And then there was but one...

Well, here I am at the end of another year. I came into 2014 with grand aspirations of doing more blogging and was actually doing OK for the first half of the year, but that seemingly vanished for the remainder of 2014 on all of my blogs. As I've said before, perhaps my regular journal writing exhausts some kind of writing limit I apparently have. At least I've kept up on that!

Moving on, though, is it really going to be 2015 tomorrow? For real...I remember watching Back to the Future II in the late 1980s thinking it was so far away, and now, here we are about to start it. My nerdy side is quite excited about it and at some point this year (most like on or around October 21, 2015, the date Marty goes to in the BTTF2 movie) I will do a Back to the Future marathon. Great Scott! Are we supposed to see flying cars, auto-dry clothing, hover boards, and "neo-80s" style clothing? I guess we're about to find out. Considering that the current "contemporary" style in homes is just a rehash of the 1960s with different colors, it's not a far reach, at least as far as the "neo-80s" style coming out (though I realize that any vision of the future always reflects the era in which it was produced...see Star Trek in the 1960s and even The Next Generation in the 1980s).

That said, I have to say 2014, while not the extraordinary year I was hoping for, was a good year for me overall and was definitely an improvement over 2013 even without any major changes or upheavals. My hope at the beginning of this year was to finally get that break with a full-time job or other opportunity, but that never came despite my best efforts. Instead, though, I was able to take advantage of some other opportunities, and have been subbing significantly more than I did in most of 2013. My decision to switch to Rootstown, Streetsboro, and the Bio-Med Science Academy in Rootstown in the fall of 2013 was, at least up to this point, a very wise decision. I've enjoyed my time at all three overall this past year and have especially appreciated the increase in work I've received at all of them. Even so, like every year before it, I enter 2015 still on the lookout for something permanent and stable as far as a job or other occupation.

Speaking of jobs, one of my highlights of 2014 was working for the Cleveland Browns this season in Guest Services. My specific title was Suite Attendant, though in reality I really didn't spend much time in the suites themselves. For some of the games I did the pre- and post-game checks of four suites, but that wasn't every week. I initially started out on the far end of the south side 400 level just monitoring the exit to the ramp and answering any questions and addressing any concerns from fans in my immediate area. By the third or fourth game, though, I was moved to the other side of the level at the other exit to the ramps, this one on the Press Box side of the south 400 level. Monitoring this door was a tad different since it was unlocked due to the freight elevator right outside that was frequently used during the games. It was not uncommon for fans using that ramp (the southwest ramp) to walk in the door either mistakenly looking for something else, with a legitimate question for me, or to try and get in the Press Box itself (suite ticket holders rarely tried to do that, but they weren't allowed to). As such, I did see many of the coaches from both teams each week as well as the various media members we all see on TV or hear on the radio.

Overall I really enjoyed the experience of working for the Browns because I enjoy going to sporting events and have always been interested in stadiums, so being able to go in most of the stadium was really neat for me. The other thing was that I was an actual employee, so I was authorized to be in most of the stadium with no questions asked. I remember during the very first preseason game I had to go back downstairs to pick up my dinner and no one blinked when I went through places off limits to most fans since I had my ID. It was a simply, yet gratifying experience for me since, as a substitute, I don't have an ID (several schools give me a generic "Staff" tag that identifies me as a sub that I wear for that day). At the Browns games, I wasn't a sub or just there filling in for someone else; I was doing my job. Later in the season I came up during the week and helped get several suites ready for Sunday and again, because I had my ID, no one thought anything of me walking around the stadium by myself. It was cool being there when it was mostly empty too. There's something therapeutic about being in a building that a lot of people use when it's empty (same goes for church...I love cleaning it because it's empty when I do it).

Really, though, it certainly wasn't about the money (it didn't pay all that well and even if it had, I only worked about eight hours for 10 total games), it was about the experience. The schedule fit perfectly into my plans for that time (no games on holidays and away games on the dates I actually needed to be elsewhere, plus the last home game was before Christmas) and was something I wanted to try. Hopefully the 2015 season will work out for me too (and hey, as a fan I wouldn't mind if the team improved too!).

