More than 20 years have passed since I left Greenfield, Ohio and my native state. I’ve built a career in public education, grown into leadership and made a home in North Carolina. Yet every so often, something reminds me just how much those early experiences helped shape the educator and person I am today.

Recently, watching the Greenfield community rally around McClain High School and its opportunity to win a $1 million football field upgrade has brought those memories back into focus.

My time in Greenfield lasted just one year, but its impact has stayed with me for decades. Sometimes, the most influential chapters of our lives aren’t the longest ones. They are the ones that come at just the right time, when we are finding our footing and learning what kind of professional we want to become.

Greenfield was that kind of place for me.

Greenfield isn’t my hometown, but it’s just a short drive from the small Ohio community where I grew up. After graduating from Wilmington College, I rented a little house in Greenfield and began my career in public education. I walked to work every day, living just a few blocks from the school.

I was fresh out of college, learning the profession and beginning to understand the importance of relationships, community and the responsibility that comes with working in public education.

One memory that has stayed with me involves my mentor teacher. When the Ohio weather turned particularly cold, she would sometimes insist on picking me up and driving me to work, even though I lived only a few blocks away.

It was a simple gesture, but more than 20 years later, I still remember it. She was looking out for a young educator who was still finding his way. At the time, it might have seemed like a small act of kindness. Looking back, I recognize it as something more: an example of what it means to invest in another person.

That was the kind of care I experienced in Greenfield, both professionally and personally.

I was invited to countless gatherings, attended high school football and basketball games and became part of the community beyond the school day. Although I worked at the elementary level, I felt connected to the middle school, McClain High School and the broader Tiger family. I wasn’t simply part of one building. I was welcomed into a district and community that took pride in its schools and its people.

That sense of belonging left a lasting impression.

Greenfield is a village in Highland County, Ohio, with approximately 4,339 residents according to the 2020 census. It’s a small town with a strong sense of identity, where school pride is woven into community life.

It’s also the hometown of the great Johnny Paycheck, one of my country music heroes. It’s another reminder that a small town can leave a mark well beyond its borders.

Greenfield’s educational history is equally meaningful. In 1912, local native Edward Lee McClain donated $500,000 toward building a state-of-the-art high school for his hometown. The school opened in 1915, reflecting an ambitious vision for education that included the arts, science, physical education and practical learning.

That investment helped establish a legacy that continues today. The Greenfield Exempted Village School District includes three elementary schools, Greenfield Middle School and McClain High School. The schools serve different grade levels, but together they create a strong connection between education and community.

Even though my assignment was at the elementary level, I experienced that connection firsthand. Athletics were a big part of community life when I worked there, and Friday night football and high school basketball brought people together across generations. School pride extended far beyond the classroom.

More than a century after McClain’s founding, that spirit remains unmistakable.

McClain’s advancement into the top 40 schools in T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights competition has brought that community pride into focus once again. The school has already earned $25,000 as a finalist and is competing for the opportunity to win a $1 million athletic field upgrade.

What makes this especially meaningful is seeing Greenfield’s story reach far beyond Highland County. Television news stations serving both the Cincinnati and Columbus metro areas have covered McClain’s opportunity, bringing attention to a school and community that many people across Ohio may not know firsthand.

For a town of roughly 4,300 people, that kind of regional attention is a big deal. And it’s a reminder that small communities have stories worth telling, traditions worth celebrating and students worth investing in. Even the sitting Governor made a strong pitch for support as the school is the only remaining in the state in the contest.

The coverage has also given people outside Greenfield a glimpse of what those of us who have been part of the community already understand: school pride here is about more than a scoreboard. It’s about generations of families, educators, students and alumni who share a connection to a place.

Students, staff, alumni, families, local businesses and supporters well beyond Greenfield have rallied around the effort. Even the community’s magenta makeover has become part of the fun, adding another color to the purple and gold that have long represented McClain pride.

Watching from North Carolina, I recognize the community I remember. People show up. They support their schools. They take pride in the opportunities available to their students.

The potential field upgrade is about more than turf or facilities. It’s an investment in students, school traditions and a place that has brought generations of people together. Community support cannot replace the daily work of educators, but it sends a powerful message: your school matters, your opportunities matter and people believe in you.

https://www.wlwt.com/article/ohio-mcclain-high-school-friday-night-5g-lights-contest/74159992

And while I may be more than 20 years and several states away, I’m still finding ways to show up for Greenfield. I’ve been voting daily from afar in the competition, and I’m encouraging others to do the same before voting closes on October 25.

For me, this is a small way to support a community that welcomed me at an important point in my life and a district that helped shape my professional foundation. I may not be in the stands on Friday nights anymore, but I’m still cheering for the Tigers from a distance.

More than two decades into public education, I understand even more clearly how much our professional journeys depend on the people who invest in us. From the classroom to instructional coaching and school administration, I’ve been fortunate to learn from others and to have opportunities to support educators as they develop their own practice.

The lessons I learned in Greenfield remain part of how I lead today. Relationships matter. People matter. Community matters. And sometimes, the smallest gestures leave the biggest impressions.

I think about my mentor teacher insisting on driving me those few blocks on cold Ohio mornings. I think about the educators who shared their knowledge, the invitations that made me feel included and the community that welcomed me as more than an employee.

They may have viewed those moments as ordinary. For a young educator just starting out, they helped establish a foundation that has lasted a lifetime.

Greenfield wasn’t my hometown, and I spent only one year there. But it became an important part of my story, and I’m grateful for the people who made it so.

No matter how far we travel or how much our lives change, the places that shape us have a way of staying with us. Sometimes, all it takes is watching a community rally around its school—and seeing that story reach far beyond its borders—to remind us why.

I’m proud of where I come from, grateful for the educators who helped shape my early career and thankful that, after all these years, I can still see the spirit of Greenfield shining through.

That’s something worth celebrating.