Board of Trustees

Erie County Historical Society Board of Trustees, Officers and Mission Statement

Our Officers:
President                    John Lippus
Vice President            currently vacant
Secretary                     Leslie Korenko
Treasurer                    Charles Gundlach
Our Board Members serve for three years effective on the date of the Annual Meeting:
Terms Expire November 2028:
Charles Gundlach, Leslie Korenko, John Lippus, Bob Speers, Brad Wilson
Terms Expire November 2026:
Jeremy Angstadt, John Hildebrandt, Molly Sampson
Terms Expire November 2027:
David Kaman, James O. Miller, Paul Schoenegge, Chris Wimer

The Erie County Historical Society was established in 1955.
Our Mission: The mission of the Erie County Historical Society is to tell the story of Erie County, Ohio, to residents and visitors.
Our By-Laws

MEET YOUR TRUSTEES

JEREMY ANGSTADT – Jeremy is the Museum Services Manager for the Sandusky Library and Follett House Museum. Originally from Southeastern Pennsylvania, he graduated from Pennsylvania State University with an undergraduate degree in history and later he graduated from Villanova University with a master’s degree in public history. He has worked at Eisenhower National Historic Site, Independence Seaport Museum, Valley Forge National Historic Park, and Slate Run Living Historical Farm Metro Park. Jeremy has been with the Sandusky Library for a bit over six years. Jeremy was appointed to the Board in 2016.

CHARLES W. GUNDLACH III – Chuck was born and raised in Sandusky and retired as the Chairman of the Board of Gundlach Sheet Metal Works, Inc., a Sandusky family business founded by his great-grandfather in 1889. He has actively participated in and served on several local committees and boards including the Sandusky Area Safety Council, the Firelands Public Safety Training Committee, the Firelands Chapter of the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society, the Lange Trust of the Sandusky Library, several committees within his church, the Properties Committee of Firelands Scout Reservation and many other district and council Scouting programs. Chuck and his wife, Edy, have two sons, one who lives in the Houston, TX area and the other in Chicago, IL. Their families, with our six grandchildren, always look forward to visiting vacationland. He was appointed to the Board in 2025.

JOHN HILDEBRANDT – A native of Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood, John Hildebrandt spent 40 years working at Cedar Point. He started as a staff writer in the PR Department in 1974, rising to Vice President, Marketing, in 1993. He was transferred to Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom as General Manager in 2004. A year later he was transferred back to Ohio to serve as General Manager of Cedar Point. After nine years as GM, he retired following Cedar Point’s 2013 operating season. Hildebrandt is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he majored in English; he has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is the co-author, with his wife, Marie, of Lake Erie’s Shores and Islands, a history of the tourism industry in the Lake Erie West region, published in 2015. In 2018, Hildebrandt published a memoir of his time at Cedar Point: Always Cedar Point, a Memoir of the Midway. A lifetime student of the Civil War, Hildebrandt has written articles on the war and has made presentations on Civil War related topics, including Erie County (Ohio) in the Civil War and Sandusky financier and native son Jay Cooke. In 2000, Hildebrandt received the Paul Sherlock Award from the Ohio Travel Association in recognition of his contributions to Ohio’s tourism industry. Hildebrandt served as OTA president 1996.He also serves as a director of the Sandusky Library and the Sandusky Library Foundation and Follett House Museum, and the Sandusky Area Maritime Association. Hildebrandt was involved in local health care governance for more than 30 years, serving as a trustee for Providence Hospital, Firelands Regional Health Center, and Providence Care Centers. He served as Board Chair for both Providence Hospital and Providence Care Centers. He and Marie live in Sandusky. They have two adult children and four grandchildren (who love to visit in the summertime). John joined the Board in 2014.

LESLIE KORENKO – Retired from the Federal Government, Leslie began writing grants for the Village of Kelleys Island, which led to an interest in the history of this small island community. She started exploring the old stories and discovered that the island’s history, as told through the words of its inhabitants, was surprisingly comprehensive and unexpectedly entertaining. Leslie began gathering information for her books 15 years ago and has published six volumes covering the Island’s history from 1810-1893. Leslie received the Henry Howe Award for outstanding Ohio history book at the Ohio Genealogical Society annual convention in Cleveland in April 2012.Leslie has written historical columns for the Black Swamp Trader & Gazette and the Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly and authors the Kelleys Island News column in the Put-in-Bay Gazette. Her stories of Kelleys Island soldiers during the Civil War have appeared in the Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal. Leslie was appointed to the Board in 2016.

