Tim Gabbard
Tim Gabbard was born and raised in Franklin, Ohio, by his parents Logan and Joyce Gabbard. He grew up alongside his older sister Monica and a large extended family. A three-sport athlete at Franklin High School (football, basketball, and track), he graduated in 1973 and was later inducted into the Franklin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
He continued his education and football career at Wilmington College, earning a B.S. in Business and Education in 1977.
In 1978 Tim arrived in Waynesville to begin a remarkable 46-year career in education and coaching. Over the next 35 years he taught business, economics, accounting, and keyboarding while serving the district in multiple leadership roles: (1) Athletic Director for 28 years, guiding the transition from the Kenton Trace Conference to the Southwestern Buckeye League; (2) Track & Field coach; (3) Head Football Coach for 10 years (and assistant coach for many more under his friend Keith Mescher), recording more wins than any football coach in Waynesville history, winning three league championships, earning State Coach of the Year honors, and leading teams to state playoff appearances in 1981 and 1999; (4) Head Girls Basketball Coach from 1979, when then Athletic Director Dave Liffick asked him to coach, through 2025 (46 seasons), amassing 693 victories—5th-most in Ohio Girls Basketball history—with 17 league titles, 9 district championships, 2 regional titles, a State Final Four Appearance in 2005 and a state runner-up finish in 2019.
His teams and he earned 17 League Coach of the Year awards, 17 District Coach of the Year awards, 2 State Coach of the Year honors, and the Mideast Region Coach of the Year award. He was inducted into the Waynesville Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000 and received the Bob Arnzen Award in 1999. None of the success would have been possible without his long-time assistant coaches, especially Steve York (30 years) and Kelly Bricker (20 years), one of his former players who helped the 2005 team reach the state Final Four.
In 1987 Tim married the love of his life, Cindy Hartsock, Waynesville’s beloved school nurse and athletic trainer. Together they raised four children—Ben, Andy, Emily, and Max—all graduates of Waynesville schools. Now retired and still living in Waynesville, Tim and Cindy are proud grandparents to seven grandchildren.
Throughout his life Tim has remained deeply involved in the Waynesville community, volunteering at the Sauerkraut Festival, organizing youth sports clinics, helping at school events, and visiting residents at Quaker Heights. After more than four decades of teaching, coaching, and serving the students and families of Waynesville, Tim Gabbard’s legacy is one of dedication, excellence, and genuine care for the community that became his lifelong home where he and Cindy still reside.