Rogers, Trutner inducted into Highland County Women's Hall of Fame
Lead Summary
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
Surrounded by the friends, family and community that they have each served for more than 50 years, two Highland County women were honored Tuesday evening with induction to the Highland County Women's Hall of Fame.
Virginia "Ginny" Rogers, of Hillsboro, and Ruthanne Trutner, of the Leesburg/Greenfield area, were recognized for their services in the areas of volunteer work and education, respectively, during a dinner at Southern State Community College.
SSCC President Dr. Kevin Boys welcomed the group, with included numerous hall of fame members, saying, "Men, let's be honest with ourselves. We know why we're not here tonight celebrating the Highland County Men's Hall of Fame. God may have created man before woman, but you always make a rough draft before producing the final casting."
Boys said that Rogers, Trutner, and their fellow inductees have made Highland County a great place to "live, learn, work and play. They are role models for all the women who attend Southern State."
The Rev. Judi Wiley, of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, gave the invocation and also shared several quotes from notable women.
"The popular singer and humorist Dolly Parton said, 'Find out who you are and do it on purpose.' She also said, 'If you don't like the road you're walking, pave another one.'"
Before the two new members were inducted, Sue Smith read the nearly 90 names of the members of the hall of fame, which was started in 1981.
Highland County Chamber of Commerce President Katy Farber said a few words about each of the hall of fame's new members.
"Virginia Rogers has lived in Highland County 46 of her 94 years," Farber said, and married Robert "Buck" Rogers in 1941. She was an at-large member of the Highland District Hospital Board of Trustees beginning in 1976, and retired from that post in 2007. She served as board secretary and as a member of the executive committee. She began managing the hospital's gift shop in 1977 and retired in 2006. All of the proceeds from purchases made at the shop go back to the hospital and has provided an estimated $100,000 to programs and equipment. The funds from the shop have contributed toward the purchase of windows, cribs and bone density scanner. In 2003, the gift shop made what was intended to be a one-time donation toward a mammogram voucher program for women who would not normally be able to afford the test. The program continues today and has provided mammograms to more than 800 women. She and her husband volunteered at Shaffer Park, where Buck announced and Virginia kept score. She was a member of the Friday Club, Rotary Club and St. Mary's Episcopal Church.
"She lived for family and for community," Farber said.
Rogers told the group that "All my life I have been drawn to hospitals," and told a story about how, as a child, she and neighborhood friends put on a program and charged people to see it. She said they collected more than a dollar and decided to donate that money to a local hospital. After she was married in the 1940s, her
husband was stationed in Brazil, and she volunteered at hospitals there.
She said that she was proud to serve Highland District Hospital, and since she began her work there in the 1970s, "so much has been added and the hospital has grown, and we should all be very proud of it."
Rogers thanked "the pink ladies" who volunteer at the gift shop and
encouraged anyone who needed a gift to take a look at the hospital's shop.
"Thank you. This is the icing on a cake for me for all those years. I've had such satisfaction from being able to help, wherever I am."
Rogers received a standing ovation, and Farber said, "You are so eloquent and that was so beautifully delivered, I'd like to be like you when I grow up."
When Farber introduced Trutner, she said that she had been her teacher at McClain High School.
"She taught me about the stock market when I was 17 years old," Farber said. "I only wish I'd paid better attention."
Trutner, Farber said, spent her childhood on a farm in Greenfield but grew up in Columbus. She has spent the past 61 years in Highland County, as she moved to a farm in Leesburg with her husband, Bill, after they were married. She was a teacher, drama coach and debate coach for the Greenfield school system, beginning in 1962. She graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1942 and received her master's degree in 1979, and she then became a guidance counselor. She retired in 1987. Trutner is also a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Greenfield.
"No matter what role she played, she always encouraged higher education as a point in life as she encouraged future generations," Farber said.
Trutner said that the first emotion that came to her when she found out that she'd been asked to be in the hall of fame was "embarrassment."
Trutner said that Farber had called and asked her if it would be all right if she dropped in one morning, and she agreed.
"But I'm getting to an age where I don't always remember," Trutner said. "So when I woke up, I thought, 'I don't have a thing to do today, so I don't know why I should take my nightgown off.'"
As the crowd laughed, Trutner leaned into the microphone and said, "It gets worse."
As the Trutners live on a large farm with a pond, people are always dropping by to fish.
With an old brown bathrobe, and no shoes, on, Trutner said she opened the door, "I opened the door I fully expected it to be two little boys who wanted to fish in our pond. Well, Katy didn't want to fish. Neither did Mrs. (Debbie) Rhude (a member of the hall of fame committee). I also didn't know why this woman was carrying a vase of flowers."
Trutner was laughing as she said that when she finally realized why they were there, "I felt smaller than my 5-pound cat. It was an awful feeling! I thought that all these ladies must have fine stories to tell about their acceptance."
Looking back on her time as an educator, Trutner said, "As teachers, you start out to teach certain things. Then you find out, that's not what you're teaching at all."
She shared a story about a student who had been warned that if he "didn't do certain things in certain ways" he was going to fail and have to repeat the course over summer school. Ultimately, he had to take the course over, and on the last day of the final summer school class, "I asked, 'Did you learn anything?' and he said, "Yes. There are some women who mean what they say.' I thought that over. He was supposed to learn something about government, but I think he ended up learning something farm more important."
Tuesday's event was sponsored by several organizations, including the Highland County Chamber of Commerce, Home Building and Loan of Greenfield, Kroger, Red Dot Trophies, Shoelaces Catering, Southern Hills Community Bank, Southern State Community College, and local media, including The Highland County Press.
