“I was kind of surprised, but it was a big honor,” Trinity mathematics teacher Mr. John Ellington said about being recognized at the St. Matthews Community Pride Breakfast, held at The Olmsted. Ellington, Trinity Class of 1976, was honored for his outstanding volunteer work in the St. Matthews community. Ellington has volunteered for more than 30 years in the area at various places, including the St. Matthews Community Center and parishes such as St. Margaret Mary, St. Albert and St. Raphael. Ellington is noted for coaching a wide variety of sports, including football, boys’ and girls’ basketball, softball, volleyball and baseball. Of the sports he coaches, Ellington said, “My favorite is basketball because of how fast it moves.” Coaching just came naturally for Ellington. His volunteer work started in college. He said, “I was always interested in coaching, and in college I wanted other things to do. I enjoyed sports and thought I would make a pretty good coach so I tried it and I really liked it.” Fancy breakfasts and recognition aren’t what drew the math teacher to give back to the community. He says the reward is in the kids he coaches. Ellington likes seeing people he worked with in the past follow in his footsteps and volunteer as a coach. He also enjoys hearing from those he has coached. “There was a girl here recently who pitches for Southern High School,” Ellington said. “I’ve been coaching her for three years. I got a letter saying how appreciative and how much of an influence I’ve been and how much I’ve helped her with softball. I was kind of taken aback by it, but I really appreciate it.”