Lucille L. Hastings
Holmes County (1929 – )
2007 Women's Hall of Fame Inductee -- Community Service

A volunteer leader, Ms. Hastings' continued commitment to libraries, agriculture and public policy has improved the quality of life for many in Holmes County, Ohio.

Nominated by Marilyn Byers
Retired Ashland County Commissioner

Lucille Hastings is a volunteer leader devoted to improving the quality of life for others in her community through her work with libraries, agriculture and public policy.

As a college senior in 1951, Ms. Hastings went to New York City to be the Denison University delegate to the Women in the Defense Decade Conference where she met Eleanor Roosevelt. This experience shaped the way in which Ms. Hastings has valued working “for the good of others.” Since, she has dedicated her life to being a community leader striving to make a difference in her community.

Though a professional librarian, Ms. Hastings, a pioneer in the consolidation of elementary classroom collections into real libraries, served in a volunteer capacity for libraries throughout her adult life. Among the many positions she held and boards on which she served are: President of the Holmes County District Public Library, officer, board member and convention chair for the Ohio Educational Library Media Association, president and founding member of the Mid-Ohio Library Association, chair of the Ohio Pupil Teachers Reading Circle Selection Board, and an appointed member of the Board of the State Library of Ohio. As an advocate for unlimited library cooperation, Ms. Hastings urged for expanded library collections and programs for the underserved, especially school children.

Ms. Hastings had many firsts in her work with Ohio’s agriculture. Not only was she the first female president of the Holmes County Farm Bureau, she was also the first woman appointed to the statewide Beef Check-Off Committee. She also was active in the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association as an advocate for improved agriculture. A long-time leader in OSU Cooperative Extension, Ms. Hastings also serves on Ohio’s Farmland Preservation Advisory Board.

As a volunteer, Ms. Hastings successfully managed the West Holmes Local School levies, winning fifteen renewals and approvals for new monies since 1972. She was elected to the Holmes County Republican Central Committee and is in her second term on the Holmes County Board of Elections.

Ms. Hastings is a community volunteer leader who acts to make the quality of life better; a citizen who is willing to step forward for a safe, stronger, fairer community; and an activist who has made a difference.