This is the second of seven profiles of the 2020 honorees of the Outstanding Women of Clinton County Class of 2020. More information on the event, including how to obtain tickets, will appear at the end of each profile.
Marsha Wagstaff has a passion for public health as well as for her faith in God.
A third-generation Clinton County resident, she learned early in life that she wanted to be a nurse with a mission to assist people with mental health issues and those underserved by the traditional health care system.
When she returned to the community following completion of nursing school in 1973, she began a professional journey that included a partnership in a private dental practice, and later, a needs-based dental clinic; appointments with CMH Regional Health System; county health department where she served as a bioterrorism and emergency response coordinator; and as a health care practitioner in the county’s department of job and family services.
Wagstaff is widely known as a gifted grant writer, helping secure funding for a variety of services including, most recently, a mental health grant for Wilmington College students.
She has also served as a community liaison for Head Start, Help Me Grow, Clinton County Department of Jobs and Family Services, Family and Children First Council, the Ohio Department of Health Bureau of Oral Health, and the Charles F. Fischer Fund.
Since 2014, she has been an active member of the board of directors of the Mental Health and Recovery Services (MHRS) of Warren and Clinton Counties, and currently serves as its board chair.
With success in her professional life, she also experienced growth in her religious faith. An active member of the First Christian Church in Wilmington, she joined the diaconate in 2018, and poised to be named a church elder this year.
A woman of many talents, and uses her significant craft skills to create hand-made cards that she donates to the church in order to raise money to fund its youth mission project. Friends and family are recipients of her hand-made gifts and cards, and she is also always eager to adopt Angel Tree children in need.
Wagstaff has also been a member of the Six and Twenty Club since 1990, and has served as an officer of the Club including President, Vice President, Secretary, and Book Committee Chair.
A mother of two and a grandmother of one, Wagstaff has served as a 4-H leader and fishing club adviser, a school volunteer, and a Head Start volunteer.
She also serves on the committee to choose the Turner Scholarship winner from Wilmington High School, a scholarship that she helped coordinate with the daughter of her dear, late friend. The scholarship benefits deserving students who have demonstrated a commitment to improving their school community.
Wagstaff is also active with her family, and helps with her now 6-year-old granddaughter, whom she encourages to become an acolyte of the church. She also regularly volunteers at church, offering Children’s Moment sermons several times a year.
Wagstaff helped raise two successful children, a son who is a doctor of dental surgery and practicing dentist, and a daughter who has a doctor of philosophy and is a college professor.
She truly enjoys spending time with her family, and is known to be an avid lover of rescue dogs. Her current rescued companion is a pug.
Tickets for the 2020 Outstanding Women of Clinton County luncheon are $25 (cash or check accepted, payable to “OWCC”). Reservations can be made at the Wilmington News Journal, 1547 Rombach Ave., Wilmington, OH 45177. The News Journal’s office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
If you have any questions, please call 937-382-2574. Reservations will be accepted through Monday, March 2.
The event is sponsored by the Wilmington News Journal, with generous support from First State Bank, Peoples Bank, Wilmington Savings Bank, and Wilmington College.
