“I have a heart to serve people, especially the young people in our community,” says Ann Miles 2022 Jefferson Award Winner. “I just want to serve them and be an example to them as to how we are to live and help our community.”
Ann Miles is all about giving back to the community, whether it be elected to positions on Lima City Council and Lima School Board, doing God’s work at the One Church, or sitting on numerous agency boards in the community. Including the board for the United Way, where Ann has also served as a past campaign chair.
“I volunteer here because of the different organizations that we support,” adds Miles. “Many of the organizations, nonprofit organizations, are the ones that helped my family when we were growing up, the Salvation Army and the different food banks and so forth. So, once I retired I decided to give back to those who have helped me and my family when we were growing up.”
Through her work on the different boards, Esther Baldridge noticed how Miles put the needs of the community first.
“Ann is a woman that I have admired for years,” says Esther Baldridge who nominated Miles. “In recent years I have had the opportunity to know her personally and my admiration of her has just increased as I have had the chance to work with her more closely and it struck me that she’s the epitome of what a Jefferson Award is all about.”
“I believe that you know every organization needs volunteers here, we cannot survive without volunteers, especially on boards,” states Miles. “We need representation from the community from all walks of life. And so it is so important that we volunteer and help these organizations and different places do what their mission is to do and that is serve the community.”
