The recipient of the Statehood Day Achievement Award was local martial arts leader Don Madden.
He was born and raised in Chillicothe, but has been around the world 16 times with national and world coaching and instructing since the 1980s. Though he now has two teachers in his studio, he refuses to quit, saying he's too young at 82.
The award is given by the Kiwanis Club to an area resident who "best represents the spirit of Ohio."
The clerical speaker was the new pastor at Walnut Street Methodist Church, Joe Ziraldo, who reminisced about his interactions with a Muslim family who were his neighbors.
The political speaker was State Representative David Leland, who represents most of northern Columbus, and is the past chair of the Ohio Democratic Party.
He focused on criticism of the Trump administration, saying "it's better to err on the side of eternal vigilance, than to err on the side of complacency."
Madden, the recipient of the Achievement Award, gave his own response to Leland, saying his family and students would be disappointed, if he didn't. He says he taught them to speak out if you have feelings on an issue, no matter how you feel.
Kevin Coleman regularly reports on Chillicothe & Circleville councils and local culture