Three former Spartan athletes who have contributed to the community and a group of state champion football players will be inducted into the Valley View Hall of Fame on February 7 before the boys varsity basketball game.
Retired administrator Todd Kozarec will host the ceremony. There will be a reception to meet and congratulate the inductees in the cafeteria outside the gymnasium.
According to the school, this year’s members are being honored for their meritorious personal accomplishments, athletic achievements, and service to the Valley View community.
2026 Honorees
Barry Focht - A 1976 graduate of Valley View High School, Focht was a football player and wrestler for the Spartans. He served as a custodian for Valley View Schools from 1993 until he retired in 2021, after 28 years of service. He has also served as a youth football coach and was president of the Valley View Jr. Spartan Football program. Spartan fans know him best as the voice of the Valley View football games for youth and middle school for over 30 years, and the varsity games for the last 15 years.
Tom Sears - A 1969 graduate of Valley View High School, Sears was the first senior class president for Valley View schools, the first Mr. Basketball for the Spartans, and played football and basketball while in high school. Sears served as a Valley View Athletic Booster for 10 years and was president of the Boosters for four years. He served as a football videographer for seven years, and he coached 7th-grade boys basketball for five years. He has served as a Jackson Township Trustee for 24 years, served six years with Jackson Township Park Board, and was a member of the Army Reserves.
Butch Stidham - A 1995 graduate of Valley View High School, Stidham was team captain of the 1994 state championship football team and team captain for the 1994-95 state regional finalist basketball team. He has coached junior high girls basketball, high school girls basketball, and high school boys basketball as an assistant and head coach over the years, and has coached football for 20 years. He has been named the Miami Valley Football Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year twice, in 2017 and in 2022.
State Champion Football Players - Eleven men have the distinction of being three-time state champions for Valley View High School. Ben Amburgey, Mitch Ward, Josh Sears, Joel Phillips, Ryan Foote, Delmer Harrison, Mike Hamm, Chad Thompson, Travis Martin, Nyles Bowman, and the late Josh Brown were the only players to be on the 1994, 1996, and 1997 state championship football teams. No other players in the history of Spartan football can say they won three state championships and had an overall record of 53-1.
Valley View Hall of Fame
Every two years, the Hall of Fame honors alumni of Farmersville, Germantown and Valley View schools. Nominations are due in December, with the ceremony in February. The nomination form asks for examples of meritorious personal accomplishment, athletic achievement, professional achievements and service.
While the plaques from past years remain in the original Valley View High School, a digital display is installed in the new K-12 school and is available online. (Scroll down the page to see the Interactive Wall of Fame.)
The last class of inductees was in 2024 and included Jerry and Linda Tinch, Dr. William “Willie” Steinecker, Mark Heistand and Mark Cline.
© 2026 Twin Creek Times