Ruckman files to run for 2nd Ward Mount Vernon City Council seat

The founder of The Ruckman Group, an auction and appraisal company, he is the latest in a long line of local entrepreneurs; his grandparents own M&M Trucking on Harcourt Road and his great-grandparents owned the Donuthole donut shop on Public Square in the 1950s and 1960s.

“Local small business ownership seems to run in the family,” Ruckman said.

But to his knowledge, no one in his family has run for public office in the city. That changed last month, when Ruckman filed to run for Mount Vernon City Council’s 2nd Ward seat.

“I grew up in a family where civic responsibility and participation was always something that was championed. We were always encouraged to get involved where we were, with what we had, and to do good. It was one of those things that was impressed upon me growing up, and I’ve maintained that over the years, and now we’re trying to pass that along to our children, my wife and I,” Ruckman said.

“And I became aware there was going to be the opportunity (to run for City Council) – I had thought about it before, but the opportunity wasn’t there – but when I found out it was and the opportunity to serve was going to be available, Mount Vernon is very near and dear to me. I’ve lived in Knox County my whole life, and Mount Vernon is the heart of Knox County.

“And being able to jump in and try to do what I can to help the community, and maybe help improve the community, it’s a great opportunity to be able to give back to the community that has given so much to my family and has given so much to the surrounding area.”

Ruckman was the only Republican to file for the 2nd Ward seat in the May 2 primary election, according to the Knox County Board of Elections. He will run unopposed, unless a Republican write-in candidate files to run by the Feb. 21 deadline.

No Democrats have filed to run for the position, and the deadline for independent candidates to file for the Nov. 7 general election is May 1.

Ruckman, 32, is looking to take the place of fellow Republican John Francis, who did not file to run for re-election after six consecutive terms in-office. Francis could not be reached for comment.

The second ward includes most of Mount Vernon’s downtown business district, as well as a portion of the city’s north end and the entire west end. Ruckman and his wife, Amy, have lived on West Gambier Street, near the Kokosing River, since 2011. They have seven children, ranging from 9 months to 10 years old.

John and Amy started The Ruckman Group in conjunction with John's parents, John and Tami, in 2017. John (the son) had previously spent several years working with Jerry Scott and Scott Auctioneering in Mount Vernon.

“(Jerry) kind of suggested he had intentions of slowing down, so I started my own company while he was slowing down. We kind of picked up (where he left off),” Ruckman said. “And he still works with us, so it was kind of a role reversal. But the timing was really good because he was wanting to slow down as we were wanting to pick up.”

The Ruckman Group handles everything from personal estate auctions and community benefit auctions to the Knox County Farm Consignment Auction.

“I like to tell people I can sell the earth and everything on it,” Ruckman said with a chuckle. “In all honesty, we’re never really focused on one thing for too terribly long. We’re jumping from an estate auction, where maybe the parents have passed away, to doing a benefit auction one day and a couple days later, we may be selling a piece of land. It’s a continual roll.”

Ruckman, who was home-schooled on his family’s farm on State Route 586, between Mount Vernon and Martinsburg, has been interested in auctioneering since his teenage years.

He attended Reppert Auction School in Auburn, Indiana while still in high school, and has been knee-deep in the industry ever since, serving as an apprentice and a contract auctioneer before eventually starting his own company (Ruckman also worked for his grandparents’ trucking company during the early years).

Auctioneering is an interpersonal profession, Ruckman explained. That’s why he loves it. The bulk of his time is dedicated to meeting new people and learning their stories, in an effort to deliver them the best results possible.

“I really enjoy being able to help people solve their issues, and it’s a profession where I am able to always be doing something different. A lot of it is the same (from auction to auction) … but within that, there’s a lot of uniqueness to each auction you do,” said Ruckman, whose business serves Knox County and north central Ohio.

“And this profession provides me with the opportunity to continually improve myself. I’m on the board of the Ohio Auctioneers Association, and they provide a bunch of education and people you can talk to. But you’re never at the top. There’s always something else to work on, something else to improve, another challenge for you to try to take on,” he continued.

“So I really enjoy those aspects of the industry, and just the profession as a whole. … I’ve met a lot of really great people and have been able to help them just by doing what I do.”

This passion for relationship-building and problem-solving also factored into Ruckman’s decision to run for City Council, he said.

“(Auctioneering) is all about being able to help people and improve processes. I have gotten a good bit of experience in that over the years, coming up with solutions to fix problems. … And a large portion of what we do comes down to teamwork – working with people towards the same goal. That’s one of the things I am most looking forward to (when it comes to serving on City Council),” Ruckman said.

“There are a lot of people around here, administratively and in leadership positions, who want to see the best for Mount Vernon and Knox County … and it’s an exciting prospect, to be able to work with those people to accomplish those sorts of things.”

Ruckman said progress is already being made in the 2nd Ward, with the former Siemens campus (now called Heartland Commerce Park) back under local control and Knox Area Transit set to build a new facility on West High Street. If elected, Ruckman said his goal would be to aid in the continuation of that progress.

“I’d really love to see continued economic development in our area,” Ruckman said. “I’m excited to see some of the things going on and learn more about what it is we can do to help those things along.”

Ruckman added that “there are things the 2nd Ward faces that others don't … issues that are more pressing issues on this side of town,” such as drug abuse. He lauded Francis for his work on that front, and said he’d continue the search for solutions if elected.

“I think John has done an excellent job of drawing attention to (drug issues),” Ruckman said, “and I’d definitely like to think I’d be able to continue drawing attention to those issues, while working with the Mount Vernon Police Department to see what we can do to tackle those challenges.”

>> John Ruckman is one of two City Council candidates running unopposed for their first term in-office. To read about Mike Miller, who is running to represent the 4th Ward, click here.

Ruckman is a busy man. On top of running the family business and home-schooling seven children alongside his wife, Amy, he is a member of the Mount Vernon Rotary Club and the Knox County Junior Fair Sales Committee. He serves on the Ohio Auctioneers Association’s Board of Directors and is a Knox Starting Point board member.

The Ruckmans are active members of Faith Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, and are beginning to get involved with 4-H and the county fair in a new way, as the oldest children age into livestock showmanship.

“That’s something that’s really special to us, my wife and I, because we kind of met through home-schooling and 4-H,” John Ruckman said. He and Amy both showed market lambs.

“We were both involved in it, and now (our two oldest children) are aging into it as well, with the rest to follow, so we’re getting to experience our first couple years of being parents of 4-H exhibitors. That makes the fair a completely different experience for us.”

And yet, despite this hectic schedule, Ruckman still believes it’s his time to run for public office. He said he’d been considering it for a while, and when it became clear last fall that Francis would not run again, Ruckman chose to put his hat in the ring.

“I thought it was a good opportunity to actually jump in and be able to serve where you are,” Ruckman said.

Ruckman said he’s running because he has a vested interest in the community’s future – not only as a resident and business owner, but also as a father.

“Being someone who was raised here, I’ve told a couple people that my reason for running is this: I come from a family local to the area, I work at a locally owned business, and the other thing is, I have a stake in the community’s future because we have all of our kids living in Mount Vernon’s 2nd Ward. It’s not just about coming from here, but also looking at what we can do moving forward,” Ruckman said.

“I’ll be honest, our kids are a huge source of motivation for that. That is a huge source of motivation to want to get involved and get your hands dirty, to see what you can do to improve the town you’re raising your children in. That’s not to say it’s bad, but if you can make it better … I feel like you have the obligation to do that.”