Brown family supports Rochester athletics through trophy case, football scoreboard

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Rochester Glass majority owner Chris Brown describes himself as a “mediocre” basketball and baseball player before he graduated from Rochester High School in 1985.

It might be argued that what he and his family have done with the trophy case as you walk through the hallways at Rochester High School is anything but mediocre.

Brown came up with the idea for a trophy case, which was a way to bring trophies from far-flung areas of the school to a central location. One walks past it every time when entering the gym from the parking lot entrance.

The trophy case was dedicated in honor of Brown’s parents. Brown’s father Shirley, more commonly known as Brownie, died in 1999, and his mother Gloria died in 2015.

“We started out just kind of talking about it, and there was just a hodgepodge of trophies,” Brown said. “And it took probably a couple years for everybody to be on board for us to donate it since we donated it in memory of our parents. … We were there… a couple weeks, I think start to finish.”

Brown’s son Levi, a 2014 Rochester grad, brought his crew to start, according to Chris.

“They did all the stuff above the ceiling,” Brown said. “They did the electrical. Did the lights. Then obviously my nephew (Matt Meiser) runs our glass crew, and I have my son and a couple nephews that were there working on it. My other son Chase, he was there, so it was just kind of a family affair to build it. It turned out well.

“I think everybody was a little skeptical when I told them I was going to build a trophy case. I don’t think they had any idea it was going to turn out to be the way it is.”

Brown said that he and athletic director Cal Stone were both curious during the initial building stages whether the trophy case would be big enough and whether it would hold trophies from Rochester’s days in the Northern Lakes Conference. Rochester left the NLC for the Three Rivers Conference in 1987.

“They filled it up,” Brown said. “There are still a few straggling NLC that Cal and I were talking about the other day that aren’t in there, but it won’t be long. It won’t be long that they add to it. It could very well be the next few years. There’s a bunch of great athletes coming up through the system.”

As for the football scoreboard, a storm blew it down in 2023. So Brown’s crew first had to remove that scoreboard and then find a temporary scoreboard that would last the rest of the season.

“We did a lot of the demolition,” Brown said. “I helped Murphy Electric pick it up. … They found a temporary scoreboard. We did a lot of the demo and things on it. Just helped them out. … They were just in a pinch for a time crunch, and we just put some long hours in to get it cleaned up, so Murphy Electric could come in and get the temporary board up.”

All three of Brown’s children – Levi, Maci and Chase – have graduated after playing sports. Maci, a 2020 Rochester grad, went on to play Division I softball at Oakland University, and she played in the 2022 NCAA Tournament before graduating in 2024. So this school year was the first in a long time for Brown and his wife Dee without a child playing sports.

They did make it to some Purdue Fort Wayne softball games to see family friend and 2024 Caston grad Addison Zimpleman play.

“Well, I enjoyed it a lot, and we miss it a ton,” Brown said of being a parent of a high school athlete. “This was our first season without college softball, and we were lucky enough to get to go watch Addison. So we watched her a few times, but that’s nothing like watching your own child. We watched every little bit of college softball that we could.”

Brown’s wife Dee and sister-in-law Paula Beehler have taken photos at innumerable prep sporting events dating well over a decade.

“I think they mean a lot,” Brown said of the meaning of high school sports in a community like Rochester. “They bond a community together. The farther they go in the tournament, you always see people that you never see at a ballgame. We’ll go during the week or on the weekends to watch a lot of high school sports. We always try to take in some middle school sports. With Dee, she loves to take pictures, so there have been a lot of people blessed with her and her sister picture-taking over the years.”

Brown described the future of Rochester sports as “bright.” Stone has been athletic director for less than a year, and Luke Smith, Kyle Reinartz and Troy Pryor are some of the new coaches who are set to start their coaching careers. Plus, Dan Bailey takes over a golf team that graduated one player from a team that finished 12th at state.

“If Cal can get young people, there’s a lot of enthusiasm right now,” Brown said. “If Can can get half the stuff done he’s mentioned to me in the next few years, that would be awesome. And if he gets his master plan done, look out. We’ll have top-notch facilities.”

Brown said small acts of giving add up.

“In all honesty, I think people should take time and spend a little bit volunteering in their community,” Brown said. “If everybody just volunteers a little, the community is a much better place.”