No year would be complete without travel for me. Despite my limited means, I was able to make several trips thanks to a good car and free, or reasonably priced, lodging. Most of my trips were, as usual, to Valparaiso or Nashville, where my sister and brother live, respectively, which is typical. Both are well within a day's drive and I have a place to stay with people I enjoy being around! In fact, the year started in Valparaiso as I was there for the birth of my niece Lorraine on December 30, 2013. I returned to Valpo several times during the year, including a surprise visit during the spring. During one of my trips to Valpo I was able to attend a minor league baseball game for the Gary Southshore Railcats and then I was finally able to see a game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. So much fun for me!

Nathan and Lorraine in Valpo in July

Historic Wrigley Field!

Becky and me at Wrigley for the Cubs vs. Padres game in July

Evelyn and Olivia during our Christmas trip to Nashville

With Ryan in Valpo this past July

With Olivia during our August trip to Nashville for Evelyn's 2nd birthday

My two long trips were also this spring. In March during Spring Break for most of the schools I sub in, I went down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for two nights. I was able to find a beachfront hotel room for about $30/night. While brief, it was well worth it and much needed after a particularly long, gray, and brutal winter (even for Ohio). In May I made a marathon trip to the Shreveport, Louisiana area for the wedding of my good friend and former missionary companion Will Graff to Megan Rikert. I made the 32-hour round trip in 4 consecutive days, stopping in Nashville on the way there and back since it's right near the midway point. Not only was it great to see my sister-in-law and nieces (albeit briefly), but of course very nice to see Will and Megan tie the knot. I even made a stop in Little Rock, Arkansas on the way back to see the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.

Myrtle Beach in March

Will and Megan's wedding in Louisiana in May

Historic Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas in May

In addition to traveling, it was nice to have family visit here in Kent on several occasions. Twice this year I had all my siblings in the same room at the same time, which is actually pretty rare. I see all of them on a regular basis, but obviously at separate times. My brother and sister came to visit in March just after my birthday, and then were all here again for my grandpa's 90th birthday in October. Of course my sister and her family visited a few additional times, as they're only five hours from here. I love to travel, but it's always nice when people come here, so I very much appreciated and enjoyed it all!

With the siblings in March here in Kent, just after Katie returned from Ukraine!

All the siblings, nieces, and nephews here in Kent in March

Our traditional "Katie and the group" shot in Kent this past October

Family photo in October

2014 was also not without my share of singing, though I was not in any shows this year since This is Kirtland! is on hiatus (doesn't look like it will be back for 2015 either). I was particularly excited about some firsts in singing: in February I performed the Canadian National Anthem "O Canada" in public for the first time when I sang at the NCAA Division II Wrestling National Championships at Public Hall in Cleveland. Later this year, just last month, I finally sang for a football game when I sang prior to the game between Kent State and Akron at Dix Stadium here in Kent. I've been wanting to sing at a football game since high school and have never had the chance. Even though the crowd wasn't all that big (it was 27 degrees F at game time during Thanksgiving Break and the game had been rescheduled), it was still fun and a good experience!

Pictures from KSU photographer David Dermer from my National Anthem performance at Dix Stadium in late November

I once again sang for the Cleveland Indians, Toledo Mud Hens, Akron Rubber Ducks, and Columbus Clippers at various times during the baseball season, as well as several other Kent State events (men's and women's basketball, gymnastics, wrestling), and I even got to sing at the 2014 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships since they were hosted in Kent this year. Now, if only I could get a Cleveland Browns and/or Cavaliers game. So far, no luck there, the Cavaliers in particular.

MAC Center at Kent State prior to a men's basketball game

At the MAC Center again at KSU prior to the Mid-American Conference Wrestling Tournament in March

With Julie and Michelle at Fifth-Third Field in Toledo after singing for the Toledo Mud Hens in May

At Huntington Field in Columbus after singing for the Columbus Clippers in June

With my dad and sister at Huntington Field in June

Just before singing for the Akron Rubber Ducks at Canal Park in Akron in June

Another very enjoyable event I've been a part of this year has been the Fan Advisory Board at Kent State. It's a group of athletic staff, KSU faculty, alumni, and just general fans who meet quarterly and discuss issues related to attendance at KSU sporting events, mainly the big moneymakers of football and men's basketball. Not only have I been able to make connections with various people in athletics and at the university, but I've also learned more about what it really takes to run a Division I athletic department and the various challenges that KSU and schools like it face related to athletics. The meetings themselves are all very enjoyable and go by way too quickly. I'm definitely looking forward to the next one coming up in January.

