'Assistant AD' still serving FRHS (11/23/05)

When a member of the 2006 graduating class of Fort Recovery High School walks across the stage next May to receive the William D. Nofziger Service Scholarship, he or she may wonder, “Who is this person?”.

The search for answers won’t take too long.

Nofziger hasn’t gone too far.

Most Friday nights he can be found at the school’s home football games, helping keep the score or collecting the entrance fees at the gate.

Or he is helping the members of the opposing team’s band get settled, or keeping an eye on the crowd in the stands.

“I have to blend in to watch people,” Nofziger said of his presence at the home games.

He has no official uniform to wear, nor any official title. He has never thrown the winning touchdown or participated in the pre-game huddles in the locker room.

But he is a team player behind the scenes. And that’s how he likes it.

During the 2004 school year, Nofziger spent 134 hours helping at school functions, such as plays and choir performances. That doesn’t include the countless hours he spent preparing for sporting events.

Now a freshman at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, the 2005 FRHS grad doesn’t plan to stop helping his alma mater’s athletic department anytime soon.

“As long as they need me ... until a robot replaces me,” Nofziger said of how long he planned to continue his work.

Nofziger, 18, sat down with his mother, Beth, at their rural Fort Recovery home recently, and flipped through scrapbooks filled with memories of his high school years. He pointed out the many certificates of appreciation he received throughout the years for his volunteer work, as if they are no big accomplishment.

He is anything but boastful.

Nofziger’s list of volunteer work is lengthy. Although he did get paid a little for helping the athletic department, the rest of his efforts came from the goodness of his heart.

“I got some money from the athletic department, but it wasn’t about the money. I had other stuff to get money from,” Nofziger said, referring to his part-time job at Jutte’s Fruit Farm and Landscaping.

“I just (enjoy) getting to help people out, trying to make somebody else’s day, and helping them enjoy the game,” he said. Nofziger said he sometimes calls himself the school’s assistant athletic director, although he was never formally given a title.

Besides helping with football games during high school, Nofziger also ran the sound system for almost every event at FRHS. He also helped with home track meets and basketball games.

Barb Sautbine, FRHS athletic director, appreciates all Nofziger has done throughout the years to help the athletic department.

“He was really a tremendous help in a lot of ways,” Sautbine said. “He kept me on the ball.”

Sautbine has known Nofziger since he was in elementary school and worked with him since he was in seventh grade. The two have developed a bond over the years.

“I think its developed into a friendship,” Sautbine said.

Nofziger said he sometimes refers to Sautbine as his “second mom.”

“I sometimes spent more time with her than my own mom,” he said.

“When he doesn’t listen to me I say ‘go to your second mom,’” his mother added.

To thank Nofziger for his many hours of work, Sautbine gave him a plaque of appreciation during the school’s academic banquet in May.

“He has just gone above and beyond the call of duty,” Sautbine said of her reason for giving Nofziger a plaque. “He was just so deserving of it.”

Also to honor Nofziger, an anonymous donor started a scholarship this year in his name. Nofziger was the first to receive the scholarship. He will pick the future recipients.

Another adult who appreciates Nofziger’s volunteer work is Chris Keller, FRHS’s former district technical coordinator.

Keller left the school about two months ago to take another job.

Nofziger was a member of the technical program at FRHS. As part of the program he helped run the school’s sound system at events, implemented a computerized time keeping system for the track team and helped fix computer glitches.

“He was just absolutely wonderful,” Keller said of Nofziger’s volunteer work during high school. “He was just as responsible as they come.”

Nofziger’s mother is proud of all her son has done to help his alma mater.

“I’m proud of him ... ,” his mother said. “He’s like his dad. He’s always got to have something to do.”

Keller said she misses working with Nofziger every day, but the two still keep in touch.

Although Nofziger still helps with home football games, and may do so for basketball games as well, Sautbine also misses seeing him every day.

“I miss him tremendously. It’s just strange to not have him around,” she said.

Nofziger tries to visit Sautbine as often as possible, but it is difficult with his course load. He is studying business at BGSU, but plans to transfer to the Wright State University Lake Campus in Celina, with hopes of owning a food or poultry business.

Sautbine said she believes big things lay ahead for Nofziger.

“I think anything he sets his mind to he is definitely going to accomplish,” she said. “I think he will be a great businessman.”[[In-content Ad]]