“You should try to do some volunteering at least sometime in your life to better the place you live in.”
Growing up, this is the phrase John Bardsley would hear his father emphasize to him on a regular basis. Keeping this idea close to his heart, he has spent his entire life committed to service and giving back to the communities he has called home.
Due to this dedication, Bardsley has been named the 2026 Citizen of the Year by the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group (CDG). This is the second time he has received this title; the first time was in 1992, where was awarded this status by the local Chamber of Commerce.
Bardsley said volunteering, representing the interests of his community, and serving others provides him a sense of purpose. He first began serving as a community advocate through his role as a Boy Scout — and later Eagle Scout — in his hometown of Clear Lake, Ind. Right after turning 21, he began serving in the United States National Guard, which he did for six years during the Vietnam War. Here, he was a staff sergeant.
It was not until 1975, when Bardsley was 33, that he moved to Lisbon. He soon married his wife, Barb, and the two of them moved into their forever home — which he said Barb had always admired — perched atop a hill near the center of town. Once settled, Bardsley immediately began volunteering with local communities.
“When we first moved here, I felt like giving back to the Boy Scouts,” he said. “I helped with the local Boy Scout troop and served as advancement chairman and the troop committee chairman for a while.”
In addition to teaching his skills and values to the Boy Scout troop, Bardsley and his wife bought a local garden center in 1984.
“Growing up, my father farmed with his brother…I was always interested,” he said. “We had a good fair size garden in Clear Lake, so I was interested in that sort of thing.”
Both master gardeners, Bardsley and his wife ran the shop together. They later added a flower shop along with a few greenhouses, and they even dabbled in landscaping. Later on, Bardsley went on to become a master forester to help take care of his wife’s 19 acres of woods in Cedar County.
Though they enjoyed their time running the garden center, Bardsley said they sold the building in 1998. However, he was kept busy with his role as interim director — or “community coordinator” — with the local Chamber of Commerce.
“My job was to go to all the different meetings, and I got involved a lot that way,” he said. “I enjoyed it, and I could take things I learned in one meeting and help another group in another meeting.”
After four years of working in this role and serving a bit of time on the chamber’s board of directors, he was elevated to the role of chamber president. Eventually, the Chamber of Commerce evolved into the modern-day CDG, which Bardsley served as vice president with for some time. In total, he worked with this group for 43 years.
Taking his community involvement another step further, Bardsley became a member of the Lisbon City Council, which he has served on for 23 years. Today, he works as a liaison between the council and CDG as well as the council and eight other community organizations.
During his time working with economic development and as an elected official in Mount Vernon and Lisbon, there is one thing in particular Bardsley has advocated for: historical preservation. From saving an old brick building on a major street — which has been a barber shop, coffee shop and realtor’s office — to preserving three historical barns with the Meyers Farmstead Historic District, Bardsley has helped Lisbon to maintain its past.
Along with maintaining local history, Bardsley was particularly influential in helping to develop Lisbon’s industrial park. He has also worked with the CDG to welcome new individuals to the community — just like the community welcomed him over 50 years ago — by conducting new business ribbon cuttings. The most recent ribbon cutting he did was for 1st Street Breakfast Company in Mount Vernon.
Altogether, Bardsley’s achievement of the Citizen of the Year title is a result of over half a century of him serving the Mount Vernon and Lisbon communities. In the past, he was also awarded Volunteer of the Year by Southeast Linn Community Center, where he and his wife volunteered extensively. He was additionally President of The Wellness Coalition of Linn County and the Linn County Rotary Club as well as chief of his lodge.
Today, Bardsley continues to serve on the Lisbon City Council as a member and liaison, stay active with Friends of the Lisbon Library, attend as many local meetings as possible, help with ribbon cuttings, and much more for this family of a community.
Moving ahead, Bardsley said he plans to continue advocating for historical preservation and affordable housing; that is, to keep people in the community and draw more families in. He will also be recognized as this year’s grand marshal at Sauerkraut Days.
Reflecting on his decades of serving Mount Vernon and Lisbon, Bardsley recommends members of the community seek out volunteer opportunities like the ones he has pursued.
“Get involved for the benefit of yourself and your community,” he said.
Bardsley emphasized that helping others in one’s community is mutually beneficial; that is, both for the recipient and the provider.
“Most people have a good feeling after they’ve volunteered. After they’ve helped somebody.”