2017

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Though I had been with the Court three-and-a-half years, this was my first day as Judge. It was my first day without Judge Oliver across the way to answer my every question, or correct any wayward decision. Though I had campaigned with a pledge that I had all the necessary qualifications and experience, I suddenly wasn't sure any of those things I had said were actually true. Did I have what it took to do this job? What if I stumbled right from the beginning and never recovered? I vowed just to be myself, and trust the qualities that had gotten me this far.

Right out of the gate, I had a final sentencing of a mother who had three times prevented the children's father from seeing them. The last time happened right after she had been sentenced by Judge Oliver, who announced he was sending her to jail. The mother was put in handcuffs and escorted by the sheriff's deputy on their way out of the courtroom when the mother relented, and promised she would make good if she were given one more chance. She had never been in trouble before, and though the evidence did not prove it, the mother still believed the father had inappropriately touched the youngest daughter. The Judge, understandably, allowed her the chance to make good on her promise. And so the mother was freed. This all happened on Thursday, December 22, 2016, only a week before Judge Oliver retired. He set a review date of January 3, 2017 to make sure the mother had complied.

The mother still did not send the children with their father. So she obviously lied to Judge Oliver.

WWJD? What Would the Judge Do? I did what he would have done.

And off she went. 

So much for the misconception that working in the Court is far less stressful than representing clients.

  

The Thanksgiving tradition started in 1975, when a bunch of guys in

 the neighborhood gathered at Schenck Elementary School in Franklin to play football. We were 15

 years old, sophomores at Franklin High School, all of us in perfect shape. The guys quit playing

 sometime around 2005, but that's about the time Chloe started playing -- she was 10 at the time. And

 so we have continued the tradition ever since, with a lot of her friends and their dads, only now we play

 at Wade Field in Springboro.

 Saturday, November 4, 2017.  

2016: A Most Incredible Year, Part 1 -- "My Dreams Never Took Me This Far"

March 16, 2016 -- Win Or Lose, I Could Die A Happy Man

The moment I will remember forever came last night around 8:45 p.m., long before the results came pouring in.

I was driving home alone, unresponsive to my cell phone that was blowing up in the seat next to me. While Kim and Chloe attended to other details, I planned a quiet walk through the neighborhood with my dog, thinking that if the votes did not come out in my favor, then Kobe would be there to cheer me up. He loves me no matter what.

I turned onto Bunnell Hill Road off of St. Rt. 48, just north of the Warren County Career Center. The sun had just set on a beautiful, warm day, and my family and I were set to leave for Florida in the morning. More than that, the realization that a nine-month, hard-fought campaign was now over.

The magnitude of the entire experience hit me right there, and I pulled off to the side of the road for a second.

Whether I won the election or even if I didn't, I was the luckiest man on the planet.

No matter what happens in my life, be it sickness or setback or being on the short end of election results, God has blessed me far beyond anything I have ever deserved.

I thought of the words of a Thomas Rhett song that are frequently on the radio: "If all I've got, is your hand in my hand/ Baby, I could die a happy man."

All throughout the campaign, I had focused on one thing at a time -- do my work, do my best, be the person I am, and let the results take care of themselves. Now I had to put that truism to the test.

Whatever happened in the next hour or so, I would be fine.

...

                      

KOBE DID NOT ASK about my day, nor inquire about any election results. When I got home, he bolted out the back door, in a hunt for a pesky cat that must have been taunting him from just outside the window.

Before long, I was ankle deep in a muddy area just behind our neighbor's house. Oddly, it was at that moment that just the right phone call came from just the right person. I answered my phone.

The results were in. We had won.

I couldn't move, in part because I was stunned. Lauren Clouse ran and strong, competitive campaign and had the backing of so many powerful and good people. It was overwhelming to hear that we had overcome such competition. Secondly, I couldn't move because I was literally stuck in the mud that surrounded me.

"We're going to Campioni's to celebrate," the caller said.

"Uh...sure. Just give me a few minutes to get there," I said. For a second, I felt like Peyton Manning at the two-minute warning. How am I going to round up this dog?

But then, just like that, as if on cue, there he was.

...

I'VE NEVER WALKED A daughter down the aisle (Chloe isn't old enough) or watched my parents celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary (Dad died just before their 49th), but the experience I had at Campioni's has to come close to such an experience.

