Allen County Agribusinessman Brian Celsor joins the Allen County Board of Education this month as the District One representative. Celsor was elected to replace Jeff Eaton who opted not to seek re-election to the Board of Education after serving for over 22 years.
Celsor was born and raised in Allen County. He is a 1991 graduate of Allen County-Scottsville High School. Celsor attended the University of Kentucky where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Agriculture in 1995. Today, Celsor is a co-owner in CPC Livestock, CPC Commodities, CPC Animal Health and Gold River Feed Products. Celsor and his wife, Cathy, are the parents of four children, Brianna (16), Hadley (14), and soon-to-be nine-year old twins Jack and Lucy.
Celsor is no stranger to the Allen County Board of Education. As a child, Celsor was familiar with the workings of the Board through his father, Marshall Celsor. The elder Celsor was a Board member in the 1980s and early 1990s.
“I was old enough to understand what the Board was doing,” Brian Celsor admitted. “I remember lots of conversations around our kitchen table with my sister and myself. Dad would lean on us for some feedback.”
When asked why he decided to seek the Board seat, Celsor points out that his desire to help children and the school system was the principal reason.
“I want to try and make a difference and help the children of Allen County,” Celsor said. “I have four children myself and I want to make Allen County Schools the best school system it can be.”
In recent years, Celsor has served as a parent representative on the Site-Based Decision Making Council at the Allen County Primary Center. He believes the experience will help him going forward.
“I have had a really good experience on the Site-Based Council,” Celsor acknowledged. “I’ve learned a lot about the inner workings of that building and a lot about the things you can and can’t do. I really liked working with Mr. Tim Wilson (ACPC principal) and actually talked with him when I was thinking about running for the Board. It’s really been good to have been involved and to understand more about what’s going on.”
Celsor believes that the Board of Education must recognize that change is on-going in the community and will be for years to come.
“We are in a growing county,” Celsor said. “The new highway 231 has caused the county to bloom and blossom so we will have to be forward-looking as to what that will cause the county to look like five-10-15 years from now. So we will have to be looking at the whole education process based on what the county will look like.”
Celsor added that an on-going issue that the Board will face is educational funding.
“Funding is constantly an issue,” Celsor noted. “So being fiscally responsible and understanding how to best utilize the resources we do have, personnel or infrastructure, is at the cusp of what I see as part of my job.”
The new Board member is commented to learning the ins-and-outs of his new position in the months ahead as he settles into working with existing Board members Al Barman, Beth Edwardson, Justin Marsh, and Billy Turner as well as Allen County School Superintendent Randall Jackson.
“I have to learn how things work inside the Board,” Celsor noted. “I am one to ask questions and try and understand. I will be asking a lot of questions to learn and try to help. Our school district is very blessed with a set of Board members that have the kids at heart and what is best for Allen County children.”
Celsor adds that he will also reach out to his predecessor for input from time-to-time.
“Anytime someone has 22-years of service like Jeff Eaton had, that’s 22 years of experience,” Celsor said. “I will be leaning on him. There will be times I will be calling him to ask what he thinks about this or that.”
To the people of District One, Celsor notes he will be available to answer any questions that may arise about the education of Allen County children.
“I will be very open to the people in the district and accessible,” Celsor added. “I want people to call. I will listen. Feel free to reach out.”
Celsor’s first Board meeting was January 19.