Lastly, I am most excited that I finally got a personal trainer and joined a local gym, mostly to lose a little bit of extra weight. I had been wanting to start that for some time, but money or other issues always seemed to prevent me from doing it consistently or really getting started. Well, I finally did it just before Thanksgiving and have already lost close to 20 pounds without having to make any major dietary changes. Instead, I've been more carefully monitoring what I eat and how much. That way, I can still enjoy many of the sweets and treats I like on a daily basis and not feel the need to binge on them because I completely abstain. My trainer is grounded in reality and is someone who has actually studied diet and exercise in college, so it's been a good experience so far and one I hope to continue. My main goal? Lose some weight so I don't have to buy progressively bigger pants and so the ones I have fit just a little bit better. So far so good!

Some other highlights or random occurrences in 2014:
In June, I tried out for The Voice when they held auditions in Cleveland at Public Hall. While the wait ended up being about three hours, they kept the lines moving and had everyone go to progressive sections, so it didn't seem like that long. Obviously nothing came of it, so all I got was experience. I thought I did OK, but really made me think about who actually gets on the show and why and how many truly talented people are passed over in that screening round.

Waiting in line for The Voice auditions in Cleveland

Some of the line at Public Hall in Cleveland for The Voice auditions

I was interviewed by a newspaper article in western Virginia for an article about the role I played in editing the Wikipedia article on Stephens City, Virginia, which I did back in 2010. I also did my first paid Wikipedia article, evaluating, writing, and publishing a small article about the play "Dear Mother and All".

As I mentioned a bit earlier, in October we celebrated the 90th birthday of my grandpa Ridinger. I made a quick trip to his hometown of Miamisburg, Ohio (just south of Dayton) the week before his birthday and saw a football game on the very field he played on and got some pictures of important places in his personal life and my family history.

Harmon Field in Miamisburg, where my grandpa Ridinger played football in the late 1930s and 1940

With Miamisburg High School Athletic Director

One of these two houses on Sycamore Street in Miamisburg is where my grandpa was born. The house on the left was where his mom's family lived, and the one on the right was where his dad's family lived.

I attended my first Ohio State home game since 1997 in September when OSU played Kent State. I was obviously conflicted since I'm a KSU alum and fan as well as an OSU fan, so I wore a KSU hat and shirt with an OSU fleece. It was a one-sided affair (OSU won 66-0), but I had fun with my sister Katie and enjoyed seeing the stadium again! It was all thanks to the Marsh family at church who gave us the tickets. It was quite the unexpected surprise!

With Katie outside Ohio Stadium in my "conflicted" gear :)

View from our seats. Not bad!

This year had its share of Cleveland Indians and Akron Rubber Ducks games too as tickets were easy and inexpensive to come by! It was fun to get out every once and awhile and gave my sister Katie, who was home unexpectedly from her Peace Corps duties in Ukraine because of the unrest there, something to do!

April 22 game I sang at and got my first foul ball!

Mormon Night at Progressive Field in late May!

Rubber Ducks game in June. We always had great seats!

In August, Katie and I attended a Cleveland Gladitors game at Quicken Loans Arena, the first time either of us had ever been to an arena football game (the same day we also attended the Ukrainian Festival in Parma!). Not only was it exciting (Cleveland won on a last-second field goal), but we won free passes to Castaway Bay in Sandusky after our picture was chosen as a finalist on the scoreboard and fans voted. We sent out a call to friends to text our code in so we'd win and it was readily answered and we garnered about 97% of the vote! HA! Oh, we also got free pizza coupons with the passes!

At the Ukrainian Festival in Parma with my new hat :)

Photo that got us on the scoreboard at the Gladiators game back in August...

Here we are on the scoreboard...at this point we had 94% of the vote

We went to Castaway Bay a little later in the year when Becky visited with my nephews and had a GREAT time! It was so much fun and even better because it was free!