The hall of fame induction ceremony is held each year the same week as Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the date in which women in the U.S. received the right to vote.
Surrounded by the friends, family and community that they have each served for decades, two Highland County women were honored Tuesday evening with induction into the Highland County Women's Hall of Fame.
Virginia "Ginny" Rogers, of Hillsboro, and Ruthanne Trutner, of the Leesburg/Greenfield area, were recognized for their services in the areas of volunteer work and education, respectively, during a dinner at Southern State Community College.
SSCC President Dr. Kevin Boys welcomed the group, which included numerous hall of fame members, saying, "Men, let's be honest with ourselves. We know why we're not here tonight celebrating the Highland County Men's Hall of Fame. God may have created man before woman, but you always make a rough draft before producing the final casting."
Boys said that Rogers, Trutner, and their fellow inductees have made Highland County a great place to "live, learn, work and play. They are role models for all the women who attend Southern State."
The Rev. Judi Wiley, of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, gave the invocation and also shared several quotes from notable women.
"The popular singer and humorist Dolly Parton said, 'Find out who you are and do it on purpose.' She also said, 'If you don't like the road you're walking, pave another one.'"
Before the two new members were inducted, Sue Smith read the nearly 90 names of the members of the hall of fame, which was started in 1981.
Highland County Chamber of Commerce President Katy Farber said a few words about each of the hall of fame's new members.
"Virginia Rogers has lived in Highland County 46 of her 94 years," Farber said, and married Robert "Buck" Rogers in 1941. She was an at-large member of the Highland District Hospital Board of Trustees beginning in 1976, and retired from that post in 2007. She served as board secretary and as a member of the executive committee. She began managing the hospital's gift shop in 1977 and retired in 2006. All of the proceeds from purchases made at the shop go back to the hospital and have provided an estimated $100,000 to programs and equipment. The funds from the shop have contributed toward the purchase of windows, cribs and a bone density scanner. In 2003, the gift shop made what was intended to be a one-time donation toward a mammogram voucher program for women who would not normally be able to afford the test. The program continues today and has provided mammograms to more than 800 women. She and her husband volunteered at Shaffer Park, where Buck announced and Virginia kept score. She was a member of the Friday Club, Rotary Club and St. Mary's Episcopal Church.
"She lived for family and for community," Farber said.
Rogers told the group that "All my life I have been drawn to hospitals," and told a story about how, as a child, she and neighborhood friends put on a program and charged people to see it. She said they collected more than a dollar and decided to donate that money to a local hospital. After she was married in the 1940s, her husband was stationed in Brazil, and she volunteered at hospitals there.
She said that she was proud to serve Highland District Hospital, and since she began her work there in the 1970s, "so much has been added and the hospital has grown, and we should all be very proud of it."
Rogers thanked "the pink ladies" who volunteer at the gift shop and
encouraged anyone who needed a gift to take a look at the hospital's shop.
"Thank you. This is the icing on a cake for me for all those years. I've had such satisfaction from being able to help, wherever I am."
Rogers received a standing ovation, and Farber said, "You are so eloquent and that was so beautifully delivered, I'd like to be like you when I grow up."
When Farber introduced Trutner, she said that she had been her teacher at McClain High School.
"She taught me about the stock market when I was 17 years old," Farber said. "I only wish I'd paid better attention."
Trutner, Farber said, spent her childhood on a farm in Greenfield but grew up in Columbus. She has spent the past 61 years in Highland County, as she moved to a farm in Leesburg with her husband, Bill, after they were married. She was a teacher, drama coach and debate coach for the Greenfield school system, beginning in 1962. She graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1942 and received her master's degree in 1979, and she then became a guidance counselor. She retired in 1987. Trutner is also a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Greenfield.
"No matter what role she played, she always encouraged higher education as a point in life as she encouraged future generations," Farber said.
Trutner said that the first emotion that came to her when she found out that she'd been asked to be in the hall of fame was "embarrassment."
Trutner said that Farber had called and asked her if it would be all right if she dropped in one morning, and she agreed.
"But I'm getting to an age where I don't always remember," Trutner said. "So when I woke up, I thought, 'I don't have a thing to do today, so I don't know why I should take my nightgown off.'"
As the crowd laughed, Trutner leaned into the microphone and said, "It gets worse."
As the Trutners live on a large farm with a pond, people are always dropping by to fish.
With an old brown bathrobe, and no shoes, on, Trutner said she opened the door, "I opened the door and I fully expected it to be two little boys who wanted to fish in our pond. Well, Katy didn't want to fish. Neither did Mrs. (Debbie) Rhude (a member of the hall of fame committee). I also didn't know why this woman was carrying a vase of flowers."
Trutner was laughing as she said that when she finally realized why they were there, "I felt smaller than my 5-pound cat. It was an awful feeling! I thought that all these ladies must have fine stories to tell about their acceptance."
Looking back on her time as an educator, Trutner said, "As teachers, you start out to teach certain things. Then you find out, that's not what you're teaching at all."
She shared a story about a student who had been warned that if he "didn't do certain things in certain ways" he was going to fail and have to repeat the course over summer school. Ultimately, he had to take the course over, and on the last day of the final summer school class, "I asked, 'Did you learn anything?' and he said, "Yes. There are some women who mean what they say.' I thought that over. He was supposed to learn something about government, but I think he ended up learning something far more important."
Tuesday's event was sponsored by several organizations, including the Highland County Chamber of Commerce, Home Building and Loan of Greenfield, Kroger, Red Dot Trophies, Shoelaces Catering, Southern Hills Community Bank, Southern State Community College, and local media, including The Highland County Press.
The hall of fame induction ceremony is held each year the same week as Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the date in which women in the U.S. received the right to vote.
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