The newest members of the West Union High School Athletic Hall of fame. From left, Tony Staggs, Phil Rhonemus and Joe Kramer. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
It was Hall of Fame Night at West Union High School on Tuesday, January 6 as three deserving inductees were honored and their plaques became part of the Hall of Fame wall. Joe Kramer, Phil Rhonemus and Tony Staggs were the trio of inductees in ceremonies held between the JV and varsity boys games with Fairfield.
Joe Kramer grew up in Dayton, Ohio and went to Chaminade High School. Upon graduation in 1973, he attended Miami University and became a valued member of the baseball team. Miami won the Mid-American championship in 1974 and appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1974 and 1977. In 1979, he returned to Miami University as a graduate assistant. Again, Miami won the league championship and appeared in the NCAA tournament.
Before eventually landing at West Union, Coach Kramer was a teacher and coach at Chaminade High School, Valley View High School, and Oakwood High School. He was an assistant baseball coach at the University of Dayton in 1984. He arrived at West Union in the fall of 1984. Joe met his wife, Ann, in 1987 and they have been happily married for 37 years.
Coach Kramer taught at WUHS for 41 years, touching many lives as a business teacher, chess club advisor, and coach. During this time, he coached baseball, girls basketball, boys’ and girls’ soccer and track. His 1988 girls basketball team is the only West Union girls team to have ever won a sectional championship. His baseball teams won the SHAC in 1987, 1989 and 2018, plus a sectional championship in 1994. It is estimated that Joe Kramer coached 87 high school teams and four junior high teams, tallying over 1,300 interscholastic events. He started the local youth soccer program and was instrumental in creating our current high school program. He also started the WUHS Hall of Fame in the late 1990s and has spent many hours as a volunteer in the WUHS concession stand.
Coach Kramer has also helped with many of the youth teams and programs in Adams County. He coached many youth baseball, basketball, and soccer teams. Joe now enjoys helping out the Adams County Historical Society and Heritage Center, spending time with his sons Ryan, Bryce, and Janson, their families, and his grandchild Sky.
Phil Rhonemus graduated from West Union High School in 1970. During his high school career, Phil played volleyball for one year, basketball for four years, baseball three years, and ran track one year. Phil scored 371 points as a varsity basketball player and was named to the All-County team.
Phil attended Ohio State University where he earned a degree in Agricultural Education and later received a Masters in Educational Administration from the University of Dayton. After college, Phil worked at the Logan County Children’s Home before returning to Adams County in 1980. Phil taught multiple handicapped students for the Adams County Board of Developmental Disabilities from 1980 until 1996 before becoming the Multiple Handicapped teacher at West Union Elementary School. In 1997, Phil transferred to the high school and taught multiple handicapped children until 2010.
Phil taught and coached at West Union for 14 years. During this time, Phil coached varsity softball for five years, varsity girls basketball for two years, Junior High Girls basketball for 12 years, Junior High Boys Basketball for one year, and Junior High Volleyball for 10 years. Phil was famous for his clipboard slam that could quiet a gym and get his players attention. Phil served as Athletic Director at WUHS for 12 total years, 10 of those as Co-Athletic Director with Judy Hazelbaker.
Since retirement, Phil his wife Vicky travel the world. They enjoy spending time withtheir children, Josh and Cara, and their families. He enjoys watching his grandchildren’s sporting events but unfortunately, he has to cheer for Peebles to do so. You may also see Phil blowing a whistle as he has spent many years as an official. He has officiated volleyball for 46 years, basketball for 50 years, and softball for 20 years. You may also hear him on C103 describing some SHAC basketball action. Phil has always been a valuable member of the community and continues to volunteer at his church, serving on the Adams County Library Board, and playing in the Liberty Cornet Band.
Tony Staggs graduated from West Union High School in 1972. During his high school career Tony had mostly academic honors but he did play baseball for two years. After high school, Tony attended Eastern Kentucky University where he received his degree in Business Administration
Small town community values are very important to Tony. If something is happening in Adams County you can be assured that Tony is lending them a helping hand. For the last 50 years he has served the community in numerous ways. For example, Tony coached youth baseball for 12 years and youth basketball for four years. He served as President of the West Union Recreation Association for 20 years and also served as President of the Adams Brown County Youth Basketball program for eight years. Tony currently serves on the Adams County RegionalWater Board as the President. If something is going on in the community or WUHS, Tony can probably tell you about it and tell you how you can help out.
In 1996, Tony stepped up to serve as WUHS Athletic Boosters President and spent the next 15 years at that position. Tony took the lead on many large projects such as obtaining a digital sign for WUHS and organizing the annual Dragon Pride Dinner. Tony’s motto was that the WUHS Athletic Boosters provide the “bells and whistles” for the athletes. Tony not only worked on the big-ticket items but also assured that the smaller items, such as supplies for the concession stand, were taken care of on a regular basis. If WUHS needed something, Tony would smile and say “We will see what we can do.”
Tony also spent two years as West Union varsity baseball coach and was a volunteer basketball coach and statistician for six years. He is the local State Farm Insurance agent here in West Union and enjoys spending his free time with his wife Peggy, their children Michelle and Craig, and their families.
(A thank you to Jason Little from WUHS for assisting with the biographical information.)