We all had a great time at Castaway Bay in Sandusky in August!

Here's to 2015 continuing the good I had in 2014 and improving my life where needed. Happy New Year!

An open cover letter

Looking for a good addition to your company or organization? Look no further. While my resume has been posted online for some time, and I maintain a LinkedIn profile, there's a lot more to me and my experience than just what is contained there.

Photo credit: Janelle Nutter, Square Root Photography

I can assimilate information quickly

A quick glance at my resume shows that I have had quite a bit of experience as a substitute teacher, so far at four different districts, which includes a total of nearly 20 different school buildings. That means on a given day, I not only have to remember the policies and routines of a particular building, which can vary even within the same school district, but also that of a specific classroom. In most cases, I walk into a classroom with little, if any, previous experience there and have between 10 and 30 minutes to absorb the lesson plans for the day, class rosters, any potential fire or tornado drill instructions, and any other rules or instructions that may have been left. Instructions can be as simple as a few lines ("give students this worksheet and have them complete it") to multiple pages long (such as an elementary school classroom). I have worked in environments where I'm one-on-one with students to environments where I have upwards of 60-70 kids in a room at the same time. There are even days where I spend part of the day at one school, then totally change gears and spend the rest of the day at another school in a totally different class.

So yes, subbing is far more than simply glorified babysitting that anyone with a pulse can do. It often takes quick thinking, staying on your toes, and being able to assimilate all that information quickly so that decisions can be made not only quickly, but carefully, which can be applied in many other workplace situations.

I can troubleshoot

Troubleshooting, of course, doesn't mean I can fix every problem I encounter, but at the very least, I can identify the problem and the best person or solution to fix it if I can't do it on my own. This is anything from troubleshooting simple computer problems (which I have done at home on a regular basis and even at some of the schools I sub for), to physical maintenance problems, to personality issues. This is part of my abilities to solve problems, whether it be a simple physical fix or some sort of compromise between two parties, or even just calming people down and discussing an issue, which plays into my next quality.

I am level-headed

Emotion can be a very powerful tool that drives people to complete tasks they may have otherwise failed at for a variety of reasons. On the same page, though, if not used correctly, emotion can cause people to make rash and illogical decisions. I am someone who can make a quick decision when needed, but can also weigh the evidence, the possibilities, and potential long-term ramifications. That's not to say I lack opinions, but my opinions are based on evidence and are subject to change based on additional evidence that may be brought to light. So, in a heated argument, especially one that is more ideologically-based, I will certainly have my beliefs and opinions, but not to the point of belittling others who disagree or disrespecting an opposing viewpoint. That said, it is also important for me that when I do make decisions, I can logically explain my reasons so that even if you disagree with what I did, at least you understand why I made the decision and that it wasn't made flippantly. I expect the same out of those around me too. It's great to have beliefs, but be prepared to defend them with logic and reason and not a lot of emotion.

I'm detail-oriented

Details are what sets things apart. In my experience as a teacher and presenter, that means going the extra mile in preparing materials for students and guests that help them not only memorize the info, but understand it far better than they did before my class or presentation. In a presentation I did in 2012 about a local historic building, the details I added were photos from old yearbooks, photos from places in the building that few had seen, and going into old newspapers and finding information that had long since been forgotten. I even had tour guides throughout the building pointing out subtle but still visible reminders of changes made in the building to help guests get a feel for its history.

Example of graphic used for a presentation I gave in 2012. Blue numbers indicate where tour guides stood to point out specific features, red arrows were entrances we needed opened by the custodial staff, while the yellow areas indicated to the school district which rooms we needed to use.

As a director of a musical theater production this past summer, my attention to details was manifest in making things on stage like facial expressions, cast members staying out of view of the audience while not on stage, lights being aimed perfectly (and centered if it was required), and annunciation. Outside the stage, it included doing the playbill myself to make sure information was in a logical order for guests, and organizing a photo shoot for the cast and crew to have professional head shots taken for a display.

