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September 21, 2021

Seventh annual Badin High ‘Hall of Honor’ set for Sept. 30

The Badin High School Hall of Honor, continuing to be one of the most prestigious recognitions the school can bestow, will induct its seventh class at the annual dinner on Thursday, Sept. 30, at the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Hamilton.

“We’re so happy to have this back on the calendar,” said Kim Graham ’96, the alumni director at Badin High School. “This is one of the highlights of the year as we recognize deserving people who have made such an impact on so many people in so many places.”

Hall of Honor inductees for 2021 include:

  1. The Sisters of St. Francis Oldenburg – Stephen T. Badin Legacy Award
  2. Ken Brown ’68 – Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  3. The late Maureen Molinsky Fritsch ’59 – Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  4. Robert Young ’54 – Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  5. James Clear ’04 – Distinguished Young Alumni Achievement Award

The Badin Hall of Honor is dedicated to honoring the outstanding achievements of graduates, faculty, staff, and members of the Badin community and its predecessor schools, Hamilton Catholic (all boys) and Notre Dame (all girls), which came together in the fall of 1966 to form Badin.

Members of the Hall of Honor represent the mission of Badin High School – to inspire young men and women to achieve their personal best, live their faith, and lead the future. They make a difference in the world around us through their actions, both large and small.

Among their accomplishments:

Sisters of St. Francis Oldenburg logo

The Sisters of St. Francis Oldenburg – The sisters taught at Badin High School for more than two decades and were well respected for their dedication to education, their service to the community and their commitment to a Gospel life in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. A total of 11 members of the order taught at Badin beginning with the opening of the school in September of 1966 through the end of the 1987-88 year. Among the high-profile teachers from the order were Sister Carol Slinger, Sister Monica Zore, Sister Margaret Maher and Sister Rose Frerick. Anyone who parks in the west side faculty lot at Badin walks past a statue St. Francis each day.

Ken Brown ’68 photo

Ken Brown ’68 – Ken has been in education for nearly 50 years and has been at Badin for the last decade as a teacher and much longer than that as an assistant baseball coach. Ken was at Badin the day it opened and then was at Miami University/Hamilton for classes the day it opened as well. A longtime teacher in the Hamilton City Schools, Ken was named the Hamilton Social Studies Teacher of the Year and twice a finalist for the Hamilton City Schools Teacher of the Year. Ken is known for teaching with passion and compassion, and as a baseball coach was named the Assistant Coach of the Year by the Southwest District of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. Formerly active in the Lindenwald baseball association, he has a field named for him in that community.

Maureen Fritsch ’59 photo

The late Maureen Fritsch ’59 – Maureen’s life was about helping others. The former Maureen Molinsky, known as Reenie, was a major force in the success of Badin High over the years, including serving as co-chair of the “Right Place, Right Time” campaign with her husband, Tom ’58. She was an active member of St. Peter in Chains Church, where she was president of the Rosary Altar Society. She was actively involved in Meals on Wheels, the YWCA Literacy Program and volunteered in Badin’s cafeteria. Her life was cut short in 2002 following a decade-long battle with cancer, but her legacy lives on through the Maureen L. Fritsch Cancer Assistance Fund. The fund is a perpetual memorial to help cancer patients in Butler County who face financial burdens relating to their treatment.

Robert Young ’54 photo

Robert Young ’54 – Nothing Bob Young has ever done has been about Bob Young. It is always about the organization, about the campaign, about the opportunity – and when it comes to Badin High School, Bob has been all-in. An outstanding football and basketball player, Bob is in the Badin Athletic Hall of Fame, the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame and the Xavier University Legion of Honor. A retired executive from General Electric’s Evendale aircraft plant, Bob was involved with various Cincinnati Fine Arts campaigns, Greater Cincinnati United Way campaigns and served on the board of Catholic Social Services of Southwest Ohio. Originally in education, Bob was the first head football coach at Lakota High School and later named the Top Science Teacher in Southwest Ohio.

James Clear ’04 photo

James Clear ’04 – It is probably not hyperbole to say that James Clear is the most well known graduate in the history of Badin High School. His 2018 book, “Atomic Habits”, has sold well over 1 million copies and was a mainstay on the New York Times best-seller list. It was also on the best-seller lists of The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, and was a finalist for the “Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year” by Goodreads. James has a national audience on a daily basis with his expertise in successful habits, decision-making and continuous improvement. He has created The Habits Academy, which is the premier training platform for organizations and individuals interested in building better habits in life and work. His website, jamesclear.com, dispenses daily tips about good habits and things to think about in our daily lives. At Badin, James earned the Archbishop Leibold medal as a graduating senior for his outstanding contributions to the school and community during his four years there.

The Hall of Honor event serves as an annual kickoff to Homecoming festivities. Badin will follow up with the Homecoming football game on Friday, Oct. 1, against Kettering Alter at Edgewood’s Kumler Field, and then the Homecoming dance at the Badin on Saturday evening, Oct. 2.

The Hall of Honor dinner on Sept. 30 begins at 6 p.m. with cocktails and appetizers, followed by the meal and ceremony at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are $80 and there will be a cash bar. All proceeds from the Hall of Honor event benefit the students of Badin High School.

For tickets, contact Kim Graham at Badin, (513) 863-3993, ext. 128, or purchase them through the Badin website HERE.

Contact: Dirk Q. Allen, Dallen@BadinHS.org or (513) 869-4490

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