News-Current Report
FAIRBORN — Four Greene County women will be inducted into the Greene County Women’s Hall of Fame.
This year’s honorees are Sharon Busch and Ann Lewis Cooper of Beavercreek, Sue Rytel of Fairborn and Gerry Shambaugh of Xenia. Busch will be honored for her contributions as a music educator, Cooper as an aviator and author, Rytel as an environmental volunteer and Shambaugh as a community volunteer.
The public is invited to attend the 36th Annual Recognition Day Luncheon honoring these women 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 at Walnut Grove Country Club, located astride the Greene-Montgomery county line at 5050 Linden Avenue in Riverside.
This year’s featured speaker will be Joan Baxter.
Reservations are $20 and must be paid in advance by mail with the final deadline of Sept. 16. Note on your check if you prefer the vegetarian option for lunch. Receipts will be held at the door.
Checks payable to the Greene County Women’s Hall of Fame should be mailed to PO Box 703, Fairborn, OH 45324. For further information about reservations call Ann Byrd Hall of Fame chair at 937-429-1805.
Sharon Busch
Sharon Busch of Beavercreek will be inducted into the Hall of Fame for her endeavors in Music Education. A music teacher within the Beavercreek School system for 36 years, she retired in 2014. During her tenure she taught choir at the elementary, junior high/middle school and high school levels, and introduced show choir at both the middle schools. She was Teacher of the Year in Beavercreek Schools in 1990.
All of her musical groups performed multiple concerts and entered many show choir competitions where they earned many grand champion and caption awards as well as Superior I ratings both at district and state Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) competitions. They were also selected to perform in places such as the World Fair, Opryland, Disney World, New York City and Carnival cruise ships. She has also served as clinician for Wright State University and the University of Dayton annual Honor Choir, as well as an OMEA conference presenter and clinician. Sharon currently gives private voice and piano lessons, teaches choir at the First Baptist Church of Kettering, and accompanies the Children’s Traveling Opera sponsored by the Dayton Opera.
Ann Lewis Cooper
Ann Lewis Cooper of Beavercreek will be inducted in the Hall of Fame for her endeavors in Aviation and Writing. Ann has as a pilot and flight instructor accrued over 2000 flight hours and as a writer has authored 700 magazine articles (100 on flying) and 11 books. She was a full-fledged aviator, certified flight instructor, and ground school flight instructor, but in 1982 she gave up flying to care for her mother who had become seriously ill. She didn’t give up her love of aviation, though, and began writing about it instead.
She took the job as editor of The American Society of Aviation Artists and continued her passion. Her first book was Tuskegee’s Heroes. She also wrote War in Pacific Skies in collaboration with husband Maj. Gen. Charles S. Cooper III USAF (ret.). She authored two books on aviation art and then began writing biographies of women pilots, remembering her motto “Amelia wasn’t the only one.” She was named the Women in Aviation International Volunteer in 2010.
Sue Rytel
Sue Rytel of Fairborn will be inducted into the Hall of Fame for her endeavors as an Environmental Volunteer. Sue has been an active volunteer with the Beaver Creek Wetlands Association for over 13 years, has held positions as Trustee, Publicity Chair, Secretary, and is currently Vice President.
She took on more responsibility for design and publication of the newsletter, and participates in many volunteer projects working on land management projects, working booths at fairs and festivals, helping with mailings and developing and attending many programs and hikes. Sue is also very involved with the B-W Greenway Community Land Trust, whose goal is to protect wetlands in both Clark and Greene Counties. Her volunteer efforts involve particularly the Food and Farming Team of that organization, including producing an annual Local Food Directory. She was the recipient of the Beavercreek Chamber of Commerce Environmental Award in 2010.
Gerry Shambaugh
Gerry Shambaugh of Xenia will be inducted into the Hall of Fame for her endeavors as a Community Volunteer. She has been giving of her time and talents helping people in Xenia and Greene County for over 45 years. For many years she helped cook for and feed the homeless through organizations such as Heart for the Homeless in Dayton and through Helping Hands.
She has been instrumental in the establishment of numerous benefit programs raising money for clothes, food and even medical expenses for those in need. She and her husband Roger collect donations and put together Christmas baskets of food and gifts, even providing bedding and other needs for families. In the past, they provided Christmas parties for the children at the OSSO Home in Xenia. A nominator writes that Gerry is a highly principled woman who has “served her community with distinction and has gained the enduring respect and admiration of everyone who knows her.”