While I did not personally make this, it was something I made sure happened. Thankfully, I was able to find a photographer (Janelle Nutter of Square Root Photography) who had the same vision and attention to detail I did to make this become a reality

In my personal life, details are in making sure pictures hung on the wall are straight, paint on the wall is even, the lines between the ceiling and walls are straight, and colors are balanced in any kind of decoration. It's also about keeping a daily journal (currently on volume 16), and making sure I use correct punctuation and grammar in all communication. And yes, I am often asked by friends and family to proof writing and even things like posters not only for correct spelling and grammar, but clarity in organization, use of color, and font size. I have used those skills on Wikipedia too, including a Featured Article on Kent, Ohio.

A picture collage I put together at home, making sure the frames were straight and spaced out evenly

I have managerial experience

As I mentioned previously, during the summer of 2013, I directed a local musical theater production. It was my first time ever taking on such an endeavor and it proved to be quite a challenge. Not only did I have to worry about the theatrical aspects of the show (who does what part, where they stand, how they act, etc.), but I had to worry about virtually every aspect of the show from the technical, to the music, down to the programs. That's not to say I did everything because I most certainly didn't. I had one dedicated crew and a group of people who were not only reliable, but bought into my overall vision for the show. Total, I had a cast of about 60 people, over half of which were children and teenagers, plus a full orchestra, and a crew of about 10. We had eight total performances and saw a noted increase in attendance from years prior, on top of a multitude of positive feedback from audience members and former cast members who attended (this was the 10th season of the show).

Early rehearsal, May 2013. Photo credit Lisa Lovato

As a substitute teacher and in my other teaching experience, I have had to tap into my managerial experience as well. When you're responsible not only for the education of children and teenagers but their well-being, that involves managing who is in the room, making sure they're on task, and knowing what to look for and how to motivate. As a sub, obviously that can change radically from day to day, such as managing an elementary gym class compared to a high school Advanced Placement English class.

I'm computer literate

I have been using computers since I was in elementary school and my grandma had an old Commodore 64. We got our first computer in the mid 1990s when I was a freshman in high school, so I have grown up not only using computers, but getting to know the various programs and operating systems. I'm more familiar with Windows than Macs, but that's mostly due to circumstance. I have extensive use and understanding of Microsoft Word, Publisher, and Excel, and even programs that I may not be as familiar with, I can pick up rather quickly with a simple tutorial, doing a web search for help, or just trial and error. I have done tons of scanning for presentations and personal use, and am an avid amateur photographer.

In social media, I have been on Facebook since 2006 and also have a Twitter account that I have started using more frequently. On Facebook, I have experience running and contributing to official pages, including the one for the musical I directed. I already mentioned my LinkedIn profile, plus I have this blog, my history blog, and even a personal blog. I am also a regular Wikipedia editor, and have written articles, edited others, and contributed scores of photos and graphics to use in all sorts of articles there. That alone requires attention to detail, working with others, and understanding policies and norms.

Finally
Although I have a teaching license, that shouldn't let any perspective employers shy away from contacting me for opportunities that may be outside the realm of education and/or music. I seek any kind of job opportunity that I can use my skills and feel like I am making an important contribution. I am, however, not interested in any kind of direct sales position, basically a job where my pay is dependent on the choices of others and whether I can convince them to buy some service or product. While I have no problem promoting products and services I have used (I occasionally do that right here on my blog), sales jobs such as selling insurance or cars are not something I would excel at. Even so, I am always open to propositions. Please feel free to contact me using the links on my resume or LinkedIn profile.

Oh, and did I mention I can sing too? Not that it would make a difference in most companies, but you never know. I have done the National Anthem for the Cleveland Indians multiple times (most recently in May 2013 and was scheduled to sing for the tie-breaker game had the Indians needed that at the end of September) and have done other teams like the Toledo Mud Hens, Akron Aeros, and Columbus Clippers, and of course, my hometown and Alma Mater Kent State!

