Ohio Senate bill seeks to declare August 17 as Gene Kranz day

COLUMBUS, Ohio — What do sugar cookies and famous Toledoan Gene Kranz have in common?

Ohio Senate Bill 287 is seeking to declare the importance of both to the state, among multiple other unrelated amendments.

The bipartisan bill, which had its first reading at the statehouse Thursday, declares Aug. 17 as “Eugene ‘Gene’ F. Kranz Day.” Aug. 17 is also his birthday.

Kranz, a Central Catholic High School graduate of the class of 1951, is a well-known name in Toledo, to say the least. He’s one of the most important figures in space and flight history.

On May 22, 2021, the Toledo Express Airport was renamed to honor the NASA icon.

Kranz had multiple high-profile achievements during his three decades with NASA where he served as flight director on multiple Apollo missions. In what is perhaps his crowning achievement, he averted a national tragedy and helped return the astronauts aboard the infamous Apollo 13 safely back to Earth. He was serving as lead flight director for the mission when an oxygen tank on the spacecraft exploded, turning the mission from one of exploring new frontiers to one of life or death.

He also played key roles in Apollo missions that went much differently. He served as a flight director for Apollo 11 and helped ensure Neil Armstrong — another space-bound Ohio native — took a giant leap for mankind on July 20, 1969, when he set foot on the moon.

“Gene Kranz is a living legend and one of the icons of the American space program,” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said in 2021. “Simply put, without Gene Kranz, there is no moon landing on July 20, 1969.

SB 287 has seven total amendments to the Ohio Revised Code. One of those amendments hopes to declare the sugar cookie as the most important cookie in Ohio.

“The cookie with the main ingredients of sugar, flour, butter, eggs, and vanilla, commonly known as the sugar cookie, is adopted as the official cookie of the state,” Sec. 5.803 of the bill reads.

Other amendments in the bill include:

• Designate the first full week of February as “Ohio Burn Awareness Week” to remember burn victims and educate the public on burn prevention measures
• Designate the last Saturday of September as “Ohio Public Lands Day”
• Designate the last full week of June as “‘Pollinator Week,’ to promote pollinator health and to recognize the importance of pollinators to ecosystems and to the economy”
• “Revise the law governing environmental health specialists and environmental health specialists in training”

Ohio senators Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) and Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin) and Ohio representatives Elgin Rogers Jr (D-Toledo) and Michael Sheehy (D-Oregon) are cosponsors on the bill.