Purchase Tickets or Sponsor the Annual Dinner

Barberton Community Foundation will celebrate Phil Hodanbosi and Barberton Public Library as the 2024 Game Changers at the Annual Dinner, held on November 7, 2024 at the Galaxy Restaurant. Tickets can be purchased online, or call 330-745-5995.

 Honoring Phil Hodanbosi

Barberton Community Foundation is pleased to announce Phil Hodanbosi as the recipient of the 2024 Game Changer Award.

This award celebrates Hodanbosi as a selfless leader who always made time for people and students. He passed away on February 28, 2024.

Hodanbosi was a life-long educator, beginning with his career at Barberton Middle School, where he was an 8th grade math teacher at U.L. Light for over 30 years. He had an incredible reputation as a patient teacher who could inspire students to like algebra. He coached middle school football, boys’ basketball and high school girls’ basketball. Later, after he retired from teaching, he worked as an instructional coach for Barberton City School District.

Hodanbosi’s co-workers at Barberton City Schools wrote a 32-page letter of support, sharing their favorite stories of Phil and his unwavering dedication to his students. In addition, many other coaches and past students wrote in with stories of Phil’s impeccable character, joy for teaching, and how he encouraged them through their careers.

“Phil was one-of-a-kind. His positive energy was welcomed by everyone in the system. He was relentless in support of good teaching and teachers. He shared his experience and insight in ways that were uplifting and encouraging. He never had an unkind word to say about anyone. He loved his profession, and it was infectious. I won’t forget him or the influence he had on students and colleagues.”

As an instructional coach, Phil worked with Elyssa Young to write grants for the school district. He was working in this capacity when he passed, having written a grant to the Ohio Department of Education for $1.4 million to bolster two Barberton High School Four Cities Compact programs: Advanced Manufacturing and Network Systems and Cyber Security. The schools received notice of the award on March 1, two days after Hodanbosi passed. Young said it was the largest and most difficult grant she and Hodanbosi had worked on.

The grant will purchase state-of-the-industry equipment for the Advanced Manufacturing program and a cyber range — the only one in an Ohio high school — for the Network Systems & Cyber Security program.

The size of the grant alone is a game changer for the students in Barberton’s Four Cities Compact Program, but Hodanbosi led his life with a true passion for Barberton, encouraging educators, students, athletes and families to be their best.

Barberton Public Library 

Barberton Community Foundation is pleased to announce our 2024 Game Changer Award organization – the Barberton Public Library.

Few organizations in Barberton have the library’s history – serving the community for 121 years – while adding and adapting services to meet the needs of today’s residents.

One of the most recent additions to the library is called the “Library of Things” where card holders can check out “non-traditional materials” meaning a whole range of items from a fishing pole to a steel drum.

Governed by a seven-member board of directors and lead by executive director Ann Hutchison, the library provides more than 63,000 printed items like books and magazines, more than 23,000 av materials like movies and music, and more than 2.2 million digital materials. Librarians also provide outreach to homebound individuals, process passport applications, notarize documents, and generally answer more than 25,000 questions a year. The library offers meeting space, computer access, and a wide variety of programs for all ages.

Residents might not know that the library recently went fine free with most of their materials, became sensory inclusive certified, is a Summit Bike Share site, and has two satellite locations – the Health Library at Summa Hospital -Barberton Campus, and a partnership with Barberton preschool, where librarians provide weekly stories and enrichment for the young students.

Barbertonians who visit the library might learn about their genealogy in the Local History Room, attend a community meeting, or browse books for sale from the Friends of the Library.

The scope of services at Barberton Public Library is only part of what makes this organization a Game Changer. It is the staff, with their unwavering dedication to this community, their commitment to expanding services, growing programs, and responding to the needs of the community with new and innovative concepts that bring the library forward.

Help us congratulate Barberton Public Library and let us know what services or programs you use at the library!