Life Taught Charlie About Tenacity

Written by Sue Schindler

If you live in the Greater Cincinnati area, you’ve probably heard or seen the UC Health commercials with that booming, yet reassuring voice,

“They call us the tenacious. The authors of breakthroughs. The ambassadors of hope.”

That voice belongs to Lebanon, Ohio’s Charlie Hines. A talented and versatile musician and songwriter, Charlie gives his all when writing and arranging music, singing and playing guitar and keyboard, encouragingly mentoring musicians of all ages and abilities, and recording voice overs for national Walmart and other companies, colleges, churches and commercials. Charlie even wrote the national campaign song for Luxottica’s, Gift Of Sight, (now One Sight) nonprofit program during his time in the corporate world.

Referring to Dictionary.com for, “tenacious,” this word effectively describes Charlie: persistent, determined and steadfast. He recognizes gratitude while overcoming obstacles. He continually embraces the people in his life especially valuing his lifelong friendships. Charlie is quick to point out words of inspiration, as we talk in his state-of-the-art home studio.

He is a passionate family man, husband and father and lover of life. He treasures his new and lifelong friendships and enthusiastically comments on how he now musically advises the teen and adult children of these friends. “There is no expiration on the seeds we sow,” he told me. As a compassionate and continuous giver, Charlie advises to be on the lookout for what you can do to encourage others. “Your mission could be the people in your back yard,” he said.

Charlie fondly talks about giving a first guitar lesson to the child of friend, recording artist Tim Miner, in Colorado. Charlie held this child just a few hours after birth while wearing “that cone head blue cap.” This is the child who called Charlie, “Rah, Rah,” and now has a worship ministry of his own.

Charlie strongly idolized Tim’s teenage voice during his teens, as Tim was already an established recording artist. Through a social media re-connection, Tim agreed to provide vocal and musical backgrounds on, “A Charlie Hines Christmas” 2018 album.

Joe Boyd, CEO of Cincinnati-based Rebel Pilgrim Productions, and Charlie met while Joe was the teaching pastor and Charlie was the worship leader at Vineyard Cincinnati. Joe referred Charlie to his recent UC Health voice over, which after auditioning, Charlie performed from his home studio.

Prior to a budding music career, as a guitarist, Charlie was an avid soccer player.  At age 14, a deteriorating hip left him sidelined and hospitalized for 8 weeks. While recovering in the hospital, he was introduced to the guitar. “I was frustrated with the healing process of my hip. However, there was another purpose for me. If I hadn’t been in the hospital, I never would have learned how to play the guitar or be the musician who I am today.”

A Columbus, Ohio resident born in Virginia, his father’s military career led the family to Stuttgart, Germany soon after his hospital discharge. Arriving on crutches as his hip continued to heal, Charlie’s new guitar expertise quickly gained him acceptance into a new church band as he continued making lasting friendships. Prior to Stuttgart, Charlie only played in his Catholic Church’s folk group. In Stuttgart, he met Clarence Church and Tony Sutherland. Today they are accomplished worship pastors, writers and authors.

And what happened to Charlie’s soccer career? Once his hip was healed, Charlie played for Stuttgart’s Military-based school soccer team, the Patch Panthers. They played other military-based schools with the much more athletic German players. It was with the Patch Panthers and during Charlie’s first game back from his hip recovery that he scored his first and only career goal. Not only did Charlie hear God telling him, “I allowed you to find music at the expense of soccer. But I didn’t want to take soccer away from you.”

Charlie vividly remembers the team’s 1984 train ride into East Berlin. It was five years before the Berlin Wall was taken down and East Berlin was communist controlled.

On the right side of the track was West Berlin with blue skies, the German Polezi wearing green, and American Military Police. “It was safe.” The city was lit up and like any city of the free world.

When looking to the left, or East Berlin Polezi were dressed in blue and the soviet border guards were dressed in their Russian red., Charlie saw bombed-out buildings and no people roaming the streets. West Germany was home to the Porsche, BMW and Mercedes, but the only cars roaming the streets in East Berlin were white Trabants. (Writer’s note: History calls, them “the worst car ever made.”)

Disobeying their coach’s instructions of not pulling down the train’s windows to talk with East Berlin soldiers out of concern of being shot, Charlie and his friends tried to engage anyway. “The soldiers ignored the soccer players”, as Charlie recalls their “stone-faced” expressions.

While playing that soccer game, Charlie noticed several holes in walls and anchors in the platforms around the stadium and was told these were effects of bomb blasts, and where tanks were anchored in on display.  Charlie internalized that just 40 + years before playing here, he could have been shot to death for being African American or being an American!

After moving to Cincinnati, years later, one of the first things he did was to drive to Voice of America (VOA in Butler County Ohio). Charlie got out of car to recognize how VOA’s broadcasts into East and West Germany played a huge role in our freedom. Charlie points out that Hitler frequently referred to the VOA as the Cincinnati Liars because their broadcasts dispelled enemy propaganda.

I could have listened to Charlie’s words of wisdom and vast experiences for much longer than our time allowed. His final words of wisdom involved moving from worship director at a larger church to one that is more intimate. Charlie explained that the initial move was difficult. It was the only church that his daughters ever knew. “It was the source of my income, spiritual growth, the place where I could exercise God given gifts, lead a team of people and was the foundation of so many life- long friends.  Anyone would feel lost if it all ended suddenly,” he said.

Now three years removed, settled and very comfortable in this newer setting, his advice is to, “Let go of the ego & do what you do best. It doesn’t matter the size of your audience.” Charlie Hines is persistent, determined and steadfast. We call him, “tenacious.”