Democratic Club names woman of the year

Beth A. Knezevich has been chosen as the 2018 Woman of the Year of the Lake County Democratic Women’s Club.

The Lake County Democratic Women’s Club is celebrating 80 years as a Chartered Democratic Club in 2018. Beth is an exemplary member in the Lake County Democratic Women’s Club.

According to a news release from the club:

Knezevich is a current resident of Painesville Township.

She was born in Willoughby, grew up in Concord Township and graduated from Riverside High School in Painesville Township. She worked her way through college, receiving an Associates Degree from Lakeland Community College and then continued on to Cleveland State University where she received a Bachelor’s Degree from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs.

She has been employed as a Legal Secretary at McDonald Hopkins LLC in Cleveland, Ohio for 18 years. She is a five-year volunteer for the Cleveland Clinic VeloSano Bike to Cure and as co-captain of this year’s Team McDonald Hopkins, she rode her bike 50 miles in the VeloSano and the team raised over $8,000 for cancer research. Knezevich rides in honor of her mother, Barbara.

She assists McDonald Hopkins attorneys at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland Veterans Clinic and has also volunteered with the McDonald Hopkins / Cleveland Indians Community Partners / Fields of the Future program in which the Cleveland Indians rehabilitated the Thurgood Marshall Recreation Center baseball and softball fields.

Knezevich is an eightyear Army veteran. She attended basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and advanced individual training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina where she was a graduate of the Adjutant General School, United States Army Soldier Support Institute’s Legal Specialist Course. She was promoted to the rank of Sergeant after graduating from the Noncommissioned Officers Primary Leadership Development Course at the U.S. Army NCO Academy at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. She served six (6) years in the 319th Quartermaster Battalion and served two years with the 9th LSO (Legal Support Organization) based out of Columbus, Ohio.

During her service in the Army, she received an impressive number of military awards: Armed Forces Medal w/M device (mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom); Army Achievement Medal (Meritorious Service while on active duty at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Certificate Of Appreciation from the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg Office of the Staff Judge Advocate; Certificate of Commendation (Soldier of the Year/Association of the U.S. Army, Newton D. Baker Chapter); Certificate of Commendation (U.S. Army NCO Academy); and Army Achievement Medal (Awarded by the Cleveland Recruiting Battalion in Cleveland, Ohio). She also did a tandem parachute jump with the United States Army parachute team – Golden Knights.

Besides her active membership and activity in the Lake County Democratic Women’s Club, Knezevich is a member of the Ohio Township Association, the American Planning Association (Ohio Chapter), and the Riverside High School Alumni Association.

She has served on the Painesville Township Zoning Commission, including one year as vice-chair. She also served on Painesville Township’s Comprehensive Plan Committee. She is in charge of organizing Painesville Township’s Family Fun Day annual Classic Car Cruise-In. Donations to the Cruise-In have provided canned food to St. Gabriel’s Food Pantry and support to a local veterans organization. The 2018 Cruise-In raised money for a 2-year old Painesville Township resident who is fighting leukemia.

Knezevich has volunteered with The NewsHerald Clothe-A-Child Program for many years. Clothe-A-Child provides new clothing and shoes for children in need in Lake and Geauga counties.

She has served on the Riverside Local School District Building and Design Committee and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Lake County Land Reutilization Corporation.

She has also been a Lake County Elections official.

Knezevich