The Ohio Historical Society and a consortium of other history-related organizations presented State Sen.
Randy Gardner (R-Bowling Green) with its first-ever Ohio History Leadership Award at the annual
Statehood Day advocacy event.
The Ohio History Leadership Award is intended to recognize annually at each Statehood Day event a member
of the Ohio General Assembly who has distinguished him/herself in their public service by being an
outspoken advocate for the promotion of Ohio history.
Gardner was the legislative sponsor in 2011 for the new Ohio Historical Society tax check-off that now
appears on the state income tax forms. Ohioans receiving a refund on their state income taxes now have
the option of donating a portion of their refund to the Ohio Historical Society. The society then uses
those donations as grants for local history-related projects through its History Fund grants program.
More than $100,000 in grants was awarded to 10 organizations at the Feb. 27 Statehood Day event.
"Sen. Gardner is a former history and government teacher before he came to the Ohio General
Assembly," said Burt Logan, Ohio Historical Society executive director and CEO. "He has been a
strong advocate for so many years promoting Ohio history, heritage tourism and educational issues to the
benefit of Ohio. This award is a small token of our thanks to him for his leadership on these and other
issues."