JOHN LIPPUS – John is a native of Erie County and a graduate of Sandusky High School. He attended the University of Toledo where he earned his Bachelor of Education degree with a minor in Business Administration. He is currently employed as an Economic Development Specialist with OHM Advisors, a regional Planning, Architecture, and Engineering Firm. John began his career in economic development over 20 years ago with the City of Sandusky as the Downtown Development Director. The position later transitioned into President/CEO of the Sandusky Main Street Association, a private economic development organization specializing in downtown revitalization and historic preservation. John stays actively involved with leadership roles for a variety of area non-profit organizations.  He has been a member of the Heritage Ohio Main Street Advisory Board, Sandusky Area YMCA Board, City of Sandusky’s Downtown Design Review Board and Bayfront Corridor Committee, Leadership Erie County, and was a founding member of the North Coast Young Professionals. In addition to the Erie County Historical Society, he currently holds seats on the Perkins Township Zoning Commission and Greater Sandusky Partnership’s Government Advocacy Committee. John became a board Member in 2017.

JAMES O. MILLER – James was born and raised In Sandusky. He grew up in the pharmacy business and went into banking after college. He retired as CEO of Civista Bank and remains its Chairman. James is involved in many local organizations including Firelands Regional Health System chair and trustee in many non-profits. He has a lifelong interest in local history and local maritime history and serves on the Board of the Erie  County Historical Society. Jim became a board Member in 2017.

MOLLY SAMPSON – Molly is the Executive Director of the Maritime Museum of Sandusky. She is a native of Northwest Ohio She is pursuing a Master of Arts in WWII Studies from Arizona State University and holds a Bachelor’s of Liberal Studies with an emphasis in History and Marketing from Bowling Green State University. She is also the founder of the 1st WAC Living History Group, a nonprofit education group that offers virtual classes on the role of the Women’s Army Corps during the Second World War. Molly was working at a military museum in NW Georgia when the position opened at the Maritime Museum of Sandusky. She is passionate about preserving and promoting the maritime heritage of the Sandusky area. As the executive director of the Sandusky Area Maritime Association, she oversees the daily operations, fundraising, marketing, and programming of the organization, as well as the development of the future museum and education center. Molly joined the board in 2023.

PAUL SCHOENEGGE graduated from Walsh Jesuit HS, and then Kenyon College. He then taught at Margaretta High School for 32years. Along the way he married Christine Cullen; and, became the director of the museum for the Castalia Area Historical Society. Paul is currently serving on the Margaretta Board of Education. He was elected to the Board in 2025.

BOB SPEERS – Bob was born and raised in Sandusky, enjoyed Cedar Point and learned boating on Sandusky Bay.  His ancestry in Sandusky goes back to 1848 when two great-grandparents emigrated from Germany (when a revolution failed).  That great-grandfather found work with the Mansfield and Sandusky City Railroad.  Other ancestors came from Scotland, pioneered through Pennsylvania, operated the ferry for pioneers across the Monongahela River near Pittsburgh. After high school Bob joined the Army Reserves.  He earned the B. Sci. (physics) from the U. of Michigan, and the MSEE and PhD (engineering physics) from Ohio State University.  After graduation he did research and product development at RCA Labs in Princeton, N.J. and RCA Lancaster, PA.  In 1963 he married Martha Evans, a high school classmate. In 1973, he and his family were able to return to Erie County where he brought modern electronics and physics programs to Firelands College of BGSU.  With the Ohio Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers, he established Physics Day at Cedar Point.  At the national level he was a member of the leadership of TYC-21, which modernized the use of computers and electronics in the physics curriculum.  He was a member of the community workgroup that oversaw the decommissioning of the nuclear reactor at NASA Plum Brook. He and his family were avid boaters and sailors at Sandusky Sailing Club, where he was commodore in 1993 and a principal race officer for many years. Ongoing research involves civic and economic development of the Firelands  region, War of 1812, Battle of Lake Erie, schooners, steamers, railroads, highways, airplanes, Civil War, nuclear reactors, solar and wind power, communication systems, Russia, China, and use of digital media to enhance knowledge of history. Bob became a board Member in 2019.

BRAD WILSON – Brad was born in Norwalk and raised in Norwalk Twp. in Huron County. He now calls Margaretta Twp. his home. His ancestry dates to some of the earlier settlers of Sandusky, notably the Hand and Upp families. He is a graduate of Western Reserve High School, the University of Toledo, and the Police Executive Leadership College. He currently holds the rank of Lieutenant at the Sandusky Police Department, and he is the Patrol Division Commander. Brad also served in the US Army as a Combat Engineer and deployed twice to Baghdad, Iraq. With a long family history of military service, he has interests in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and World War II. Growing up on a farm, he often went to antique tractor shows as a youth and enjoys antique farm equipment. Brad is married to Shannon, a fellow history enthusiast, and they have seven children. Together they enjoy museums, battlefields, and anywhere history can be found. Brad joined the Board in 2025.

CHRIS WIMER – A Sandusky High School graduate, Chris Wimer first became interested in local history by reading Helen Hansen’s and Virginia Steinemann’s From the Widows Walk series of history articles. A university educator with over 10 years of teaching experience, Chris joined the Erie County Historical Society after graduating college with both his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and MBA degrees. As part of the society’s Board of Trustees, Chris has worked with other members of the group to research content for the organization’s website and to plan and develop several new historic markers throughout Erie County. Chris also is a member of the Sandusky Area Maritime Association. Chris joined the Board in 2012.