Monus, Owens Join Soil & Water Board; Scarsella Fills Open Seat
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Matthew Monus of Boardman and Dr. Fred Owens of Austintown recently joined the Mahoning County Soil & Water Conservation District’s board of supervisors after winning elections for the seats in November.
Meanwhile, Richard S. Scarsella of Boardman, a two-time former board member, was chosen by the board to fill an open seat.
Matthew Monus is an engineer with GPD Group in Akron and has worked as an engineer since 2004, primarily in matters related to site development, grading, stormwater management, permitting and erosion control. He holds several certifications in soil and water management.
Before joining GPD in 2017, Monus worked eight years for Navarro & Wright Consulting Engineers, based in Pittsburgh. He holds a bachelor of engineering degree from Youngstown State University. He lives in Boardman with his wife and two children.
Dr. Fred Owens is a professor emeritus at Youngstown State, where he taught telecommunications and business courses for more many years. He was twice named Distinguished Professor for his work, and served as chair of the Department of Communication from 1983 to 1998. Dr. Owens has authored several textbooks and research articles on communication and organizational behavior.
He is a former president of the Rotary Club Youngstown and the Austintown Growth Foundation, and has also served on local boards of the Salvation Army and American Diabetes Association. Dr. Owens was among the collaborators who launched the Walk on Wick and the Youngstown Air Show. He was inducted into the Austintown Hall of Fame in 2016. He and his wife, Dawn, live in Austintown.
Richard S. Scarsella is the job training coordinator at Choffin Career and Technical Center in Youngstown and a long-time local educator and historian. He is chairman of the William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society board of directors, a board member and former board president of the Boardman Historical Society and a board member of the Youngstown Steel Heritage Museum.
He has served twice before on the SWCD board, beginning in 2010. Scarsella also sits on the boards of the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio, the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center and the Mahoning Valley Regional Council of Governments. A Boardman resident, he is the founder of several Idora Park historical societies.
The Mahoning County Soil & Water Conservation District advances best management practices for conserving land and water resources by providing education, technical assistance and stewardship. Established in 1950, the district is staffed by a small team of environmental professionals who lead efforts in community and school outreach, agricultural project support, stormwater control, watershed protection, pond management and more. The district maintains offices at 850 Industrial Road in Youngstown.