Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — A retired Youngstown police officer, who is both an Army and Marine Corps veteran, is among Ohio’s newest Veterans Hall of Fame members.

Twenty Ohio Veterans were inducted Thursday during the event in Dublin, Ohio.

Two Mahoning County veterans, Richard T. Baldwin and J. Lori Stone, are in the Ohio Veterans HOF Class of 2019.

As a Youngstown police officer for 33 years, Baldwin’s assignments included the Tactical Response Team, which deals with high-risk entries while serving arrest or search warrants. He also served as a U.S. Marshal on the Federal Bureau of Investigation Fugitive Violent Crime Task Force Unit and provided VIP protection detail for President Bill Clinton.

Baldwin, 65, is a life member of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 35, AMVETS Post 44, Veterans of Foreign War Post 9947, Disabled American Veterans Post 2 and the Ohio National Guard Enlisted Association. For more than 10 years, he volunteered with Hospice, Tod Children’s Hospital, Area Agency on Aging, the American Cancer Society Children’s Summer Camp, Mahoning County Special Olympics International, Meals on Wheels and Chaney High School.

Baldwin has received numerous awards including the State of Ohio Distinguished Law Enforcement Achievement Award in 2009 and 2017, and 2014 Officer of the Year presented by the Mahoning County Mental Health Board Crisis Intervention Team. His American Police Hall of Fame Awards include the 2016 Distinguished Police Service Award, the Law Enforcement Purple Heart and the Silver Star for Bravery. The Youngstown Police Department honored Baldwin with a Medal of Valor, four Life Saving awards and four Excellent Police Duty awards.

Stone, 73, is an Air Force veteran. Following her military service, she began volunteering for veteran service organizations in multiple capacities. She serves as the vice president of the Air Force Association and district commander of AMVETS 19th District. She also represents these two organizations as the VA Voluntary Service Officer for the Northeast Ohio VA Healthcare System.

Stone is the lead volunteer at the Youngstown VA Outpatient Clinic and coordinates the efforts of more than 130 volunteers. Most recently, she successfully spearheaded two key projects. Because of her efforts in raising $500,000 for needed services for Youngstown area veterans, AMVETS purchased a van to transport them to VA clinics in Youngstown and Cleveland.

She also launched a food pantry at the Youngstown VA Clinic, which now distributes more than 6,200 food bags each year.

Stone is president of the Austintown Lioness Club, was the keynote speaker at the Austintown Memorial Day Ceremony in 2018, and has served as a speaker at many veteran recognition events. She received the 2019 Veteran of the Year Award selected by the United Veterans Council of Youngstown and the House of Representatives of the 133rd General Assembly of Ohio, as well as the VA’s Superior Service Award for dedicating 17,500 volunteer hours to the VA.