Trusting In The Future

Some of us get to spend our leisure time doing recreational things like hot ballooning, motorcycling, racing horses and cooking.

John Harbal, president and CEO of Impact Products, Toledo, Ohio, spends his free time doing audits and worrying about multi-million dollar budgets.

John is a member of the board of trustees for Bowling Green State University. The university, located in Bowling Green, Ohio, enrolls more than 21,000 students and operates a $240 million budget.

Before joining the Bowling Green board in 2001, John served as a member on his local school board as well as Bowling Green’s business school advisory board. John now chairs the board's finance committee, and sits on two other committees. Board members serve for nine years, and spend a year as the board chair. John will begin his term as chair in July 2009.

Generally, John spends 10-12 hours a month on board activities. The trustees oversee the university president, help set university policies, and keep an eye on the school’s physical plant, academics and mission.

John says the thing that keeps him up at night regarding his Bowling Green trusteeship is money. “When I joined the board, 52 percent of the university’s revenue was from the state of Ohio,” John said. “Now it’s down to 27 percent. The fiscal health of the institution is paramount in everybody’s mind,” he says.

Besides serving the university's finacnial goals, John is also involved in Bowling Green’s football program. If you’ve ever been to a college football game, you’ve probably seen the plainclothes people who stand with the football team on the sidelines, watching the game. I’ve always wondered who those people are. At Bowling Green, some of those people are members of the board of trustees, including John.

“Being on the football field with the team is a side benefit of being on the board,” John said. “We do so at our own expense.” He's cheered on the team at Ohio State, the University of Michigan, Penn State, the University of Oklahoma, and when they played the University of Wisconsin at the Cleveland Browns’ stadium.

“Being with the team and seeing how they react to success and to setbacks is very special,” John explained. “You can literally see the ebb and flow of the game on the players’ faces.”

He loves being close to the football program. “You get to know the players, and it’s gratifying to see them grow as human beings and not just football players,” John said.

John and two of his daughters are alumni of Bowling Green. John’s grandsons Maxwell, 4, and Lukas, 2, attend the football games and sit on the sidelines with their grandpa. Those little boys will probably follow in their grandfather’s footsteps and attend Bowling Green when the time comes.

Is his involvement with the football team John’s favorite perk as a board member? John said no. “While I accepted the appointment to the board in order to ‘give back,’ I’ve received much more than I’ve given,” he said.

Because of his continued leadership, 21,000 students, and future Bowling Green attendees have a chance for a great education and an even better time on the football field.

Gretchen Roufs, an 18-year janitorial supply industry veteran, owns Auxiliary Marketing Services of San Antonio. To suggest someone you think should be featured in “freetime,” contact her at GretchenRoufs@aol.com.