Marietta Superintendent Mary Shaeffer, left, and Athletic Director Hannah Kroft, right, recognized long-time volleyball coach and educator Ron Kidder, middle, Monday during the Marietta City Board of Education's regular meeting. Kidder has been a coach at Marietta High School for 17 years and was named to OHSVCA Hall of Fame in May. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

The Marietta City School District recognized long-time volleyball coach Ron Kidder Monday night during the regular meeting of the Board of Education for his induction into the Ohio High School Coaches Association 2025 Hall of Fame in May.

“I just want to thank everybody for what they did and to help me achieve this,” Kidder said. “And then the community. Without the support of the community, we’ve had a lot of games where we’ve been packed, and it’s volleyball. It’s not one of the major sports, but the community has really supported me, my family and all the kids. So, thank you very much.”

Throughout his career he has led his teams to 14 conference championships (Southeastern Ohio Athletic League 10 times, East Central Ohio League twice and Twin State League twice), four district championships (1998, 2000, 2023 and 2024), and two regional runner-up titles (2000 and 2023).

The board also recognized recent retirees Lisa Polk and Regina Fleming. This was Mary Schaeffer’s first official act as the new superintendent for the district.

“I’m thrilled my first official act is to take a look at recognizing folks who’ve been in the district for a long time and retired from the district,” she said.

Newly appointed Marietta City Board of Education member Jeff Hollister, right, is sworn in by Treasurer Frank Antill Monday night during the board’s August meeting. Hollister was appointed by the board earlier this month after former member John Lehman resigned in July. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Schaffer also introduced Dan Leffingwell, a career navigator for the company Future Plans, who spoke about a new partnership focused on student career assessments that she said is set to help students discover their passions and connect them to future opportunities.

“I’m excited about the partnership, because I think what this adds is the element of hope,” Schaffer said. “Helping them make those real connections to their future is what we’re working toward as an organization. We want students to be successful and to find their way.”

Read more from Monday’s meeting in the Wednesday edition of the Times.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com