GALION — First Federal Bank of Ohio recently appointed Steve Tilson as a member of its board of directors.
Tilson hails from Nashville, Tennessee. He has been a Galion resident since 1975, when he joined the predecessor of his current law firm, Hottenroth, Garverick, Tilson and Garverick Co., LPA in Galion.
Tilson received a bachelor of science degree with honors, with a major in religion, from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1971. He received a law doctorate (J.D.) degree in 1974 with honors from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Tilson began practicing in Columbus in 1974, before joining his current firm.
Tilson’s community activities include current service on the Board of Directors of the Galion Community Center YMCA. Past services include a board member of Crawford County Business/Education Advisory Council, Crawford County Community Mental Health Board, Galion Area Chamber of Commerce, Galion Building and Loan Association, Planned Parenthood of North Central Ohio, Renschville Elementary School Parent-Teacher League, and The William F. Unckrich Foundation, Inc. He also served as treasurer for two Galion school levy committees, and co-chair of a Crawford County community mental health levy committee. Each May, the “Tilson Award” (named for Steve) is given by the Crawford County Business/Education Advisory Council to an area business, in recognition of outstanding cooperation with local schools.
Tilson also enjoys dealing with professional matters through his bar association work. An active member of the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA), he has served on the OSBA’s Board of Governors. He is also a past-president of the Ohio State Bar Foundation, is a current Director of the Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program (OLAP), and assists the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education as a volunteer for several of its student programs: Ohio Mock Trial, We the People and Youth for Justice. He is a former chairman of the Board of Editors for Ohio Lawyer Magazine, and has served prior to several elections on the OSBA’s commission which evaluates Ohio Supreme Court candidates’ qualifications. Tilson is also Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Relations and an active member and past president of the Crawford County Bar Association.
Tilson, a musician in the area, has preformed at public and private rock, blues, country and bluegrass music events for decades. His current band, The Crazy Gringos, play locally. He and his wife, the former Dawn E. Garverick of Galion, are parents of two children, Andrea Snider and Eric Tilson.
