Spring 2020 the Ready Report the Semi-Annual Newsletter for Alumni, Family, and Friends of Bishop Ready High School Celebrating the Spirit of Ready
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VOLUME 26, NUMBER 1 Spring 2020 The Ready Report The Semi-Annual Newsletter for Alumni, Family, and Friends of Bishop Ready High School Celebrating the Spirit of Ready NFL VETERAN ANTOINE HARRIS, READY ’00, WITH THE BISHOP READY FOOTBALL TEAM. A Message from the President Dear Friends, OU MAY HAVE NOTICED a long gap between Generally, they “fly under the radar” so we are always Yissues of The Ready Report; in fact, it’s been a happy to showcase their work for Ready here. year! Unfortunately, in late spring of 2019, our writer/ In this issue, two recent alums get us up-to-date editor was in a serious car accident and was rehabbing on their adventures and an alum from the ’80s gives through the rest of the year and unable to pull The us a first-person account of his business acumen/ Ready Report together. All is well now and we are back achievements. Again, we encourage our alums (parents/ on track…so, there’s a lot of news inside! grandparents/etc.) to keep us informed about YOU. First, because the fall issue is our Commencement There is a form in this and every issue and also one issue, we were not able to congratulate and extol our online but you can always send us an email and let us Class of 2019. We do so here. It truly would have been know about you. a great loss not to acknowledge our parent alums/ Spirit Week is always a fun-filled time at Ready. Our seniors. (Those hairstyles! Those ties!) Spirit Breakfast guest speakers are always thoughtful, Then, it’s been a grand year for beautiful pictures of inspiring, and enthusiastic in their approach to both our students, future students, grandparents, and alums: sports and life. This year was no exception. Ready alum we wanted to share as many as we could with you. Antoine Harris ’00 returned to impart some wisdom And I personally wanted to share an update of sorts about sports as a metaphor for life and how sports can on our current academic program and our facilities prepare you for a fuller life experience but also should upgrade and give you some information about a not be one’s sole life experience. A retired NFL player, promising and exciting new program, which we will be Antoine is a loyal Ready alum, returning in the summer incorporating into our current curriculum. Sometimes, to run a football camp at Ready for area middle school we all take for granted the really outstanding work students. (That’s Antoine with the football team on the that our faculty and students are doing and the cover of this issue.) encouragement that we get from our outside sources Just a reminder: Our Wall of Honor, celebrating who help us both to formulate and execute our visions Ready veterans who have served in all branches of the for the future. I want you to be aware of the efforts armed forces, is a continuing project. If you know an being made by all…faculty, staff, administration, and alum who has served, please let us know so we may Diocesan officials…to enable Bishop Ready to remain add his/her name. Use the form in this issue, the form not only a top notch Catholic educational institution online, or just send us an email with the veteran’s name, but also a forward-thinking organization that doesn’t year of graduation, years of service, and branch of wait for change to occur but anticipates change and service. Our Wall of Honor is located across from embraces it, all for the betterment of our educational St. Michael’s Chapel. experience. Enjoy this issue and remember to stay in touch. This is also the issue in which we honor our We want to hear from you and we hope to see you at newest members of the Alumni/ae Hall of Fame (and many Ready events: Our Knight at the Races, theatre remind you to nominate a worthy candidate!). This productions, liturgies, sports events, and alum events. fall we inducted four distinguished alums. Each is a You remain in our prayers. prototypical Ready alum; each is a singular example of what it means to be a Ready alum; each adds to Sincerely, the illustrious membership of the Hall. Within the Hall induction ceremony, we yearly include our Silver Knight Service Award winner(s). These are the people Celene A. Seamen who go above and beyond, in often unsung roles, doing President what is needed to improve life for all at Bishop Ready. | 2 | The Ready Report | SPRING 2020 | www.brhs.org ANTOINE HARRIS ’00 [Cover Story] Alum Returns as Keynote Speaker for Spirit Breakfast BISHOP READY PRINCIPAL