Connie Allen's journey led her to Leadership Coshocton County

Connie Allen was born and raised in Coshocton County, attending the River View Local School District until her freshman year of high school.

Her father was a masonry contractor who built many homes in Coshocton County including near Hickory Flats Golf Course. When her family moved into one of these homes, Allen attended Ridgewood High School. She finished her freshman year at Ridgewood and graduated early, her junior year, in 1976.

When she was at River View, she was involved in 4-H and Student Council, but after moving to a new school, she said she found it tough to get involved.

One month after graduation, she married Donnie Allen, and she would help her grandfather’s construction business with office work — billing, payroll and whatever else was needed.

When her husband began working for the coal mines, they moved to Gallia County for six years. She was very involved with the church they attended.

“Different things happened in life that caused me to get involved in organizations,” she said.

When their son Victor was born, she was a stay-at-home mom and said, “I was never bored in my life.”

Not long after, they moved back to Coshocton. As a stay-at-home mom, Allen was very involved in her son’s life.

“I loved every minute of it and wouldn’t change a thing,” Allen said.

She volunteered at the school so much she said people thought she worked there. She said she was very involved and went to everything — PTO, football boosters, was a classroom tutor and was on the board of the Coshocton City School Foundation at one time. She also worked at the Coshocton Christian School as a secretary and substitute teacher.

Now that her son is grown, with his own business, Vic Allen Construction, she helps when the need arises with office work and whatever else, just as she did for her grandfather.

Allen volunteers with Women of Witness in the jail ministry and hopes to complete training to volunteer with the Pregnancy Center of Coshocton and lead a weekly Bible study.

Kat Blust had recommended Leadership Coshocton County to Allen, who said she would have never thought about it if Kat hadn’t mentioned it. She said she thought it would be interesting to learn more about Coshocton and has enjoyed getting to know the people in the program.

“They’re like another family,” she said.

When asked her view of the community, Allen said, “When you’re born in a place, you don’t always appreciate it until you move away. A small town is a good place to raise a family. I missed the people, not necessarily the town, when we lived in Gallipolis.”

To make the county stronger, Allen said, “It’s good to have the right people in place that see things that need to improve.”

Allen said she would recommend Leadership Coshocton County for others because of the learning experience, learning about leadership and meeting new people.

"It will make you a better person," she said. "I love to learn. I’ve learned a lot in my life and am thankful for all the experiences. I feel fortunate to be in the class and help others be better leaders. My life is to do what God wants me to do and serve people.”