More than a coach: Scholarship to honor Dennis Piron’s impact on Batavia INCubator program

Dennis Piron’s success as the Batavia High School head football coach for 16 seasons is well-documented. His team’s two state titles and playoff appearances each of his seasons says it all.

And his 2026 team, in his final season at the helm, clearly is in the mix to place more state title hardware into the school’s trophy case.

Prior to this school year, Piron retired from his teaching role at the high school, where for the past decade he headed up the school’s INCubator Entrepreneurship program.

Many Batavians and former INCubator mentors feel Piron’s leadership in helping students create their own business models deserves a proper sendoff. They have created a scholarship in his name to reflect the impact he has had on the more than 700 students involved in INCubator during his time.

Fundraising has begun for the Dennis Piron Legacy Scholarship. The committee seeks $50,000, which the Dunham Foundation will match, to create an endowed fund rewarding graduating Batavia High school seniors well into the future.

The Batavia Foundation for Excellence will handle the fund, paying the award each year out of what the endowment earns, allowing the scholarship to “continue indefinitely with no further fundraising,” committee members say.

“Dennis has been the type of teacher, coach and mentor to our children that every parent hopes for,” committee member Rob Hollis said. “Endowing a scholarship in his name ensures that his value to our community will be remembered in perpetuity.”

Committee member Bob Hubbard expresses the view that hits on the feelings of many — that Batavia High School was lucky to have Dennis Piron.

“I have known Dennis for a long time and have had the privilege of working with him in the BHS INCubator Entrepreneurship class for many years,” Hubbard said. “In this class, students learn life skills like team building, networking, presentation skills and much more that they wouldn’t get in any other class.

“Dennis taught, coached, challenged and inspired the students to grow more in that year than they would have ever thought possible,” Hubbard added.

A scholarship idea of any type takes a fundraising effort, and committee member Bob Vaughan feels that effort has been fueled by an admiration for what Piron has accomplished since taking over INCubator.

“A small group of Batavia residents thought retiring educator Dennis Piron should be honored with a scholarship program in his name to recognize his impact on Batavia High School students in the classroom,” Vaughan explained.

INCubator will be left in good hands — those of Piron’s daughter Alexandra, a Batavia grad who joined the school’s mathematics department last year.

I couldn’t reach either Dennis or Alexandra this past week, as Dennis is clearly focused on football and Alexandra’s wedding Saturday, Sept. 12.

In a video supplied by the legacy scholarship committee, Piron says it all in one comment about how he views the program that has seen so many students use a variety of skills to launch their own businesses.

“What good people children are,” Piron marvels. “Given the opportunity to serve, to help in a community, to be part of something special — and how willing they are to do it.”

The legacy scholarship committee members are Dave Brown, Bob Hansen, Dominic Hansen, Hollis, Hubbard, Tyler Piron, Vaughan and Gary Ricke.

Ricke has added a fun twist to the recognition for Piron, creating Dennis Piron trading cards through his job at Orbis Design, where he has produced trading cards for public schools and youth sports clubs.

“When Bob Vaughan suggested using a home football game to reach the whole community (about the scholarship) at once, a trading card giveaway was the obvious answer,” Ricke said. “It’s the one hand-out that ends up in a pocket instead of a trash can.”

Ricke has created a 10-card set to symbolize Piron’s 10 years with INCubator. The cards were designed from photographs his family shared, meaning the set has everything from baby Dennis, to his Batavia football playing career, prom night, football coaching and INCubator teaching.

Those who attend the Batavia game on Friday, Sept. 11, will receive a Piron card as a Bulldog tight end in uniform No. 89.

The other nine cards will go to people who go to the scholarship fund site at pironlegacy.org to donate.

Selling some tools

When Batavia Hardwoods hosts the Woodworking Tool Sale and Swap on Saturday, Sept. 19, owner John Dillon has one thing in mind.

“Batavia Hardwoods is not charging any fees (to the tool sellers), we are just providing the venue and hoping to have a good time with a bunch of other woodworkers,” Dillon said of the outdoor tent sale taking place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 330 McKee St. in Batavia.

So, not unlike other flea markets or swap-and-sale events, this is how those who love, or even just dabble with, woodworking or woodturning find a happy place.

Dillon is expecting several vendors, saying it will be “all local folks, from clubs, who have excess tools they want to sell.”

Mostly he seems pleased to be offering what he calls “a new community event” that folks who enjoy creating things out of wood will want to check out.

Some Rosary standouts

When one thinks of sports at Rosary High School, or Rosary College Prep, the consistent success of the girls swim team comes to mind.

But there is some excitement brewing at the all-girls private school in Aurora, as the Royals flag football team, as of earlier this week, had raced out to a 5-0 record, landing anywhere from ninth to 13th in various state rankings.

Coaches Dave Stumm and Christian Tolentino and their players should especially be proud of recently knocking off the state’s second-ranked team, Belleville East, 28-21 with a late touchdown and two-point conversion.

So, taking nothing away from the swimmers, this was just something that deserves a shout-out in a game that doesn’t grab headlines too often.

Retirement checklist

About 10 years ago, when walking through the St. Charles Costco, I told my wife, “When I retire, I’m going to take the time to eat lunch at Costco.”

It was hard to walk past the food-service area without thinking, when combined with shopping at the warehouse, this is a place where people have some time on their hands. It looked quite enjoyable.

I’m sure many people with jobs have found the time to eat lunch at Costco during the week, but I was not one of those.

So, with one of our grandkids in tow, I finally checked the retirement box calling for eating lunch at Costco. A turkey sandwich and part of my granddaughter’s pizza slice hit the spot.

Most of all, it didn’t break the bank, confirming another reason it seems so popular. Decent food, decent price.

Call me a simple man. I didn’t dream of traveling, taking cruises or even playing golf every day after I was through working full-time five years ago. I thought about continuing to write for the Herald, hanging out with the grandkids and eating lunch at Costco someday.

Check, check and check.

Dave Heun is a freelance columnist based in Geneva, IL. He can be reached at dheun@sbcglobal.net.