Lifetime Service A 1955 graduate of Palatine High School, Ron competed in three sports: cross-country, wrestling and track. Wrestling proved to be Ron's strong suit as he went on to compete for three years under the benevolent guidance of Palatine's legendary Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials' Hall of Fame coach John Ellis. Following his high school graduation Ron first enrolled at Illinois State University, but later moved to Portland State. Ron, however, spent 1956-1959 in the U. S. Army. It was here that Ron first became interested in Freestyle wrestling. During his Army service Ron successfully competed on the Army wrestling team "” earning recognition as a member of the All-Army Europe Team on two separate occasions. When his stint in the military ended Ron moved to Portland, Oregon where he wrestled for the Multnonuh Wrestling Club. In 1960 Ron went on to place third in the AAU National Open and qualified for the Olympic Trials. Unfortunately, injury prevented Ron from competing. Ultimately, Ron returned to ISU where he wrestled for Hall of Fame coach Dr. Robert Koehler. During this period Ron served as team captain. Ron received his undergraduate degree from Illinois State University in 1966. For the 1966-1967 season Ron served as a graduate assistant coach with ISU where, together with Dr. Koehler, he helped lead them to a fourth place finish in the NCAA College Division National Tournament. After one year as a graduate assistant at ISU, Ron relocated to Reedsport, Oregon, There he coached the local high school team to a second place finish in the Division A3 State tournament. This team included one State Champion and two second-place medalists. Ron, in 1968, returned to Illinois when he assumed the task of coaching the newly created wrestling program at Rainey Harper Community College in Palatine, Illinois. During his tenure at Harper, Ron was selected as Region IV Coach-of-the-Year in 1973 and 1974; and his teams were rated as high as fourth in the nation. In 1974 Ron left Harper and started a new wrestling program "” this time it was at St. Louis Community College in Florissant Valley, Missouri. Ron moved cross-country to the Everett School District in Washington State where he served as the Coordinator of Athletics from 1977 to 1981. In 1981 Ron was appointed as Assistant Athletic Director and Supervisor of Physical Education, a position that he held until his retirement in 2000. Although away from Illinois, Ron's enthusiasm and advocacy for the sport of wrestling did not diminish. While in Washington Ron: founded the Everett Wrestling Club; served as the Washington State Head Freestyle Coach; served as Washington State's Zone 1 Freestyle Team Coach; served as Washington State's National Cadet Team Coach; coached the World University Games Greco-Roman team as well as serving as an assistant coach to the Freestyle team in 1977; served as the coach of the World Cadet Greco-Roman Team on a trip to Finland; served as a clinician at various wrestling camps in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Washington; officiated at the high school level as well as in the National Championships in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman competition. His peers have, over the years, honored Ron with numerous awards recognizing his unselfish service to the sport. In addition to the previously mentioned awards, Ron was selected as the Western Region Coach-of-the-Year by the USA Wrestling Federation; in 1995 Ron was inducted into the Washington State Wrestling Hall of Fame, in 1997 he was nominated as the Man-of-the-Year In Sports in Everett, Washington; and finally, in 2003, the Illinois Wrestling and Coaches Association inducted Ron into its Hall of Fame.