The end...of 2012

Another year has come and gone, so as seems to be tradition for my blog, I think I'll do another "year in review" post.  I've often thought about the change to a new year and how it's, in reality, rather arbitrary, but at the same time, you have to start somewhere, so why not there?  From an astronomical standpoint, the new  year typically falls right near the Earth's closest approach to the Sun, known as perihelion (which occurred late on January 1st for those of us in the US), so I guess it's not totally arbitrary.  In any case, it's a good time to reflect and organize the events that happened over a period of time.  2012, of course, had some of the build up to the belief that the apocalypse was coming based on a reading of the ancient Mayan calendar (and no, I never thought for a second that 2012 was "the end"), but it had its share of fun times and drama.  All in all, it wasn't a whole lot different for me than 2011, 2010, or even 2009.  I'm still waiting for that good job to come around and set things into motion.  Coming into a new year there's always some kind of optimism and hope that during this next 365-day period things will happen that change things for the better here.  That's how I went into 2012.  Can't say I'm overly optimistic for 2013, but that's not to say I'm just being negative; just more realistic and cautious in my optimism.  Even so, there were still lots of wonderful events that happened in 2012.  Here are some of the highlights:

New faces!

The biggest events of 2012 were the arrivals of a new nephew Ryan, born in January, and a new niece, Evelyn, born in August.  Not only were their respective arrivals exciting occasions for me, even being far distant from them when they were born, but I've had several opportunities to spend time with them this year (and my nephew Nate, born in 2009) both here in Kent and where they live.  As much as I look forward to the day I have my own family, I am perfectly happy in my role as uncle to three beautiful and healthy kids.  I have enjoyed getting to know them so much in 2012 and look forward to being a part of their lives!!

Nate and Ryan during my September visit to Indiana

Meeting Evelyn in September when she
was about 2-3 weeks old

New places!

I certainly haven't gone anywhere as far as a new address, but I was pretty excited when my sister and brother-in-law moved to Indiana this past spring from Utah.  I spent last Christmas in Utah at their house and while it was nice to visit, I maybe saw them once a year if that.  Now that they're only about 5 hours away via car, I have visited them in Indiana twice and they have come to Kent twice.  My trip there in September was particularly fun as I got to tour Wrigley Field in Chicago, something I've always wanted to do, along with finally touring Progressive Field in Cleveland in July.  The Wrigley Field tour was my first time actually going into Chicago beyond the southern suburbs (passing through on I-80) or the airport.  Of course I also made a few trips to Nashville, which I always enjoy.  During my trip there in March, I took a trip to visit friends in Texas and Louisiana, my first time driving in Texas since my mission and first time ever in eastern Texas.  Other than that, after some rather extensive travels in 2011 (New York City and Utah among others), I really didn't go all that many places in 2012, though the year did begin with me in Utah before I traveled home.

Wrigley Field press box

Cubs locker room at Wrigley

Progressive Field press box in July, just a tad larger (and nicer) than Wrigley's, HA!!

Here in Kent there's also been a lot of "new places" as construction was completed on several new buildings in downtown Kent.  2013 will see the completion of even more new buildings and the start of a few more as Kent continues quite the renaissance in the downtown area and on campus.  I've been doing my best to document the progress via regular photography of the area.  On top of that, Kent State athletics went to "new places" in 2012 as the baseball team made its first appearance in the College World Series after beating Kentucky twice in the regional round (along with beating Purdue), Oregon 2 out of 3 in the super-regional (at Oregon no less!), and then beating #1 Florida in the CWS itself to finish tied for 5th nationally.  On top of that, the men's golf team finished in the top 10 at NCAA national tournament and then football had their best season ever in terms of wins (11) and advanced to their first bowl game in my lifetime (last one was 1972).

Celebrating Kent State's win at Bowling Green back in November!

Some of the new development downtown Kent

Professionally, I ended my time subbing for the Kent City School District, choosing to not renew my contract at the conclusion of the 2011-12 school year for a variety of personal and professional reasons.  Instead, I added two neighboring districts, Tallmadge and Stow-Munroe Falls, and continued with Maplewood Career Center in Ravenna.  I have enjoyed my continued association with Maplewood and have enjoyed my new associations with Tallmadge and Stow.  I have subbed quite a bit in Tallmadge, at the high school in particular, and have really enjoyed my time there so far.  They have wonderful students and a great staff.  I have enjoyed my time in Stow too, though I haven't been there a whole lot yet.

I also attended my first Major League Soccer game this year when I went to a Columbus Crew game in September.  I had a lot of fun!

