Ohio Veterans Hall Of Fame Nominations Are Due In Soon

MARIETTA, OH — The deadline for submitting nominations for the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame is less than one month away. Folks looking to recognize former service members who are making a difference in society have until June 1st to get their nominations in. They’re looking to recognize Ohioans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces and continue to contribute to our communities, state, and nation through exceptional acts of volunteerism, advocacy, professional distinction, public service, or philanthropy.

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This Hall of Fame is now in its 28th year and there have been nearly 600 Ohio veterans honored so far. Sadly, not one of them is from Washington County. President of the Washington County Veterans Service Commission Jared Smith says that this is a shame. “We have a couple of pillars of our community who should absolutely be nominated.”

Smith says there is no shortage of veterans around here who deserve the honor. “The issue is no one has taken the time to gather the proper documentation required.” He says people in the community have to get involved in this process. “We need people to sit down and complete that application process and nominate these guys.”

The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame accepts nominations for those who would be inducted posthumously. To be considered, the veteran must be an honorably discharged past or current Ohio resident of good moral character. This award has nothing to do with military service itself. “It’s about what happens after the service. How have you achieved? What have you done for community, state, and nation?”

He says this isn’t a thing where you take five minutes, answer a few questions, and get these guys nominated. “It’s something that should be well thought out, it should be coordinated through a number of people.” He says the idea is to truly put the best foot forward for the veteran you want to get in. “This isn’t just a little thing with a few applications that get put in.” There can be up to 500 applicants a year, the maximum who get inducted is 20. The honorees are picked by an Executive Committee of veterans from throughout the state and approved by the Governor of Ohio. “It’s a big deal.”

Smith is interested in launching an exploratory committee to look into Washington County veterans who should be nominated. He is putting out the bat signal for folks who want to get involved in helping a Washington County veteran win this honor. “I can’t stress enough, you’ve got to paint that picture and show how outstanding they are. If you don’t spend hours doing that, likely that message is going to get lost in the other hundreds of applications being submitted.” Smith says anyone interested in joining a committee to help get a local veteran honored can contact him at [email protected].

The deadline to submit nomination forms for consideration for the 2021 class of the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame is June 1. The Ohio Department of Veterans Services says don’t delay, nominate a worthy candidate today.

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