In mid-June, Toledo Memorial Park President Jeff Clegg, turned over the reins of his office after serving in that role for over 15 years. “While this was not an easy decision for me, I know it is the right time for me to step down,” Clegg reported. And his words to the new president Chad Albert, are, “This is the best job ever! ”
Clegg’s leadership
Under Clegg’s leadership, TMP has become more than a cemetery as he and his team have opened the park to the community.
Of all of his accomplishments, he is most pleased that he was able to obtain a beam from the Twin Towers, which has been incorporated into a 9-11 Memorial in an undeveloped section of the park. That is now the site of the annual Day of Rememberance memorial held yearly for the community on Sept. 11. A year later, the community was invited to participate in the process of casting the memorial bell that has become part of an annual 9-11 memorial ceremony in tribute to the Sept. 11 tragedy.
TMP has become the site of a large summer car show fundraiser for Wreaths Across America. Scores of volunteers place wreaths on the graves of the more than 14,000 veterans buried in TMP each December. Flags are also placed on those graves before Memorial Day by other volunteers. For several years, Girl Scouts and their parents held trunk and treat events on the Monroe Street side of the grounds just before Halloween. And, the park has become the first leg of the annual Ridin’ Late in County 88 nighttime bicycle ride, now in its eighth year.
Community involvement
Clegg and his team have been active members of the Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce and the Sylvania Area Community Improvement Commission. TMP has partnered with several other organizations to sponsor community events. He and his team have also adopted families for Sylvania Area Family Services at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
In addition, Clegg saw the value of creating and maintaining a beautiful setting filled with flowers. “In the past, those who worked on the grounds would just plant flowers as they were maintaining the grounds. “I wanted to raise the bar even higher and create a park environment for all to enjoy. To do that, we needed to hire gardeners, and fortunately, my board agreed. Brittany Durco and her new recruit Tisha Stambough have done an outstanding job, and they have created many garden beds along with native plant beds, which encourage bees and butterflies. She also has discovered that we are part of the very special Oak Openings ecosystem, and thanks to her efforts, we have become part of the Green Ribbon Initiative,” Clegg pointed out.
“We are an arboretum, a park filled with walking/running paths complete with bountiful flower gardens, a memorial to veterans, and even a museum,” he noted.
“However, we do not ever lose sight of our main mission to care for the more than 94,000 who are buried here and their families,” Clegg assured. “We have to remember that we are in the ‘forever’ business. Every decision we make is based on whether this can work forever, especially as we add new policies and open new sections of the park, keeping in mind all of the unique laws regarding cemeteries,” he said.
“In addition to the laws, I had to learn about the finances, investing, and being a good steward of our trust funds so that the cemetery will be cared for even when fully developed,” Clegg stated. The founding board members had created a trust fund in 1930 to put aside 10 percent of all sales dollars long before the state adopted this policy in the 1970s.
Clegg said he and his team have also had to adapt to change, keep up with trends and products to meet customer demands.
Cleggs have history with TMP
As Clegg learned the ins and outs of his position while on the job, he was able to rely a bit on his long history of involvement with TMP. His grandfather, Charles Clegg, a grocery store and trucking company owner and the landlord of multiple properties, was a founding member of the Toledo Memorial Park Board of Directors as it opened in 1922. Because of his experience and skill, he became the board member who took care of operations for the new cemetery. His son, James, followed in his dad’s footsteps and joined the board, using his organizational skills to serve the park in the same role as his father. It is no wonder that, when James Clegg was 75 and aged off the board, his son Jeff Clegg expressed interest and was elected to a seat in 1999. The youngest Clegg brought his leadership and business expertise to the board, stepping into the operations role created by his grandfather and carried on by his father.
Eleven years later, when the park president resigned, Clegg, in a leap of faith, offered to step into the role, and the board agreed to offer him a one-year contract.
 Clegg noted that when he was first named president, he had no idea of the complexity of the job and had no one to train him, as the former president had resigned nearly a year before. “I had no idea how complicated the business is. I was having second thoughts as I realized how little I knew about running the park. However, my wife, Tracy, encouraged me by reminding me that I had been running my own contracting business for over 25 years, and business is business. She said I would figure things out,” Clegg remembered. “As usual, she was right, and this is the best job ever!”