More Hometown Proud from Arcanum
By Vickie Rhodhamel
ARCANUM NEWS
Last week, this column featured several Arcanum alumni members who are proud members of our hometown heritage. Here are a few more members of that legacy.
Shanda (Swabb) Brown, MSA, SPHR, SHRM-CP, CPSP, a 1991 graduate of Arcanum High School who was President of Future Business Leaders 1990-1991, is now Director of Total Rewards and Human Resources Operations at Sikich, based in Naperville , IL works remotely from her home in New Carlisle. How did she get there? She received her first degree in Human Resources and Computer Science from Capital University in 2004, and after dedicating several years to her career, she received her Masters in Human Resources Administration from Central Michigan University in 2011. Along the way, she added the following credentials: Certified Plan Sponsor Professional (CPSP), Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), and her Society of Human Resources Management Certified Professional Degrees (SHRM-CP). Shanda has been married to her husband Renick for 27 years. She has two sons, Hunter, 24, and Noah, 22. In her free time, Shanda enjoys walking and throwing Frisbees with her Australian Blue Heeler, Jacklynne. She is active in Bible study and is learning to play the piano.
David Price, who graduated from Arcanum High School in 1968, left far too soon; he died of cancer earlier this summer. He proudly served as Quartermaster of our local Arcanum VFW for 20 years. A proud hometown gentleman who loved his family and community, David and his wife, Karen, were the proud parents of five children, ten grandchildren, and one great-grandson. After high school, he joined the United States Navy, where he served with honor in the United States Naval Construction Battalions, also known as the Navy Seabees, for over four years. David then returned to Ohio and began a 30-year career as a construction estimator in the Department of Civil Engineering at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton. David’s love of building continued throughout his life. He was a “fixer” and built many barns for himself and his family and friends. When he wasn’t building the actual barns, he was probably conferring with someone on how to build them. In his free time, David enjoyed farming and being with his farm animals, especially his horses and pigs. He enjoyed going deep sea fishing on his boat in Florida. David was a devout Christian and an enthusiastic supporter of the Darke County 4-H program and the Darke County Fair. Another legacy of Arcanum that we can call Hometown Proud. Rest in peace, it was an honor to be a member of the Arcanum Alumni with you Mr. Price!
Did you know that Arcanum High School has a graduate who won a Pulitzer Prize? Roger Snell graduated from Arcanum High School in 1977 and went to Ohio State University, graduating in 1980 with a BS in Political Science and Journalism.
Roger Snell’s career as a newspaper reporter exposed cops owning crack houses. He shed light on vehicle failures that led to serious accidents that killed more than 100 people. His reporting of ethical abuses prompted an enraged Ohio Supreme Court judge to snap the ribs of another judge he believed to be a source of leaks. His career also included working for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the Kentucky Department of Insurance. In his 19-year career, Snell wrote over 3,000 stories and won top investigative awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, shared with a newsroom of talented reporters. Roger has written two books, the first in 2009 about the ace pitcher who led the Cubs to the 1929 World Series, Root for the Cubs: Charlie Root and the 1929 Chicago Cubs, and in April 2017 he wrote Love, Grandpa. (Both are available from Amazon or its website: www.rogersnell.com). Today Roger resides in Frankfort, Kentucky with his wife Linda, daughter Hannah, granddaughters Starlight, Ruby and Izzy, and their father Joshua Brown. Roger is the son of Rosella and the late Donald Snell Rosella still lives in Arcanum. Roger is now a full-time professional artist, a member of the Plein Air Artists of Central Kentucky, the Plein Air Painters of Bluegrass, and one of the early members of the Kentucky Appalachia Outdoor Painters. Now that he’s retired, he’s devoting his time to ascending the ranks as a professional landscape oil painter. Check out his artwork on his website as mentioned above.
“When you finally return to your old home, you realize it wasn’t the old home you missed, it was your childhood.” ~Sam Ewing
“Small towns may not have secrets, but neither do strangers.” ~RA Mathis.
