Skillings, Wagers named Oxford Citizens of the Year

Citizen of the Year recognition is aimed at honoring local residents who have made significant contributions to the community in the year that just ended. Many times, however, those recipients are also people who have a long history of service to others and could just as easily be honored in the Years category.

Recipients for 2018 have a slightly different situation.

The two recipients — retired Miami University professor and administrator John Skillings and Talawanda High School senior Braelynn Wagers — are being honored for work which reached fruition in the year but which also stretches back a year or two.

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John Skillings

Leadership in pursuing ways to expand local news coverage in Oxford which resulted in creation of the online Oxford Observer resulted in the nomination of John Skillings as one of two recognized as a 2018 Citizen of the Year.

Initially, those efforts were directed at expanding the size and breadth of The Oxford Press as he worked with both Cox Media Group Ohio and Miami University to find a way to expand local news coverage.

The end result was the start of the Observer, which debuted in September with student journalism students as reporters.

Jim Rubenstein, who worked with Skillings on the project, made a nomination for Citizen of the Year saying the retired Miami University administrator provided leadership in the effort to expand the availability of local news coverage in Oxford during 2018.

“John and I met frequently beginning in March 2017 with the goal of expanding local news coverage in Oxford. Richard Campbell, then chair of Miami’s Department of Media, Journalism and Film, joined our discussions beginning in the summer of 2017,” Rubenstein wrote. “In December 2017, after complex negotiations, we reached a tentative agreement among Cox Media, Miami and the Oxford Community Foundation to expand The Oxford Press. John played a leadership role in negotiating the roles for the various groups, including establishing a fund within the Oxford Community Foundation to support the paper.”

Skillings retired after a career in which he served as a professor and administrator at Miami, including both Dean of the College of Arts and Science and University Provost. Since retirement, he has been involved in leadership roles in both the Oxford Community Foundation and Miami Credit Union.

Rubenstein summed up his nomination by concluding, “Since its launch, the Oxford Observer has helped to expand the availability of news coverage in the Oxford area. John Skillings deserves credit for making it possible.”

Braelynn Wagers

A Talawanda High School senior, Braelynn Wagers, 17, gave 1,400 community service hours in the Oxford area in 2018, participating in multiple projects but it was not only her own service hours that were recognized with her being named a Citizen of the Year but also her efforts to encourage others to give back to the community.

Most of her hours were accumulated through various projects of the high school’s Family, Career, Community Leaders of America chapter.

Two projects which stand out for her, however, were aimed at involving others in community service efforts.

She started an FCCLA chapter at Talawanda Middle School in 2018 to introduce the organization to younger students before they get to high school and encourage them to become active members of the community by helping others.

She also planned and organized a 2017 donation event to collect items to be sent to families after the 2016 wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tenn.

The selection committee received a nomination for Wagers from her mother, Stephanie Wagers, who said she hoped her daughter’s contributions to the community would inspire other young people to become involved.

“It will show them that they can make a difference in the Oxford community,” she wrote.

Braelynn Wagers certainly has done that. The nomination letter noted she does most of her community service work through her involvement with FCCLA including events held for Oxford Seniors, Santa Shop at Bogan Elementary, blood drives at the high school, Veterans Day programs, a book drive and a cancer awareness program.

“She spends many hours organizing and planning these events, so they can go off without a hitch,” the letter said. “When Braelynn sees a need, she makes a plan of action to help. One example is when the wildfires hit the Gatlinburg community, she planned and organized an event where people could donate and then she would deliver the items to Gatlinburg.”

That project grew from just involving FCCLA members to the school and then the Oxford community and surrounding communities. Four families who had lost everything in the fires were adopted and eventually two enclosed trailers full of items were taken to Gatlinburg.

Delivery was made just before Christmas as she and 22 students, parent and community members made the trip.

She is involved in 4-H programs and serves as a camp counselor, spending many hours planning for the week-long camp.

“Not often do you see someone of her age spending countless hours trying to make a difference in the community. Braelynn loves the Oxford community and strives to make it a better place by helping others and encouraging others to get involved and make a difference,” her mother wrote, “Many of Braelynn’s peers often come to her for help and guidance. They know she is someone who they can confide in and count on for help of any kind.”

She plans to attend college this fall with plans to become a cardiovascular surgeon and stay in the Oxford community.

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