Happy New Year! And since it’s a new year, it’s time for a new Board Member Spotlight. Say hello to a good friend to the South Bend community, Mr. Greg Humnicky!
1. Position/Institution: I worked in SBCSC for 40 years – 1968-2008.
2. Number of years in your position: In 2008, I retired as Clay High School Athletic Director, having served as Athletic Director for 20 years (1988-2008.) The first 20 years I was a Social Studies teacher and assistant high school boys’ basketball coach at:
– Central Middle School, 1970-1975 for five years
– Adams High School, 1975-1982 for seven years
– Clay High School, 1982-1988 for six years
– Then became the Clay High School Athletic Director in the Summer of 1988.
3. Alma Mater(s): 1964 graduate of South Bend Central, BA from Purdue University, 1968; MA from Indiana University, 1973
4. Hometown: I have lived in South Bend since 1950, I was five years old.
5. How many years have you been a member of the SBAA Board of Trustees? I have been a member of the Board of Trustees since I retired in 2008.
6. What was the impetus behind becoming a SBAA BOT member? I was invited by Ron Bella, the Executive Director at the time, to become a member of the Board of Trustees.
7. Why are they so passionate about being a board member for the SBAA? Support of the public schools of South Bend is critical to the success of the total South Bend community.
8. On what committee(s) are you currently serving? I currently serve on the Co-Ex Grant Committee.
9. What do you love most about the SBAA? Its commitment to the extra-curricular and co-curricular programs and preserving the past with the South Bend Community Hall of Fame program.
10. How do you define success? I use John Wooden’s definition of success from his writings which aligned with my thoughts: “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
11. Who inspires you? If you could choose anyone, living or dead, as a mentor, who would you choose? I admire and am inspired by John Wooden, the former South Bend Central teacher-basketball coach, and the famous UCLA Men’s Basketball coach. I have considered him as my mentor over the past 40+ years of my professional life.
12.What’s something about you (a fun fact!) that not many people know about you? I am still working for the Northern Indiana Conference as its Secretary-Treasurer-Historian since I retired from the SBCSC and Clay High School in 2008.
13. What’s the last book you read? Tyler Trent’s book – The Upset; The story of the Purdue student super-fan and his struggle with cancer and his impact on those who came in contact with him.
14. If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life what would it be? My wife’s homemade Hungarian Chicken Paprikash.
15. What advice would you give young people as they are making their way through school and considering their future outside school? My advice to young people – never give up, believe in yourself, and remember that success or good luck will come when preparation meets opportunity.