lifelong friend of Dunlap, presented him with the Zenith Award.
“Our honoree is a native son of Sidney, Ohio. Service to the community is in his DNA,” said Ruble, in making the presentation Thursday night. “His service has stretched out over five decades in a variety of ways. He has served his church, Wilson Hospital, the Arts Community, the Community Foundation, the United Way, the education community, and a variety of not-for-profit agencies.
“Let me share with you the details of this impressive resume of community service. I mentioned earlier that this is personal. I am so honored because I am privileged to call our 2015 honoree my friend.”
Dunlap is a graduate of Holy Angels High School, class of 1964. He graduated from the Ohio State University in 1968. He is a veteran of the United States Navy, serving from 1968-1972.
“My friend married and returned to Sidney to embark on a very successful career in business,” said Ruble. “His community service began as he served on the Holy Angels Parish Council in the ’70s and ’80s. He served as president of that group during his tenure. He answered the call again at Holy Angels by serving on the Foundation Board beginning in 2005 and continues to serve on that board today.”
He was a Cub Scout leader and served on the United Way Board from 1983-1985. He served as chair of the large manufacturing division in 2001, post-9/11 not the easiest year for that job.
He served as a board member of the Gateway Arts Council early in that organization’s history. He was president from 1992-1994. He also served as a founding board member of Raise the Roof for the Arts.
“My friend and a few other community leaders had the vision of acquiring and restoring the Historic Sidney Theatre to serve as a home for the arts in Shelby County. After an initial setback in acquiring the theatre, that vision is being realized,” said Ruble. “The group has acquired the theatre and the restoration project is underway. This effort has been underway for 10 years and my friend has been a key volunteer on that board and currently serves as secretary-treasurer.”
Dunlap served Lehman Catholic High School as a board member from 1985-1991 and served as president of the board for six years. He signed on again and served on the Lehman Foundation Board from 1997-2007. His professional contacts and national experience has given him access to many speakers with national reputations who have spoken at the Lehman Foundation Banquet.
He served as a member of the board of Wilson Hospital for 13 years. He chaired that group from 2009-2011.
The year 2016 is a very special year for the chamber as well as Dunlap; this is the 10th anniversary of “Discover Shelby County Ohio,” the book that promotes Shelby County and all of the businesses and agencies that serve us. Dunlap deserves kudos for his work and creative genus in this publication.”
Presently, Dunlap is a member of the Catholic Social Services Board.
“The resume that I have articulated would more than qualify my friend as a worthy recipient of this prestigious award. The capstone of this resume, however, may be found in his devotion to the Shelby County Community Foundation and the Monarch Legacy Fund,” said Ruble. “He served on the Community Foundation Board from 1998-2003 and while on that board he chaired the Marketing Committee. He has served as an adviser to the Monarch Legacy Fund for nearly 20 years.
“His devotion to his community and his intimate involvement with the Monarch Legacy Fund will pay dividends to the Community for years to come. In the words of the late Paul Harvey, ‘and now the rest of the story.’ The Monarch Foundation was established as a charitable arm for the Monarch Corp. When Genesis Worldwide purchased Monarch Machine Tool Co., it moved the business to Dayton.
“With that went the Monarch Foundation. My friend took the initiative to visit Genesis corporate officers and convinced them that at least a portion of the Monarch Foundation should be returned to Shelby County and be placed in the Shelby County Community Foundation as a restricted fund with the earnings to be used to support local charitable groups. Thus the birth of the Monarch Legacy Fund. Later, Genesis went out of business and once again my friend along with a fellow member of the Monarch Legacy Fund committee visited with company officials and convincingly persuaded them to return the remaining corpus of that fund to Shelby County. Today, that fund totals $2 million, and $60,000 in earnings was distributed last year to local charities. Without our 2015 honoree’s effort, this would not have happened.”
Quoting from Ken Schlater’s letter of recommendation, “As if all this is not enough, he also excels as a husband, father and grandfather.”
“I would add that he excels as a friend. Our honoree is accompanied tonight by his wife, Nettie, and his children Heather and her spouse, Jeff, and Ben and his spouse, Amy. and his grandchildren Emily, Megan and Winnie,” said Ruble.
Dunlap is retired from the company he founded — Creative Marketing Strategies. He is the former president of Direct Graphics in Sidney.
