Dennis and Janet Haines have worked diligently to make an impact
in many aspects of their lives. They are fine and upstanding
people. They have raised two great daughters and have three beloved
grandchildren. They have worked to make lives better for many
hard-working individuals. They have spent countless hours making
sure that less-fortunate people have the same opportunities as
everyone else. And they are some of the most die-hard Youngstown
State Penguins fans the university has.
For all of those reasons, and many more, Dennis and Janet Haines
are the 2012 Penguins of the Year.
Dennis saw his first Youngstown State football contest in the
early 1950's at Rayen Stadium. He climbed through a hole in the
fence to watch the game. He has been a YSU sports fan for nearly 60
years.
Together, the two have seen many milestones in Youngstown State
Athletics history. They were in Statesboro, Ga., in 1991 when the
Penguins defeated Marshall to win their first-ever FCS National
Championship. Since that first trip, they have been to every title
game since. They made the trip to Penn State to see the women's
basketball team play their first NCAA Tournament game in 1996.
Also, they were on hand to celebrate at Eastwood Field when the
Baseball program won the Horizon League Championship in 2004.
Among the first sporting events their grandchildren attended
were YSU football, basketball and baseball games. For YSU, they
sponsor the Haines Family Player of the Game as selected by the YSU
Radio Broadcasters, have an endowed Athletic Scholarship - Attorney
Dennis and Janet Haines Scholarship - and contribute to the
department in many other ways.
Janet admits that Dennis had to do some work to get her to go to
YSU sporting events at first. A native of Cincinnati, she is a
long-time Cincinnati Reds fan, and baseball was her favorite sport.
However, once she was hooked, her passion for YSU athletics grew
quickly.
Dennis is the Managing Partner of the law firm of Green Haines
Sgambati Co., L.P.A. He is licensed to practice law in the courts
of the State of Ohio and is admitted to practice before the United
States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the
Sixth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Ohio.
Attorney Haines is a member in good standing of the Ohio State
Bar Association, and the Mahoning County Bar Association. Attorney
Haines carries the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory's highest
rating, a.v.
Attorney Haines' practice has included, among other things, the
preparation for and the trial of a broad range of labor and
employment-related cases, including actions under the Employee
Income Security Act [ERISA-401(k)]. Attorney Haines has represented
both employees and employers on constitutional issues,
employment-at-will issues, matters related to employment
discrimination, and matters involving the National Labor Relations
Act and the State Employment Relations Act.
Attorney Haines has lectured before numerous teachers'
associations about teachers' constitutional and collective
bargaining rights and has been a lecturer regarding employment
matters at seminars sponsored by the State Employment Relations
Board and Cleveland Marshall Law School.
He is the 2005 recipient of the Mahoning County Bar Association
Professionalism Award, given annually to an individual who displays
exemplary dedication to the standards of the legal profession and
demonstrates personal integrity.
His areas of practice include Labor Law, Pension and Retirement
Law, Civil Rights and Employment Law. Throughout his career, he has
represented labor unions, employee associations, individuals who
assert violations of their civil rights, wage and hour claimants
and personal injury clients.
Actively involved with the Ohio Education Association in helping
create the State of Ohio Collective Bargaining Law, he was
recognized by the OEA for exemplary actions and untiring efforts to
win recognition of the Constitutional and legal rights of teachers
in Ohio.
He has also been commended by numerous local police agencies for
his collective bargaining work on their behalf, including the
Youngstown, Boardman, Niles and Austintown FOPs and the Mahoning
County Sheriff Deputies. He also is a member of the AFL-CIO Lawyers
Coordinating Committee.
Several of his cases have made law through the years and he has
participated in three cases before the United States Supreme Court
including the Youngstown Police Residency case.
Additionally, he has handled, without charge, cases involving the
protection of civil liberties and civil rights, and was active in
the establishment of the Northeast Ohio Legal Services Association
which provides legal assistance for the poor.
He is a 1959 graduate of Ohio University and graduated from
George Washington University Law School in 1962. He worked for two
years at the Law Firm of Traxler & Malkoff prior to his role at
Green Haines Sgambati.
Janet and Dennis both graduated from Ohio University where they
first met. While Dennis went on to study law, Janet earned a degree
in Journalism, with minors in English and Biology.
She returned to Cincinnati after graduation and spent three
years teaching English and journalism at Green Hills High School
where she created a class in journalism. Later she moved to Denver,
Colo., where she worked as an insurance underwriter and did private
tutoring. Once she reconnected with Dennis, she moved back to
Ohio.
For the next three years she taught English at Cuyahoga Falls
High School. While at Cuyahoga Falls, she was awarded the Martha
Holden Jennings Scholar Award for classroom excellence.
Janet and Dennis married in 1967. After their daughters were
born, Jan became a stay-at-home mom. During the girls' growing-up
years she spent much time volunteering for their activities and at
the school in a variety of ways. When the girls went away to
college she continued volunteer work and especially enjoyed her 10
years teaching English as a second language at the English Center.
She has also spent the last 15 years at the Heritage Manor nursing
home and continues there today.
Janet and Dennis have two daughters, Julie and Jill, and three
grandchildren Adam, Allie and Ryan.
