F.W. "Bill" Knecht, Chairman and CEO of Wendell August Forge and
a current Youngstown State University Board of Trustee member, will
add another honor from Youngstown State University this evening to
a well-deserved collection.
Tonight, Knecht will be honored as one of the 2003 Penguins of
the Year by the YSU Penguin Club, an organization he helped create,
is still a member of today and was president of at one time in his
many years of outstanding service to his alma mater.
A native of nearby Warren, he graduated from YSU with a Bachelor
of Science Degree and since that time has been an invaluable asset
to both the University and Athletic Department.
Knecht was active in the formative years of the Penguin Club,
which was chartered in 1974. For the Penguin Club, he served as the
second president of the organization from 1975 through 1977. Knecht
is just one of six presidents to serve two terms as the head of the
Penguin Club. He participated on the search committee to select a
new football coach after the untimely death of Dike Beede in 1972.
He took part in the capital fund drive, helping raise more than
$3.2 million that has made Stambaugh Stadium one of the top
Division I-AA facilities in the nation. He also assisted greatly in
the success of the brick campaign that generated almost $500,000
for the department.
Following the national championship seasons of 1991, 1993, 1994
and 1997, Knecht's company has graciously donated bronze
commemorative plates to all players, coaches and others involved
with the program. He has also served on the YSU Athletic Advisory
Council.
In 1999, he was inducted into the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame for
his efforts as a contributor. That same year he became a member of
the Youngstown State Board of Trustees. In 2001, he earned the YSU
Distinguished Citizen Award – the highest mark of distinction
given by the university. Also, he was YSU's commencement speaker
that summer and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Degree.
Knecht has been just as impressive in his work outside of the
YSU campus.
In 1978, he purchased Wendell August Forge and directed what is
now the nation's oldest and largest operating hand forge into new
prominence in the retail field. With his extensive marketing
background, Wendell August has become a tourist attraction, drawing
hundreds of thousands to its show rooms in Grove City, Pa., Berlin,
Ohio, and the Prime Outlet Mall, also in Grove City.
Prior to purchasing the Wendell August Forge Company in 1978,
Knecht spent 16 years as a salesman for the IBM Corporation where
he specialized in educational sales. At IBM, he qualified for 16
consecutive 100 percent Clubs and in 1974 was recognized as a
member of IBM's Golden Circle which designated him as one of the
top 100 salespersons in the country.
In 1992, Knecht was recognized as a regional finalist for the
Inc. Magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year and received the Mahoning
County American Cancer Society Man of the Year Award. Other awards
include being named the 1995 Boys Scouts of America French Creek
Council Distinguished Citizen Award, the 1996 Thiel College Louis
and Barbara Thiel Distinguished Citizen Award and the 1996 Great
Communicator Award from the Youngstown Hearing and Speech Center.
Also, in 2000, the American Cancer Society honored him with the
courage award.
He continues his close associations in the area as a member of
the Boardman Civic Association, the Dover Club, the Rockwell
Springs Trout Club, the Duquesne Hunting and Fishing Club, The
Youngstown Club, the Tippecanoe Country Club and the Four Square
Club. He also attends the Zion Lutheran Church in Youngstown.
Besides being on the Board of Trustees at YSU, he serves as a
trustee at Grove City College. He is also part of the boards for
the Penn Northwest Development Corporation, the Mercer County
Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Mahoning Valley Historical
Society, The Youngstown Club and the Rockwell Springs Trout Club.
He and his wife, Connie reside in Boardman, and are parents of
two grown children, Deborah (Mrs. Jonathan Fetter) of Canfield,
Ohio, and Will Knecht, whose wife is Jennifer of Wilmington, N.C.
They have five grandchildren; Joshua, Daniel and Emily Fetter and
Jared and Cameron Knecht.
