Jack and Dianne
Brinck
Jack and Dianne Brinck did not graduate from Badin High School, but they have certainly had a tremendous influence on Badin, both through their efforts as well as those of their children.
"I feel blessed," said Jack Brinck when asked of his experience with Badin in 2003, when the last of six Brinck children graduated. "I've just been amazed."
Jack and Dianne live in McGonigle and are members of Queen of Peace Church, where Jack is on the Building and Grounds Committee. Jack is retired following a 25-year career as an electrical engineer for Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati. He served as president of Catham Club for multiple years.
The Brincks have 14 grandchildren and continue to support Badin in numerous ways.
"I didn't know what to think," said Jack, a Roger Bacon graduate, of his children attending Badin. "I didn't know much about Badin and I had never followed Badin sports. ... When I went to see John play one day, I got enlightened. I realized I had better make some time for them."
The Brinck children played a memorable role in the success of Badin athletics over the years:
• John '88 and his wife, Michelle. John was a starting forward on Badin's 1988 undefeated Division III state basketball champions, and he is a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame. John is a social studies teacher at Talawanda Middle School and his wife is a dental hygienist. They live in West Chester and are the parents of four children, ages 13-9.
• Kristin '90 and her husband, Kip Sturgill '90. Kristin was a starting guard on Badin's 1990 girls district champs, the team that started the Ram girls basketball program's run of success. She is a cardiac nuclear medicine technologist and Kip works in research and development for W.L. Gore & Associates. They live in Lincoln University, Pa., with their two children, ages 6 and 5.
• Mindy '92 and her husband, U.S. Army Major (retired) John Ecenrode. Mindy played for two girls basketball district champions and earned a scholarship to play basketball at St. Bonaventure University in Olean, N.Y. She later earned her law
degree at the University of Houston. Major Melinda Brinck Ecenrode is a lawyer in the Judge Advocate Generals corps of the Army. Currently she is pursuing her LLW in military law at the Judge Advocate General Legal Center in Charlottesville, Va. She and her husband are the parents of five children, two in college and three in high school. Before her posting to Virginia, Mindy was most recently the Chief of Military Justice for the U.S. command in Kuwait.
• Sara '93 and her husband, Matt Thompson '88. Sara played for two district girls basketball champions and was first team all-Butler County on a team that went 25-1 her senior year. She also earned a scholarship to play basketball at St. Bonaventure, subsequently graduating from Miami University. Matt, who is in construction, was a starting forward on the 1988 state basketball champions. He has coached girls basketball at Badin and is currently the president of the Queen of Peace Athletic Club. They are the parents of three children, ages 11,9 and 7, all students at Queen of Peace.
• Ben '96. Ben played football and basketball at Badin and later played football for Ohio University. He is a Cincinnati firefighter stationed in Coryville and engaged to marry Jill Morrison in Florida on Nov. 7. She is a development manager for United Way in Cincinnati. They will reside in Oakley.
• Josh '03. Josh played football and basketball at Badin and later played football at Miami University. He served as a volunteer firefighter and EMT with the Hanover Township department for two years. Today, Oct. 24, he graduated as a dean's list student from the Galen College of Nursing in Blue Ash as an RN.
"What's unbelievable to me is that every one of our children played sports and they were all major contributors, not just a member of the team," Jack Brinck said in looking back on his children's exploits. "That's something.
"I pray we live long enough to see some of our grandchildren play," he added. "Badin's been very good to us."