Inspire, Summer 2011

Serendipity is a space featuring your stories about the delightfully unexpected ways our Cedarville roots bring us together. Essays can be humorous, heartfelt, or surprising. Please limit your story to 500 words and include your name, class year (for alumni), city, and state. Submit your essay for consideration to Inspire , Cedarville University, 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, OH, 45314, or cedarville.edu/inspire . of humor, Neil now coaches varsity boys’ basketball at Monclova, and Dave coaches varsity boys’ basketball at ECS. Seeing them coach against each other at ECS — where they played as high schoolers and taught as colleagues — was priceless! As I sat in the stands and watched these two men of God coach their own sons on opposing teams, with both families cheering everyone on, I was thankful for the godly heritage our sons have received from their fathers and the faithfulness of their parents before them. It was an emotional moment as I reflected on how many young lives Dave and Neil have influenced in their teaching and coaching careers. Leslie Black and her husband, Neil ’87, live in Maumee, Ohio, where he is the principal and boys’ varsity basketball coach and she is a social services director. They have two children, Zach and Carleigh. You may contact Leslie at leslie.anneblack@yahoo.com . Unrivaled Friendship by Leslie Black This is a story about the wonderful heritage and influence of Christian education in the lives of two men — my husband, Neil Black ’87, and his childhood friend, David Regnier ’84. Both grew up in Christian homes, and both attended the same church as small boys. They were inseparable, like brothers. Neil went to Dave’s house for pizza every Wednesday night before church. In high school, they both played varsity basketball at Emmanuel Christian School (ECS) in Toledo, Ohio. Dave went on to Cedarville to study history, and Neil followed a few years later, majoring in physical education. In college, they joined forces on the base- ball team. After graduation, Dave returned to his high school alma mater and for 25 years has worn every hat of a Christian school educator. It wasn’t long before Neil followed in Dave’s foot- steps and returned to teach at ECS, where we met. Dave was Neil’s best man at our wedding, and Neil was the same for Dave. Both men have committed their lives to Christian education. In 1991, Neil and I sensed God’s call to Calvary Christian School in Muskegon, Michigan. For the next 13 years, Neil and I served at several schools while Dave faithfully served at ECS. Our families remained very close, visiting in the summers and even keeping in touch with each other’s parents. In 2003, God brought us back to Toledo where Neil became an administrator at Monclova Christian School, one of ECS’s athletic rivals. In God’s own sense “Seeing them coach against each other at ECS — where they played as high schoolers and taught as colleagues — was priceless!” David Regnier ’84 coaches at his high school alma mater, Emmanuel Christian School. Neil Black ’87 and David, pictured here in 1999, have been friends since childhood. Neil coaches at Monclova Christian School, Emmanuel’s cross-town rival. Copyright © 2011 Paul Kenny Studio serendipi ty