2025 Holiday Party & Maynard Distinguished Leader Award Celebration
2025 Holiday Party & Maynard Distinguished Leader Award Celebration
Honoring Kemp Boyd (Signature Class 33)
Thursday, December 11, 2025, 4:00-7:00pm
Greystone Hall
Esteemed Alumni – You're invited to an inspiring evening of connection, celebration, and inspiration at Leadership Akron’s 2025 Alumni Holiday Party and Maynard Distinguished Leader Award presentation! This year, we are proud to honor Kemp Boyd, an unwavering community champion and graduate of Signature Class 33, as the recipient of the 2025 Maynard Distinguished Leader Award. This award is part of the Leadership Akron Life Trustee Awards Trinity.
Join us in recognizing Kemp’s exceptional leadership and commitment to building a more connected and compassionate Greater Akron. Together, we’ll honor the past, celebrate the present, and look ahead to a bright future as we recognize the incredible leadership shaping Greater Akron.
4:00 – 5:00 PM | VIP Reception
Exclusive gathering with Kemp Boyd, along with past award awardees, and Leadership Akron alumni
Enjoy appetizers and one complimentary drink ticket as you connect with some of Greater Akron’s most impactful leaders in an intimate setting
5:00 – 7:00 PM Alumni Holiday Party & Award Presentation
Celebrate with fellow Leadership Akron alumni during an evening filled with connections and inspiration. Highlights include:
Connect with fellow alumni and community partners
Celebrate Akron’s spirit of leadership with the presentation of the 2025 Maynard Distinguished Leader Award
Reflections on our impact and a look ahead at what’s next for Leadership Akron
Appetizers and one complimentary drink ticket. Additional beverages are available for purchase.
Don't miss this inspiring and festive evening as we honor transformational leadership and raise a toast to the future of our shared community.
**Individual ticket sales will start on November 10, 2025.
About Kemp Boyd
Kemp Boyd is a visionary leader and servant-hearted advocate whose work has bridged communities, inspired collaboration, and uplifted youth across Greater Akron. As Executive Director of Love Akron, he leads a citywide coalition of churches, nonprofits, and civic partners committed to fostering unity, addressing systemic challenges, and promoting transformational leadership rooted in faith and service.
A graduate of Leadership Akron Signature Class 33, Kemp’s leadership extends across multiple sectors, including mental health, faith-based initiatives, education, and youth development. He is a respected speaker, co-pastor at Garden City Church, and head football coach at Kenmore-Garfield High School, where he inspires student-athletes far beyond the game.
Kemp is known not only for his accomplishments but for his authenticity, integrity, humility, and unwavering belief in Akron’s potential. His leadership embodies the values of service, empathy, and inclusive progress—making him a truly distinguished honoree.
Tax Deductible Amounts
- Title Sponsor: Leader = $9,200
- Mission Sponsor: Strengthening = $4,400
- Mission Sponsor: Inspiring = $2,100
- Mission Sponsor: Visionary = $800
Kemp Boyd
2024 Maynard Distinguished Leader Awardee
The Maynard Distinguished Leader Award honors an individual whose long-standing leadership reflects exceptional integrity, vision, and commitment to community. This award is part of the Leadership Akron Life Trustee Awards Trinity. This year’s recipient, Kemp Boyd, Executive Director of Love Akron, embodies these values through his tireless work to foster unity, lead with humility, and bridge divides across Greater Akron.
With a background that spans sports, ministry, and nonprofit leadership, Kemp’s journey has been anything but conventional – but his mission has always been consistent: to create spaces where people feel seen, valued, and heard. At Love Akron, he has led transformative initiatives that bring together faith communities, civic leaders, and organizations across sectors to address pressing issues with honesty, empathy, and collaboration.
A member of Leadership Akron Signature Class 33 and its Executive Board, Kemp has become a trusted voice in times of both celebration and crisis. From leading prayer gatherings and unity events during times of civic unrest, to facilitating honest dialogue around race, equity, and healing, Kemp shows up with both strength and grace – guiding our city toward deeper connection and shared purpose.
Whether mentoring young men through athletics, leading corporate culture change workshops, or offering spiritual guidance as a pastor, Kemp approaches every role with a servant’s heart and a leader’s vision. His leadership is deeply relational, boldly collaborative, and firmly rooted in his faith and love for Akron.
