Cheryl Ricketts
Ricketts and her family as she accepts the 2014 ATHENA Award.
The 2025 Athena Awards, put on by the Pickerington Area Chamber of Commerce, introduced a new honor: the Lifetime Achievement Award, created to recognize an individual whose enduring legacy has shaped the community and whose contributions continue to influence its future.
When Rita Ricketts' name was announced as the inaugural recipient, the room erupted in resounding applause – a testament to the deep respect and admiration she has earned over the years.
Life on the farm
Cheryl Ricketts
Rita and John on the farm.
Ricketts has an extensive list of accolades, from being the first female mayor to raising a family to helping found the Epiphany Lutheran Church. But before she was a city leader, she was a dedicated helper on her family farm.
Ricketts was born in 1931 and grew up during the Great Depression on the south side of Pleasantville Road between the two villages of Baltimore and Caroll. She was raised on a farm, the second-youngest of seven children.
On the family farm, everyone helped out. Ricketts spent her childhood days caring for livestock, helping cultivate corn and wheat and going to school.
Ricketts graduated from Bloom-Carroll High School in 1949 and went on to study business at Franklin University. During her schooling, she met John Ricketts at a square dance.
John and Rita married in 1952, eventually settling in Pickerington to live and farm on John’s family land. They raised four children – Gene, Cheryl, Richard and Carla – and John and Rita were active partners in Ricketts Farm, Inc. for more than 48 years.
During that time, the farm grew from a 60-acre farm to a 3,000-acre diversified grain and livestock enterprise. Under her guidance, the operation expanded to include wholesale sales and the distribution of seeds, crop protection products and fertilizers.
Just as it was when she grew up, maintaining the Ricketts farm was a family affair.
“Everyone worked on the farm,” Cheryl Ricketts says. “We helped till the field, we helped pitch a lot of manure and mom drove the combine.”
In the farm's early stages, when Ricketts wasn’t harvesting crops and nurturing her garden, she was managing finances and cash.
Ricketts never stopped, instilling a strong work ethic into her children as they worked alongside her. Life on the farm was not always easy, and through the trials and tribulations of day-to-day life, Ricketts showed her children the power of resilience.
Cheryl recalls a time when she was shelling peas from the garden, carefully working through the pile while her mother moved at twice the speed. Feeling frustrated, she pointed out the difference. Rita responded with simple words of encouragement:
“When you’ve shelled as many peas as I have, you’ll be just as fast. You’re doing great, just keep going.”
Cheryl Ricketts
Pivoting to politics
Cheryl Ricketts
Ricketts as Mayor.
Once the farm grew, Ricketts shifted her focus to politics. Her husband was heavily involved in community politics, serving on both the Pickerington Board of Education and as a Violet Township Trustee. Ricketts began her political career on the Pickerington Village Council in 1981, where she served until 1987 on the Service Committee.
“I did not like the things that were happening, so I ran for council,” Ricketts says.
In 1988, Ricketts became the first female mayor of Pickerington, which at the time was one of the fastest-growing cities in Ohio. During her tenure, Ricketts noticed a need for proper development for the quickly growing city.
“I remember one time, one of the council people said, ‘Why develop at all?’” Ricketts says. “And I thought, ‘Well, that’s not logical.’ I wanted good growth.”
Ricketts served as mayor for four years, and during her term, Pickerington transitioned from a village to a city. Ricketts faced problems head-on, and she backed every decision she made with extensive thought and research.
“If she was going to do something, it was going to be done right,” Cheryl says. “She did the research, and she (did) things in a way that was not only right, but good for the community.”
After her term as mayor, she served on council again before retiring in 1992.
Cheryl Ricketts
Leading the way
Beyond her time in office, Ricketts has devoted herself to mentoring others to achieve their potential.
“She was very much about, ‘if you have been given a talent, you’re expected to use it,’” Cheryl says.
From politicians, to neighbors, to fellow church members, Ricketts’ resilient and selfless spirit leaves a lasting impression on everyone she meets. And if you haven’t had the chance to meet her, she leaves you with this simple but powerful piece of wisdom:
“You treat people as you would like to be treated, always.”
Megan Brokamp is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mbrokamp@cityscenemediagroup.com.
