Cheboygan Intermediate School to unveil ‘Grit’ signs in honor of late Jim Tamlyn

CHEBOYGAN – Joe Mahoney didn’t know Jim Tamlyn for too long.

But when they met, they connected quickly, especially when it came to sports. Being two Central Michigan University alums, they talked numerous times about their love for basketball and other sports.

They also talked tradition, such as Notre Dame’s ‘Play like a champion today' sign, Clemson football touching Howard's Rock before games, and Bo Schembechler’s ‘Those who stay will be champions,’ quote. When Tamlyn died in September, it hit Mahoney hard. With Jim gone, he wanted to find a way to pay tribute to his friend and fellow faculty member.

On Friday, Mahoney and Cheboygan Intermediate School will unveil two ‘Grit’ signs to honor Tamlyn, who was a highly influential figure to students, coaches, faculty members and the community.

“It’s something that’s going to stay, something that’s going to be there, even in a couple years when students don’t know the name, but we can teach them about it,” Mahoney said of the signs.

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Mahoney, a computers, physical education and health teacher at the school, understood Tamlyn’s meaning of grit, which focused on moving forward and overcoming obstacles.

“Jim took that word grit for about the last year-and-a-half and posted it into our school and talked to us as a staff and talked about it to the student body,” Mahoney said. “It kind of engulfed us as a faculty and as a school.”

According to Mahoney, there will be two ‘Grit’ signs on different sides of the school. One will be where third through fifth graders will walk past it when they come into school, while another will be featured on the other side of the school for sixth graders to walk past. Students, faculty members and others can either tap or fist bump the signs, something Tamlyn would have wanted them to do.

“If you knew him, the guy would give you a fist bump every time you saw him – that was just who he was,” Mahoney said. “Even if he didn’t know you, he would give a high five. He probably did 500 fist bumps a day, and that’s just who he was. It’s a cool little tradition we’re going to start.”

Before returning home to Cheboygan in 2023, Tamlyn spent many years as a teacher and varsity girls basketball coach at Harbor Beach High School. No matter what, he had a positive impact on everybody.

“He brought an energy to the building that was almost euphoric,” Mahoney said. “I don’t think he had a bad day. We would all come in and have a case of the Mondays, and I don’t think Jim had a case of the Mondays. What you saw is what you got, and we say that as a staff. It was awesome because you fed off it.

“He was just an awesome human.”

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan Intermediate School to unveil ‘Grit’ signs in honor of late Jim Tamlyn