Beavercreek Couple Joining Hall of Fame

The Ohio Department of Aging (ODA) will induct Beavercreek residents Lt. Col. Margaret F. Bowman, USAF, Retired, and Col. Richard E. Bowman, USAF, Retired, into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame in Columbus on Sept. 19 for their decades of service with the Beavercreek Township Fire Dept.

The Bowmans will be recognized by Governor Mike DeWine, the Ohio General Assembly, Ohio’s Area Agencies on Aging, the ODA and leaders from Ohio’s aging network. They are among eight outstanding older Ohioans being inducted to the Hall of Fame this year for lifelong contributions to their communities, professions and vocations.

The Bowmans experienced a house fire in 1994 which led to their long association with the Beavercreek Township Fire Department (BTFD). Mrs. Bowman created the BTFD Auxiliary and lead the group for 19 years with Mr. Bowman as her deputy. They served on-call 24 hours a day throughout most of those 19 years to respond to fires and other emergencies in the Beavercreek community until stepping down in 2014. The Auxiliary now has more than 60 members and presented the Bowmans with a Meritorious Service Award upon their retirement. They remain active with the group and assisted in the 2019 response when an EF-3 tornado hit Beavercreek, supplying aid to emergency responders and assessing damage to justify FEMA requests. The couple also helped to coordinate distribution of over 40,000 COVID-19 vaccines to the community in late 2020.

More information about the 2023 Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame is available on the ODA website.