MANSFIELD — Gail Laux struggled to come up with a word for how she felt besides “humbled” after earning the Richland Area Chamber’s Chairman’s Award on Wednesday night.
Laux accepted the award and a big hug from her 3-year-old granddaughter, Eleanor, at the Richland Area Chamber’s 126th annual “Evening of Excellence.”
“I don’t think anyone really anticipates earning this and it’s a hard emotion to capture because you’re just overwhelmed,” said the Ohio Bird Sanctuary founder.
“It’s very humbling when you hear people say such nice things that you don’t see in yourself, I guess.”
The Chamber started the Chairman’s Award in 1981 to recognize community members with a long-standing commitment to community service in the Richland County region.
Chamber board chair Kristine Lindeman said the Ohio Bird Sanctuary is a “ pillar non-profit” in Richland County.
“The Bird Sanctuary provides professional bird care, personal encounters with nature, educational experiences for people of all abilities and seclusion for recovering birds,” she said.
“Gail has grown the non-profit to be sustainable for future generations to enjoy, and mentored and educated many along the way.”
‘We’ve created a place that’s really for everybody and can heal people,’ Laux says
Laux, who founded the Ohio Bird Sanctuary with her husband, Chris, in 1988, thanked her husband, family members and staff on Wednesday.
The founders originally named the Ohio Bird Sanctuary the “Richland County Raptor Rehabilitation Center” when running the non-profit on their private farm in Bellville. Laux said OBS moved to its current location on Oreweiler Road around 2000.
Laux, who grew up in Pennsylvania, said “everyone was so welcoming” when she and her husband moved to Bellville that they decided to stay in Richland County.
“There was a lot of brainstorming with the local county park district when we wanted to start the bird sanctuary and it kind of took wings on its own,” she said.
Laux said her proudest accomplishment at the bird sanctuary was making it a place for people to learn and relax around nature.
“The bird sanctuary means so much to people whether it’s somebody who has mobility issues or someone who’s on the spectrum (who) needs a quiet place,” she said.
“We’ve created a place that’s really for everybody and can heal people.
“I love when an eagle gets released back into the wild —that’s really easy to feel good about. But, when you have someone who comes in and says, ‘Because I was at the bird sanctuary, I’m now in this field,’ or ‘I come back here because it reminds me of my mom,’ — those things are what make me really happy.”
The award video honoring Laux by DRM Productions highlighted input from Lindeman, Lee Tasseff and Allie Watson.
“Gail Laux has leadership in her DNA,” Lindeman said. “It has been a true pleasure to watch the Ohio Bird Sanctuary grow into a pillar non-profit in our community under Gail’s leadership.”
Laux served as OBS’ executive director from 1988 to 2023, when Julie Schwartz stepped into the role.
President and CEO of the Richland County Foundation Allie Watson said Laux is always willing to help other non-profits in addition to her own.
“She’s done an amazing job growing the organization from her own barn and passion into one that is known and respected statewide,” Watson said. “I love that she has nurtured so many of her interns into full-time staff.
“She is always willing to help out other non-profit leaders and every interaction with her is just steeped in kindness.”
Also at Wednesday’s event, Beth DeLaney earned the ATHENA award. Richland Area Chamber member services manager Jennifer Wagner also presented “Ambassadors of the Year” awards to Donna Gilmore from Southern Title of Ohio Ltd. and Renee Steinmetz from Sutton Bank.
Laux’s award video is posted on the Richland Area Chamber Facebook page.