Located in Dayton, OH, outside the downtown Dayton Metro Library, stands Jon Barlow Hudson’s 8-foot x 6-foot x 16-inch sculpture that captures the spirit of public service. Tim Riordan, a retired city manager for the city of Dayton, wanted to honor the public servants he had worked with during his career, so inspired by a friend who had commissioned a sculpture to gift the City of Dayton, which Hudson was also commissioned for, Riordan resolved to run a region-wide competition calling for sculpture proposals.
Riordan obtained a site for the sculpture from the city prior to the project beginning, located in Cooper Park in downtown Dayton. “I proposed the design that was chosen with the suggestion that there be quotes about public service engraved upon the surfaces,” said Hudson. “Riordan had a small committee to assist with the project, which included a local graphic design firm, Folio Design Haus, and during our meetings we worked out the quotes to include layout, graphic font and sizes.”