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I'm pretty sure you grew up in Bluffton. Did you always live in the house on Huber Street? What are your favorite memories of growing up in Bluffton? Favorite or least favorite classes in school, teachers, friends, etc.?

Yeppers, I was born in Bluffton Hospital and spent the first eight years of
my life in a small house on Washington Street. When I was in second
grade, we moved into our house on Huber Street. I loved that house. The
woodwork was beautiful, thick, solid walnut with sliding, panelled doors.
The house was well-constructed and CLASSIC!! I now love old houses
(although I do not live in an old house...which is a forthcoming
discussion...to be continued).

As for school memories, I'll do my best to simultaneously reminisce and
name-drop (my apologies to anyone who is left out). Memoirs from Bluffton
Elementary School in the good old days: I definitely remember climbing a
rope to the top of the elementary gym and touching the ceiling (the poor
youth of today miss out on such good, healthy activities due to the legal
system). Rhonda Rau was one of my best friends. Her family took me to
church at Pleasant View United Methodist Church every Sunday. I always
tell myself to write them a "Thank You" note... I definitely will!!

Beaverdam Middle School: Once again, the poor youth of today miss out on
the BMS experience. Junior High dances with Mr. Wright's DJ services and
walking to the store on Main Street for snacks before games. And of
course, junior high girls' basketball. We were the first official junior
high girls' team (thanks to Title IX). We only lost one game - to Hardin
Northern. I believe the score was 13-14. I cried my eyes out.

BHS: Best memories: Band - at the time I didn't know how much fun I was
having, until now when I think of band camps-being initiated when I was a
freshman (we were thrown in the pond at the Village Park... (sigh) good
times); girls' basketball - yes, Mr. Lee was my basketball coach! I was a
sophomore when he first came to BHS. He was a great coach. Yeah, he
yelled, but he liked us...we learned a lot...and we never thought he
yelled because he disliked us; he just wanted us to improve.

I hope that my children will understand why their coaches yell, AND I hope that I am able to handle it gracefully when my kids get chewed out by a coach; teachers--I was blessed with incredible teachers! The knowledge and skills that I learned from my teachers still influences me today (and I'm not
"brown-nosing," because I am too old to receive a grade from them).

Mr. Herr was an incredible math teacher, and more importantly a great man. Mr. Brown was/is probably a genius. I will always remember being the only
girl in physics class with Mike Martz, Mike Yoder, Scott Snyder, Brad
Schafer, and hmmmm, maybe Mark Frysinger (remember, I began answering this question with an apology to all who are left out).

I attribute Mrs. Naylor's Advanced Grammar Class to my successful completion of a dissertation. Thanks to Mrs. Weaver's Latin class, I love learning foreign languages. Last, but not least, I actually still use a lot of the
knowledge I learned in Mr. Bruskotter's freshman science class (I'd love
to be a meteorologist).

Summer breaks: Yes, I know you didn't ask me about this, but I have to do
a couple of "shout-outs." Jill Snyder - thanks for taking me to Ocean
City, NJ. I still want to take my own family to the Jersey shore.
Bluffton Swim Team - Stacy Brewster, Gina Basinger, and Mandy Williams shared in some great times. Oh to look like that in a swim suit again
(another sigh).

In what car did you take your driver's test? What do you drive now?

I took my driver's test in my grandpa's Galaxy, because it had an automatic
transmission. My dad taught me to drive in a Maverick with a manual
transmission. As for my current wheels, oh yes, I'm a mini-van mom
(excuse my cringe as I type this response). Mini-vans are convenient,
but definitely not cool. Nope. Not in the least.

Our other family vehicle... a 1997 Honda Accord (manual transmission, of course!) with over 300,000 miles!! Both my brother Mike and my husband, Jeff, are Honda employees. I will always drive a Honda (hopefully, not ALWAYS a mini-van!!).

You were pretty active in sports and other activities in junior high and
high school. What did you enjoy the most? Are you still involved in a sport?

I loved playing basketball, but my knee problems definitely shortened my
career (in addition, I wasn't really that great). I liked cheering at
Friday night football games. I'm not sure that I liked cheering as much
as I liked football.

When I was growing up, I played football with Rich and Mike. Rich was the all-time QB; I was the wide receiver; Mike was linebacker/defensive end. Mike would hit me. Rich would hit Mike. So, I actually would have rather played football, but I settled for cheerleading. I still love high school and college football. I stay up on Friday nights to watch high school highlights, and I check Saturday morning box scores in the paper. I yell during Ohio State football games on television, and I try to call plays for Tressel. As for my own personal fitness, I'm still a runner (probably a better term would be "jogger"). I run with an iPod, so I don't have to hear myself gasping for air.

Where did you and your friends hang out when you were in middle school and high school? Did you have a summer and/or after-school job?

As I get older, I realize that I was a genuine, good-girl, geek. I loved going to
my friends' houses - Tracy Reichenbach's, Stacy's, Jill's, Mona Henry's,
Mandy's,... (once again, I apologize for those who are left out - I still
remember slumber parties at Chris Rumer's and Gina's!). We went roller
skating at Edgewood Arena, when Mandy's mom would cart us to Lima.

Otherwise, we rode a lot of miles on our bikes around Bluffton. As for
summer employment, lifeguarding at the Bluffton Swimming Pool was the
summer dream job. Even though I had to jump in freezing water to teach
unhappy children how to swim, and I had to clean toilets, I still have
wonderful memories of the pool. Once again, the poor youth of today will
never realize the fun of swimming in the quarry with the high dive and
the rafts!

