Meanwhile, a recent article on No Exam offers several reasons on the importance of hobbies in our lives. Hobbies can:

•         Promote social interaction
•         Allow people to take a break from work
•         Relieve stress
•         Ward off depression

Progressive Law Practice spoke with four attorneys whose varied hobbies inject fun and camaraderie into their lives.

A Lawyer Who Bleeds Scarlet and Gray

“I grew up a Buckeye fan,” says Steve Chappelear, a partner in the Columbus office of Frost Brown Todd. As a child growing up in Columbus, his first childhood home was just a few blocks east of The Ohio State University. His father had also been an OSU fan since childhood and a volunteer usher at Ohio State football games as an adult.

Not surprisingly, Chappelear earned both his undergraduate and law degrees there. He has volunteered for countless OSU-related organizations throughout his life, and has purchased season football and basketball tickets since 1976. Not only does he rarely miss a home game, he often travels to cheer on his beloved Buckeyes. He has attended away football games in every Big Ten stadium as well as at Navy, Oklahoma and Texas, to name a few.

“I have seen us win two national championship games and lose one. My favorite was the 2002 win over defending national champion Miami, the overtime win in a home upset,” he says. Different family members accompany him to games, so cheering on the Buckeyes is definitely a family affair.

His adoration of Ohio State sports extends beyond the Big Two sports. He also attends all home wrestling matches, women’s basketball games and softball matches, as well.

He was recently named to the OSU Athletic Council, a post he previously held during his third year of law school. He is thought to be the first person to serve that organization both as a student and an alumni.

Fly Me to the Moon

Joseph Kershaw Dreitler grew up near the Blue Ash Airport, a now-defunct airfield in suburban Cincinnati. He watched small planes take off and land for hours at a time, vowing one day he would fly one of those planes himself.

Many decades later, the Columbus-based patent and trademark lawyer purchased a Beechcraft Bonanza twin-propeller, which he’s been flying high ever since. He took flying lessons from the Ohio State University Department of Aviation Flight School at Don Scott Field, a tiny airport on Columbus’ northern edges.

The farthest he has flown his plane from Columbus is California, although he says that’s not the most interesting experience he has enjoyed on his flying machine.

“I have been a member of the Golf Digest Course Ranking Panel since 1986,” he says, proudly displaying his membership card. That means Dreitler flies all over the country to play golf on the country’s most esteemed courses.

He flies both for business and pleasure. Because his law practice deals with federal law, his clients are dispersed throughout the U.S. Flying, helps “broaden my client base,” says Dreitler.

Of his joy of piloting, Dreitler says, “It is the most freeing experience you will ever find. In order to do it, you have to focus 100%. You can’t let your problems with your clients or courts” cloud your mind.

It’s De-'fence'-ible

Kathryn E. Hancock never fancied the sport of fencing. But, nine years ago, she tagged along with a friend who was trying it out. She ‘stuck’ with it; her friend did not.

Nowadays, the personal bankruptcy lawyer practices fencing twice a week and participates in fencing competitions many weekends a year. Not only does she partake in fencing matches near her Jacksonville, Fl. home, she has traveled as far as Detroit to compete.

Hancock says she finds fencing a “really good physical workout that requires you to react quickly and use your mind.” She also relishes the strategic thinking required to participate.

While her hobby costs her at least $100 a month for her membership to the Jacksonville Fencing Club, plus equipment, gear and uniform, Hancock says she has no plans to quit. “It’s good stress relief.”

Enjoying a Winter Classic Year-round

Tom Toolis, a personal bankruptcy and real estate lawyer in Frankfort, Ill., says his teeth are all intact despite being a devoted “beer league” hockey player. “There is no fighting in this league. We all have to go to work the next day,” he says.

Despite his busy law practice, Toolis can be found on the ice several times a week. Not only does he play hockey, he coaches his daughter’s hockey team, too. “There is nothing better to do with my kids,” he says.

Unquestionably, Toolis’s favorite aspect of playing hockey is the camaraderie he has developed with fellow competitors over the years. “You play with the same group of guys every week. You talk about your life. Being together is the best,” he says. He has been playing for a dozen years, although not consecutively.

While some might find the physicality of playing hockey a stress reliever, that’s not so for Toolis. “I’m competitive. It doesn’t help me relax. It helps me wind up. But it’s great exercise and I enjoy it.”

Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer.