BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Susan Harms
President
Susan has been affiliated with the Museum for nearly 10 years, having first worked closely with the staff and board as a consultant. Hailing from Perrysburg where she has been a resident for over 20 years, Susan brings some geographical diversity to the board! She also volunteers with the Toledo Museum of Art Ambassadors and First Presbyterian Church of Maumee. Susan has three children and has recently become an empty nester, allowing for more travel. Her favorite Museum project so far has been the adaptive reuse of the Davis House.
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What is the most memorable concert you’ve attended? “Robert Plant at Budokan in Tokyo, after having met him in a hotel lobby and being given free tickets and backstage passes!”
Alan Hackenberg
Vice President
Judge Alan Hackenberg was born and raised in Findlay and graduated from Findlay High School. He was appointed to the Findlay Municipal Court Bench in 2017 and re-elected in 2021. Prior to being appointed, Alan served as Assistant City Law Director for the City of Findlay for 22 years, and was a partner in the law firm Hackenberg, Beutler, Rasmussen and Feighner, LLC. Alan and his wife, Amy, have two children. He’s a fan of the classic comedy “Caddyshack,” and when he has some free time, you may catch Findlay’s own Judge Smails on the course at the Findlay Country Club!
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What is your most memorable vacation? “Germany with Amy in 1998. We attended THE Oktoberfest in Munich during that trip.”
Susan Kill
Treasurer
Sue is a Findlay native and a graduate of Findlay High School. She is “semi-retired” after 35 years in corporate finance & accounting – 27 of those years with Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. Sue has been involved with many local non-profit organizations, serving as Board Treasurer for American Red Cross (North Central Ohio), CASA/GAL, Open Arms, and Associated Charities. While she certainly has an aptitude for numbers, Sue was a well-rounded student…she was the grade school spelling champion at St. Michael’s School!
What do you value most about the Hancock Historical Museum? “The amazing staff! And, how much the community embraces and supports Oktoberfest.”
Suzi Richter
Treasurer
Suzi’s involvement with the Hancock Historical Museum started several years ago when she began volunteering to assist with annual special events like the Victorian Christmas Dinner. Her interest in history extends to many aspects of her life – from refurbishing antiques and baking with old family recipes, to maintaining her beautiful Queen Anne-style home in Findlay’s historic South end. Suzi and her husband, John, have three grown children and recently became grandparents to their first two grandchildren!
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What is your most memorable vacation? “I have a long list of them! One of my most recent was to Helen, Georgia – a small, Bavarian-style tourist town. Our whole family went to Helen on a recommendation from a truck driver at a truck stop! We found an absolutely beautiful Airbnb and had a wonderful time together. We hiked, floated down a river on tubes, paddle boarded, visited local pottery shops, went to a hillside winery, and cooked s’mores over a campfire. Always most important is spending time together as a family!”
John Koehler
Founder’s Seat
John holds the Founder’s Seat on the Hancock Historical Museum Board of Trustees. He has been an attorney for more than 40 years, practicing primarily in estate planning and tax law. While he is a Findlay native, John enjoys some of Kentucky’s finest – including good bourbon and horses. He attended the Kentucky Derby, with grandstand seats near the finish line, for nearly 25 years.
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Describe a priceless artifact in your possession that you would place in a “Museum of You!”: It’s hard to pick just one, but if I had to, I would pick one that combines my mother and my wife: a painting of a thoroughbred horse dated 1913 that has the same markings of Secretariat, who won the triple crown 60 years later. The painting was a mess when my mother bought it. My mother knew I loved horse art and she arranged to have the painting repaired. My wife and I started our relationship and eventual marriage with conversations about our mutual respect for Secretariat. The painting is displayed in my office, along with other horse art that I’ve collected throughout the years. I get to enjoy that painting every single day of the week.”
Tricia Valasek
Past President
Tricia currently serves as executive director of Raise the Bar Hancock County. Aside from innovating how people learn about and prepare for Hancock County’s careers, Tricia enjoys spending time with her educator husband and two bustling children. Tricia grew up just outside Bowling Green, and has lived in Hancock County for the last 15 years. Her childhood in rural Ohio once led her and her neighbors to join a unicycling club, the “Wood One Wheelers”, so they could leave the cornfields behind and ride their 6’ and 10’ unicycles on the football field during the Orange Bowl halftime show, down Washington DC’s streets for the Cherry Blossom Parade, and in national unicycling competitions.
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What do you value most about the Hancock Historical Museum? “Intentional programming that allows children to explore the past while also thinking about their personal future in the community.”
Randy Greeno
Randy is a lifelong resident of Findlay and a graduate of Findlay High School’s class of 1975. He’s been married to his high school sweetheart, Becky, for 43 years and they have three grown children. Randy retired after a career of 35 years working for the City of Findlay – 20 years of that spent in a supervisory role at the Water Pollution Control Center. Randy is currently serving his second term on Findlay City Council as a Councilman at Large. In his retirement, Randy works for a local auctioneer and enjoys collecting Findlay memorabilia, golfing, and gardening.
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Describe a priceless artifact in your possession that you would place in a “Museum of You!”: “An 8-track tape, ‘Harry Chapin’s Verities and Balderdash’ which we played on our first date many years ago.”
