After finishing law school at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, all that stood between Angel and his then fiancee, Donna, was a law exam and a 525-mile road trip.
“I took the law exam on Wednesday/ Thursday, drove to Destin, Fla., on Friday and got married on Saturday,” he recalled.
Things haven’t slowed down much in the last 10 years.
These days, if Angel can’t be found at his law office in Harrisburg Town Center, he’s probably at the YMCA or some associated function.
Whether it’s coaching one of his son’s many sports teams or serving on the Board of Directors, Angel has committed much of his free time to the YMCA, earning the title “Kirk the Angel” from Cannon Memorial YMCA President and Cheif Executive Officer Ron Davis.
It started out innocently enough, Angel said.
“The YMCA is always in need of volunteers,” he said. “I got suckered into assistant coaching and the next thing you know I’m head coaching everything.”
At one point, Angel said, he was coaching multiple sports teams for his two sons, 8-year-old Brock and 4-year-old Cade.
“I’m about 18 months away from the girl (17-month-old Daegan) starting,” he joked. “I don’t know what we’re going to do then. We’re going to be all over the place.”
Even when he’s got a little time to himself, Angel often finds himself at the YMCA, where he enjoys lifting weights and working out.
“I’m a lawyer, so at the end of the day, I barely want to curl up with a comic book,” he said.
Angel’s life, outside of the office and away from the YMCA, includes teaching two nights a week at DeVry University in South Park, an activity he enjoys, but admits isn’t a career path he would choose for himself.
“I’ve got a flare for it,” Angel said of teaching. “I really enjoy doing it, but I could never be a professor as my sole livlihood. I’ve got to be more active than that.”
His giving nature and his willingness to stand up for what he believes in are part of what make him so unique, Davis said.
“He marches to the beat of a different drummer,” Davis said. “You won’t see him following the pack. He’ll go the way his heart is, even if it’s against the grain.”
-Jonathan E. Coleman
