In 1955, George Hettinger began an illustrious career in the village of Aurora that spanned 53 years until his retirement. He served in several political capacities, including as mayor for three terms, and taught chemistry, biology and math at the Aurora schools along with his wife, Arlyn.
In 1975, his daughter, Barbara Hettinger, married John Kudley Jr., and together, the two have carried the family torch of community service in Aurora. Now, they’ve also passed it on to their daughter, Molly Schneider, who was just elected to the school board.
Kudley, an Eagle Scout, former teacher and coach, was recently elected to his seventh term on Aurora’s City Council, which is his third term as councilman-at-large. Aside from two years away, he has served since 1998. He was council president for three terms and also serves on the committee of the whole.
On July 26, 1967, Kudley, then a young college student from Orange Village, attended a Paul Revere and the Raiders and Sha Na Na concert at Geauga Lake for WIXY 1260’s “Appreciation Day” concert.
Five years later, Kudley decided Aurora was the perfect place to put down roots and raise a family.
“I just remember coming out here and driving in my ’59 Buick convertible thinking, who in the heck would want to live all the way out here, and little did I know that I would spend my entire professional career and life with my family here in Aurora,” Kudley said.
Kudley taught Advanced Placement U.S. History and coached track at Aurora High School. His impact on Aurora High School’s track team led them to name the annual track invitationals the John Kudley Aurora Greenmen Invitational in his honor.
Mark Dingman, a math teacher at Aurora High School, coached alongside Kudley for several years.
“I think it’s very very fitting that it is named after him,” Dingman said, “because he was there for so long, and he was a huge part of growing the program. When I got there back in the late ’90s, there were not many kids on the team, and I think he did a nice job of growing the program. He was influential in that, and was influential to all the young coaches, myself included. So I think it’s very fitting that it’s named after him.
“He was really a bedrock, because there’s certain programs where you don’t get a lot of coaches that come in and stay, you get a lot of turnover in coaches, but John was just a fixture there.”
Although Kudley retired from teaching in 2006, he continued coaching track until 2014 and still runs athletic events and handles ticket sales for the athletic department.
“I’m very active in my retirement,” Kudley said. “Not only am I on city council and working for the Aurora Athletic Department, but I’m also director of the Aurora Historical Society and the museum [since 2014], so I do that and then I get my grandsons to the school three days a week in the morning. So I’m very active, have not slowed down one bit. It’s just a matter of keeping going and, you know, your attitude and thinking young.”
His direction in life has always been to be in service to the public, which he said was instilled in him early on.
“When I’ve always campaigned and everything, it kind of goes back to the fact that when I was young, my mother kept ingraining in me that there was one reason why I was put on this Earth, and that was to give back to community,” he said. “I think I lived up to her expectations as far as what she hoped I would accomplish in life.”
Kudley has earned a reputation as a steward of the community. He is resolute in his commitment to the people of Aurora and about how he perceives his role on city council, which he said can be explained in a quote from Edmund Burke’s speech to the electors from 1774: “Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays you instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”
Kudley married Kent State graduate Barbara Kudley in 1978. She too has a history of community service in Aurora; among her achievements, she is a founding trustee of the Aurora Schools Foundation, served on the Women’s Board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland, and is a founder of the annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Aurora, where she has been instrumental in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the cause. She was also a librarian at the Portage County District Library and is currently a librarian at Craddock Elementary School.
Kudley and Barb have four children: J.J. Kudley, Jeff Kudley Hanigan, Steve Kudley and Molly Schneider.
Being raised in a family of educators led Schneider to earn a BA in history and an MA in education at John Carroll University and an MA in American history and government from Ashland University.
“I used to play school when I was a kid,” Schneider said. “My parents would give me school supplies for Christmas and I just assumed someday I’d be a teacher. With my dad being a history teacher I grew up loving the subject, so I knew once I got into teaching it was definitely going to be in social studies.”
For the last 15 years, Schneider has been teaching social studies at the 11th and 12th grade levels at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin School in Chardon and, more recently, also teaches American Government and Politics as part of Ohio’s College Credit Plus program, which allows students to earn college credits while in high school.
In 2022, she was awarded a James Madison Fellowship and an Outstanding Teacher Award by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
She is currently pursuing a PhD in education and curriculum at Kent State.
Schneider said teaching a government course has made her aware of the importance of local politics, which led her to run against four other candidates for a spot on the Aurora City Schools Board of Education, to which she was elected on Nov. 7.
The Kudley family’s passion for politics can be found in several facets of their lives, including above Schneider’s mantel, from which hangs a quote from one of Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speeches, The Man in the Arena. Her dog is named Teddy Roosevelt, as well.
Donna Hawks met the Kudleys 23 years ago, when she worked as the clerk of council for the City of Aurora alongside Kudley. Schneider served as a student volunteer at Hawks’ office when she was in high school.
“It’s really nice to see what kind of a woman she’s turned into,” Hawks said. “When she worked in our office, she was finding her way in high school and what direction she was going to go. It’s so nice to see where Molly has gone in her career.”
Kudley said he’s proud to see Schneider follow in the family footsteps.
“Our family, and my wife’s family are, we’ve been involved in the community and politics for a long period of time,” Kudley said. “It’s neat seeing my name on the ballot for council at large and my daughter’s name on the ballot, Molly Schneider running for the board of education. It’s neat that we’re serving at two different capacities to help the community.”