Progress made to name OSU-Marion gym after Greg Swepston

MARION — The push to honor a Marion icon continues.

Friends and family of the late Greg Swepston ― a teacher, coach and athletic director at Marion Harding — are in the midst of raising funds to name the gymnasium at The Ohio State University-Marion after him and to help refurbish the space.

In early December, the effort was about a third of the way toward the goal of $250,000, raising $74,750.

The Marion County Youth Foundation recently okayed the gift of $25,000 to the project. Swepston was a longtime trustee with the MCYF and instrumental in organizing the annual Charity-Celebrity Golf Outing by lining up the celebrity golfers and brining them to the community.

"What a way to put a stamp on creating this longevity of this organization. It is putting forth some money to a person who was an integral part of it historically. That’s a big story in and of itself," MCYF President Steve Conway said.

The $25,000 is the largest donation given to the project so far.

"The Swepston (gift) is something very special and kind of unique and totally different based on a legend in regards to what he did in the community and what his participation was in regards to the Marion County Youth Foundation," Conway added.

Swepston was born and raised in Columbus and was a graduate of Ohio State where he played on the freshman baseball team. His first teaching job in the 1960s was at the Marion City Schools and it quickly became his home for the rest of his life. He was a teacher and later the head baseball and basketball coach for the Presidents. He then served a long stint as the high school's athletic director.

Swepston was a Major League Baseball scout for decades and was a season ticket holder to Ohio State football and basketball games. He served the community on many boards, including the Marion County Youth Foundation where he was among the pillars of that organization, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Marion County youth.

He died in March of 2020, and because of shutdowns due to the early stages the coronavirus pandemic, a public memorial service couldn't be held.

Friends and family gathered in the space they hope gains his name in October to kickoff the fundraising campaign and celebrate his gregarious life with music, slideshows, speakers, a silent auction, a display of some of his memorabilia collection and lots of stories.

The deadline to raise the $250,000 is the end of April. Due to his love and background with baseball, there are different levels of sponsorship: grand slam ($10,000 or more), home run ($5,000-$9,999), triple ($2,500-$4,999), double ($1,000-$2,499) and single ($500-$999). Donors who reach any of these levels will be added to a permanent plaque in the gymnasium upon the renovation's completion.

All donations of any size are welcome and not all money needs to be given by April. OSUM is taking pledges that can be broken into quarterly, semi-annual and annual payments for as many as five years. Checks and credit cards are acceptable.

More information can be learned by calling 740-725-6069 or by emailing gerber.10@osu.edu or somerlot.30@osu.edu and asking about fund number 317597 (Alber Gymnasium Fund).

Besides the naming rights, the university will use the funds for replacing the lighting, refinishing the floor, replacing acoustical panels, replacing the southwest doors, adding a window to the north side and painting the walls and ceiling.

"It’s a really nice donation for a great project and maybe we can put a stamp on the Marion County Youth Foundation as the lead endeavor in this project to make it successful and to help kids in our community," Conway said.

rmccurdy@gannett.com

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