“As parents, we required our kids to respect and obey their teachers and coaches,” Steve says. “So we wanted to make sure their teachers and coaches were worth obeying and respecting.”

At Maranatha, that confidence came easily. Every teacher and coach their children encountered was someone Steve and Tina could wholeheartedly stand behind. Respect was expected, but it was never blind. If a child felt something was unfair, they were encouraged to approach the teacher or coach respectfully and work through it. That balance of authority, accountability, and dialogue left a lasting mark.

“By God’s grace, our kids have grown into responsible adults,” Steve reflects. “And Maranatha’s teachers and coaches played a huge role in that process.”

That same trust carried Steve into a deeper level of service when he joined the Maranatha Board of Directors during the 1990s, while his children were still students. From that vantage point, he saw the school from a different angle. The decisions were weightier. The responsibility broader. And the challenges, at times, deeply personal.

“As with any organization serving hundreds of families and faculty, there were difficult situations,” he recalls. “Some kept us on our knees in prayer.”

Alongside those moments were complex conversations about budgets, facilities, and long-term vision. Not every issue came with easy answers, and not every discussion ended in unanimous agreement. Yet through it all, Steve never questioned the heart behind the work.

“Though we didn’t always agree on specific issues, I never doubted the motivation of other board members or the administration,” he says. “Everyone wanted the best for all the constituents of Maranatha.”

What stands out most, years later, is not a single decision or milestone, but the spirit of unity that carried the school forward. Many of the board members Steve served with became close friends, bound by shared prayer, trust, and a commitment to steward the school faithfully.

Today, as Maranatha celebrates 60 years of God’s faithfulness and honors alumni like his daughter, 2025 Hall of Fame inductee Katie Quatro ’98, Steve’s reflections remind us that schools are ultimately shaped by people. By educators worthy of trust. By leaders who pray before they decide. And by a community united around what matters most.

“Thank you, Maranatha,” Steve says simply. It’s a sentiment echoed by generations who have been shaped by the same steady foundation.