Through Love Akron, he has built bridges with civic leaders, churches, corporations, and nonprofits – bringing diverse voices together to solve problems and build trust.
In honoring Kemp Boyd, we celebrate a leader who doesn’t just talk about change – he builds the trust, relationships, and momentum required to make it real.
About the Award
The Distinguished Leader Award was created in 1987 to recognize Leadership Akron Alumni who have made extraordinary and notable contributions for the betterment of their community by voluntarily initiating and/or being a significant driving force behind a particular project or issue of critical relevance and impact on the Greater Akron area. Each year, the award recognizes an individual or group of individuals whose efforts have, in this way, embodied the mission and work of Leadership Akron in proliferating community leadership and strengthening the Akron community's well-being.
Leadership Akron renamed it the Maynard Distinguished Leader Award in 2024 to honor the life and leadership of Phil Maynard, an extraordinary leader, philanthropist, and steadfast advocate for Greater Akron. Phil’s legacy in Akron is one of tireless dedication, from his rise as a local business leader and founder of ASW International to his influential roles with Leadership Akron, Akron Children's Hospital Foundation, Akron-Canton Foodbank, and numerous nonprofits. His work helped strengthen the Greater Akron community in lasting ways, including his pivotal role in establishing Leadership Akron’s endowment fund to support future leaders.
Criteria
Recognizes a Leadership Akron alumnus/alumni whose voluntary leadership has made an extraordinary and lasting impact on the Greater Akron community by serving as the driving force behind a significant project or issue of critical relevance.
LEADERSHIP AKRON ALUMNI
Nominee must be a Leadership Akron Alumni.
VOLUNTEER-DRIVEN LEADERSHIP
The contribution recognized must be rooted in voluntary service; efforts primarily connected to the nominee’s professional role are not eligible.
EXTRAORDINARY CIVIC IMPACT
Nominee has made a notable, voluntary contribution that goes beyond routine community involvement, serving as a significant force behind a specific project or in addressing a critical issue affecting Greater Akron.
EMBODIMENT OF PHIL MAYNARD’S LEGACY
Nominee reflects the spirit of Phil Maynard, demonstrating tireless dedication, generosity, and leadership that strengthen the community and inspire future leaders.
COMMUNITY RELEVANCE
The project or issue must have demonstrably advanced the well-being of the Greater Akron area, creating meaningful and measurable change.
Past Honorees
We have had the honor of celebrating the leadership of these individuals with the Maynard Distinguished Leader Award.
2024 | Phil Maynard * (posthumously)
2023 | Judi Hill
2022 | Sherry Neubert ‘27
2020 | All alumni in the Healthcare Industry, Leadership Akron’s Healthcare Heroes
2019 | Brian Miner '18
2018 | Betsy L. B. Hartschuh '10
2017 | Nick Browning '01 and Kirstin Toth '11
2016 | Norma J. Rist '86
2015 | Kelly Pariso '12
2014 | James E. Merklin '03
2013 | Karen C. Lefton '07
2012 | Mark E. Krohn '03
2011 | H. Sean Fremon ‘09
2010 | William W. Lowery '01 and Christine C. Yuhasz '05
2009 | Frances A. Doll '88
2008 | Joseph D. Parsons '91
2007 | J. Bruce Hunsicker '93 *
2006 | Scott T. Read '03 and Jefferson E. Satterfield '01
2005 | Marc B. Merklin '98
2004 | Steven L. Marks '93
2003 | W. Riley Lochridge '87
2002 | Fr. Norman K. Douglas '97 and Lawrence W. Vuillemin '99
2001 | Laurie Zuckerman '91
2000 | George R. Sarkis '86
1999 | Pamela S. Williams '92
1998 | Leonard M. Foster '92
1997 | Knute Larson, D. Min. '87
1996 | Frank J. Horn '96 *
1995 | Steven P. Schmidt, Ph.D. '92
1994 | Richard C. Fedorovich '88
1993 | Mary L. Briggs '89
1992 | Frank D. Heckel '87
1991 | James P. Nilsen '87
1990 | Michael R. Kura '89
1989 | Barbara D. Mathews '86 *
1987 | Marie E. Covington '85
*deceased