Four Sharon residents receive Community Service Award
By Rita Jean Wagar
SHARON — For the past 25 years, the Sharon Township Heritage Society has given a Community Service Award annually to a person who has contributed to the preservation and enrichment of Sharon Township.
The selection committee immediately determined the 2006 award must go to a person who had helped make the township’s 175th anniversary celebration a huge success, when more than 2,000 visitors attended the birthday bash Sept. 17.
However, the committee members were faced with a dilemma. Historically, the annual award was given to one person. Although there was a myriad of volunteers who contributed their time and talents to the anniversary celebration, it was the four members of the core committee who made it all happen.
Since each had spent innumerable
hours planning for dozens
of activities — which included a ceremony honoring
U.S. veterans, a vintage car show, carriage and clothing
displays, tours of historic homes, children’s
games, transportation from the parking area to Sharon
Circle, free food and making dozens of contacts —
the committee found it impossible to choose just one
person.
The solution was obvious —
present the award to all four, with accompanying plaques.
At the annual Christmas gathering
at the Sharon Town Hall Nov. 26, a surprised Chris Kurth,
Janet George, Heather Bujorian and Jason Hazen, each
of whom the committee believed was equally deserving,
received a token of appreciation.
What prompted each of them to
agree to be involved in what promised to
be a huge undertaking?
Their answers were strikingly
similar.
Kurth said, “I have lived
in Sharon for a long time, and this was an opportunity
to give back to the community.”
George, who said she also wanted
to give back, said, “I felt this was a great community-oriented
event.”
Bujorian said, “I like
doing whatever I can in the community, whether for the
school or any worthwhile cause.”
Hazen, a native of Sharon, said
he vaguely remembers the 150th anniversary celebration
in 1981, when he was only 5 years old.
“I just wanted to help
out this time,” he said.
Giving back to the community,
it seems, has been the ongoing mission of every member
of the core committee.
Kurth, who is a community
and career specialist at the Medina County Career Center,
has served on the Sharon Township Board of Zoning Appeals
for the past five years and is currently its chairperson.
Prior to that, she was a member of the Zoning Commission
for 10 years and is a former Girl Scout leader and soccer
coach. She is a member of the Medina County Hunger Task
Force and was instrumental in establishing Operation
HOMES (Hospitality of Medina Emergency Services), a
project sponsored by a number of churches that provide
shelter, food and facilities for people throughout Medina
County who are homeless.
Bujorian, in addition to caring
for her two young sons, is a member of the Town Hall
Preservation Committee, has designed and made the programs
for the Town Hall Christmas
gatherings and has helped refurbish the “Transition
House,” which is owned by St. Paul’s Lutheran
Church, which houses families in need. Each family who
qualifies is permitted to live in the house for a year,
rent-free, and is allowed, when moving, to take with
them whatever furnishings are needed.
Bujorian is involved in fund-raising
activities at Sharon Elementary School and serves on
the Hospitality Committee at Highland Middle School.
In addition, she manages Rustic Ridge Lawn Service,
of Sharon.
George, who operates the Wolf
Creek Deli, also has been involved in refurbishing the
“Transition House.” Additionally, each time
a family moves out of the home, she contacts businesses
and community members for contributions of
new and/or gently used furniture to replace what was
taken by the previous tenants. She is a member of the
Burn Institute board at Akron Children’s Hospital
and of the Sharon Fire Department Association. She also
helps with the department’s annual pancake breakfast
and semi-annual fish fries.
Hazen, a marketing analyst for
Prime Polymers Inc., of Sharon, is treasurer of the
Sharon Community Trusts and is a member of the Farm
Bureau. He is involved in the Ohio Reads program, helps
at the Sharon Community Christmas gatherings and solicits
for the silent auction for the Medina Community Hospital
annual benefit dinner.
The committee’s work is
still not finished, thanks to the successful fund-raising
effort through the sale of 175th anniversary memorial
bricks to be placed on
a walkway around the gazebo at Sharon Circle Park. The
600-plus bricks and/or pavers are expected to be put
in place during the spring and summer. A dedication
ceremony is tentatively planned for mid-September.
As the core committee prepares
to reconvene in late January to begin planning for the
upcoming event, the meaning of the old adage, “if
you want something done, ask a busy person,” is
clearly borne out by the ongoing community involvement
of the four 2006 Community Service Award recipients.
From left, Jason Hazen, Heather
Bujorian, Chris Kurth and Janet George are the 2006
Community Service Award recipients.
Photo: Don Wagar
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