If you’re a mother, you’ll probably get some nice cards and flowers on Mother’s Day. But of course, your greatest gifts are your children themselves. And since you want to see them happy and financially secure, perhaps you can use this Mother’s Day as an opportunity to consider ways to help your children at various stages of their lives.
So, let’s take a look at steps you can take:

I have mixed emotions writing this column because it will be my last Coffin’s Corner for The Beacon. It’s always tough to leave a job you have really enjoyed, but it is necessary to recognize when the job has come to an end. For this and other meaningful retirements in my life, such as teaching and coaching, the only way to explain the reason was to say, “It’s just time.”
I am amazed that it has been four years and 40 columns since I asked Beacon publisher, John Schaffner, if I could write a column for his newspaper. I hoped I could draw on my experiences from coaching and teaching physical education for more than 20 years to give advice to parents and coaches on ways to help kids succeed in sports. 

When it comes to estate planning, we each have our job and duties to complete a valuable estate plan.  

THE ATTORNEY
• 1 — FACTS, CONCERNS AND TRUTH DETECTING.  Anyone can prepare documents. It is the job of the attorney to learn as much about the family unit as he can.  We must look through the niceties to determine just how the family relates to each other. We must look into future generations to determine if they can continue the business or if it should be sold. We must glean from conversations your values, your desires, and how each member of the family fit into the family puzzle. The more we learn, the more we can design a plan to protect you, your assets and your future generations.

We had some very sad losses this past week.
First, Port Clinton Yacht Club has lost two of its Past Commodores: Kells Pugh and Bill Benedict. Both were absolutely outstanding gentlemen. Geoff Bailey told me a story about Kells and Joan Pugh, about how when they first joined PCYC, they were singled out for a warm welcome, a greeting whose memory has lasted through the years. Their daughter Jan is the owner of Packer Creek Pottery in Genoa whose artistic items have become famous throughout the world.

Don’t forget the Kiwanis Spaghetti Lunch/Dinner this Friday, April 20. They will be serving at St. John’s Lutheran Church Hall from noon to 7 p.m. If you have never tasted Mark Giaco’s spectacular spaghetti sauce, you are really missing out! You get a full dinner with a large meatball (no, Mark is NOT the “meatball”) for only $8. (Well, maybe he is kind of a meatball!!!)