Catching Up With . . . Bob Buechner

Champion for Urban Youth

by Brooke C. Stoddard '69

Bob Buechner grew up in Cincinnati, played tennis and basketball at Cincinnati Country Day and enjoyed writing about sports. When he came to Princeton, he played freshman basketball and enjoyed it immensely. For one, when Bob played in high school, the pressure was tremendous – Country Day was loaded with talent and was expected to win a first ever State Title. They did not. When he played freshman basketball, he was the 12^th man and could dispense with any nervousness. He greatly enjoyed playing with Chris Thomford and others who were going on to form the formidable teams of 1968 and 1969.

Bob majored in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering, the notion being that engineering was a good entrée into business. He wrote his thesis on hypersonic flow over a heated flatplate, physics important to the re-entry of spacecraft into the Earth’s atmosphere. He also enjoyed working with people and developed a passion for social justice. Next stop was Michigan Law School. He joined ROTC there as an alternative to being drafted and he set himself on a course of environmental, poverty, and social justice law. He did work one summer as a Nader Raider but the military interrupted his law studies by commissioning him into the U. S. Public Health Service, then sending him to Nevada as an environmental engineer monitoring underground nuclear testing.

Once back at law school, Bob understood his talents and interests were beginning to lie more in business, estate, and tax law. Five years after passing the Ohio bar he set up his own firm, now known as Buechner, Haffer, Meyers & Koenig. Bob specializes in business and estate planning law. "I love the one-on-one interactions and helping people and families,” he reports. He also wrote books on business, estate planning, and personal motivation ("My joke is,” he says, "I have written five books and sold eight.”) In addition, he worked on non-profit boards and helped raise funds for quite a number of social justice projects. He volunteered in schools to help students become better readers. His interest in social justice seemed to be taking the form of a large extracurricular.

Not too long ago, that extracurricular blossomed. He walked into an urban, largely African-American, Cincinnati high school and volunteered as an assistant basketball coach. The high school was a regular standout in state basketball but most of the students were raised in poverty. At first the head coach was skeptical and asked Bob to confine himself to raising money. But Bob had coached basketball where his children had gone to school and he knew he could help both the basketball program and the athletes. Thus began two full seasons of leaving the law firm in mid-afternoon and coaching young basketball players until dinner time.

This work has become a big part of Bob’s life and he has been written up in Cincinnati community newspapers. Bob has also written a non-fiction book about his experiences with poverty-stricken students and how others can help brighten lives by coaching at inner-city schools. Bob believes that young African-American athletes can benefit by interacting with someone of a considerably different background. He has pioneered a new organization called "Champions for Urban Youth” to encourage others to get involved with our inner city young people.

Early on, Bob assured the head coach that he was not interested in taking the man’s job, merely assisting, and he began to work hard on helping the young athletes focus not only on their academics but also on their personal discipline and commitment to others on the team.

Bob took inspiration from a church group with whom he met. The group discussed a book by Martha Grace Reece called Unbinding Your Soul, in which Reece encourages others to cross over a comfort zone into "unowned territory.” Bob took that step and beckons others. Bob’s own book on the subject My Winning Season: Building Values Through Coaching Basketball notes that "baby boomers” are now of an age when they have more free time and thus have the opportunity to help others faced with higher barriers. For Bob that opportunity presents itself on a high school basketball court. He knows he has nudged lives for the better. He has helped some of his athletes move on to playing competitively in college

"When I coached at my children’s schools, there was really no talk of academics among the basketball players – they were better students than athletes. But coaching at the inner city high school, we and the players talk a great deal about good grades, which are essential for them to remain in the basketball program.”

It’s not unusual for Bob to find himself during practice and at games as the only Caucasian in the gym. But he’s happy to be offering assistance wherever he can – and with good reason. When Bob was four he wandered away from his mother during a downtown shopping trip, walked for blocks, and was rescued by two African-American men who noticed his distress, got him in their car and drove him to the police station where he was treated like royalty.

Bob has long been disturbed by the staggered starting line faced by many young Americans and he’s lending his own sweat to doing something about it. He encourages others to follow.

Champions for Urban Youth has a mission to recruit, train, and deploy mature individuals who want to participate in activities that are supportive of urban youth such as being a coach or mentor in public schools, etc. If classmates are interested in how to start or participate in a Champions for Urban Youth program in their hometown, please get in touch with Bob by email, rbuechner@bhmklaw.com.