Page 20--SUSQUEHANNA BULLETIN
Betty Groff attends Nationwide Board of Directors meeting in Ohio
‘Each one of us has a
purpose.’
After she had been
selected as the first woman
ever to sit on the board of
directors for Nationwide
Corporation, Betty Groff
had a glimpse into the board
room in Columbus, Ohio,
and saw the massive chairs
grouped. around the im-
pressive long table.
The night before her first
board meeting last Thurs-
day she didn’t sleep very
soundly. She kept dreaming
about sitting in one of those
huge directors’ chairs and
feeling lost in it.
But next day, seated as
the one woman among the
eleven other male directors,
Betty Groff felt ‘‘very
comfortable.”
She was escorted into that
impressive room on the arm
of J. F. Timilty, 80-year-old
former police commissioner
of the city of Boston, a
distinguished gentleman
with a reputation for escor-
ing ladies, having been a
frequent escort for Rose
Kennedy. One of the other
board members remarked
that it would have been
inappropriate for any board
member other than Timilty
f to escort the first woman
director into Nationwide’s
board room.
Nationwide had brought
Betty to Columbus in the
company jet, which put
down at Olmstead just for
her.
Some changes had to be
made to ready Nationwide’s
headquarters for their first
female director. There was
no ladies room for the
directors. One had to be
constructed and then mark-
ed with a shiny new brass
plate: ‘LADIES.”’
“If you just say ‘yes’ at the
right time.”’
“¢...a whole new world for
’
me.
In chairman Jeffers’ ele-
gantly appointed private
dining room, where the
directors adjourned briefly
for refreshments, one of
them remarked that Betty
‘added class to the coffee
break.”
Betty was impressed too
by her colleagues, all
leaders from many different
professional backgrounds.
She was impressed by their
concern, not just for the
welfare of Nationwide Insu-
rance, but for the condition
of the country and of the
entire world, of which they
keenly recognize they are a
part.
The directors discussed
possible ways to get people
more interested in work,
government, and economic
problems like the shortage
of energy.
Betty was impressed most
of all by the integrity and
the concern for people
shown by her fellow direc-
tors.
Pioneer Fire Company to dedicate
by Hazel Baker
Judges for the Marietta
Pioneer Fire Company No. 1
dedication parade to be held
Saturday, May 31, at 3 p.m.
will be Mrs. Henry Lenhert,
Lenherts Cabinet Shop,
Marietta; Elton Reed, Howe
Fire Apparatus Company;
Dennis Murray, chief of
Londonderry Fire Company;
and John Blessing, chief of
Liberty Fire Company, Mid-
dletown.
The parade route will be
east on Market Street to
Chestnut Street, north on
Chestnut Street to East
Walnut to the War Memori-
al Park where it will
disband. A carnival featur-
New Fire Hall
ing the Adams Brothers as
entertainment, as well as
games and food will be
available for the remainder
of the evening.
It is said that a disastrous
fire, consuming nearly a
block of frame houses along
Front Street in Marietta
about 1838, started the
She feels she has a lot to
learn on many different
subjects, . but is confident
she can make a worthwhile
contribution in her new role
as a leader in one of the
major economic enterprises
in the country.
Betty Groff is very grate-
ful to local people who
recommended her for the
directorship. ‘‘They’re o-
pening up a whole new.
world for me.
“I've benefitted from
Abe’s (her husband’s) ex-
periences as township su-
pervisor. He’s benefitting
from my new experiences...
“Life is so full of
surprises. If you just say
‘yes’ at the right time, every
day becomes a greater
challenge.
‘““Each one of us has a
purpose. When we are
willing to accept that, there
is no end to the possibili-
ties.”’
‘Life is so full of
surprises. . . Opportunities
come along.
movement for an organized
fire company for the com-
munity. In the early spring
of 1840 a group of citizens
met in the interest of fire
prevention and fire fighting.
They applied for a state act
of incorporation under the
name of Pioneer Fire Com-
pany of Marietta. The first
meeting after incorporation
was held in January of 1841.
John L. Libhart was elected
the first president.
A new hand pumper for
two men was bought and
housed on April 24, 1841.
The next piece of equip-
ment, a used suction type
pump, was purchased June
16, 1869. A Silsby Rotary
‘Some people thought 1 was
foolish...’
A young woman, Betty
Groff looks back to the time
she and Abe started their
own business, Groff’s Farm
Restaurant. ‘‘Abe said 1
could do this as a hobby.
Some people thought I was
foolish, giving up my
privacy, letting strangers
into my house, but they
didn’t know how much I like
people, lots of people.
“I've always considered
this the diamond in my own
backyard. :
“lI don’t believe that
success is something you go
in search of. Success is
happiness in being where
you are. You measure
success in happiness and
satisfaction. . .
‘Opportunity knocks but
once. Success is the ability
of accepting opportunities.
If you don’t accept opportu-
nities, put them off, they
don’t knock again.
Steam Engine was obtained
in 1872; a hook and ladder
the same year; a chemical
truck in 1920, as well as a
rotary pump, motorized by
members of the company in
1927 and used until 1959. In
1946 a two stage centifugal
750 GPM American La
France pumper was placed
May 28, 1975
“You make a few mis-
takes, if you procrastinate
long enough. You have to
have confidence and faith,
and then move.
‘“My father told me never
to set financial goals. He
said, ‘Setyour goals, but not
money goals. You'll be
disappointed if you do.’
“I've never set money
goals. . .
“We're so busy sharing
our life and enjoying each
other and what we're
doing.We never have the
time to be unhappy or worry
about any mistakes we
made.”’
Betty Groff said goodby to
the reporter from the
Susquehanna Bulletin, then
cheerily turned to the next
business for the day, saying
‘“Yes’’ to life as it come
along at Groff’s Farm.
‘...a diamond in my own
backyard.’
new fire hall, Saturday, May 31
into action and in 1959 a new
Howe pumper mounted on
an International chassis with
a S500 booster tank was
operated by the volunteers.
A squad truck was added in
1969 as well as the building
lot for the new structure
which will be dedicated on
May 31.
1841 Marietta fire engine