Donna Grube & LIA President Brian Morris

Donna Grube has been named the 2024 Guardian of the Lake by the Lake Improvement Association. The Guardian of the Lake Award is presented to an individual who has taken extraordinary action to improve Grand Lake St. Marys.

For more than 20 years, Donna has worked to promote recreation and heritage tourism sites in the two-county area to bring more tourism dollars into the local economy.

During her tenure, she and Social Media Manager Jeni Bertke produced work that garnered more than 30 statewide marketing awards. Most of those were for items that promoted Grand Lake as a great vacation destination.

She has been involved with many local and statewide organizations that promote tourism. She served as president of the Ohio Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, was a board member for the Ohio Travel Association, was president of the Ohio Byway Links organization, and served as vice chair for ODOT’s State Byway Advisory Board.

She has served on the Lake Restoration Commission, Lake Development Corporation, the Mercer County Courthouse 100th Anniversary Celebration Committee, and First on the Moon, Inc. She currently serves on the board for the Armstrong Air and Space Museum, the Fort Recovery Opera House Committee, is secretary for the Mercer County Historical Society, and Vice Chair for the Maria Stein Relic Shrine Board of Directors. She has also volunteered for the Celina Lake Festival, the St. Marys Kiwanis Club’s Fall Walk with Nature, the Celina Chamber’s Leadership History and Tourism Day, and the Bar Stool Open.

Donna retired in May 2024, leaving a lasting legacy on the Grand Lake region. We thank Donna for her decades of service and wish her the best as she begins a new chapter.