Cathi Kisseberth
Cathi is the CEO of Hancock Federal Credit Union, where she has been employed since 2008 when she started as an accounting intern. Cathi and her husband, Brandon, live outside of Arlington with their 2 year-old daughter, Peyton, and their two labs, Hank & Daisy. Cathi loves to learn about history and experience new cultures when she travels, and she has a bucket list goal of visiting all 50 states.
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What is your most memorable vacation? “Shortly after we were married, my husband bought me Kenny Chesney concert tickets in Boston. We took a road trip and we had a blast! We saw a baseball game at Fenway Park, visited the Sam Adams brewery, and took in the sights of Boston. One of my favorite parts of the trip was seeing the mansions in Newport, Rhode Island that were built in the late 1800s.”
Edwin Lentz
Ed is a professor for The Ohio State University and an Extension Agriculture Educator in Hancock County. He was raised in northeast Missouri and has a doctorate degree from Iowa State in Crop Production and Physiology. His field isn’t all glitz and glam, though; during his graduate research, Dr. Lentz had the great pleasure of regularly collecting rumen fluid from the stomachs of two very accommodating black baldy steers, Earl and Merle! Ed and his family have proudly made Findlay home for the last 25 years, and his three grown children graduated from Findlay High School.
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What do you value most about the Hancock Historical Museum? “I have always enjoyed history since high school and being a part of the Hancock Historical Museum has been a rewarding experience. Ohio is a great place to see history in person. History is alive in our county, and I am glad to have the opportunity to serve on the board of the Museum.”
Don Malarky
Since relocating from the Indianapolis area in 2007, Don and his wife, Ann, have made Findlay their new hometown. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Don retired from Marathon Petroleum in 2020 after 35 years of service. Don worked in various positions of engineering, project management, community service, and leadership in seven different locations across the enterprise. In his high school days, Don worked at the Licking County Airport in Heath, OH as an assistant in general office and aircraft support, washing and waxing small planes for extra cash on the weekends to fuel his ’72 orange colored VW Karmen Ghia.
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What is the most memorable concert you’ve attended? “I would probably have to say Meatloaf in October ‘77 as the “Bat out of Hell” album was just released. It was in a small venue on the outskirts of the UC Campus. The venue was a bar with standing cafe tables and a small stage and Meatloaf was about an hour late for the show. However, he made it worth the wait and the show was great because he performed the entire album, which turned out to be a rock-n-roll classic.”
Logan Metzger
Logan is an owner and Controller at Metzger Brecheisen Company – a Findlay company specializing in residential and commercial construction. He is a graduate of Bowling Green State University, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Finance. Logan’s family has lived in Hancock County for many generations and have deep ties to the community. Fun fact – when he’s not busy growing his business to be Findlay’s Best Construction Company (three years running!) Logan enjoys flying his paramotor – a parachute with a backpack engine and prop.
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What do you value most about the Hancock Historical Museum? “I very much value the relationships I have gained through serving as a board member at the museum, but I also value the preservation of our community’s history. Without the Hancock Historical Museum, there wouldn’t be a centralized resource to serve our community and preserve our local history.”
Denise Thomas
A Findlay-native, Denise has spent much of her career in banking. For the last 20 years she has worked in mortgage lending, and is currently a Vice President at Premier Bank. If you’ve watched Denise calmly handle multiple closings in a day, you may be surprised to learn that she was a fierce competitor in the garden tractor pulling circuit as a pre-teen! Along with her sister, Denise would often compete and win against a lineup of almost all men and boys. Denise’s twin daughters have blessed her and her husband, Graham, with seven grandchildren, and her youngest son will be getting married this year.
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What is your most memorable vacation? “A two week trip to Ireland after Graham retired from the fire department. We rented a car and drove around the beautiful countryside, villages, and cities and the amazing coastline. The people were welcoming and charming, the food amazing. I learned to love Guinness, Jameson and Irish Coffee!”
Kaden Weaver
Kaden is a lifelong Findlay resident, and after graduating from The Ohio State University, he was the fifth generation to work for his family’s local business, Rieck’s Gallery. Kaden graduated from Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law in 2018, where he not only received a top-notch education in law, but was also voted best dressed by his classmates! He has worked as an associate in Eastman & Smith, Ltd.’s Findlay office since 2019. Kaden is continuing a legacy of family involvement with the museum: his great-uncle, Ed Heminger, was one of the museum’s founders, and his father served as a Trustee for several years.
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Describe a priceless artifact in your possession that you would place in a “Museum of You!”: “I own a zippo lighter that belonged to my grandfather. When he was younger, my grandfather would go pheasant and duck hunting and the zippo has a picture of a hunter and his dog etched on the front. I have never hunted and don’t smoke, but I will always keep the lighter!”
Don Williams
A native of Marion, Ohio, Don’s introduction to Hancock County came during his student-teaching placement at Findlay’s Donnell Middle School. He was immediately struck by the beautiful old homes surrounding Donnell in Findlay’s historic south end. Don served as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal at Donnell for 26 years. It’s also where he met his wife of 25 years, Susan Harrington. The museum is an important part of Don’s family history: Sue is the daughter of one of the museum’s founders, Jack Harrington. Don now serves as an assistant principal at Findlay High School, and in his free time he enjoys woodworking, cooking, and most anything outdoors.
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What do you value most about the Hancock Historical Museum? “I have always been amazed by the history of Findlay and all the incredible things I have learned. The museum is truly a gem everyone in the community needs to explore.”