Total warmth. Total love. The people who had gathered there were sold-out all through the campaign, and especially on Election Day. I love them all.

I will have to add all the names later, as I had done last night when this piece first appeared but was somehow deleted. Sorry, all of you. I'll have to add your names later this evening.

But the moment was absolutely incredible, and it re-inforced what I had been feeling only an hour earlier. I have been surrounded by so many wonderful people -- good friends, loving family members -- and I am blessed beyond measure. I have so many people to thank. For now, let this suffice as a public expression of appreciation.

As hugs were exchanged and loving words spoken, I sat back in the middle of it to once again remember the lyrics from Thomas Rhett:

And if I never get to build my mansion in Georgia/

Or drive a sports car up the coast of California/

Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand/

Baby, I could die a happy man

                            

                                    

December 30, 2016 -- Taking The Oath

Bubba Watson is a professional golfer who won The Masters Golf Tournament a few years ago, and afterward he was asked if winning the tournament had been a dream come true.

“I can’t really say,” he said, “because my dreams never went this far.”

I went to Springboro until the middle of the eighth grade, then graduated from Franklin High School.

I was a magistrate in Springboro and Franklin. I was part of a very nice law firm that drew largely from clients in both communities. I had “The Heart of the Panthers" and then became “Once A Wildcat, Always A Wildcat”. I have been fortunate, and maybe there were thoughts of being a judge on a local level...but running for a county-wide position was not on my radar.

“My dreams never went this far.”

I Am A Mosiac, A Reflection Of So Many People

With all due respect to the successful people of this world who achieved their status totally on their own, there’s only one thing I can say in response: I’m not one of them.

My first exposure to the legal system came in 1968 when my dad passed the bar exam – he went to college and law school with 5 kids. I didn’t know what a lawyer was, but all I had heard was that my dad fought to get people out of jail. So I figured he showed up at the jail every day at 4 o’clock, ready to duke it out.

Since he always came home without a scratch on him, I figured he must be a good lawyer.

I remember going to court with him, in front of  Judge Tracy, Judge Young, Judge Fedders, Judge Herdman. 

He always talked about other lawyers, like Morris Turkelson, Fred Jones, Phil Pleska, Fred Hubbell, Eddie Lawson and Jim Ruppert. 

I grew up hearing stories about all of them, at County Court, The Golden Lamb, and Kinney’s in Franklin. Bar parties, were often at our house.

I learned we’re all part of history and tradition. Just yesterday I was talking with David Fornshell, our county prosecutor, and Judge Flannery, our retired common pleas court judge and former prosecutor. David said, “I’d love to have been a fly on the wall back in those days.”

 They told a lot of stories. Some of them were true.

 But I never saw myself being a lawyer, let alone a judge. 

High School / Friendships

I have also been influenced by some wonderful friends through the years. 

If you ask someone where they were between ages of 30-33, you have to think. But ask about 15-18 and you know exactly where you were.

My best friends were Griff, Jerry, Daws, Gordy, Kev, Silk and Bake. No one had full names. I was "Kirb."

Silk, sitting here, was the best man at my wedding almost 25 years ago. Bake presented me when I went into the Franklin Hall of Fame. Last night he was in Oxford, Mississippi calling the Kentucky basketball game with Rex Chapman, and today he’s here.

We don’t see each other all the time, when something happens, our phones start ringing.

One time I had someone ask me, “Do you pay your friends say a lot of nice things about you?” No, I don’t pay them for what they do say. I pay them for what they don’t say." 

I learned we were not made to go through life alone. We are all connected, where one life touches another life, which touches another life, and then that life touches you. You can no more separate one life from another than you can separate the breeze from the wind.

Jury Duty

One day in July 1983, I got a notice for jury duty. For a week I sat right there as Judge Young presided over a murder trial, the State versus Jerry Howard. Joanne Hash was the prosecuting attorney, and Bill Fowler and Jack Bunce were the defense attorneys. I was fascinated by the experience. 

“Hmmm. Do you think this might be what you want to do?” I asked myself. Soon I headed off to law school.

My thought was to settle into a small town law firm and represent all my friends.

I worked with Dad and my brother Joe. I tried cases in front of Judge Fedders, Judge Bronson, Judge Flannery, Judge Herdman, Judge Clark, Judge Ruppert.

