Ace of Trades: Serving God and children go hand in hand
COSHOCTON – His love of kids, sports, and the Lord led him to Coshocton.
“My brother and I spent most of our time with friends playing board games,” recalled Isaac Bush. “Then when it was nice out, we enjoyed basketball at the neighbors, wiffleball and kickball in the backyard, and time at the playgrounds in our area.
“Our lives also consisted of many sports at the local YMCA,” he continued. “That’s also where I got my first real job as an official. We helped officiate soccer, basketball, and T-ball as young teenagers, which was a catalyst into what is now a 23-year career as a baseball umpire and a long history of officiating at Kids America and in local athletics.”
Today, Bush is executive director at Kids America.
“I first came to Kids America in 2004 for an indoor soccer tournament,” he remembered. “It was a great time, although I remember losing that weekend.”
Bush, 36, grew up in Mount Vernon, a few blocks from the local YMCA and an elementary school.
“It was perfectly situated,” he noted, “between sports and recreational opportunities that would help shape my future.”
He graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 2004 (where he played baseball, soccer and football) and Mount Vernon Nazarene University in 2008 with a major in youth ministry and a minor in accounting. He also played soccer on the MVNU men’s soccer team, which placed third in the NCAA National Tournament in 2007.
“My childhood consisted of being in church three to four times per week,” he said. “My mother and father ensured that we served the church as often as possible, thus giving me and my siblings a quality work ethic and an understanding of service at a young age.
“My dream was to work with children,” he added. “I just did not know in what aspect. The Escape Zone, a local teen center in Knox County, helped secure that calling in my life. We worked with troubled youth every weekend in some capacity and the effort was a confirmation I was called to work with kids.”
Bush eventually became a youth minister in Indiana. Then, he said, “the Lord moved my wife and I from that area to Coshocton. We were looking for jobs in the area that worked with kids/youth. Kids America was a great start.”
He started as activities director and became executive director in 2018.
“Isaac has a heart for kids and for the youth of our community,” said his wife, Vanessa Bush. “I’ve been honored to witness firsthand his patience, not only in raising our own children, but also watching him coach hundreds of kids over the years. He’s the most authentic and honest man who truly walks the talk.”
“Kids America has served as the outlet for God’s calling on my life,” Isaac responded. “I love working with kids/youth and KA has been a great opportunity to fulfill that option in my life.”
Kids America is located at 1600 Otsego Ave. For more information, call 740-622-6657 or log on www.kidsamerica.org.
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at ctnews@coshoctontribune.com.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Serving God and children go hand in hand
