To the members of the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education, Since Coach Mickey Hunt has devoted so many of his years to this school and this community through his work as a teacher and athletic coach, his supporters stretch all across the country as they have moved on with their lives and are now adults. As a group we wanted to give you a unified example of our support for Coach Hunt as the head varsity baseball coach. It is the least we could do after all he has taught us in the classroom and on the playing field during our childhood. While you may or may not agree with him resigning as the head varsity basketball coach at Ramapo, you can surely appreciate that he is a man who is willing to stand up for what he believes in. Coach Hunt's tenure during his time as a member of this community is exemplified in three simple words: Commitment, Integrity and Loyalty. One can agree these are three core values that every parent tries to instill in their child. One can also agree that we live in a society that does not necessarily instill these values in our children. It is because of Coach Hunt's integrity that upon hearing he had resigned as the head varsity basketball coach so close to the season, one could rightfully assume that there had to be more to it than a simple resignation. Parents always stress to their children to "do the right thing." We are also taught that the right thing is not always the easiest thing. Coach Hunt also obviously believes in this core value. If you take away his ability to coach baseball this spring what will you teach the children of this community? Will you be teaching them to only stand up for what you believe in if it is easy? Will you be telling them that it is not always acceptable to do the right thing? Surely one can appreciate a man who resigned out of loyalty to someone else. One can appreciate a man who actually really does care about someone else. There aren’t too many people who are willing to give up something they enjoy to stand up for someone and something they believe in. On to Coach Pat Lawler, many of us played for him as he has been a volunteer for the Ramapo Basketball Program for eight years. Truly another example of those three core values: Commitment, Integrity, and Loyalty. After eight years of commitment and loyalty to this great high school, you would hope that individuals in our community would have the integrity to give the man his fair chance. Imagine being passed over on a job you have been preparing yourself for almost a decade and not being given a good reason why? There are wins and losses in life, but hard work and dedication should at least give a man a chance to get on the field. In signing this petition, no one is disagreeing with your dissatisfaction with the way Coach Hunt handled the situation he was presented with in the fall. Everyone is entitled to his or her own difference of opinion on that matter because everyone has a different belief of what the right thing to do is in a situation such as that. Instead the purpose of this petition is to voice our support for Coach Mickey Hunt as the head varsity coach of the Ramapo baseball team for as long as he wishes. If you force him to resign you will lose a man who has a great passion of the game of baseball and a great passion for instilling true core values in the youth of our community. Now we ask you, please, do the right thing. Sincerely, Concerned Members of Your Community