One of my first cases was in front of Judge Herdman in County Court. I’m driving over saying to myself, “Why have I been assigned this case?” Our client was obviously guilty, and everyone knew he was going to jail. Judge Herdman was a colorful judge. He had two rules: 1) if you stole something, you went to jail – no questions asked, and 2) every lawyer wins his first case.

Judge Herdman had a dilemma.

He looked up overtop his glasses and said, “Young man, you tell your father that if I so much as think about him in the next six months I will put him in jail, and anyone else he happens to represent. Got it?” Got it. 

Kirby Law Office / Secretaries

I worked with some real good people at the Kirby Law Office, where I worked for 25 years -- with Linda McKinney, Bernice Robbins, Sharone Eisenhut, Brenda Williams...and especially Lisa Evans. I learned the value of teamwork, the complexities of litigation, and the demands of daily practice. One time I mentioned at a party that my phone never rings with people wanting to tell me to have a wonderful day. It’s always a problem. I came in Monday morning to a voice mail full of messages, all from the people at the party telling me they hoped I had a wonderful day.

I worked in Franklin Municipal Court with Sherry Mullins, Norma Barker, Sabrina Muncy, Dodie Lykins, Darleene Moore, Joyce Biser…Big John Flinspach. I heard probably 50,000 cases in 22 years, many times with litigants without lawyers. Fights over cars and personal belongings. Evictions that called for people to move out of their houses. Emotion. Think that is good training for a domestic relations court judge?

Also, I worked in Springboro Court with Kelly, Sharon, Stephanie, Linda Harrison, Charlie Reedy, Jimmy Beavers, JC Kristenoff. I heard another 60,000 cases through my 22 years there, hearing essentially: “I didn’t do it and I’ll never do it again.” People mess up. Some work hard to fix it. Others need court penalties to get them there. More good experience.

One day I was talking to a prisoner, who was complaining about being treated unfairly. Terry Stone, someone I knew from high school, was also sitting with the prisoners and couldn't believe what he was hearing. “That’s the stupidest damn thing I’ve ever heard,” he said

“You’re in jail. How fair is that?”

“I’m a dumbass. I deserve to be in jail. This is the fairest judge you’ll ever meet. Now take your medicine like a man and shut up.”

Collaborative

In 1999, I represented an inmate at LCI (Charles Austin – like Morgan Freeman) who had been in and out of prison for more than 20 years. He was in the Alabama prison system in 1973 Burt Reynolds filmed the original version of “The Longest Yard.”

That trial went well. I was doing well. My wife Kim and I lived in a nice neighborhood, we had good kids, and I drove a nice car. But I was not a really nice person. I was locked into all these fights everywhere, and they were affecting me.

I remember a morning around that time when I was headed to the office at 5:30 in the morning. I had a trial at 8:30, a motion at 10:30, and then another trial at 1 o’clock that afternoon.

I remember being stopped at the stop sign at McCray Blvd. and 741, with snow just covering my car. I confessed I was tired. I bowed my head. “I’m not the litigator this person is, and I’m the research genius that one is.” I was trying to be all these other people.

God said, “That’s not what I made you to do.”

"I gave you the gift of patience, see how much influence you can have by listening.

 "I gave you the gift of tact, so speak the truth in love.

"Jeff, you’re a problem solver. Stick with me and I’ll show you strength you’ve never had before 

Not long after that, I signed up for a collaborative law seminar at the Golden Lamb, primarily because it offered a lot of credit hours. I had no idea it would transform the way I would practice law, and by extension, change my life. Dale Carnegie said, “The best way to win an argument is not have one. I became a mediator. I became a guardian ad litem.

But I still never saw myself being anything more than a small town lawyer.

Julie/ Judge Oliver

In 2008 Dad died. A few years later, my sister Julie died. I’ve heard it said, “When someone you know passes away, you gain an angel whose name you know.”

In early 2013, some serious strings were pulled. Joe to Juvenile/Probate Court, me to the Domestic Relations Court.

This was a real leap of faith, but  I sense of peace about it. I joined a staff that is incredible. Every time I talk about them, I think of the TV show M*A*S*H, not so much because everyone is a character, but there is some of that. But just like Hawkeye and BJ and Klinger could really get the job done when the pressure was on, so does this crew.

