It has been almost 45 years to the day, May 26,1979 that I was closing one chapter of my life and about to partake on another. At the time I was not too concerned about graduating High School. I had a full-time job, a certain amount of independence, my own car and not a lot of stress to worry or contend with. I commented to a friend when asked what my plans were, I replied not sure what I want to do but I do know what I DON'T want. To go into sales or to go to college. It's not that I didn't enjoy school, I just had no interest in jumping into another 4+ years. Little did I realize then that 45 years later I would be standing here honorably accepting an award just for doing the things I like and should be part of everyone's life. It is surprising how a series of somewhat unrelated life events culminate into a lifetime of service.
The first, establishing the correct values: hard work, responsibility and lending a hand when needed. All three can probably be attributed to my parents, being part of a large family and growing up on a farm. Certain duties had to be performed and were expected to be done without being asked or hounded. If the calves didn't get fed, they died, if you didn't shut the gate, you would be chasing heifers, cows, or pigs all over the farm. If a neighbor was in need, you lent a hand, be it with chores, planting, or harvest. Once word got out you were dependable and could be relied on, it wasn't difficult to find work.
Next, becoming a Belleville Girls Basketball junkie. More specifically a tournament junkie. Starting in Junior High or Middle School as it is referred to today, a carload of us would head to Madison to the UW Fieldhouse for the Boy's State Basketball Tournament. Spending all day Friday enjoying State Tournament basketball. The atmosphere and excitement of the tournament was unbelievable!! Late February of my senior year while aimlessly roaming the hall then girls coach Brad Stiner said, "hey quarterback, how about coming to the game tonight". It was a regional final against I am not sure who, but I figured what the heck. I was working on The Sonnenburg Farm and we were usually done with chores around 6:30 so it was an easy make. One game and I was hooked. Not sure what it was about the girl's game that hooked me but right then and there I became a lifelong fan. I still remember road trips to Oakfield and Deerfield for multiple tournament games and how close the Girl's teams came to making the State Tournament. Linda Stuessy's turn around jump shot, in the lane, that propelled the Cats past two time defending State Champion Johnson Creek in the sectional semifinal only to have a player from Kohler go off for 44 points, in the sectional final, to deny the Cats a trip to State. More recently, during the Quinn Rear & Rachel Heitola eras. Watching Quinn hit a three pointer at the buzzer to complete a furious comeback beating Cambridge in a regional final. Then watching her shot rim out at the buzzer, in the sectional final game, to deny the Cats another State Tournament bid.
Third, Bus driver's license. Doesn't seem like a big deal but turned out to be a very valuable asset. After my High School 'gap-year' I did decide to go on to college and attained a teaching degree. At the time I was teaching in the small town of Necedah which had a summer recreation program for the grades 5-8. The then director was taking the summer off and asked me to fill in. Part of the job was to drive the kids to other towns for games which obviously required a school bus and thus the bus driver's license. He talked me into it, and in June 1987 I was officially a 'licensed' bus driver.
Now how does all of this seemingly come together? I enjoyed teaching in Necedah but wasn't a hunter or much of an outdoorsman, so my family and I were looking to get back to the Belleville area. Not necessarily to Belleville but somewhere in the area. Teaching jobs were tough to come by at the time, but circumstance would have it, a friend of mine worked for the local State Farm Agent and mentioned he was taking a new position. I told her to let his boss know I might be interested. August 1,1989, I made the return to Belleville to begin a career that 10 years previous I had no interest in doing. But the BIG difference most people don't realize being an insurance agent is more about service than sales. Your clients must know they are being taken care of.
John Becker, the school transportation director at the time caught wind I had a school bus license and inquired if I would be interested in filling in when needed. Pretty sure it wasn't a question but more or less a request. No matter how old you get, you don't say 'no' to your high school football coach. The fill in when needed soon became a full-time morning route. This was ok because I am a morning person, needed the money and was still in the office before our normal open time.
About that same time coach Stiner retired from the girls' basketball position. Dan Schettler became head coach. When his assistant coach resigned asked if I would be interested. It didn't take much arm twisting to get me to say yes. While teaching at Necedah I also coached and my for-mentioned love of the sport was looking to get back into it. This kicked-off my Belleville basketball coaching career that would span the next 25 years at one level or another. Junior varsity, varsity, grade school & middle school. Looking back, it's not so such much the wins, losses or teams you remember as much as it is the individuals and relationships. Relationships with not only players, parents, staff but opposing coaches, players & referees. Many that continue even today; It is amazing the number of these individuals whose careers have led them back to not only Belleville but the Belleville School District. Teachers, school nurse, aides, support personnel & even the Elementary Principal.
