JOEL PERCIVAL, Class of 1980, was inducted after being selected in the Alumni Category in 2016 but was not able to attend the ceremony.
Here’s why Joel was inducted:
After four years of working at various clinics, his inherent love of animals led him to establish Big Creek Veterinary Hospital in Concord and then purchase Kirtland Veterinary Hospital. These clinics have been rated in the top 20 privately owned veterinary care facilities in the United States and employ nine veterinarians among their 32 employees. Joel participates in internship programs by working with students from four local colleges as well as Ohio State University. Joel was active in three sports at Riverside and was a member of National Honor Society and Key Club. He attended Hiram College for three years and received his DVM degree from OSU. He participates in many animal welfare programs locally and is active with a wide variety of social service groups, such as humane societies, the 4-H, Wags for Kids, Pilot Seeing Eye Dogs, Cleveland Mounted Police, and scouting groups. While subscribing to the philosophy that one way to care for people is to take care of their pets, Joel is also a supporter of local youth sports teams, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and cancer fund-raisers.