New roles!

A summer just wouldn't be complete without another stint in This is Kirtland!, my 7th time in the show.  In 2012 I played the role of Parley P. Pratt, which I ended up really enjoying, and had a wonderful time as I usually do.  Later in the year, I was asked to be the director for the 2013 show, which will be TIK's 10th season.  That will certainly change things up for me and prove quite a challenge, but one I am ready and excited to take on.

Scene in This is Kirtland! Photo by Rendell Ashton

Scene in This is Kirtland! Photo by Rendell Ashton

I also took on the project of planning and presenting a history program for the Kent Historical Society.  In September, the society celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Davey Elementary School building being dedicated in 1922 as Theodore Roosevelt High School.  The evening included a presentation with lots of photos and open tours of the building.  It was months in planning (like a year) and I felt it went very well.  After that program, KHS asked me to put together a display about the Kent City Schools, which I finished in early December.  I have decided, at some point, I need to write a book about the history of the schools.  It's something I obviously have a lot of interest in and know a lot about.

After my presentation at Davey Elementary School.  Photo by Brad Bolton

No year summary would be complete without mentioning my singing for the Cleveland Indians this past season.  While it certainly wasn't the first time I'd sung for them I sang far more than I ever thought possible.  After singing twice in 2011, I sent in a resume of past performances and the link to my Youtube page, hoping to get a chance to sing in 2012.  It wasn't 2 days later that I got called by the Indians to sing at the end of April.  What was interesting was that my game in April ended up being cold and rainy, so we had a 2 1/2 hour rain delay (I thought for sure it would get canceled) before I could sing.  That ended up being a blessing in disguise because while I waited, I let those in charge know that I could sing on relatively short notice, so they could give me a call if needed.  I didn't think anything of it at the time.  I thought, at best, I'd get one more chance later in the season, similar to what happened in 2011.  Well, I sang at that cold April game and did a decent job.  I got my first call less than a month later in May and ended up singing a total of five times during the season.  I sang almost once a month (April 28, May 22, June 16, August 6, and September 16th) and usually had about 10 days notice.  I was happy not only for the opportunity, but also that nothing in my schedule prevented me from being able to take advantage of each opportunity.  I love singing the National Anthem and it never gets old, but being able to do it for a Major League Baseball game was something else. I hope to continue that in 2013 as well as at Kent State and at other sporting events.  I tried out for the Cavs, but never heard a thing from them.

April 28th game

June 16 game...and yes, my first name is spelled wrong here

Other highlights!

In addition to all the above, some other things that just didn't seem to fit here that I wanted to mention.  First, was a wonderful visit from my aunt Brenda and uncle Rick from Utah!

My aunt Brenda and uncle Rick visited from Utah in September, in between my trip to Nashville for Evelyn's baby blessing and my trip to Indiana to visit Becky and the boys.  It was my aunt's first time in Kent in about 20 years, so we took her and Rick to see the sites in Kirtland and then showed them around all the new stuff downtown Kent

Grandpa showing Brenda and Rick Acorn Alley

I also got to visit my friend Michelle a few times, one of which included a trip to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan to see the Titanic exhibit on my way back from Indiana in September.  After that we went to the Toledo-Bowling Green football game at the Glass Bowl in Toledo.  I also went to the Kent State-Bowling Green football game (pictured above with Katie) in Bowling Green with Michelle.

Titanic exhibit...no pictures allowed inside (unless you wanted to buy one of you on the Grand Staircase replica!)

At the Toledo-Bowling Green game!

I saw some pretty cool fireworks shows during the year too!

Progressive Field in July

This was a cool fireworks show at Kent State's home opener in August.  They let fans watch it from the field

 And to top the year off, I got to spend it with ALL of my siblings and their spouses and kids right here in Kent!  Who knows when we'll all be together in the same room again, but it was a wonderful way to end the year and celebrate Christmas!

The first photo with the entire family together.  From left to right, back row: my dad Rick, brother Andy, Me, brother-in-law David, and my mom Linda.  Front row left to right: sister-in-law Heather (holding Eveyln), sister Katie (holding Nathan), and sister Becky (holding Ryan).