A South All-Star after graduating from Greenwood in 1992, Jayme Washel is returning to town next month as the new fire chief.
Submitted photo
Jayme Washel is still about putting out fires.
During his athletic heyday, that meant starting on the offensive and defensive lines for some of Greenwood football’s finest teams.
Fast-forward to today, where the 49-year-old Washel — a 1992 GHS graduate who went on to start 34 games at Purdue University — is about to return to Johnson County as new chief of the Greenwood Fire Department.
No longer a 290-pounder in the trenches on Friday nights, Washel, now 40 pounds lighter, is presented altogether different challenges these days.
“I am very excited about the opportunity,” said Washel, who is applying the final touches to his two-plus-decades career at the Bloomington Fire Department, where he’s served as the fire chief since December 2014.
“It feels like a full circle, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. Greenwood is growing so fast, and there a lot of opportunities there. I’m just happy to be able to go earn the community’s trust and incrementally get better every day and every year.”
The same approach served Washel well as an athlete, too.
Born in Bloomington, he grew up in Greenwood but eventually attended Bloomington South for a stretch — a byproduct of Washel’s parents being divorced. He started the 1988 football season as a junior varsity player for the Panthers, but ultimately worked his way up the depth chart and started the final four varsity games.
Washel transferred back to Greenwood the following year, and his impact was immediate. Those Woodmen squads, which featured the likes of state All-Stars such as defensive tackle James Hogan (1990) and offensive lineman Aaron Stidham (1991), completed a three-year run with a combined record of 22-12.
It could be argued Greenwood’s gridiron apex came during an 11-season span (1958-68) in which neither the postseason format of today nor overtime existed. Those squads combined for 70 victories, 28 losses and nine ties.
However, coach Len Scotten’s clubs from 1988-91 generated a powerful argument of their own after assembling a mark of 34-13.
“My sophomore year, James Hogan was a senior and Aaron would’ve been a junior,” said Washel, the only county player to make the 1992 South All-Star roster. “We had a special group of guys, and the one thing I remember is having a great strength and conditioning program.
“We had players who got along, were committed, and we thought we were always the best conditioned team to take the field. And we just always thought we were going to win.”
The 1988 Woodmen, still viewed by some as the best football team in GHS history, had established momentum by winning their first 12 games by an average spread of 20.1 points. Greenwood fell short in a 3-0 slugfest to Franklin Central in a Class 4A semistate, but returned Washel’s junior season for another crack at a state finals berth.
The Flashes prevailed again, this time decisively (38-0).
Washel’s time at Purdue netted him a degree in kinesiology, three seasons as a starter under then-coach Jim Colletto, time as a roommate to one of the program’s legends, fullback Mike Alstott, and no shortage of fond memories.
He signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an unrestricted free agent, played two exhibition games and then broke an ankle playing volleyball. Washel eventually spent time in the Arena Football League, but an ACL injury sustained while playing for the Portland Forest Dragons rid him of an opportunity to pass a physical with the Indianapolis Colts.
Washel has been at the Bloomington Fire Department since January of 2001.
A Woodmen standout in two sports — he placed third in the shot put and seventh in the discus at the 1992 state track and field meet — Washel and his wife, Missy, look forward to being a part of the Greenwood community.
The couple’s daughter, Kylie, will be a senior at Butler.
“I think I played 60 games after college. Two were in the NFL, and the others were in the Arena League,” Washel said. “The biggest thing I kick myself for is that volleyball game. Looking back, I always wondered what it would’ve been like had I been healthy.
“The funny thing about the NFL is that 1% of the talent you just can’t touch, and most the rest are right there neck and neck with each other.”
Washel starts his new job Aug. 1 and plans to attend Greenwood football games when his schedule permits.
Once a Woodman, always one.
