ADA, Ohio (WLIO) – Jefferson Award winner Penny Keller-Clark pours her heart into everything she does. Whether it’s collecting clothing for patients at local hospitals or simply lending a listening ear, she is committed to being there for others.
“I volunteer because God has gifted me with a passion of serving others. And I believe if you serve others with all your heart, it gives you that opportunity to go out and shine and try to light the way for people,” says Penny Keller-Clark, 2025 Jefferson Award winner.
It’s not hard to see Keller-Clark’s God-given talent for giving back. With Faith Christian Church, she helped create “Sole Mission Project,” which provides shoes to patients discharged from Mercy Health – St. Ritas and Lima Memorial Health Systems, who may not have any when they arrive. That mission has since expanded to “The Garments of Love” which includes pajama pants, T-shirts, and sweatshirts. She has also contributed significantly to the Hardin County Leadership Class, assisting various community initiatives from distributing Narcan, to working with the Hardin County DD, and helping out at festivals.
After 28 years as a police officer for Mercy Health-St. Rita’s, Keller-Clark now serves as Ada’s community relations officer in a semi-retirement role. When she isn’t walking around downtown, she can be found at Beatitudes Community Center, engaging with and listening to village residents.
“Just being here, interacting, engaging in conversation with the people, you come up with a lot of stories. A lot of people just want to be heard. And I have a good listening ear,” says Keller-Clark.
Because of Keller-Clark exceptional listening skills and caring heart, members of the Happy Hour Widows Support Group, which she founded, nominated her for the Jefferson Award. The bond between these women has helped them navigate their grief and find joy in friendship.
“And there was a lot of crying and there was a lot of laughter. Now, after two or three years, we have become sisters and we want to meet. And it's not necessarily just to grieve. It's to say that our lives are much better, and now, now we can. We don't have to cry as much,” says Myla Schwabero, a member of the Happy Hour Widows Support Group.
“She just wants to enrich people's lives. She wants to make them happy. She wants them to enjoy life. And so she has this uncanny ability to recognize people's needs. Where we could just look at a few people sitting there, she's going to really look at them as individuals. So every volunteer task she does, she doesn’t just show up, she doesn’t just go to business and just go about doing the job. She focuses on the people who are there. She looks at them all as individuals. And that's her—that's her God-given talent,” says Armida Nicely, a member of the Happy Hour Widows Support Group.
“Everyone has a story, and everyone is valuable. So, once you find out who you are, and then you can go out in the community and give back, it's rewarding for who you're serving, and it's fulfillment within yourself,” says Keller-Clark.
That was Penny Keller-Clark, one of our Jefferson Award winners.
