BUCYRUS, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW) — Bucyrus City Schools has named Forge Fire & Company to the 2026 Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) Business Honor Roll. The statewide program allows Ohio school districts to publicly recognize local businesses that make a significant difference for their students.
Superintendent Robert Britton presented the honor to Forge Fire’s founders on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at a meeting of the district’s Career Advisory Council, a group of local business leaders who help shape career learning in Bucyrus schools.
“Forge Fire represents the pinnacle of school-business partnership. They showed up for our students,” Britton said. “They opened their doors, their staff gave their time, and they treated our students like professionals. Our district vision is True North: navigating students to career success. We can’t do that alone, and Forge Fire is one of the reasons we don’t have to.”
Last school year, Forge Fire partnered with the district through a Problem of Practice, which pairs a local employer’s real-world challenge with students who work it like a professional shop. Forge Fire needed a premium giveaway for the annual FDIC conference: a challenge coin that could tell the company’s story.
Fifteen Bucyrus Advanced Manufacturing students toured the Forge Fire plant and worked alongside the company’s CAD team. They designed and built prototypes in the district’s Fab Lab, then pitched their ideas to company leaders. Forge Fire selected a coin and coaster design, and students manufactured the final products in their school lab.
Along the way, students learned to work as a team, meet a real deadline, take feedback from professionals and sell an idea to a room full of decision-makers.
Forge Fire & Company also served as a major sponsor of the district’s Mobile Workforce Day in May, an event that brought more than 30 businesses and organizations to campus to introduce middle school students to local career opportunities. Open to students in grades 6-8 from school districts across Crawford County, the event featured interactive career exploration experiences and opportunities to connect directly with industry professionals. Forge Fire sponsored food truck lunches for all participating students, helping create a memorable day that celebrated the connection between students and their community.
“We believe the future of our community depends on the opportunities we create for young people today,” said Todd Shepherd, CEO and founder of Forge Fire & Company. “When these students came to us with their ideas, we wanted them to experience what it’s really like to work on a project for a customer, solve problems, and see something they designed become a finished product. We were impressed by their creativity and professionalism. Partnerships like this are an investment in our students, our local workforce, and the future of Crawford County.”
A focus on local partnerships is paying off. This year, 30 students are enrolled in the Advanced Manufacturing program, twice as many as last year.
The Bucyrus City Schools Board of Education will formally recognize Forge Fire & Company with a resolution naming the company to the 2026 OSBA Business Honor Roll at its Oct. 26 meeting.
Britton encouraged other local employers to follow Forge Fire’s lead. “Forge Fire’s story can be your story, too,” he said. “It doesn’t take a big budget. It takes a willingness to open your doors and share what you do.”
Businesses interested in partnering with Bucyrus City Schools, from a one-hour classroom visit to a full student project, can contact Amy Wood, Director of Leadership and District Partnerships, at awood@bucyrusschools.org