The Presidents Club of Dayton has awarded their 2023 Citizen Legion of Honor to Cassie Barlow. She was a commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Executive Director of Wright State University’s Aerospace Professional Development Center. She now is the President of Strategic Ohio Council on Higher Education (SOCHE) and a very active volunteer.
WYSO’s Mike Frazier asked Cassie to list some of the groups she is involved with, why volunteering is so important, and some advice for those facing retirement.
(Transcript llightly edited for clarity)
Cassie Barlow: There's a lot of different areas that I'm passionate about. I mean, one of them is the development of young ladies. So, you know, stepping on to the Girl Scouts, the Western Ohio board was a no brainer. And then, once again, helping to develop young people — my next board was Archbishop Carroll High School. That also was a no brainer and jumped on to that one. Then the defense related boards like the Women in Defense and National Defense Industrial Association. Air Camp was another one.
Air Camp was a great way to develop young people. Okay, I'm going to jump into air camps. And then there was an opportunity to serve veterans, the My Veterans community. And the ability to serve older people. I grew up in a family where my dad was the youngest of eight children — so I had a lot of elders in my family. Jumping in as the Alzheimer's Association volunteer and as a hospice volunteer...once again...no brainer.
Mike Frazier: It sounds like it might be easier for you to list the boards and organizations you have not volunteered for versus the ones you are or have volunteered for. Tell us what is the importance of volunteering? I mean, you've had a very fulfilling career. You're a retired commander at Wright-Patt. Some people would just say, 'You know what, I'm done. I'm going to put up my feet and just rest on my laurels.' But you decided not to. Why is it important, in your opinion, to volunteer?
Cassie: Whatever we're passionate about, we can make choices to serve. So that’s why I think volunteerism is so important. If we want to influence something, whether we're super happy with how something is going or if we're not happy with how something is going, we have the opportunity to make change in our country, and it's making change through action. So that's really why I like to serve and why I think volunteerism is so important.
Mike: So you served our country in the military and now you are serving your community as a volunteer. Is that a fair assessment?
Cassie: Yes.
Mike: I assume you traveled the country or the world in the military. You've decided to stay in Dayton afterwards. Why?
Cassie: Dayton is the only community that we have lived in in our 26 years in the military that really wrapped themselves around us and made us immediately feel like a part of the family and part of the Dayton community. And at the end of the assignment, it just made zero sense to go anywhere else. It was just a natural to stay right here with the people that are our friends and our family and that we got to know so well and that made us feel so welcome. And that's Dayton. That's our community. That's who we are. And I just love the fact that I get to continue to be a part of that community.
Mike: You know, I'm really impressed with how active you are right now in what a lot of people would consider to be the retirement phase of your life. Do you have any advice for people who are facing retirement in terms of staying active?
Cassie: I point to my mom, who was an active volunteer in our community until her 91st birthday and was able to continue to give back in some way into her golden years. And I think continuing to give back like that is critical to our health, critical to staying sharp as we age. So I think it's important for older adults to think about what is that year that you're officially going to retire maybe from working for money and you're going to give back in a different way. And I plan on continuing to do it until I can’t do it anymore. Just because, like I said before, I love to serve and I love being a part of the community.
Cassie will formally receive the honor at the Dayton Presidents Club annual luncheon on Thursday, October 5, 2023, at the Dayton Convention Center
Copyright 2023 WYSO
