I'm Park Gilmore, 8th Grade American History teacher, as well as Head Middle School Coach of football and baseball.

I arrived at CCD in early August, 1988 with my son ,Casey, who was entering 6th grade, just in time for early football practice. Working with Joe Thesing and Hank Allgeier, I quickly came to understand why Country Day is such a special place for both students and faculty.

After completing my secondary education at Asheville School in Asheville, NC, I graduated from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, VA with a BA in history and English. While there, I participated in the three sports I coach. Most exciting was our football team going undefeated during each of my final two years and being chosen as the top small college team in the nation my senior year by the Washington D.C. Touchdown Club!

Following a tour of duty as an officer in the USMC, I taught both English and history at Montgomery Bell Academy, a college preparatory school in Nashville, TN, where I also coached football, basketball, and baseball.

Between Nashville and Country Day, I had a fifteen-year stint in the business world as proprietor of Line & Shot, Inc., a specialty outdoor outfitter in Cincinnati catering to the fly fisherman and wing shooter.

I'm a dyed-in the-wool Kentuckian, an unreconstructed Southerner who loves to fly-fish for trout and hunt feathered game, especially waterfowl, with my two sons. I also love to read, and enjoy telling "whoppers" to anyone who will listen.

My favorite food is steak, but I enjoy all types of food and enjoy trying a new dish. I enjoy eating out; my favorite restaurants are The Precinct and Barresi's.

I'm at peace with the world in any trout stream or duck marsh. My favorite book is The Old Man and The Boy by Robert Ruark; my favorite poem is The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service. I love Bluegrass music! My favorite song is Mama's Got The Catfish Blues by Tom T. Hall. Jonathan Winters is my favorite comedian. My favorite movie is The Magnificent Seven,but I also enjoy a good play -----especially on the football field ! The King and I with Yul Brenner is my all-time favorite, indoors; 46 Power, starring any CCD tailback, tops the outdoor list! My role models are Robert E. Lee and Vince Lombardi.

I feel fortunate that Dick Schwab got me " out of mothballs"and back into teaching and coaching, for working with my young charges at CCD has truly been a rebirth and rejuvenation for me. Most people spend their adult lives toiling at a job they dislike. I'm blessed that I'm among that much smaller group of folks, working at something I love.