In addition to my career, coaching and driving bus I also found time to be one of the charter members of the Belleville Sports Boosters. Even though the organization was in its infancy we decided to take on the task of fundraising to build the initial bleacher phase of the sports complex. $100,000 had to be raised to finance the bleachers. Due to a tight timeframe the organization was able to secure a loan for the construction. Part of the fundraising was selling the engraved names. Unfortunately, not all the names were sold & engraved prior to construction. This meant removing bleacher sections, loading them onto a trailer and hauling them to Green Bay to be engraved. Once engraved another trip was made to haul them back to reinstall. Many of my Sunday mornings were spent road tripping to Green Bay for bleacher runs. In addition to the engraving, concession stands, much as they are today, were used for fundraising. I cringe at the amount of popcorn popped and hot chocolate served to pay off the bleachers. There was a dedicated group of volunteers that never saw a home football game for the first three years the Sugar River Raider tri-op existed. Eventually we did pay off the loan and the complex continues to transform each year.
I am out of coaching now but still driving bus. Not only do I drive but also get a front row seat as I keep the scorebook for both JV & varsity games. I Figured as long as I'm there I may as well make myself useful. Several road trips stand out over the last 30 years, most notably a game in Prairie du Chien. The forecast was for snow. A narrow band that was to move through quickly. School officials left the decision to go or cancel up to the coach and driver. I contacted a friend of mine in Prairie du Chien who confirmed it was going to be a quick snowfall. Not so! It was snowing when we left Belleville and continued as we drove west. Not a big deal as we figured the storm was moving east and we would soon be in the clear. Continuing on Highway 18 just outside of Cobb several cars were in the ditch .. turn back or continue? We forged ahead figuring turning around would put us right back in the storm. We made it to Prairie du Chien late but still plenty of time for the games and the snow to subside. It didn't! Prairie du Chien parents offered to put us up for the night, but we were still optimistic the snow was about to end. The entire drive home it snowed. Once through Dodgeville on highway 18/151 the bus had to pull over every five miles or so to allow coach Hodgson to get out and clear the built-up snow off the windshield wipers. We eventually made it home safe but luckily the current superintendent's daughter was a player, so school got a two hour delay the next morning. Couple years later was the drive back from Cuba City in an ice storm but that's a story for another time. As is breaking down returning from a tournament game in Deerfield and taking a wrong turn coming home from Brodhead only to end up back in Brodhead!
Bus driving and the relationships developed while coaching kept me connected to the school, its faculty and students. Once the coaching was done, bus driving kept me connected. I still enjoy keeping connected to the school. It's hard to believe but the district went through a rough patch a few years back. A new client and his wife were in my office discussing insurance on their new home and which school district they plan to enroll their children. Though living near Belleville, they thought maybe Monroe or New Glarus as the realtor advised against Belleville. What a shocker? I explained to him the transformations that were currently in place with staff and new administration. This conversation got me thinking that if this misinformation exists how does one get the word out that Belleville school district is strong and vibrant? The answer, the Belleville School Minute. The Big Easy, a radio station out of Monroe, had been covering local sports for years and had recently instituted the School Minutes for districts to self-promote. Our Office reached out to the station who then contacted Mr. Perry who instituted the program. The Belleville School Minute continues, on a biweekly basis, throughout the school year. The school is the lifeblood of any small town and having a district that offers the opportunities that Belleville does, for its students, need not take a backseat to any district.
As I look back on my career with State Farm, coaching, driving bus, my involvement with other community organizations, including 32 years with the fire department plus several other organizations and committees has been a blessing. There was some sacrifice involved not only for myself, family and office team. I've been lucky enough to have a career that allows for a certain amount of flexibility to give back to the school and community which has been so good to me. My wife Cindy and friends often ask why? My simple answer is no one knows what tomorrow may bring. This fact was further emphasized in September when unfortunately another driver failed to yield the right-away at a stop sign. As he struck the rear quarter panel of my truck and as I was spinning out of control hanging upside down for that brief moment two thoughts went through my head. One, is this it, is this how it ends? The second, my mother's words of wisdom whenever we left the house as teenagers "make sure you put on clean underwear because you never know when you are going to be in an accident". Luckily neither myself nor the other driver involved were seriously injured. I did put clean underwear on that morning but after an experience like that can't guarantee they would have remained that way. So while I am physically, mentally, and financially able to, I will continue to do so.
One of my wife's favorite movies is Pretty Woman. In the movie, a random character standing up through the sunroof of a moving car shouts out "Hey what's your story? Everybody's got a story". This was my story, and Seniors I encourage you, No I challenge you to go out there and write your own story. It's not going to be all wine and roses, but it will be yours so make it worthwhile.
In closing, I would like to thank the committee, the selection process, the young Samaritans and Mr Benash and his crew for the recognition. I am deeply honored and humbled. My office team, Jackie & Kristin. The coaches, players and administration that have allowed me to be part of their athletic programs and most importantly my wife Cindy and son Michael and now son in law Ryan and granddaughter Sage for your enduring love, support and unlimited amount of patience.
Thank you.
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