CENTERBURG — The theme for the 2023 Heart of Ohio USA Days Festival parade is “Hilliar Township Trustees: Caring for your Park, Roads and Cemeteries.”
With that in mind, the Heart of Ohio USA Days Association has named the 2023 parade grand marshals as trustees Eric Cochran, Jason Rogers and Gary Ross.
Ross has been married to his wife Betsy (Shoemaker) for 44 years. They have two sons: Zac (married to Steph) and Ryan. They also have three grandchildren: Carson, Cara and Caleb.
Ross cut meat for 20 years for the Big Bear stores. He then retired from Sprinkler Fitters Union after 18 years. He is a member of the Sunbury Christian Church and the Masonic Lodge. He is now the chairman of the Hilliar Township Board of Trustees and president of the Knox County Township Association.
Rogers is a veteran of the United States Army. He and his wife, Twila, have been married for 30 years and share three children: Abigayle, Olivia and Harrison. They are grandparents of Isabell, Ivan, Barrett, Mollie, Aiden, James, Raelynn and Silas.
Rogers is employed by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center as the director of network administration. He manages the financial and biomedical engineering department.
Rogers served on the Centerburg School Board for six years and proposed the opportunity for graduating seniors to choose who they wanted to hand them their diplomas on graduation day.
He has also served on the Centerburg Rejuvenation Committee, as president of the Heart of Ohio USA Days Association. He is on the Knox County Regional Planning Commission, is a past president of the Knox County Township Association, is on the Hilliar Township Board of Zoning Appeals and currently is in his seventh year as a Hilliar Township trustee.
A lifelong resident of Centerburg, Eric Cochran has been married to his wife, Kim, for 26 years. The couple has three children: Madison, Holden and Ava.
Cochran is self-employed as a farmer and a drainage contractor. He is also a graduate of The Ohio State University with an agricultural business degree. He has served as Hilliar Township trustee for seven years and on the fire board for three.
The association congratulates these men as they strive to do their best in maintaining the beautiful park, cemeteries and roads of Hilliar Township.
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