SHELBY — The North Central State College Foundation inducted three distinguished leaders on April 10 to its Hall of Excellence.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller, Area Agency on Aging District 5 CEO Duana Patton, and retired NCSC vice president of institutional advancement Betty Preston were this year’s honorees.
The Hall of Excellence started as the Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame in 2003, but expanded to include more community members beginning in 2016. To date, more than 60 north central Ohio community members have been inducted.
DRM also produced a legacy video honoring Galion entrepreneur E. Vic Smith and Shelby businessman Ralph Phillips.
Below are the 2025 induction videos by DRM Productions.
Matt Miller
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller was recognized for his visionary leadership that has revitalized the city. His “Make Ashland Sparkle” initiative has led to significant enhancements in downtown areas, parks, and public spaces.
In his induction video, Ashland Mayor Matt Miller recounted how his grandmother took him with her to vote, which influenced his views on political participation.
“Of course, as a kid, I was thinking, ‘I don’t know if I want to be a politician because politicians are bad, politicians are corrupt,” Miller said. “Well, you can be a good public servant.”
Miller also quipped that he wants to make Ashland “as much like a Hallmark movie as we possibly can.”
“That always gets a chuckle, but the truth is, I’m serious,” the mayor said. “Because those movies feature a feeling, an atmosphere — an idyllic place to live.”
Miller’s video also featured interviews with Ashland University professor emeritus Dr. Joann Ford Watson, Merrill Lynch senior vice president Dave Eichinger, Salvation Army administrator Major Annalise Francis and Ashland County Community Foundation president and CEO Jim Cutright.
“What I learned after getting to know him for a while is that he’s the genuine article,” Cutright said. “He has the ability to engage people around him, he’s willing to collaborate, but he’s also a person of high moral character, integrity — everything that you would want in a leader.”
Duana Patton
Duana Patton, CEO of the Ohio Area Agency on Aging – District 5, was responsible for expanding the Area Agency into the former Hawkins Market. This move helped organize employees under one roof and made it easier to partner with other service organizations.
Gayle Gorman Green, AAA chief clinical officer Diane Ramey, chief of staff Michelle Deskins and former board member for AAA District 5 Kathy Daniels also chimed in on Patton’s impact in her video.
“Over the last 20 years, I’ve seen Duana grow and get more and more involved in the community,” Daniels said.
“Her passion is to help other sand making sure the resources are in place to do that.”
Gorman Green highlighted Patton’s support for the elderly and people with disabilities across the State of Ohio and the nation.
“She just has that infectious personality that is so easy to be around,” Gorman Green said. “She’s organized, she’s effective … If you don’t know Duana Patton, I highly suggest you become a friend.”
Patton also discussed opening Ritter’s Run — affordable senior housing on South Ohio Street.
“We were dealing with a lot of folks who were at risk of homelessness, so that’s when we said if we really believe this is a barrier, let’s figure out how we can be part of the solution,” Patton said.
“When I look at the 12 people that live at Ritter’s Run today and see how happy they are in their new space and what it has done for their community, that just readies me to do it again.”
Betty Preston
The newest Hall of Excellence class also included retired NCSC vice president of institutional advancement Betty Preston.
Preston recounted working on a home relocation guide for Haring Realty, where she highlighted North Central Technical College.
“I found myself in Byron Kee’s office and he looked at me quizzically and said you’re the kind of person I have in mind for something I want to get off the ground here at the college,” she said. “It was the executive director of the college’s foundation.”
Preston said enhancement for the college’s equipment, student financial aid and faculty retention were the beginning tenets of the NCSC Foundation.
Her friends and former colleagues including Mark Collins, Gayle Gorman Green and David Damron described her impact on NCSC’s growth and community engagement as transformative.
“She was the first to give everyone else the praise and credit,” Collins said. “Some of it rightfully so, because a lot of people did a lot of things, but they did them because they liked Betty.”
DRM Founder David Damron said people seek out Preston to grow their own community engagement.
“She’s very humble — she doesn’t like to think anything could happen because of her,” he said. “But people look for her to come and help with an event that they want to grow because they know she can do it.”
Preston also helped rebrand and expand the Rock-n-Ribs fest in 1990 and continued to lead it for nearly 25 years.
Preston first came to Damron from DRM Productions with an idea for what became the Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame, now the Hall of Excellence.
“There were a lot of company founders and entrepreneurs that made very special products in our region,” Preston said. “I wanted to tell these stories and translate that to our student body in terms of what’s involved, risks, determination, investment, family, faith.”
The Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame also brought more recognition and involvement to NCSC itself.
“I think Betty being part of this recognition, is probably long overdue,” Collins said in her induction video. “I don’t know exactly what Betty wants to do in the future beyond what she’s currently doing being the doting grandmother, but I think if she decides to do something else, she will tackle it with 110% enthusiasm.
“I have no doubt she will be successful. Her reputation is going to outlive all of us.”