We officially met on March 28, 2008 at Flannagans in Dublin at the Farmers Insurance Profit Sharing After Party. We did not make it much past introductory niceties, but Shawn remembers that Denise was wearing a red plaid shirt, so clearly she made some sort of impact on him! Fast forward a few months and Shawn was in need of some place to live, and it so happened that Oly was also looking for a new place to live for her and Max. Shawn and Oly decided to look for a place together strictly as coworkers and friends. Oly gave Shawn directions to Denise’s house (he still has them), and said her sister would drive us around to look at places. The rest, as they say, was history!

Since 2008 we have found that we have many similar interests – golf, watching true crime shows, comedies, Jeopardy!, and many other programs and movies. We love rooting for THE Ohio State University Buckeyes and Pittsburgh Steelers. We’ve enjoyed many live games (except in November 2024) in Columbus and Pittsburgh.

We built a new home in 2015 and have thoroughly enjoyed living there together. We have survived many home improvement projects – but we still don’t know where that damn tape measure or pencil is! Recently we added a new fur baby – Queen Dashy Nash of Cedar, affectionately known as Nash, Nashy Nash, Girly Girl, Boody Doo amongst many other affectionate names.

Our most treasured thing to do together is to travel, sometimes just us, sometimes with friends, sometimes with family and sometimes with friends AND family! We have been to the Little Brown Jug and Kentucky Derby many times. Our first “official” vacation was a trip to Los Angeles and San Francisco – we were pinching pennies, but made the most of it – we drove up the Pacific Coast Highway and back down through the Central Valley where apparently, they give tours through the fields – ask Denise! We did have some of the best sushi and we have not been able to find anything comparable to date. We were so broke, we didn't have enough money to put more gas in the rental car so we had to shut the car down while trying to leave a Dodger’s game (them Dodger Dogs are not cheap!). We went to San Francisco and Napa Valley last year and had a much better time as we could afford gas for the rental – but we did “enjoy” a self-driving Waymo ride. We also rented a car in Cabo San Lucas that ended up costing a little more than it should (no worries, there were no injuries or arrests). We do have a bad ”habit” of bidding on vacation packages when we are charity events, but we have enjoyed trips to Cabo, San Fran/Napa Valley, the beautiful metropolis of Sandusky Ohio, Naples and Miramar Beach Florida, Key West, Elijay Georgia, New Bern North Carolina, Floyd Virginia and in 2026 Antigua! Some other favorite travel spots include Nashville, Saint Pete/Tampa, Peurto Morelos Mexico and Holden Beach North Carolina.

In 2022 Shawn had a few margaritas while sitting on Holden Beach and asked Denise to marry him, but alas she said no because he only had a seashell for an engagement ring. Not to be discouraged, he went ring shopping in April 2023 and again proposed on the sand at Holden Beach and again with the seashells and again, Denise was not that impressed and called his bluff until he produced a bonafied engagement ring – and she said YES!!

We have had some heartbreak and sadness along the way these past 17 years, but the good times have always helped through the bad times. Our lives together have obviously become very intertwined. This match was indeed made in heaven, and we are very thankful for the blessings that we have enjoyed. Not the least of which are the friends and family that will share our special day that we become husband and wife.