All Bluffton Icon News

Bluffton University Interim President Dr. J. Alexander Sider has issued an "open letter" to "alumni, parents, donors and friends" in a video presentation provided HERE on YouTube addressing recent developments that ended the proposed merger of Bluffton University and Findlay University. He speaks of collaboration with this constituency and provides a link to www.bluffton.edu/questions

Bluffton University has named the students who will serve as President’s Ambassadors during the 2025-26 academic year (listed below). Selected students assist in recruiting prospective students, welcoming and greeting campus guests, and engaging alumni and donors.

President’s Ambassadors receive extensive training in networking, professional development, etiquette, conversational skills and interviewing. 

First implemented on campus during the 2021-22 academic year, the program won a 2022 Independent College Advancement Associates (ICAA) Program of Excellence Award. 

Photos by Dennis Morrison

Youth in Bluffton have formed a Leo Club with the sponsorship of the Bluffton Lions Club, joining some 7,700 Leo chapters across the world. Creating “Leadership, Experience, Opportunity” is the goal of these Lion-affiliated clubs.

On Tuesday, March 4, the Leo Club was formally established with a charter night that included induction of 31 members and installation of these officers:

BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL LEO CLUB

Charter Officers

President Ava Smallcombe
Vice President Keith Burkholder
Secretary Claire Phillips
Treasurer Lillian Dagani
Directors Nora Matthews, Macy Schaadt, Avery Ulrey

READ MORE

Order deadline is March 31

By Casey Heilman Allen SWCD District Administrator  

Since 1982 the Allen Soil and Water Conservation District has been offering pond and lake owners the opportunity to stock their water conveniently and cheaply. 

Stocking your pond is a great way to ensure a healthy food chain between plants, fish and other life. A healthy pond requires healthy fish to help keep a more balanced  ecosystem. Not only do these fish help keep the pesky insect population down, but by  eating the excess nutrients that aquatic plants give off, they are also working to keep water clear and balanced.  READ MORE

Women in Bluffton are celebrating March 8 as International Women's Day with the slogan #BossBabes. This collage celebrates women who run business in Bluffton including L-R) Suzann Bauman, Wendy Chappell-Dick, Marlena Ballinger, Lisa Rains, Liz Gordon-Hancock, Joyce Daniels, Sam Garrett, Kelly Blackburn, Nancy Corle, Makayla and Kim Suter, Lisa Wenger, Cassady and Rosanna Bockrath, Hannah Warwick and Melinda Bowden.

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine made the following appointments on March 7:

Allen W. Behnke of Lima (Allen Co.) has been reappointed to the State Emergency Response Commission for a term beginning March 7, 2025, and ending January 13, 2027.

Kathryn Wolfe Farmer of Bluffton (Allen Co.) has been reappointed to the Ohio AMBER Alert Advisory Committee for a term beginning March 7, 2025, and ending February 6, 2027.

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