By Madelyn Moore, Contributing Reporter
When members of the community were asked who they would name as an unsung hero, the name Ray Oppel quickly rolled off tongues time after time. Yet Oppel himself does not believe the title suits him.
“I am not sure I would classify myself as an unsung hero,” Oppel said. “I just believe in helping out when possible.”
He finds the community important because it is where his wife and Oppel decided to raise their family, and they wanted a community that held the same values as they did while growing up in small rural areas.
“With this in mind I strived to be involved as much as possible while working for Salem Community Schools,” Oppel said.
He felt as though he has had a limited role in the community as most of his career was attending events at the schools. Yet Oppel was a member of the Salem ExChange Club, which has sponsored a horse show, placed flags throughout the community on special occasions, sponsored Easter breakfasts and other events.
“I enjoyed placing flags around the community,” Oppel said. “The flags provided a sense of community when visitors drove through town.”
In addition, Oppel explained he has been involved with the New Hope Men at their fish fry, which raises money for many events in the community such as donations to Shop with a Cop, providing donations to the schools, etc.
He also serves as treasurer for the Washington County Retired Teachers, and began serving for Salem School Board in 2021.
“I especially enjoy working at the Special Olympics as a starter for the Area 2 meet which is composed of Washington, Jackson, Clark, and Floyd county,” Oppel said.
Oppel explained most of his career has been involved with schools.
“I attended choir, band, contests, dramatic presentations, attended and supervised athletic events which is about every evening,” Oppel said. He even traveled to Indianapolis when the band won the Class “B” State Championship and “other contests”.
“After retiring I stopped by the elementary school after their first day and spoke with the principal Ms. Lawyer,” Oppel said, “I said if you need any help just let me know. She said you can be here tomorrow and that started my daily supervision.”
He enjoyed visiting with parents and grandparents when they came to pick up their students.
“I especially enjoyed their smiling faces and the politeness when I helped them,” Oppel said. “For example, at dismissal I would hold the door and many would say ‘thank you’.”
Oppel added that he enjoys the appreciation and positive comments.
“It’s rewarding when someone comes up to you and thanks you,” Oppel said. “Putting up flags on the square it wasn’t uncommon for someone to say how nice the square looked and thanks for putting the flags out.”
Oppel reminds that many organizations need volunteers, and encourages people to reach out to someone in the community about who needs volunteers.
“There is someone in the school community, churches, Chamber who can direct you to an organization that needs help,” Oppel said. “Don’t be afraid to get involved.”
Paul Scifres was one individual that I respected who actually got me started at the food bank, and I worked with when he was AD at the high school. After his passing, I took over his role as the treasurer of the WCRT association. Also, Charles Hunt, whom I worked with at the middle school for many years, instilled the value of being involved especially with school activities.