By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Every year the Bucyrus Area Chamber of Commerce puts on its Bags of Bounty program and, though they were a little late this year, Ohio Polytech went all in.
A bag for the Bags of Bounty program was dropped off at plant manager Michael Ginn’s office to kick off the event. Employees from Ohio Polytech, which has a workforce of 64 people, gathered perishable goods but just missed the deadline to drop off the items to the Bucyrus Area Chamber of Commerce.
Ginn contacted Chamber Director Deb Pinion to ask what they could do with the donations. She suggested taking them right to the local Salvation Army.
To Lt. Annie Buckles surprise and delight, a pick-up truck full of donations arrived at the Bucyrus Salvation Army Thursday morning.
Just two hours later, Pinion said, Ohio Polytech security guard Danny Burns called the Chamber to inquire about making another donation. Though the item was physically much smaller than a pick-up truck full of goods, the amount was just as significant.
“He said that they called their office in New York and they wanted to donate $1,000 to the Salvation Army,” Pinion said.
Ginn, Burns, and production manager Brittany Horner presented a $1,000 check to Buckles at the Chamber of Commerce’s office that same morning.
“It’s amazing,” said Buckles. “The generosity in this county, especially in Bucyrus, blows me away. Just to have a local company step up always just humbles me, actually. I said to my boss, ‘I get to be in this position; I’m just here, I get to be the figurehead’ but it’s so neat to see when things like this, where the money goes – it goes right back to the people in need in the community, whether it’s food, clothing assistance, shoes.
“To be able to give this right back to the community is amazing for us as well,” she concluded.
“It’s instilled in me – always has been – to be a giver instead of a receiver,” said Ginn. “I get more joy out of giving and seeing the joy it brings others.”
Ginn added that the owners of Ohio Polytech were family-oriented and giving people.
“They’re firm believers in second chances and helping people get back on their feet,” Ginn said.
“We’re so happy that the New York people came in and gave us the opportunity to continue on like this,” added Burns. “For us at the plant, we just love to be able to share the wealth a little bit, to let the people know we’re in there. We couldn’t be any more happy to be able to give back just a little bit because Bucyrus has seen such a decline over the years. We want them to know there are good things also taking place in Bucyrus. We have long-term goals to continue to invest in the community and move forward.”