Submitted photo The Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame, a program of the Ohio Department of Aging, on Thursday inducted five senior citizens, including two from the Mahoning Valley. On the far left is George Beelen of Canfield and on the far right is Marcia L. Harmon-Walker of Girard.

wo Valley residents, one from Canfield and one from Girard, were inducted last week into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame, which is sponsored by the Ohio Department of Aging.

The Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame honors and recognizes the vital role older adults play in their communities, our state and the nation. It also promotes the benefits of active, productive and purposeful living at all points in our lives, according to the ODA website.

Individuals selected for the Hall of Fame set an example for all Ohioans by leading lives not defined by age or barriers. They can be recognized for contributions and accomplishments after age 60 or for a continuation of effort and achievement begun before that age. Nominees are outstanding in service to mankind through leadership, innovation, motivation and contribution.

Nominations are accepted year-round and individuals are inducted during an annual ceremony in Columbus.

The criteria includes:

• Nominees must be age 60 or older and a native-born Ohioan or a resident of Ohio for at least 10 years.

• Posthumous nominations are accepted, provided the date of death is within the last five years and the individual was age 60 or older at the time of death.

• Nominees will be evaluated on one or both of these factors: The impact that their contributions and accomplishments have had in keeping Ohio on the leading edge of innovation and responsiveness to the growing and changing aging population; and the degree to which they are respected and vital members of society who continue to grow, thrive and contribute.

A total of 514 older Ohioans have now been inducted since the Hall of Fame’s inception in 1977.

“Our seniors make our lives better and stronger,” Gov. Mike DeWine said. “In every village, township, city and county of Ohio, they have so much to offer — experience, wisdom, volunteer hours, advocacy, passion, and perspective.”

“Whether they have innovated treatments for children with cancer, nourished their community physically or spiritually, built homes for the people in their area, or brought the world to their hometowns through cultural enrichment, I think you’ll agree that our honorees deserve today’s recognition and more,” ODA Director Urusla McElroy, also a Valley native, said.

Local inductees were George Beelen of Canfield and Minister Marcia L. Harmon-Walker of Girard.

DR. GEORGE D. BEELEN, Ph.D.

Dr. George B. Beelen, 88, of Canfield, founded the Ohio Cultural Alliance in the late 1980s.

This organization is dedicated to uniting the people of the Mahoning Valley by allowing them to explore the wide variety of cultures available to them. For more than 30 years, Beelen brought distinguished speakers and artists to the area, helping OCA members learn about a variety of topics. He also introduced residents to different types of cuisines, produced four culture-related films, and created multiple written works. His most recent book, “Genius Knows No Boundaries,” is a 30-year history of OCA.

Learning from others led to Beelen organizing study trips to Latin America, sharing the culture and history of the region with others.His ability to connect with the community shines through every time he speaks at civic engagements or with school groups, whether that’s in-person, on the radio or on television, according to his biography.

OCA merged with the Mahoning Valley Historical Society in 2017, and the combined organization has hosted more than 300 meetings in its history with an audience of largely senior citizens. A lifelong educator, Beelen earned degrees from Youngstown State University, Western Reserve University and Kent State University. He taught English and history at Poland High School and, based on a national competition, was selected as a John Hay Fellow in the Humanities – the most prestigious award open to high school teachers.

Beelen eventually became a professor at YSU, teaching there for 30 years and chairing the history department for 15 years while also serving as a government relations liaison. In 2006, he was honored with YSU’s Heritage Award, the university’s highest award that recognizes distinguished former faculty or staff whose contributions and long-term devotion to the university are important to its heritage and community.

Born in Campbell, Beelen is one of four children. He and his wife of 68 years, Betty, have three children, nine grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

CHAPLAIN MARCIA L. HARMON-WALKER

Chaplain Marcia L. Harmon-Walker, 71, of Girard, said she can describe her calling in one word: Servanthood. Whether that means advising residents of a downtown Youngstown apartment building, helping to keep drug dealers off street corners, ordaining marriages, or eulogizing funerals, Walker has lived her life in service of others.

Walker is one of the first women in Youngstown to become president of the police chaplain corps. In that role, and in many others over the years, the impact she has made in her community continues to reverberate to this day. A former employee for the Juvenile Justice

Center in Youngstown for nearly a decade, Walker said that hearing from the people whose lives she impacted is incredibly meaningful.

In the 1990s, as a chaplain with the Youngstown Police Department, Walker began what she believes is her calling: getting drug dealers on Youngstown street corners to consider changing their ways while also introducing religion to their lives. A licensed minister since 2001, she also took a course from the Youngstown Citizens Police Academy to help bridge the gap between her community and the police. She understands linkage and being a community voice to advocate on both sides of the coin.

She also represents the Youngstown Police Department at funerals in the city, attending as a chaplain and in her role as her church’s associate minister. She has served on the prison ministry at New Bethel Baptist Church and is on the board of the Home For Good reentry Program.

At the International Towers apartment building, she assists with, donates to and spiritually advises the residents who request her services. When the Chase Bank explosion hit downtown Youngstown in May 2024, impacting the residents of International Towers, she assisted with blocking off streets and keeping families calm during what was a hugely disruptive event to their daily lives.

Walker has three children and has raised four more during the years, but her ability to connect with everyone around her makes her say that she has “a close family no matter where I live in the world.” She has an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Eastern Gateway Community

College that she earned while in her 60s, and she has a degree in juvenile criminal justice.

She also attended Bradley Bible College. Walker is also a licensed cosmetologist, has licenses to be a teacher, manager, and a business owner, and is a part of the International Ministerial Alliance.

Previous inductees

Previous Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame inductees from the Valley include:

• Dr. Rashid Abdu of Canfield, 2022

• Ora McCain Barrett of Youngstown, 1984

• Edith J. Clayton of Youngstown, 2005

• Sister Jerome Corcoran of Canfield, 2016

• Gertrude W. Donahey of Goshen Township, 1979

• Dr. Ronald Dwinnells of Poland, 2018

• Anthony Feldes of Youngstown, 2006

• Helen Fero of Youngstown, 1995

• Roberta M. Graham of Warren, 1993

• Carolyn Heynali of Berlin Center, 2006

• Nancy Fitori Kubina of Youngstown, 1998

• Michael Lacivita of Youngstown, 1996

• Kay Lavelle of Austintown, 2014

• Martha Whelan Murphy of Youngstown, 1996

• Martin J. O’Connell of Girard, 2007

• Edna D. Pincham of Youngstown, 2009

• Dorothy V. Ryan of Youngstown, 1984

• Irvin H. Ryan of Youngstown, 1983

• Jean M. Schlecht of Warren, 2011

• Lonnie Simon of Campbell, 2000