House Hearing Alert–We Need Your Help!

The House Finance & Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) has set public hearings on the “impact of potential Senate budget decisions” in Statehouse Room 313 at the following times:

Thursday, July 2 @ 3 pm

Monday, July 6 @ 10 am

Tuesday, July 7 @ 2 pm 

We need your voice! Don’t let Ohio History die! Please join us and other history supporters at the Statehouse and let the General Assembly know that HISTORY MATTERS!

You don’t have to speak at the hearings, but we need you to demonstrate your support by filling the hearing room and halls.

The best days to attend are Monday and Tuesday.

If you are able to attend the event please let us know by emailing govrelations@ohiohistory.org. Rep. Sykes’ office will alert OHS when new information is available, or if changes occur to the schedule, etc. We will alert those that plan to attend via email as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please contact OHS’ government relations office at govrelations@ohiohistory.org.

Continue reading for more information and speaking points.

Speaking Points:

• Ohio’s history is a clean and constantly renewable natural resource that, with proper stewardship, will not be depleted. Authentic local history cannot be outsourced.

 

• The Ohio Historical Society reflects our state’s abundance of history that tells a quintessential American story as comprehensive as the American experience itself. The Ohio Historical Society offers not one, but multiple, points of access to Ohio’s history. It is the state’s museum curator, state archivist, historic preservationist, history interpreter, educator and its collective memory.

 

• The historic sites of the Ohio Historical Society reflect the geographic and topical diversity typical of Ohio. The Society helps maintain and provide access to prehistoric monuments, battle forts, sites dedicated to early transportation, places that highlight nature, technology and even space exploration. As the state’s primary portal to Ohio history, the Ohio Historical Society works to reveal the distinctive character of the first truly American state and its people.

 

• Connecting with history clearly allows people to connect with feelings of civic pride and responsibility, according to Exploring the Public Value of Ohio’s History, a February 2009 report by the University of Toledo’s Urban Affairs Center. There is a clear tie between those who say that history is important and civic participation – they are 23 percent more likely to do things like vote, join community organizations and find other avenues for civic engagement – than those who say they do not think history is important.

 

• Ohio is home to 42,350 irreplaceable archaeological sites and more than 92,000 historic properties that have been recorded.

 

• The historic cities, neighborhoods, buildings and farms in Ohio help tell a national story with an abundance of special places with a diverse blend of cultural influences. This is reflected in Ohio having the third-highest number of National Register of Historic Places listings in the country (nearly 3,700).

 

• Ohio means family and friends. Our state has been among the most-populated for more than 150 years. It is also near the top among states with the most native-born residents still residing in Ohio. History well remembers the accomplishments of many notable Ohioans such as Ulysses S. Grant, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Wilbur and Orville Wright, Annie Oakley, Roy Rogers, Clark Gable, Bob Evans and Neil Armstrong.