Ann Ullman's history service to the Fredericktown community is lengthy, and soon she'll add to her resume. Ullman has been selected as the Marshal for the 2023 Fredericktown Tomato Show Parade.
She graduated from Fredericktown High School in 1962, from Mansfield School of Cosmetology in 1963, and she owned her own beauty shop for six years. She also taught tap and ballet for 20 years at her own dance studio.
Ann Morris married Larry Ullman on Feb. 27, 1966, in the First Baptist Church in Fredericktown. When it comes to vacations, they have two great places to visit as their son, Matthew (Lisa) lives in Mesa, Arizona, and their daughter, Buffy LeeAnn (Brian) Barclay, lives in Roswell, Georgia. They also have two granddaughters, Mesa Ullman and Hanna Barclay.
In 1950, 20-year-old Vonda Shipley Turner was crowned queen of the Fredericktown Centennial celebrations. As plans were being made to celebrate the United States Bicentennial in 1976, Ann thought there should be a queen for the event and changed the age category to 4-6 years old. Krista Gardner, 6, daughter of Jack and Margaret Gardner, was chosen as the queen. Committee members decided to make the celebration a yearly event and named it the Fredericktown Tomato Show. The Little Miss Tomato pageant was born and continues to be a popular event. Ann emceed the pageant for more than 32 years. In 1980, she introduced a new contest for the smallest of attendees, the baby crawling contest, which is still a crowd favorite.
In 1978, 6th grade teachers Randy Grimm and Mike Cooper created a Junior Olympics Track and Field spring/summer program for youth of all ages and abilities, sponsored by the Fredericktown Park Board. They decided to hand the program over to Ann, not only because they thought she would be a good coach but also, since both of her kids were in the program, they could count on her. She held a local meet involving all the athletes to introduce them to the ins and outs of a real track meet, and to get them excited about joining middle school and high school track. Those wanting to advance could go to a district track meet and, if they qualified, would move on to the state meet. After that, qualifiers could advance to a five-state regional meet. Ann had many elite athletes advance to Nationals in Florida and Nebraska. She continued the Junior Olympics program for 12 years.
In 1980, Ullman started coaching girls junior high track and field for Fredericktown Schools. She was then recruited to coach junior high volleyball, which she did from 1980-1994. Her goal for each sport was “instilling the fundamentals for each sport, as they carried that foundation on to the high school level.” Ann was the varsity girls track coach from 1987-1995, then she returned to junior high track, which she coached until 2004. While the varsity track coach, Ann was awarded Coach of the Year at Districts in 1992, 1993 and 1995, as well as Regional Coach of the Year in 1995. In 1993, the girls track team placed third in the state, the best finish in program history. Ann was inducted into the Fredericktown Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. She also obtained her CDL license so she could be a substitute bus driver and the drove the bus to many of her own track meets and volleyball matches.
In 1982, Ann started working for Fredericktown Schools as an educational aide. One of her duties was going into each primary classroom once a week as the “DUSO Lady” (Developing Understanding of Self and Others). Using puppets and singing a special DUSO song, Ann taught a variety of character-building lessons for each grade level. More than 30 years later, former students still stop her on the street to sing the DUSO song. In addition, Ann has been dressing up and playing Mrs. Claus for the kindergarten classes for more than 40 years. It is one of her favorite times of the year.
Ann has volunteered 12 years at the Fredericktown rest stop for Pelotonia, a bike ride that has raised millions of dollars for cancer research for the James Cancer Hospital. She, along with many others, unloaded a truck that is full of tables, water, snacks, fruit, bread, peanut butter and jelly. One of the many reasons the bike riders like the Fredericktown rest stop is because the volunteers cut the crusts off the PB & J sandwiches. After the food is displayed, volunteers cheer and encourage the riders on to their next stop. Some riders bike 182 miles for this cause.
Ann was choreographer for the Knox County Junior Miss Pageant from 1969 until 1987, and the State Junior Miss Pageant for 12 years. She has judged many local pageants throughout the state of Ohio, as well as the Arkansas State Pageant for two years. Ann and Larry said they are enjoying their retirement and are excited about the changes being made to the downtown area. With all the time and talent she has invested in to our community, it’s easy to see why Ann exemplifies “Sweet Home Fredericktown.”
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