This year’s honoree, Mr. Kristopher L. Swartz, is being recognized for his significant contributions to society. Kris is a 1979 Rossford High School graduate.
Kris holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from The Ohio State University. He is a fifth generation farmer from Wood County that grows nearly 2,000 acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat on family farms and rented property in the Western Lake Erie Basin.
Kris received the American Soybean Association’s DuPont Young Leader Award for Ohio in 1994. He has served as a supervisor for the Wood County Soil and Water Conservation District since 1995 and is currently the chairman of the board. He was selected Ohio’s Outstanding Conservation District Board Member in 2017. Kris served as President of the Ohio Federation of Conservation Districts from 2015-2017. He was awarded the OFSWCD’s President’s Award in both 2019 and 2020. He currently serves as an advisor of the OFSWCD and is the regional chair of the National Association of Conservation Districts. He also chairs the Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative, a coalition of agricultural, environmental, and educational groups working for water quality improvements in Ohio.
In 2018, Kris was awarded the Olin Sims National Conservation Leadership Award for promoting conservation on private and public lands. He served on the steering committee of Ohio Smart Agriculture, a Solutions from the Land project funded by the Kellogg Foundation. In addition, he has been a member of the Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission and the Distressed Watershed Task Force. He has hosted numerous directors from ODA, ODNR, EPA, as well as Governor DeWine on his farm.
Kris resides in Perrysburg Township with his wife, Sue. They are both 1979 graduates of Rossford High School. Their daughters, Amanda (’04) and Katie (’06), are also Rossford High School graduates. Kris has two wonderful sons-in-law and four adorable grandchildren.