Richard Crouch Receives Ron Kohn Servant Leadership Award

Retiring Mills County Supervisor Richard Crouch received a special award during the annual meeting of the Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) Thursday night in Walnut.

Crouch and Clarinda City Manager Gary McClarnon were recognized as co-recipients of the second annual Ron Kohn Servant Leadership Award.

The award was created to shine a light on leaders that go above and beyond to serve the people of southwest Iowa, honoring  the legacy of the late Ron Kohn who was a Glenwood educator, Mills County Supervisor and Glenwood Mayor that led with tremendous selflessness. Five individuals were nominated for the award this year: Crouch, McClarnon, Silver City Mayor Joseph Jaworski, Hamburg Colonial Theatre President Erica Stephens and Silver City City Clerk Cassandra Wilson.

Crouch was first elected to the Mills County Board of Supervisors in 2002 and is currently finishing his sixth term. Since 2019 he has served as the NACo Board Representative for the Iowa State Association of Counties, carrying Mills County’s voice to the national stage. Crouch has been a strong force behind housing, broadband, disaster recovery, and economic development initiatives. Crouch has also been a dedicated volunteer for many organizations and activities throughout the region, including sixty years on the chain gang for Glenwood High School varsity football games.

Mills County Attorney DeShawne Bird-Sell, who nominated Crouch for the award,  addressed those attending Thursday night’s program.

“He’s a ‘Yes’ person. And when I say he’s a ‘Yes’ person, I don’t mean that he’s always going to tell me yes, but if you say, ‘Hey, I need somebody to help me with this,’ guess who’s the first hand to go up? Always Richard,” she said. “So, everyone that knows Richard knows that he’s going to be the one who volunteers, he’s going to be the one that raises his hand, he’s going to be the one that sticks around afterwards to help you pick up.

“Everyone knows people like this and we are so unfortunate to have him stepping down from this fantastic career as a board of supervisors member. I just wanted to make sure that at the end of his career, he knew how much we love him.”

Crouch said he’s appreciative of the award and the time he spent serving on the board of supervisors with Kohn. Crouch said Kohn never quit being an educator, even after retiring from teaching.

“He always had a lesson in there,” said Crouch. “At the end of a meeting or discussion, especially when Joe (Blankenship) was on the board,. he’d say, ‘Did you get the lesson today?’

“He was a lot of fun, but he taught me a lot – how to make people accountable. I really enjoyed working with him,. He was a great leader.”

McClarnon has spent more than two decades as the City Manager for the City of Clarinda and his leadership has played a pivotal role in improving infrastructure, fostering economic development, maintaining sound fiscal management, and improving the quality of life for Clarinda residents. Under his leadership the City of Clarinda has completed millions of dollars in public improvement projects, often multi-million within the same year.

In addition to the award presentations, SWIPCO celebrated its accomplishments over the past year. In Fiscal Year 2026, SWIPCO helped member communities and counties bring in nearly $2.5 million worth of new grant funds, completed 3 major projects that included $4.9 million worth of grant investment, rehabilitated 51 homes through 5 different funding programs, completed over 573 inspections, tackled numerous plans and codes, worked on numerous regional plans, amongst other impacts. Southwest Iowa Transit Agency provided 517,710 rides in FY26 getting residents to work, school, medical appointments, shopping, and more.
SWIPCO also presented five partnership awards to these individuals and organizations for positively impacting SWIPCO and southwest Iowa:

Ashley Williams for her exceptional leadership and initiative as part of the Cass Health Occupational Health team to develop and implement job specific physical tests for SWIPCO/SWITA to ensure that employees can safely perform the tasks of their jobs, which helps improve workplace safety and the safety of the general public.

Kevin Benell, Benell Enterprises, for his team’s work on numerous housing rehabilitation projects throughout seven counties. Kevin and his team have been valuable partners in helping Southwest Iowans in need get the home repairs that improve their quality of life and allow them to stay in their homes.

Travis Remmert, Travis Systems, for his help with providing vital software that helps SWIPCO and the Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund operate our housing programs. Travis has always been quick to respond to calls for assistance and tailored solutions directly to SWIPCO’s needs.

Harry Adams, Mayor of Hamburg, for his valuable leadership as mayor of Hamburg post-flood, including finishing multiple complex federal grants and moving others forward even against extraordinary challenges.
Jennie Edmundson Hospital Foundation and CHI Health Foundation for their partnership on a new transportation program for SWITA called “SWI-Ride”. This program aims to help those with a transportation barrier make it to medical and other appointments that are critical to the clients’ quality of life.

SWIPCO, founded in 1975, is a council of governments serving eight counties in Southwest Iowa with public transportation, community development, and housing assistance. Counties served are Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby.