Bob Eggerichs
Bob Eggerichs began his second term as president of the Hilliard Ohio Historical Society in August.
His Number One goal is “to keep the place open. We have to be sure we have enough money coming in to pay for utilities and operating expenses,” he said.
“The second goal is to grow the membership – and that is to replace the people that are not able to work the Village anymore due to moving away or they are physically incapable of helping, and to get younger people involved,” he said.
To meet the goal of involving more young people, Bob said the society works through high schools and also is trying to strengthen the relationship with Hilliard’s superintendent of schools, David Stewart.
“We are trying to build our relationship with the superintendent to have him as one of our advocates,” said Bob.
The state of the society is good. “Financially we feel like we are pretty sound but I’ll qualify that: one catastrophe and it could wipe out everything we’ve accomplished,”
he said. “That could be a fire or unexpected event that would cause us to lose a building or incur a terrible expense we didn’t plan on.”
An unanticipated expense that hit the books in August was the bill for replacement of roofs on the museum and school house that were damaged by a wind storm.
“The roofs weren’t a catastrophe because we had insurance, but it was an unplanned expense,” said Bob.
The society’s greatest asset is its people, he said. “We are so blessed at the breath and depth of our volunteers. We have about 30 that would be available for special events and that is out of a list of 180 members on the roster,” he said.
The biggest problem facing the society is finding volunteers who have time to help out. “Whenever we have an event going on, we have to find people available at that time. It takes a lot of work to find people available at the time and date that we want them. We have a wonderful group and we are blessed that we have them but trying to find when they are available is very difficult,” he said.
To help solve the problem the society has begun using the internet program SignUpGenius. Volunteers can go on line and see when and where help is needed and then match the need to their own availability.
Volunteers who feel they aren’t qualified to lead tours can get training by signing up for one of the tour guide slots when the Village is open on Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The work load typically is light then and volunteers with more experience are available to help those seeking to learn. In particular, long-time volunteer and Board of Trustees member Megan Martin is present at the Village every Sunday to lead tours for visitors and volunteers alike. In addition, Bob, and other long-time members who have expertise to share, volunteer for weekend shifts.
Why did Bob want to take on the challenge of the presidency and also volunteering at special events and weekend tours? “Because it is fun,” he said. “It is so enriching to me that we can tell people about the history of the Hilliard area. To me, it is a legacy that I have the responsibility to pass on to whoever takes on this position later. We also owe it to the community to show the history of Hilliard,” he said.
Bob has been a member of the society for some eight years. “I joined because I had retired from work and was looking for something of interest. One of the members named Bob Peterson said why don’t I look at the Village – they always need help with tours.”
Once Bob Peterson mentioned that the Village has a train station, Bob was hooked. “I like steam trains. It is just the nostalgia of an era gone by,” he said.
Bob, a retired senior project manager for Verizon, lives in Hilliard with his wife, Judy. The couple has two adult children: Jen, a member of the society, and Mike of Vermillion, Ohio. Bob and Judy have two grandchildren. They celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary on Sept. 7
