BOMBER PRIDE…. Pictured here is Don Walton, in the school gym recently dedicated to him in honor of the hard work he has been putting into the district since 1977.
By: Anna Wozniak
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
anna@thevillagereporter.com
“I’m just honored to have been a part of it,” shared Edon Northwest Schools Superintendent Anthony Stevens, “there’s no one who’s more deserving of something like this.”
“He takes a ton of pride in what he does, and if anybody has any question having to do anything with athletics, he’s going to be the guy that knows. He really cares about the kids and community.”
So, who could Superintendent Stevens have been talking about? The answer is Don Walton, who has been working for Edon schools since 1977, when he began teaching industrial arts.
It was then that he and his wife, Debbie Bucher, moved from Liberty, Indiana, to Edon, Ohio.
Walton lived and breathed sports and the outdoors, sharing that he participated in every sport he could think of.
“I’ve always been in sports growing up, and my kids got into sports as well. I wanted to keep things nice for them, and teach them to have pride in their community, pride in their school, and pride in themselves.”
While Superintendent Stevens shared that Walton does a lot of the “unseen” tasks that culminate to a wonderful experience for the community of Edon, Don shared that he wanted to highlight that he didn’t do it alone.
“There are some great people I’ve had the opportunity to work with. I’ve always had great cooperation from the superintendents, the board members, and the custodians. The custodians are great and will help out with anything.”
“A lot of volunteers makes things a lot easier,” Don shared, paying homage again to the great people of the community he serves.
In 2010, after 33 years, Don officially retired from teaching, and then became the district’s athletic director. He later went on to serve as assistant athletic director, as well as work as supervisor to the Edon Parks Department.
He currently calls Edon home, and has a daughter, Jamie, in Chicago, and a son, Kyle, in Bryan, Texas. Both children are Edon Northwest alumni.
As noted earlier, the district took note of his hard work. They just recently dedicated their gymnasium to Mr. Walton, naming it the Don Walton Gymnasium.
“He’s going to make sure everything is ready because it’s important to him to make sure it’s done right,” shared the superintendent.
“People might not see it, but he’s going to do it anyway. It all adds up, and makes a real difference in the whole experience.”
Stevens continued, “He does the work behind the scenes, and he does it so well it doesn’t get noticed. If something were to go sideways, then you would notice -but everything just transitions very smoothly, so most people have no idea the amount of time and effort he’s putting into making sure that our kids get to have the experience they do.”