Jim Nicholson receives civic leadership award

ZANESVILLE − Jim Nicholson has been named the recipient of the 2023 Richard O. Johnson Civic Leadership Award through the Muskingum County Community Foundation.

The honor will be presented to Nicholson on Jan. 27 during the foundation's annual Groundhog Day Celebration at the Zane State College Campus Center.

Nicholson was born and raised in Lancaster. After graduating from Fairfield Union High School, he went onto earn a degree from Muskingum College, now Muskingum University.

Prior to moving to Zanesville, Nicholson worked for a major accounting firm and played one minor league baseball season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He then joined the First National Bank in Zanesville in 1990 as their chief financial officer before becoming the chief executive officer in 1996.

Nicholson relocated to Canton in 2002 upon the merging of two banks to be the president and CEO of the newly formed Unizan Bank. Through this position, Nicholson was part of multiple executive leadership teams with northeast Ohio banking institutions. In 2015, Nicholson returned to Zanesville to be the president and CEO of North Valley Bank.

Since returning to Zanesville, Nicholson has been active with the Zanesville-Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce Board and the Muskingum Family Y. He is a board member for the Ohio Bankers League, Genesis HealthCare System, and Bethesda Care System. Nicholson has also coached youth sports for 20 years in the Canton and Zanesville areas.

Nicholson is married to Melanie, whom he met while attending Muskingum University. They have three grown children and one grandchild.

The Johnson Award was established by the Muskingum County Community Foundation Board of Trustees in 2000 to honor an individual who exhibits exceptional civic leadership in Muskingum County. The award is threefold - to recognize the achievements of the recipient, to honor the work of Dick Johnson and to encourage others to become future recipients of the award.

Tickets to attend the Groundhog Day Celebration are available online only at mccf.org. For more information, contact the foundation at info@mccf.org or 740-453-5192.

Submitted by the Muskingum County Community Foundation.

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Jim Nicholson receives civic leadership award