You graduated from BHS in 1994, correct? J Did you consider going to
college anywhere other than Bluffton? Were you an education major? When did you become a school counselor and how did you develop an interest in that?

First of all, God bless you, Mary Pannabecker Steiner, for suggesting that I
graduated in 1994. Once again, God bless you! As for college
aspirations... I never wanted to go to Bluffton College. I always
intended to go to Ohio Northern University. My dad graduated from ONU,
and Mike graduated from ONU, too. I took a campus visit to ONU in the
fall of my senior year and left the camput in tears, because I immediately knew that the campus was not right for me!

Don Schweingruber had talked to me about Bluffton College a few times, so I decided to visit the campus on a day when BHS was cancelled for snow. I loved it! The rest is Beaver history! I was a secondary math education major. Dr. Clemens and Dr. Krehbiel were awesome. Now, truthfully, as a math major, I was marginal. I liked teaching, but what I really enjoyed was talking to students after school when I was coaching (I coached girls' basketball, track, and cheerleading). I realized that I wanted to help students in a different capacity - counseling!

Where do you live now? Tell me a bit about your family. Are your
daughters involved in extracurricular activities (music, sports) yet?

I live in a subdivision on the northwest side of Lima. Woodbriar subdivision is located off of Bluelick Road, only about a mile from I-75. We built our
house in 2007. My husband and I had always wanted to live in the country
(he's an avid outdoorsy guy- hunting, fishing, golfing), but we could not
find a home that was located on a safe road for our daughters to ride
their bikes. We settled for Woodbriar, because we still have an open
field and woods behind our house, so we get to see deer and wild things,
while the girls play with their friends and freely ride their bikes.

As for the Iiames people...Jeff--husband, machinist at Honda of America, Anna Engine Plant. Very funny. I love his family. He reminds me of my brothers. Good man.

Brooklyn - age 11. Plays saxophone in the band (yes, she's playing my old Conn saxophone!) Plays softball. Does not play basketball or cheer!
Hunts with her dad (shot a six-point buck last year! Yes, it's hanging in
our living room!)
Riley - age 9. Also plays softball. Might play basketball and volleyball.
Draws and colors pictures for me so fast that I have run out of space to
display her artwork!

As a school counselor, what are your responsibilities? What do you enjoy most/least about your job? Is there someone in your past (i.e. teacher, guidance counselor, etc.) who influences how you do your job these days?

As a school counselor, I have my hand in almost every pot at school. I
do individual counseling with students, parents, teachers,... whoever
walks through my door.

I do classroom guidance activities, I run small groups, I coordinate statewide tests, I lead our Intervention Assistance Team, I manage DIBELS (a reading assessment), and I also do math intervention in the sixth grade (the newest addition to my task list).

Truly, I love my job. I tell people that I am a paid missionary. Being
a school counselor never leaves me feeling that my life has no purpose.
I encourage and support people every day. God has certainly blessed me
with a wonderful career and job!

As for influences in the way I do my job, honestly, my faith and relationship with Christ are the most important factors in my successes as a school counselor. The best "self-help" book ever written is the Bible. I may have spent many years getting a master's degree and PhD in counseling, but when it comes right down to it, everything I ever needed to know to be an effective
counselor, I learned in Sunday school, church, and reading the Word of
God. I have a Bible open to Proverbs in my office at school. Proverbs
is a great place to start when you're a counselor and a parent.

How would you compare Perry to Bluffton? Some differences? Similarities?

Perry and Bluffton (similarities) - Wonderful teachers. Very cool
students. Great places to learn and have fun. Differences - Perry has the
most diverse student population imaginable! Rural students, inner-city
students, rich students, poor students, African American, Hispanic,
English speaking, Spanish speaking, academically gifted... Perry is the
Great American Melting Pot. I'm blessed to be a part of Perry!

How have students changed over the years...or haven't they?

Yes, students have changed. Technology has had an incredible impact upon
students. Not just the ills of video games and cell phones, but also the
amazing advantages they have to learn! Our society's moral decline has
also (sadly) influenced our youth. Without standing on a soapbox, I'll
just say that I am very sad that students do not get to hang on to their
naivete longer.

Do you get to Bluffton very often? What changes are you most aware of?

Bluffton is my place to go to movies! If the movie doesn't come to the
Shannon Theater, then I'll wait until it comes out on video. Bluffton
also houses my doctor (actually, nurse practitioner, Brendan Hovest) and
pharmacy of choice, Greg's (also known as "The Taffy Store" in our house,
because the store sells the long sticks of Laffy Taffy!).

We were also Bluffton Swimming Pool members until the heater broke (after years of jumping into freezing water to teach unhappy children to swim... you get the point!) Bluffton is also the residence of my lovely mom and
stepdad, Butch and Iva Amstutz. Thus, we often frequent grandma and
grandpa's house, because they are fun and serve better food than myself!
As for changes, I think that Bluffton community keeps getting better and
better. Bluffton is certainly Small Town U.S.A.!

Where would you like to be in 10 years? Do you have a list of things to
do before you turn...say...50?

Once, again, God bless you MPS for suggesting that 10 years from now I'll be turning 50. Hmmmm... 10 years from now...I'll be loving my family and friends. I don't really make plans. I used to make plans, but they never worked out they way I had thought. Things always worked out better than my plans. So now, I don't make plans. I hope for the best and prepare for the best. That's a good motto.