Deb Brown, our athletic director, is finishing up her fifth and final year here at Saint Joe after joining the community in 2016.

Brown embraced the job by stating, “I’m thankful to Susan Richter for giving me this opportunity and am honored to accept it. Saint Joseph High School has a talented and dedicated group of coaches and student-athletes, and I look forward to working with them. I’m passionate about the value of interscholastic athletics and believe that my past experiences have prepared me well to lead and assist others and to support the mission, vision, and values of SJHS. I’m looking forward to future growth and success as we continue to strive for excellence in all we do.” She certainly has accomplished that.

During the 2020-1 school year, the community has endured many challenges due to Covid and athletics is no exception. This has meant an immense amount of extra planning and coordination by Mrs. Brown and the athletic department.

“Everything was new and there was no blueprint,” she explained.  From keeping playing areas and equipment sanitized to employing a new system of screening and attendance, many precautions were ordered to keep everybody’s health in safety. The school also adopted an online system for selling tickets to fans. Despite all these hardships Mrs. Brown expressed that seeing our teams compete was well worth all the work put in this year.

“The reward of seeing our teams compete made all of the extra work completely worth it. I vividly remember the first football game and the feeling of joy I had to see the game actually being played.  Honestly, with each competition this year, I’ve felt the same.  We are so blessed to be able to play as there are many throughout the country who haven’t had this opportunity.”

Brown will miss having daily interactions with coaches and student athletes, watching athletes competing and working hard, and seeing athletes encourage their teammates, but is looking forward to  being active and outdoors.  She plans to enjoy biking, learning to golf, playing piano, reading, and working on her house during her retirement, and looks forward to traveling to Chicago as well as California to visit her family. Brown wants to continue to volunteer and help out local charities. Students have expressed how much they appreciate everything she provided to Saint Joseph High School and how much they will miss her as a staff member and also a friend!