Smith Awards Constituents Jane B. Sheats Community Impact Award

In mid-July, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) presented the Jane B. Sheats Community Impact Award to seven residents in Ohio’s 21st Senate District. Five of the awards were given to a group of Laurel High School students who led Laurel’s Environmental Action for the Future (L.E.A.F.) The other two awards went to Robin Koslen and Suzanne Zilber, both Cleveland Heights residents who organized the 2025 Resistance Fair in February 2025.

“These seven outstanding Ohioans should remind us that you can always do something to make this world a better place,” Smith said. “Too many people don’t do anything because they question if they will make an impact. The lesson from these seven award recipients is that the time is always right to make a difference.”

The award is named in honor of Jane B. Sheats, who was appointed as a Democratic Board Member of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, where she served as Chair from 1976-1979. In doing so, she became the first African American woman to serve as Chair of a Board of Elections in the United States. Ms. Sheats met Senator Smith in 2014 and became a mentor to him as he was running for his first term in the Ohio House of Representatives.