Outstanding corporate leader Robert J. Klonk to receive BVU’s Richard W. Pogue Civic Leadership Award for exceptional contributions to the community.
CLEVELAND, OHIO – Longtime business and community leader Robert J. Klonk, Chairman and CEO of Oswald Companies and Unison Risk Advisors, has been selected by Business Volunteers Unlimited (BVU) to receive the 2024 Richard W. Pogue Civic Leadership Award. Established in 2018, the award recognizes individuals who serve as role models for community engagement, board leadership, volunteerism, philanthropy, and business support of Northeast Ohio’s nonprofit sector. Previous recipients include Dick Pogue, Randy McShepard, Eddie Taylor, Beth Mooney, and Bruce Akers.
“This recognition describes Bob Klonk to a tee,” states Rick Fedorovich, Executive Chairman of Bober Markey Fedorovich and BVU Board Chair. “Bob sets the standard through his leadership, while Oswald exemplifies excellence in corporate community engagement.” Elizabeth Voudouris, President and CEO of BVU, adds, “We see Bob playing a leadership role with many nonprofits, and Oswald employees are often seen volunteering in the community – both as direct service volunteers and as board members for many of our community’s impactful nonprofit organizations. He has made Oswald’s core value of Commitment to Community a reality.”
By growing Oswald into a national powerhouse while nurturing a culture of employee volunteerism, Klonk has demonstrated that corporate community engagement and business success go hand-in-hand. Through its BVU partnership alone, the company has nominated 37 employees for board matching and completed over 25 volunteer projects with 600+ participating employees, for an estimated impact of $62,000 in donated time.
Klonk was previously recognized as a “Top 100 Insurance Industry Game Changer in the last century” by Leader’s Edge Magazine and the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers in 2013, and was the 2022 recipient of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Dick Pogue Award “for leadership in business and unrivaled commitment to the betterment of the community.” Klonk’s nonprofit board roles include Board Chair of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, Finance Committee Chair of the Cleveland Leadership Center, Board Member of Greater Cleveland Partnership, Advisory Trustee to the Board at NEOMED, former Board Chair of CIAB, and former Board Member of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and BVU. He is also a member of the 50 Club of Cleveland and serves as Chairman of Membership Committee at the Pepper Pike Club.
Klonk will receive the award at BVU’s Board Matching Class Celebration on December 12 at Oswald’s new downtown headquarters. The event will celebrate the next generation of community leaders elected to nonprofit board positions through BVU’s matching program, which has placed over 4,000 Northeast Ohio professionals since 1993. As Fedorovich explains, the award and corresponding celebration “illustrate that our region’s successful business leaders are highly committed to volunteerism and civic engagement,” embodying BVU’s founding belief that business professionals have a crucial role to play in addressing the most pressing challenges of our time.
BVU Board Matching Class Celebration featuring Presentation of the Richard W. Pogue Civic Leadership Award by BVU Board to Oswald’s Robert J. Klonk
Thursday, December 12th from 5-7PM | Oswald Tower, 950 Main Ave, Cleveland, OH
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ABOUT: Business Volunteers Unlimited (BVU) is a Northeast Ohio based organization that empowers businesses, nonprofits, and volunteers to make a bigger difference through nonprofit board service, skills-based volunteering, direct service volunteering, and high-caliber education and consulting. Over its 30-year history, BVU has helped over 375,000 volunteers make an impact.