Meet the Candidate

Retired Teacher

After completing my teacher training at the Rhein-Main U.S. Airbase in Germany, I was a classroom teacher in the Medina City Schools for 34 years, serving as the English department chair and on countless committees, from curriculum and instruction to safety and security. I have also taught classes at the University of Akron and at the Medina County Juvenile Detention Facility. Since retiring, I have been a very active substitute teacher.

Debate Coach

I founded the Medina High School Debate Team in 1993 and coached it for the next 30 years. During those years, I coached over 150 state qualifiers and over 30 national qualifiers. I served for nine years as an elected member of the Board of Directors for the Ohio Speech and Debate Association. In 2020, I was inducted into the OSDA Coaches' Hall of Fame.

Husband, Father, Hobby Farmer

My wife, two grown daughters, and I provide a very comfortable home for twelve rescued farm animals, all of whom have names, and none of whom have any job or purpose beyond enjoying life.

Advocate

My advocacy for public education in Ohio goes back decades and remains steadfast. I take every opportunity to communicate directly with the policy makers in Columbus to let them know how what they do impacts our students, teachers, and the communities served by our schools. Most recently, that advocacy has centered around the shift in the state’s use of tax dollars from public education to private school vouchers.

Volunteer

I have always sought out opportunities to extend a life's mission of public service. I currently serve on the boards of Medina Cares and Project: Learn of Medina County. I am a regular at food distributions for Feeding Medina County and have also been fortunate to share and extend my debate experience by volunteering at several school districts in Medina and Summit counties to establish or maintain their debate programs.