A Little History …

My name is Mike Reining, and I am from a small town in Ohio called Grafton. It’s about 25 miles southwest of Cleveland. Far enough away to be in the outer suburbs but close enough to get lake effect snow. For those of you that don’t know what that is, it stinks. When everyone else gets an inch you get 6.

I went to a medium sized high school where I graduated with about 250 other people. I participated in the band, drama club, and the Air Force Junior ROTC (AFJROTC) program. I found my best fit in ROTC where I was able to excel pretty well. I was in most units within the group to include the Honor Guard. Our primary role was to play Taps at military funerals for local veterans and present the colors at certain events. I enjoyed my time in ROTC immensely. So much that when I left for Ohio State I joined ROTC in college.

I entered what would turn out to be a long “career” at Ohio State in the fall of 1991 where I found a new home in The National Society of Pershing Rifles. This group taught em many life lessons and played pivotal role in forming me into the person I am today. I learned how to be decisive and how to be a good leader under stress. We “simulated” stress in many forms on a daily basis. At the time it was a good preparation for what I thought would become a military career. After my first year I did not do so well as I could not concentrate on studying very well, or in many cases at all. So I joined the Army National Guard and become  19 kilo … and M1 Armor crewman. (19K is the Military Occupational Specialty or job title for the Army).

I loved my time in the Guard and made a lot of great friends and had a lot of incredible experiences. I’m not into guns very much but firing a 120mm cannon on the move and in the dark is quite an experience. To watch tank gunnery both during the day and night is just flat out awesome. To actually be involved and moving down range is truly awe inspiring. I would not have missed it for the world. I got out in 1998 because of some personal pressures and it’s been a decision I have regretted  several times.

I returned to Ohio State and tried to graduate but I still had just not grown up yet. After a few years I moved into the family business at the request of my father. I spent 10 years working there and when he passed away I decided it was time to move on. Now I am the General Manager for a small business that makes mosaics from stone and glass.

In 2000 I met my wife Alison while taking swing dance lessons. It was quite a time. We had our first child Hailey in 2004 and our second Charlotte in 2006.