MEDINA, Ohio - The city has lost one of its most energetic and brightest community leaders.
Barbara Smith, president of the Medina Kiwanis Club, was killed in a two-vehicle crash yesterday afternoon in Milton Township in Mahoning County.
Medina Kiwanis Club President Barbara Smith could light up a room with her smile. Smith, 61, was killed in a car crash in Mahoning County yesterday afternoon.
Smith, 61, lived in Girard near Youngstown, about 20 miles east of the crash site on Ohio 534 between Palmyra and Ellsworth roads.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol reported that a Jeep Liberty, driven by Judith Foster, 68, of Mercer, Pa., went left of center and struck Smith's Chevrolet Aveo head-on just after 1:30 p.m.
Smith died at the scene. Foster was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital with non-incapacitating injuries, according to the Highway Patrol.
Both women were wearing seatbelts, troopers said. The crash remains under investigation.
"Barb was a very active, vibrant Kiwanis member who will be missed by so many of us," Alan Penn, executive director of the Ohio District Kiwanis Foundation and a Medina Kiwanis member and resident, said in an email to fellow Kiwanians.
Smith was the current president of the Medina club and was also secretary of the Evening Medina Kiwanis, a past Kiwanis lieutenant governor and a former Ohio district president.
She was also the organizing force behind the upcoming First Night Medina event, slated for New Year's Eve.
Local musicians and artists will perform at numerous venues in and around the square in the evening, culminating in the launching of a bee into a beehive atop the bell tower of the county courthouse at midnight.
This is the first year for First Night in Medina. Smith had been the executive director of First Night Canfield for many years, and wanted to bring the family-friendly event to Medina.
"The Medina Kiwanis organization and First Night committee are committed to delivering a program that would make her proud," said committee member Pamela Wagner.
"Barb's last comments to me yesterday morning were about her excitement, as we were just about two weeks away from First Night," Wagner said.
"Barb was a wonderful person committed to serving children and her community. She had a passion for starting new things, and thrived on planning and implementation," she said.
More on First Night Medina
Venues for the New Year's Eve festivities include Uptown Park, the First Merit Bank on the square, Garfield Elementary School, Cups Cafe, City Hall and the United Church of Christ Congregational.
Admission is $10 for adults and free for children younger than 18. Admission buttons can be purchased at the Medina County Convention & Visitors Bureau and at both Medina Buehler's locations.
For more information, visit the First Night Medina Facebook page.