Part of a series on nine local athletes being inducted into the African American Legacy Project’s Sports Legends Hall of Fame.
Kim Bates-Barnett is Toledo. A graduate of DeVilbiss High School, Mrs. Bates-Barnett went on to play volleyball at the University of Toledo, then spent the last 19 years as a teacher in the Toledo Public School system.
If there’s one thing Mrs. Bates-Barnett is more passionate about than her hometown, it’s family. But in her mind, there’s not much separating the two concepts of Toledo and family.
It’s why she values her role as a teacher and coach in the Toledo Public School system.