Faith Olson honored with the Drum Major for Peace award

BOWLING GREEN, O.—No one was more surprised at the announcement of the winner of the 16th annual Drum Major for Peace Award than its recipient, Faith Olson, fiscal officer for the College of Education and Human Development at Bowling Green State University. The award was presented Jan. 13 during the city of Bowling Green’s 23rd annual tribute honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“It’s amazing, truly a shock,” said Olson. “ I heard Dr. Barbara Keller reading the description of the honoree and thought ‘that sounds like me.’”

Keller, chair of the Bowling Green Human Relations Commission, and Olson are friends and it was Keller who asked her to go to the event.

Olson says she’s always been active in BGSU Classified Staff and volunteering opportunities on campus. Once she realized the volunteers for the MLK Day of Service didn’t get lunch, she helped organize a group that now makes 500 bag lunches for them to take with them.

In a sermon, just months before his death, King described the positive use of the drum major instinct as a guide for becoming a strong leader.

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(Posted January 18, 2012 )