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Kyle Gibson

GREENFIELD — What do a SWAT team commander, a surgeon, a bureaucrat and a pro baseball player have in common?

They’re all nominated for this year’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Greenfield Central School Foundation.

Each fall, the foundation honors a select handful of former Greenfield-Central graduates who have made outstanding accomplishments in their communities and careers.

This year’s honorees are Eugene Chio, Kyle Gibson, Michael O’Connor and Richard Silcox Jr.

Their accomplishments will be celebrated at the annual Red Letter Gala at Adaggio’s Banquet Hall Sept. 30.

All four men have made extraordinary marks on the world since graduating high school.

Eugene Chio

Eugene Chio

Chio was valedictorian of the Class of 1996 at Greenfield-Central High School, where he took part in sports and multiple activities, but that was just the beginning of the honors he would earn in the coming years.

“Since his time at G-C … he has accomplished numerous achievements in his field of medicine that have greatly helped patients, fellow doctors and surgeons, and his community. We believe he is deserving of this honor due to the excellence he exhibits in each aspect of his life, and ultimately in his field of medicine,” wrote his Hall of Fame nominators, Nathan and Carrie Bruck of Greenfield.

Chio completed his medical residency in otolaryngology at the Ohio State University Medical Center, where he has served as Director of Sleep Surgery since 2009.

He’s served as Co-Director of the Multidisciplinary Cough Clinic there since 2012, and is an associate professor in the university’s Department of Otolaryngology, where he specializes in an implantable respiratory device called Inspire.

Chio has been recognized for his surgical innovation in sleep apnea surgery, helping to change the former Inspire surgical technique three incisions to two, shortening surgical and healing time.

According to the OSU Medical Center, he has implanted more upper airway stimulation devices than anyone in the world.

Chio has won numerous accolades within the field over the years, and has also taken time to give back, whether it’s by coaching youth soccer or cycling to raise funds for cancer research. He has made four trips to the Dominican Republic as a volunteer physician for Project Ear, a humanitarian effort to help the poor and underserved who suffer from hearing loss and ear disease in developing countries.

Kyle Gibson

Kyle Gibson

Now a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, Gibson’s baseball prowess was evident as he played for Greenfield-Central High School, where he graduated in 2006.

His skills would lead him to an illustrious pro baseball career, which has earned him multiple accolades over the years both on and off the field.

“I assure you he is just as great off the pitcher’s mound as he is on,” wrote his former teacher, Bill McKenna, who nominated Gibson for Greenfield Central’s Hall of Fame.

“Kyle is a church-going family man who lends a hand everyplace he goes. He is a huge supporter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hancock County and has donated lots of memorabilia for various auctions. Every place he has worked on his major league journey, he has given back,” McKenna said of his former student.

”He has been away following his dream a long time, but always kept a bit of himself in Greenfield.”

McKenna remembers Gibson as “a great representation of what makes G-C great. One that sticks out most is when a student his senior year was very sick with Leukemia, and Kyle led his class to support the student and their family. There are so many more examples,” McKenna shared.

As Greenfield-Central cougar, Gibson was named All-East Player of the Year and was runner-up for the Indiana Mr. Baseball award.

Drafted out of high school by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 36th round of the Major League draft in 2006, Gibson instead chose to attend the University of Missouri, where he played baseball for three years before being drafted 22nd in the 1st round of the MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins.

He was named the Twins’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2010, and was invited to join Major League Spring Training in 2011. He made his Major League debut with the Twins 2013 and would go on to play for the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles.

Gibson pitched in the 2022 World Series as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, after pitching his 1,000th career strikeout in his Phillies debut the previous year.

He was named to the MLB American League All-Star team in 2021, an honor he achieved at every level of play.

Michael O’Connor

Michael O’Connor

Since graduating from Greenfield-Central in 1982, O’Connor has made a name for himself in state government and politics, including a term serving as Chief Deputy Mayor of Indianapolis.

“I have known Mr. O’Connor for nearly two decades and consider him to be an outstanding community leader in many areas of Indiana. I have the greatest respect for his determination to improve just about anything he touches in life,” wrote his Hall of Fame nominator, John Kennedy, former president and CEO of Greenfield Banking Co.

O’Connor started his political career locally, getting elected to the Greenfield City Council just five years out of high school.

He served as commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in the mid ’90s, then associate administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1997-98. He then served as Chief of Staff and Chief Deputy Mayor of Indianapolis from 2000-2005.

O’Connor now serves as Associate Vice President for Corporate and Government Affairs at Eli Lilly and Company, while making time for philanthropic leadership work.

He serves on the board of directors and executive committee for the United Way of Central Indiana, which granted him the Outstanding Community Leader Award in 2018.

He also serves on the Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana’s Board of Directors, and on the board of the Simon Youth Foundation.

According to Kennedy, O’Connor spearheaded an effort in 2014 to expand investments in Early Childhood Education in Indianapolis and statewide, leading a multi-corporation effort to provide preschool scholarships to low income families.

He worked with Lilly to raise $10 million dollars in corporate funding to match local government dollars to fund the My Way Pre-K five-year pilot program, which has since been replicated in every county in the state.

Kennedy said O’Connor’s devotion to his hometown has never wavered, despite his demanding commitments and career.

“During his time as both IDEM Commissioner and as Chief Deputy Mayor, he returned when invited to speak to G-CHS civics classes,” Kennedy said.

O’Connor was selected as a Sagamore of the Wabash by three different Indiana governors. He was selected as Irish Person of the Year by the Indianapolis Athletic Club Foundation in 2002, and received the Cardinal Ritter Award from the West Deanery of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis for community service.

Richard Silcox Jr.

Richard Silcox Jr.

Since graduating from Greenfield-Central in 1993, Silcox has served as an underwater search and rescue diver, a S.W.A.T. commander and a State Police lieutenant, among other things.

His wife and three daughters — Kelli, Grace, Lauren, Elizabeth Silcox — nominated him for the Hall of Fame for his unwavering service to others.

Since being promoted to lieutenant in 2021, Silcox oversees tactical operations for the Indiana State Police S.W.A.T., SCUBA, Tactical K-9 and Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams.

The Greenfield resident has been with the Indiana State Police since 1999. He first served in Connersville for seven years, during which time he led the department multiple years in drunk driver arrests.

He was awarded the Mothers Against Drunk Drivers Award in 2006.

Through the Indiana State Police Department, he was given the Life Award in 2006, the Silver Star 2008 and 2021, the Commendation Award in 2021 and the Lifesaving Award 2022.

He’s also devoted much of his adult life to coaching kids, including coaching at the Henry County Youth League for at-risk kids, the Knightstown Optimist softball league and the St. Michael Catholic School basketball team. He’s also a member of the St. Michael parish council and co-founder of the St Michael Church Safety Committee. He’s also been scorekeeper for his daughters’ basketball games.

“We are nominating Richard Silcox Jr because of his commitment to his community. His career required him to move his family to Henry county, but at his first opportunity he chose to move his family back to Greenfield to be a part of this amazing community,” wrote his wife and daughters.

“Richard stretches his time to help out his family and friends, sometimes running on very little sleep, putting others’ needs in front of his own.”