You should see them. They are highly regarded by anyone who works with domestic relations courts in Southwest Ohio. Rhonda Denny. Today is Rhonda’s last day. For the past 12 years, she has been a guiding force with our court. She doesn’t wear the robe and she doesn’t get recognized at community functions, but she does all the things – compliance, scheduling, insurance, and a thousand other things – to keep us going. I have a lot of faith in Diana Flint’s ability to take over, but we will not and cannot replace Rhonda. She’s one of a kind. 

I also work with Eloisa Kirsebeth, Pam Jackson, Mary Ellen Steele, Carrie Oliver, Deborah Grubb, Brooke Logsdon, Jerry Williams, and now Lisa…

I also work with Magistrates Yvonne Iversen, Anne Flottman and Brenda Dunlap. On election day, I was outside a church in Mason. Someguy walked up and said, "Do you think Brenda Dunlap does a good job?" And that's tough, because not everyone who leaves our court thinks we did a good job, even when we did.

I said, "Yes sir."

He said, "That's good enough for me. I'm voting for you."

Judge Oliver

Today is also Judge Oliver’s last day. I worked with him at the prosecutor’s office 30 years ago, worked with him on opposite sides of cases for 15 years while he was prosecutor, practiced in front of him for 10 years, and now worked as a magistrate with him for the last 3 years.

He’s not old enough to be my dad, but he has helped me the same way my dad did. He’s never corrupted me the way Errol did. He believed in me. 

I will not replace Judge Oliver. I will work hard to try to run this court the way he has.

When I ran my election, I know it was my name on the ballot, but I felt as if I were running as part of that team.

I don’t need to show any of them what to do. Truth be known, the best thing I could probably do is just stay out of their way.

I bring a lot of experience, but I cannot do this job without relying on a team effort.

Family / Kim

 

Dad. I’ll see him again and he’ll say, “I wish I could have been there to be part of that.” I’ll say, “You were.”

He drove all of us about the importance of working hard and getting an education. He wasn’t the least bit bashful trying to tell us how to run our lives, because he wanted us to be the best we could be. 

Jenny is a retired school teacher who is now a realtor; married for 33 years and mother to three great kids. “No way I will call or Joe ‘Your Honor.’”

John has always been the funny guy. They say when you’re nervous, watch fish…

Joe. I learned skills to be a divorce judge when I was 9 years old, which means Joe would have been 5. At snack time it was my job to divide up a bag of M&Ms. I’d open the bag and count them, and wouldn’t you know the amount was never divisible by 5.

I learned some people, like Jenny, can be very agreeable about such things. But other people…let’s just say Joe never went without.

I’m very proud of him.

Julie would, too. If she had been alive when Joe was appointed judge over the Juvenile Court, she would have said, "Well, that's just perfect. It takes a juvenile delinquent to find another juvenile delinquent."

The importance of relationships with your siblings and your cousins – they’re there before your kids come along, and they’re there in most instances after your parents are gone.

Adam working hard to become his own person; Chloe totally blend between me and Kim. Senior OSU. English major. Working at David’s Bridal over winter break. UD Law School. 

Kim is bright, beautiful, and considerate. It's no won der she has 14,000 best friends.

When I perform weddings, I say, “Don’t let the wedding be the end of your movie; instead, let it be the beginning.”

On Election Night, when the results were not in, I was still a winner. I had her.

Rightfully, much is said about all the effort my dad made in going to college and graduating law school. Well, that’s only half the story.

My mom had the harder job

There’s a story of a business leader driving with his wife…

“I know what you’re thinking…”

“No, if I had married him, he would be driving the big car with me, and you would be working at the gas station.”

Mom, they’re telling me I have to be properly dressed to do this.

Can you help?

2015

March 21, 2015

The post-game press conference was over, and the 10,000 spectators had gone home. I stood outside the University of Dayton with Mark Kennard and we talked quietly about an amazing season. It was sad that it came to an end, in the Regional finals, just one step away from the state tournament, on such a controversial last-second call.

This season was made so sensational in large part because of Mark's son Luke, who had already committed to Duke. He was Ohio's Mr. Basketball for the second year in a row, drawing media attention from everywhere. But it was extra special because his teammates were his friends from when they all were kids -- Evan Crowe, Jake Ridell, and Matt Thompson, and then Austin Daliboa moved in and fit right in.

But it had been a ride, for sure...

Maybe, somewhere, someone might say they appreciated how I followed the 2014-15 Franklin H.S. basketball team on its incredible journey through what has to be one of the best years in town history. I had a front row seat and then wrote what I saw and heard, which generated on overwhelming amount of interest. And I appreciate any positive comments about that, for sure.

