Merriweather named Big Brother of Year for Ohio

ZANESVILLE - Children’s rights activist Marian Wright Edelman once said: “Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time.”

John Merriweather took that message to heart and walked into his first Big Brothers Big Sisters of America office in 1981 to offer his services.

Merriweather was recently named Big Brother of the Year for the State Association of Ohio. He was chosen from the 24 branches of the organization within Ohio. He will be entered into the National Big Brothers Big Sisters competition, with the winner to be named at the National Conference in Orlando in June.

Mollie Crooks has served as executive director of the local Big Brothers Big Sisters office for 15 years.

“This is only the second State Big Brother we have had since I have been here,” she said; the first was Shawn McGee.

Merriweather is the circulation operations manager for the Coshocton Tribune and nine other Gannett Ohio newspapers. He moved to the Zanesville area 11 years ago.

“He just walked in the office one day, and we were so pleased to have him,” Crooks said.

That was not uncommon for Merriweather, who has served as a Big Brother in five states.

Eleven years ago, it was rare that a man would walk in and want to be a Big Brother as Merriweather did, Crooks said. Many of the boys who needed a Big Brother were African-American and had no male role models in their lives.

Merriweather’s current little is Leondre Crosby, and the two were matched when Crosby was in the fifth grade. He is now a senior at Zanesville High School and participates in sports.

“We have been visiting colleges, and wherever we go, Leo calls me Dad,” Merriweather said. “He asked me to escort him on parents’ night at the football game. That was a pretty emotional night for me.”

It was that match that earned Merriweather the state honor.

Merriweather has two grown sons of his own.

“My boys were always part of the little brothers’ lives,” he said. “It was as if my little brother had other big brothers,” he said.

He said he makes the boys he mentors feel like part of his family.

“They help with chores, and I try to teach them responsibility and to set goals and the rewards that they pay. I want them to learn to be a good brother, husband, father, a man,” Merriweather said. “I like seeing them mature over the years and become men.”

“Most people don’t volunteer because they think they don’t have the time,” Crooks said. “John doesn’t think about time. He just incorporates the boys into his life and the things he is doing.”

Crosby and Merriweather’s own sons aren’t the only boys in his life.

He still gets calls nearly daily from one of his past littles, Corey Pletcher. The two were matched when Pletcher was in elementary school. Today, Pletcher is studying engineering at Ohio University Zanesville.

“Matches often turn into lifelong friendships,” Merriweather said.

One can understand how Merriweather was chosen for the state award if they view him through Crosby’s eyes.

“I never really knew what I wanted to do with my life. He taught me that you need to see every aspect. He has motivated me to attend college and get an education to have a positive future and help my family,” he said.

“He makes sure that I have everything I need from going to Buckeye Boys State to taking my first ACT. He encourages me to do better and think before I do something.”

Reception

In honor of being named Big Brother of the Year for Ohio, an open reception for John Merriweather will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, at the Zanesville Country Club. For more information, call Mollie Crooks at 1-740-453-7300.