Blog Week: Meet Kevin Clark

Editor's Note: Welcome to , where each weekday we introduce you to one of Greenfield Patch's finest Local Voices bloggers.

After a recent Whitnall wrestling match, one of the Falcons wrestles who had done particularly well that night approached Kevin Clark and asked him when his blog post about the event would be published on Greenfield Patch.

It was then Clark realized the value of his Whitnall wrestling blog and the service he was providing with his write-ups of the team's events.

"Judging by the feedback, (the blog is) starting to generate some additional interest in the program and recognition for its participant," Clark said.

Clark has lived in the for more than 20 years. His two daughters, Megan and Celine, are graduates and his wife, Jym, recently retired after more than 20 years of teaching English, speech and drama there. Jym also directed the schools plays, musicals and children's theater program for many years.

Clark, 65, is semi-retired. He work at Road America from April through October, unless there's a major natural disaster. If there is, he does contract work for FEMA following hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and inspecting homes for storm damage and assisting with disaster recovery in places such as Louisiana, Texas and Rhode Island.

Prior to his semi-retirement, Clark's professional career included a couple of stints as a reporter, marketing director at American Players Theatre, staffer at Wisconsin Association of School Boards and several years in the specialty printing business.

But it's his lifelong interest in high school wrestling that led him to blog for Greenfield Patch. Clark, who did the first live radio broadcast of the state tournament as a high schooler in 1963, volunteered to be the PA announcer for Whitnall home meets a few years ago.

One thing he noticed was the relatively small crowds that came to Whitnall's wrestling matches, something he wanted to change.

"These wrestlers are incredibly talented and smart kids, who are that way in large part because they have the support and guidance of an amazingly dedicated group of parents and coaches," Clark said. "Unfortunately, the efforts of both the adults and student athletes have gone largely unrecognized. In some manner, I hope my blog helps to change that."

A few years ago, Clark noticed now-retired Greenfield was writing a weekly column about his team for a local publication and started doing the same for the Whitnall squad, with the cooperation of coach John Quinlan.

"It was a good opportunity, but logistics sometimes prevented publication while the subject was still newsworthy, and the column wasn't easy to find," Clark said. "Patch changed all that. Posting of the blog is usually within an hour or less of when it is written, and it's prominently displayed."

Clark's blog posts have included recaps of Woodland Conference and . They have previewed and even shared the spotlight with who often go unappreciated by the media.

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