- Bigsbee is a second-generation community activist in Stark County.
- He credits his wife’s support in his ability to serve.
- Bigsbee has expanded Canton’s Juneteenth into a two-day celebration.
CANTON − You’d be hard-pressed to name anyone in Stark County who wears more hats than Mark Bigsbee.
The Massillon native is one of the area’s foremost civic activists and often uses his skills to advocate on behalf of the Black community.
“I’m a servant of the community. I try to either help or influence the progression of each organization,” he said. “I try be a connector, so that’s why I’m part of a lot of organizations because I can immediately say, ‘No, that’s not what they’re trying to do.'”
Bigsbee holds leadership positions and memberships in the Stark County Urban League, the Stark County NAACP and the Stark County Minority Business Association. He chairs the Juneteenth community festival; has memberships in the Stark County Black Caucus, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, and the Greater Canton Chamber of Commerce; and is event coordinator of the Black College Hall of Fame’s committee.