The Emporia Gazette

May 27, 2012

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Harry Groh, native Emporian, has been selected by the Sertoma Club of Emporia as the recipient of the Service to Mankind Award for 2008. Groh was presented the award by Kansas District Governor Terry Cuthbertson of Manhattan during the Emporia club’s dinner meeting on Feb. 27. The award is the highest recognition given to an individual who is not a member of a Sertoma Club.

Groh has been actively involved as a leader in many areas of the community. He is a past president and charter member of the Lyon County Crime Stoppers and is past president of the Lyon County Fair Board, spending many hours with other members and volunteers working to improve the fairgrounds throughout the year.

He has been a member of the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and served a term as president of the Emporia Sunrise Rotary Group. He is a charter member and vice president of the Soden’s Grove veterans organization and has been an active member of American Legion Ball-McColm Post 5 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars posts. He served with the 69th Infantry Brigade in the Vietnam War as a platoon leader for an engineering group and received many awards and decorations, including the Bronze Star. He also has been involved in many community activities with other organizations. One of his hobbies is barbecuing and he and others have often cooked and grilled for large groups.

Groh purchased Groh Printing in 1969, which he operated for 40 years before he sold the business in 2007. He then continued to work part time during the ownership transition.

He and his wife, Kay Patterson Groh, have three children, Brian, Robert and Debbie, and three grandchildren. They are members of the First United Methodist Church.