But let me say, unequivocally, I was the one who was blessed by the experience. I didn't score a point and didn't plan any game strategy, but I felt like I was a part of that team. 

My stories were compiled into a book entitled, "We Are Family, We Are Franklin," and when the book was released in August, I told the people who attended the ceremony that this team would likely celebrate its 25th anniversary on a winter night in the year 2040. Only God knows whether I will be there in person that night. But in another way, through the book and the stories I wrote, I figure I will be there. And it will be my honor to be associated with that team in a small way.

This was an experience I will forever remember, and cherish.

P.S. -- I didn't know it at the time, but the day was coming when I would see Cole Blevins way more than on a Friday night for a basketball game. A year later, he and Chloe would start dating.

...

May 9, 2015

In what must be regarded as the wedding of the century, Kim, Chloe and I went to Reynolds Plantation in Georgia for the wedding of Jack Crotty and Courtney McGohan.

By 10 o'clock, when there band finished playing, it was already perhaps the nicest wedding I had ever been to. But then when the fireworks started, well, that was nothing short of over the top.

Fireworks.

Wow. What a night.

...

May 15, 2015...The idea was to recognize some of the older members of the Warren County Bar Association in what can be regarded as sort of like a Hall of Fame moment. So that's what we did on this Friday night, recognizing Judge Jim Ruppert, Judge David Batsche, Judge Mark Clark, Magistrate Eddie Lawson, and attorney Jack Hedges. And it was a great night, one I was told meant a great deal to those who participatedThe idea, too, was to combine it with our golf outing, so many of us spent that afternoon at the Shaker Run G.C. I played with Steve Runge and Tom Diehl and I'd like to say we set the world on fire...but we did have a great day.

...

November 22, 2015...No one told me you were supposed to invite people to these things. Looking back, it makes perfect sense, because it really gives you an idea how many people will be attending. But, no, we didn't do that. We threw a campaign kickoff event at Heather's Cafe in Springboro and essentially just hoped people would show up. Thankfully, a bunch of people who were a whole lot more savvy than I am stopped by to show support. It lasted two hours, I spoke for only 15 minutes, and yet I don't think I have ever been so exhausted afterward. As I would soon find out, I would feel that after every political event. Good luck!

...

December 18, 2015

2014

2013 -- Ups And Downs, Big Changes

Julie, with Sara, in 1989

January 6, 2013 -- Rest in Peace, Julie

For the second time in eight months, we got a phone call from Jenny in the middle of the night -- again about Julie, and again with news she had been found unconscious at her home. Julie had been in terrible physical pain for many years, helped only slightly by the pain pills, and she was set for another round of tests and exams to see if a miracle cure existed somewhere.

But Julie passed away that night, having accidentally taken too many pills. She was so smart, helpful, kind, and considerate, and the best aunt a bunch of kids could ever find. She was gone too soon at the age of 49.

She never had children of her own. But boy did she love her nieces, nephews, and her stepsons.

She is forever missed.

...

March 16, 2013 -- The Highlight Of A Great Season

The opponent was mighty, might Moeller, the Cincinnati sports powerhouse. And the setting was the University of Dayton Arena, in the Division I Division finals.

In what was a continuation of a great school year for Chloe, as a student cheerleader, and even for us, who felt we were parents to everyone in her class, the Panthers defeated the Crusaders to move on to the Division I Regionals for the first time in the school's history (Boro had been there several times in Division II).

Whoop. Whoop.

...

June 1, 2013 -- The Graduate

She was loved by every one of her teachers. She had great friends, was involved in so many enjoyable activities, was at ball games because she was a cheerleader, was active on the yearbook staff, had countless parties and sleepovers, and was frequently buzzing around her little town of Springboro.

And then on Saturday, June 1, 2013, she put on a cap and gown and received her diploma showing she was a graduate of Springboro High School. Her future looked bright, but where exactly she was headed was in the unknown. She would go to college, and maybe go on to be a teacher, but more likely to go on and be an attorney. Whatever she had in store, we were already proud of her. And we believed in her.

The night before her graduation, he had a party for what seemed like 45,000 people and, in order to prepare for it, we had to spend like $45,000. Everything was beautiful both inside and out, and then forty-minutes before the party, a monster monsoon hit Springboro, destroying everything in its path, well, sort of. 

