The Presidents Club of Dayton earlier announced this year that Barlow would receive this year’s Citizen Legion of Honor nod. She will have a bronze plaque memorializing the honor at the convention center.
The award, bestowed since 1951 (2020 was a pandemic exception) is the oldest and most continuous recognition of volunteer leadership in the Dayton region.
The club saluted Barlow for her numerous civic roles, serving as a board leader on the Dayton Foundation; Miami Valley Military Affairs Association and Girl Scouts of Western Ohio as well as Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce; Air Camp; The Abilities Connection; Tait Foundation and many others.
For the club, the choice was clear: Barlow is a retired Air Force officer who served as 88th Air Base Wing and installation commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and current chief executive of the Strategic Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE), a role in which Barlow has been answering one of her chief callings — helping to prepare young people for productive lives.
“Dr. Cassie Barlow is a local, regional and national leader who has been a driving force behind higher education and workforce preparation in the Miami Valley region,” the club said.
Barlow’s Wright-Patt assignment capped her 26-year Air Force career. More than one person Thursday expressed gratitude that she and her family chose to remain in the Dayton area on her retirement from the service.
“We are very lucky as a region that Cassie decided to stay right here,” said Debbie Lieberman, Montgomery County commissioner.
For her part, Barlow voiced gratitude — to God, her family, the President’s Club, past Citizen Legion of Honor honorees and her colleagues.
In particular, Barlow offered an extended homage to her mother — a member of the what she called the “greatest generation” — for the example and lessons that set her and her siblings on their current paths.
Her mother, a second-generation American, passed away last year at the age of 93. She graduated from college in 1949, earning a degree in physical education at a time when roles for women in that field were rare.
The elder Barlow created athletic opportunities for young women long before Title IX enshrined legal protections for women in sports in the early 1970s.
“I can’t remember a day in my life when she wasn’t giving back to the community that gave her everything, whether it was as a volunteer in the community or coach or mentor or PTA member, working with friends to build a neighborhood community center or volunteering in the schools,” Barlow said.
“My mom and dad set the example for duty and for service and taught us the difference between right and wrong,” she added.
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