“He’s a quiet leader who is full of wisdom. He can sit back, look at a situation and survey all sides, then really add a lot to the conversation around the issues, challenges or opportunities you’re discussing,” said Chamber President Mike McDorman.
McDorman met Brougher about 15 years ago when he was with Ohio Edison.
“He’s a consummate leader in the community,” McDorman said. “Charlie is the type of person who is always willing to help others along the way. He always finds time to help those who are younger, trying to figure things out. He’ll talk to you about where you are and where you’re heading — he’s a good mentor.”
The Kuss award was created four years ago, during McDorman’s first year with the chamber because, he said, there needed to be a way to honor those who are strong business leaders, strong chamber members and who give back to the community.
“We all look at people like Charlie and aspire to be like that kind of person as we grow,” he said.
The inaugural award went to Kuss; other recipients have been Fred Leventhal and Pete Hackett.
Award recipients are chosen by a team comprised of the chamber board’s executive committee and past board chairs.
A life’s work
Brougher has been involved with his family’s business, Eagle Tool and Machine Co., for more than 50 years. He said he dedicated himself to bettering the community and did not want recognition for that work.
“I’ve been very fortunate,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed taking part in all the opportunities that have been presented to me. I consider that a part of what you’re supposed to be doing.”
Brougher and his younger brother Dick spent their professional lives at the company, which was started in 1939 by their uncle, Ralph Davis.
The brothers have worked together since they were teenagers, Dick Brougher said, and have been close their entire lives.
The younger Brougher is clearly proud of his brother’s achievement.
“I think it’s a great honor — he’s done so many things for the community. He’s (always been) the front guy and I’m the back guy. I’ve stayed inside the plant and run the day-to-day operations and he did the outside work, contacting people,” Dick Brougher said.
The example set by Davis and his wife made a significant impact on the Brougher brothers, they said.
“During our formative years, we spent most of our summers with the Davises, from the time I was about 7 years old and Dick was 5,” Charlie Brougher said. “They were very important in our lives and were the ones responsible for us going to college, so we made a commitment that we would be a part of the company and we have been ever since.”
The commitment to education led Brougher to feel drawn to support his alma mater, Wittenberg University, where he worked on many improvement campaigns and served as director emeritus.
“I have such a strong personal interest in Wittenberg because I graduated from there,” Brougher said.
He graduated from Springfield High School in 1951 and Wittenberg in 1955. He spent from 1956 to 1958 with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, then joined Eagle.
Brougher said he was thrilled to be a part of the Springfield Foundation’s Board, working to help others achieve an education.
Other community activities have included serving as president of the Springfield Rotary Club, United Way campaign chairman and chairman of the 1987 long range financial planning task force for the city of Springfield.
Brougher said the two activities he feels had the most significant impact were his time spent working with the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, which was then the Springfield-Clark County Chamber of Commerce, and serving as chairman of the board of Community Mercy Health Partners.
“I consider the time I spent with the chamber as a very important part of my life,” he said. “They were excellent experiences and the chamber accomplished a lot of really good stuff for the community.
Among its accomplishments was the chamber’s work in helping develop the PrimeOhio Industrial Park in Springfield, now home to 15 manufacturers, offices and processors such as Dole Foods, Teikuro Corp. and Benjamin Steel.
Brougher served two terms and the chamber’s board chairman, a distinction held by only one other chamber board chair, according to the organization’s records.
“The position is an elected one. There is only one other person who held that office twice over the 115 year history of the chamber, which I think speaks to what his peer group thought of him,” McDorman said.
Brougher has for years been a proponent of the area’s hospitals. He was on the board of Community Hospital, sat on the hospital merger committee, and served on the board of Community Mercy Health Partners.
“That’s one of the things I feel best about, and to see that beautiful hospital being built over the cliffs is an amazing site to see,” he said.
A strong example
Brougher’s leadership has had an impact on others, guiding them to follow a similar course.
“He has a great passion for life and for Eagle Tool,” said his nephew Andy Brougher, the company’s executive vice president of manufacturing.
That passion extended to his family and the community, setting an example for Andy and his cousin Bill Brougher, Eagle’s president and CEO.
“He has a tremendous amount of energy. ... He shared his sense of responsibility, and he inspired us to be us as civically active as we can. And, he gave us the time away from (Eagle) to be involved. Andy Brougher now serves on the chamber’s board of directors.
McDorman said Brougher is a strong example of what a true servant leader looks like and he has played an integral role in helping move the greater Springfield area forward as a business leader and a volunteer.
“Charlie’s always been a go-to person in the community,” he added.
Brougher brushed off much of the accolades, offering credit for his success instead to his wife Susan, whom he called his “best friend.”
“Had it not been for her,” he said, “my involvement in all of these projects wold have been much less. She has always provided such great support.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0371 or elroberts@coxohio.com.
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