MATT BRICKNER, ANTOINE HARRIS ’00, READY PRESIDENT CELENE A. SEAMEN, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR STEVE MCQUADE, AND LARRY WOLF, MR. HARRIS’S FORMER FOOTBALL COACH AT READY. e didn’t play football until his youth in the area an opportunity to Hjunior year but when he did, take part in a free summer football ANTOINE HARRIS ’00 showed the speed camp held at Bishop Ready, where and grit that earned him All-State he serves as coach and motivator. honors, a full football scholarship to As the keynote speaker for the the University of Louisville (major annual Spirit Breakfast, a part of in Mass Communications), and a homecoming week activities, Antoine six-year career in the NFL, playing focused on the benefits of participating for the Tennessee Titans, the Atlanta in sports: learning to work with Falcons, and the Philadelphia Eagles. others, to depend on others, to take Injuries cut short his career but not responsibility for your actions, and to his love of the game and for several form life-long friendships. But he also summers, Antoine has returned to stressed that sports is but a small part his hometown, where his parents still ANTOINE SIGNING A JERSEY of one’s life, whether you play on the FOR THE TROPHY CASE… live, and his alma mater to provide professional level or not. The Ready Report | SPRING 2020 | www.brhs.org | 3 | ANTOINE WITH FOOTBALL CAPTAINS JACOB ANTOINE WITH ROSE ANN HOLOCHER ROBINSON, JACK FOLEY, AND JOSH BAUM To Antoine, and what he hoped to encouraged the students to travel, to pass on to the Ready students, faith, see places and meet people beyond family, and friendships are what make their immediate home area. a well-rounded, responsible person. Antoine had some key points that He stressed the concept of the scholar/ he wanted to share and upon which he athlete, insisting that earning your way expanded: You create your own story; on a team, not only by your play but work hard and believe in yourself; do also by your academics, is the right your best at everything; be a problem way to do it. solver; never give up; make good And he thanked his coaches and choices; show respect; own up to your teachers at Ready for the help and mistakes; and show respect. encouragement that they provided “I came to Bishop Ready from along the way. He also emphasized public school. Public school to private ANTOINE AND BRENDA BALL the need to look beyond one’s own school was a major shock for me, comfort zone; he played basketball not only because I was different than at Ready for four years and thought the majority of kids in the school that would be his sport. But fate but also because I didn’t really know intervened, his ability to run like the anyone at the school. It was a whole wind caught a coach’s attention, and new experience for me,” Antoine he was willing to give football a try. said. “The structure, the rules, the Before Antoine went to college, responsibilities. Not that I was a bad he had never left the Columbus area. kid or anything. I always did the right He now lives in Florida with his wife thing for fear of disappointment. But and two children, both of whom speak I wasn’t used to rules such as No three languages…and are inspiring him Chewing Gum! Sports helped me to to learn at least one more language adjust and cope with many situations now. “It’s never too late,” he said, in school. Coaches Ghiloni and Wolf to try something new and to make had a great influence on me, teaching JACOB ’20 AND MASON ROBINSON improvements in your life. He strongly me toughness, grit, and dedication.” | 4 | The Ready Report | SPRING 2020 | www.brhs.org …WITH THE BAND AND CHEERLEADING SQUAD Antoine also gave a shout-out to his parents, “a strong, hardworking, respectable couple who worked very hard to make sure that I had everything that I needed. They still work to this day…mom just retired for the second time but dad is still doing the same job he was doing when I was a kid, driving a dump truck. Some of my favorite childhood memories are being out of school on summer vacation and having my pillow in the passenger seat, eating Donato’s, sleeping, or listening on the CB while we ‘hauled rocks’ around all of Ohio.” THE BREAKFAST PART OF SPIRIT BREAKFAST! Antoine plans to return to Bishop Ready next summer to coach another football camp for youngsters, giving back and helping others to reach their dreams. Good Morning! The Ready Report | SPRING 2020 | www.brhs.org | 5 | BISHOP READY COMMENCEMENT 2019 Dominic Emily Tokar O’Connell BACCALAUREATE MASS MAY 31, 2019 ST. CECILIA CHURCH Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Rev.