MANSFIELD — It’s been a successful year for Fred Boll and the Little Buckeye Children’s Museum.
Since last autumn, Boll has won the Extraordinary Leadership Award from the Richland County Chamber of Commerce, the museum was awarded Institution of the Year and on June 28, Little Buckeye was recognized on the Ohio Senate and the House floors.
“It’s be a great big year for Little Buckeye,” said Boll, the museum’s executive director. “We went down to the statehouse and met with (state) Sen. (Larry) Obhof, who is a very nice and excellent gentleman. He presented us with a resolution from the senate for our excellent work in the community and for wining Institution of the year.
“Then we went over to the House and (Ohio House Representative Mark) Romanchuck presented to us on the House floor. The whole thing; he called everyone to the floor, banged the gavel. It was a very cool experience. We were presented with a resolution from the House as well.”
Boll took two of his employees, Suzanna Hammond and Hannah Bloir, who had never been to the statehouse before.
“As I explained to them, there’s maybe 11 million people who live in Ohio,” Boll said. “Maybe 250 are called to the House and Senate floor. To get to go and receive such an honor is tremendous. It’s humbling that our little children’s museum is growing and being recognized for the contributions we make to the community.”
Romanchuck said he was proud to be able to showcase members of his district on the Senate floor.
“It is always an honor to recognize the achievement of individuals and organizations from my district for their exceptional work,” said Rep. Romanchuk. “The Ohio House of Representatives congratulates the museum on a job well done!”
Boll said his museum has a $2.2 to $2.5 million impact on the county.
“That’s a huge number,” Boll said. “Think about it this way, in 2018 we’ll hit about 68,000 visitors. This year we had about 58,000 people park and walk to the museum. That’s 58,000 people walking around downtown. People are always asking us where to eat.
“All those people coming to downtown Mansfield seeing what’s going on is tremendous. The other thing I think is important is an old adage is, ‘Before you can get someone to live somewhere you have to get someone to visit.’
“We are a reason people are visiting; 35 percent of our business comes from (90 minutes) away. That’s a huge draw into the Cleveland and Columbus markets. And winning this award will help us.”