But we got some great pictures before it happened...

June 3, 2013 -- A Whole New Chapter

By the middle of March, we were convinced Julie had become our Guardian Angel who was making things happen. The Kirby Law office was always known as "the office" within the family, and the perception was that owning a law practice had at least more bad than good. 

Joe put his name in for the governor to consider as the next Juvenile and Probate Judge  in Warren County. He said he did on a lark, not thinking he had the slightest shot at getting the appointment, but it was worth a try. 

Around the same time, news came that Ron Carey would retire his position as a magistrate in the Warren County Domestic Relations Court. Judge Oliver had received 30 or more applications, none from me, at least not until one afternoon after my hearing I commented, "I hear you may have a magistrate's position open."

Within days, judge received word that he was the Governor's choice, and Judge Oliver was on the phone asking me when I could start.

Julie?

Things this big do not happen so quickly. 

As it happened, so many things were up for renewal at the office, like our expensive copier, and our expensive telephone advertisement. Within a month, we would have been signing on to be personally responsible for these things. And our dad's secretary, Linda McKinney, had been hinting at retirement for a long time.

On Monday, June 3, I walked into the Domestic Relations Court as its newest magistrate. I would keep my Springboro magistrate's position, but I resigned from the one I had in Franklin. Meanwhile, Joe was starting his third month as Juvenile and Probate Court judge.

And just like that, we didn't have office overhead to worry about no more.

That's good.

2012 -- A Year Of Celebration

 

January 22, 2012 -- Paying Tribute To A Great Coach

The night was a tribute to longtime Franklin Wildcat baseball coach Doug Long, who was being inducted into the Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame -- which is a big deal on many levels. I was part of a panel that included Michael Aldridge, who later went on to play in the New York Yankees farm system. 

I mentioned how I left my team jacket at Talawanda near the end of our  senior year, a penalty that called for me to run ten laps around the field. But our season ended only a few days after, and graduation came only a few days after that, so I never ran the laps.

Many years later, I saw him at Ricky Chamberlain's medical office one afternoon and I casually mentioned my "unpaid penalty." I figured since I was now a husband and a father and a practicing attorney and a magistrate in two courts, I might be entitled to some leniency.

Nope.

"Do you know what the interest on 10 laps is after 30 years?" he said. "You need to run a marathon, 10 times over. Start running."

I got the laugh I was looking for, from everyone except Coach. My motion...was denied.

...

July 16, 2012 -- Helping Another Great Coach

All of a sudden, for no particular reason, the Springboro school board elected not to renew Troy Holtrey's contract to be the boys' basketball coach, a position he held for 21 years.

No reason was given. The board said it could not discuss employment issues in public. But I felt it could at least discuss the problems with Troy; he was entitled to at least that much. That's what I talked about on camera on the afternoon of July 16. And it's what ten or so of us said when we spoke at the school board meeting on July 31.

Then I was asked to lunch by the new superintendent, who had recently been hired by this new school board. "He deserves to be told what is going on," I said. "If there is an agenda they want him to follow, at least let him know it and give him the chance to follow it. But this is crazy."

By Labor Day, the decision was made to go in a different direction.

I had followed Springboro basketball since I was a kid in the late 60s. I knew so many of its people and its history. And I wasn't sure, after this announcement, the program would ever be the same again. People move in, shake things up, then leave, forcing those of us who are here to pick up the pieces.

Sad.

...

August 22, 2012 -- A Summer Of Being A Coach

Our intern at Springboro Court spent the summer calling cases, serving as bailiff, and doing whatever else anyone needed done. But by summer's end, she had to go back to school for her senior year. She promised to be back in a decade or so, at least as a lawyer, maybe the prosecutor, or -- who knows? -- the magistrate. 

But in any event, for now, Court was adjourned for Chloe.

...

November 15, 2012 -- Witness To An Incredible Season

After going 3-7 in 2011, I can't say I had high expectations for the 2012 Springboro football season. But it turned out to be one of the most incredible seasons in school history, and especially exciting for me because I was on the sidelines (as a sportswriter) for all of it. Thirty years earlier, I was there for Springboro's first-ever 10-0 team. Now I was back for its third undefeated team.

Chloe was a cheerleader for that team. The players were her classmates and friends. Kim felt like she was the mom to every single one of them, and together we had a great time.

"The Heart of the Panthers" may need a sequel someday.