Thankful for This Place

Thanksgiving has a way of slowing us down. It reminds us to look backward before we look ahead. And this year, as I think about gratitude, my mind keeps returning to one place: Finneytown.

I’ve spent my entire life connected to this community as a student, an alumnus, a neighbor, and now a parent walking into kindergarten classrooms with my oldest daughter. With time, perspective, and a little life lived, I’ve realized something:

What we experienced here wasn’t ordinary.

It was rare. It was formative. And it still is.

Finneytown leaves a mark.

The Foundation We Didn’t Realize We Were Getting

Growing up, I didn’t fully understand how unique Finneytown was. Back then, it was just school and friends and Friday nights and teachers who cared.

But now I see it differently.

I see a district where students don’t have to choose a lane. From the classroom to the stage to the field, students do it all, and they do it well. They can play sports, perform in the musical, join clubs, take challenging classes, serve the community, and still make it home for dinner. I see a culture that expects excellence, but never at the expense of balance, joy, curiosity, or character.

I also see a place where classrooms, teams, and clubs bring together students with different stories, strengths, backgrounds, and perspectives. You learn early how to listen, collaborate, and care for people who aren’t just like you.

The Heart of an Underdog

Finneytown has never been the biggest district. We’ve never had the most resources. And yet, we’ve always found a way to succeed.

From Fortune 500 CEOs and Olympic champions to teachers, artists, and community leaders — they all started right here. Those things weren’t born from abundance. They were built through grit, determination, creativity, and teamwork.

There is something powerful about a community that succeeds because it believes in itself.

Community You Can’t Outgrow

The older I get, the more I realize that what makes Finneytown special isn’t a building or a mascot. It’s the people.

It’s grandparents returning to Grandparents Day and remembering the same hallways from decades earlier. It’s multiple generations sitting in the gym, cheering for kids with familiar last names. It’s being known by name, even after the years and life changes.

It’s watching my son take in a Friday night game, wide-eyed as the band plays and the football team warms up, already sensing that he’s part of something bigger than himself. He doesn’t know the history yet, but he feels the belonging. The legacy isn’t abstract. It’s unfolding right in front of us, one future Wildcat at a time.

Finneytown isn’t just where we went to school. It’s a community that lasts.

Legacy, Built One Generation at a Time

Every good thing happening in Finneytown today exists because someone before us cared enough to invest.

Teachers who stayed long after dismissal. Parents who volunteered, fundraised, and showed up. Alumni who never stopped believing in the power of this place.

Now, a new generation is stepping forward. People are giving to the Legacy Projects, helping plan Alumni Weekend, organizing the Warder Wobble, reconnecting with classmates, and saying, “Finneytown shaped me, and I want to help shape what comes next.”

This is how legacy continues. Not all at once, but over time, through people who choose to care.

This Thanksgiving, I’m Thankful

For the people who built the foundation.
For the ones strengthening it today.
For the students who will carry it into the future.
For a district that formed so much of who we are.
For a community that still believes in itself.

I’m thankful for Finneytown. Not just in memory, but in motion.

Your Turn

As you gather this week with family, friends, and fellow Wildcats, take a moment to reflect:

What are you thankful for about your Finneytown experience?

A teacher?
A teammate?
A performance?
A tradition?
A friendship that never faded?

Happy Thanksgiving, Wildcats.

- Mike Steel, Class of 2009