What year did you graduate from Bluffton High School?
1985
Let's make a long story short, what are you doing now and how do you get to Ida Grove, Iowa?
I'm the CEO of Horn Memorial Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital (just like Bluffton Community Hospital) in northwestern Iowa. I worked as an RN for many years in a number of hospitals in Ohio then in Saginaw, Michigan. After earning my MBA, I worked for 3.5 years as the VP of Operations for Caro Community Hospital in Caro, Michigan.
Where did you get your MBA?
I have an Associates of Applies Science in Nursing from Rhodes State College (Lima Technical College at that time), a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Wright State University, and a Masters of Business Administration-Healthcare Emphasis from Baker College in Flint, Michigan.
As I recall you always wanted to be a physician. What you are now doing sounds like the next best thing for you. Is this true?
Drs. Franklin Rodabaugh and Howard Shelly were very instrumental in my medical career decision.
Family practice and anesthesiology really interested me, but nursing ended up my calling. If you remember, the same time that I went through nursing school, I also went through EMT school at Beaverdam-Richland Fire Department and ended up EMS Chief in Bluffton for six years.
While working in nursing, I had a number of really great bosses such as Pat Emery and Karen Jones, just to name a few. I became interested in administration at that time, working my way up through nursing administrationand transition to overall hospital administration, where I am at now. I love what I do!
Who did you sit beside in the first grade and who was your teacher?
Well, I remember sitting beside Sue (Shaw) Lewis. We still keep in touch through Facebook. Our teacher was Mrs. Augsburger. A lot of people wandered if she was my mother, but we weren't related to my knowledge.
What events from your school days at Bluffton stand out in your mind - or friends or teachers?
I was involved in a lot of music activities in school including band, choir, a musical (Brigadoon), swing choir, jazz band etc. I had a lot of good friend through school and hung out the most with Steve Krehbiel and Clair Zeits. I really enjoyed math with Bill Herr and shop with George Greenway. Of course, we had a lot of fun with Steve Stitzel in gym/health class as well as government with Don Wade.
Tell us about your family:
I have been remarried for 10+ years to Melissa Kassaw who is from Elida. My daughter Greta just turned 18 this week and is a senior in high school in Lanark, Illinois (NWIL). She has plans to attend college either at Bluffton University (I still have a hard time not calling it Bluffton College) or Ohio Northern University. My wife and I also have a 10-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, Zippy, and a one-year old German Shorthair Pointer, Becca.
Tell us about Horn Memorial Hospital. It sounds as if you've relocated to the Bluffton, Ohio, of Iowa, is that true?
Horn Memorial Hospital is a great small hospital that I am proud to work at. The Board of Directors is very supportive of the administration and proud of our facility.
$10+ million were spent over the past five years for remodeling and a building project. You can see some of the facility at our website, www.hornmemorialhospital.org.
You're right, Ida Grove is very similar to Bluffton! While it is smaller with only 2,000 residents, the residents in both towns are very friendly and helpful. Everyone would give you the "shirt off their back" if you needed it. Let me tell you, it is a lot different from Saginaw, Michigan, where I just moved from. There is something to say about living in a small community.
Does Ida Grove have a trout derby? If not, what's the big event there?
We do have a large 12-acre lake in Moorehead Park, but no fishing derby. This area is a huge hunting zone with some of the best pheasant, trophy whitetail deer, and wild turkey hunting in the US. My town (and county) is home to the fourth largest PheasantsForever Banquet in the U.S.! That's pretty amazing considering we are the smallest county in Iowa.
Do you ever run into anyone from Bluffton.
If so, tell us where and when I haven't run into anyone from Bluffton out here yet, but do know that David Schweingruber and his family live about 2.5 hours east of me.
Now it's time to come clean on any pranks you played as a student at BHS:
I don't remember a lot of pranks, but we did have a lot of fun toilet papering Phil Wilson's house (our band director). Of course, a lot of my friends in band were assistive including Krehbiel, Zeits, (Shaw) Lewis, Schweingruber, and Steve Brunswick just to name a few.
The other great prank that I remember was as a senior in the Buccaneer class (our school yearbook). Angie Rucker was our teacher...it was her first year teaching. One day, we concocted this great plan to make it look as if one of the students (Paul Shelly our editor) had fallen out of the window.
We frequently sat on the window sills with the windows open in the spring and she was always worried someone would get hurt. Well, she stepped out of the room for a few minute and returned to find all of us "up in arms" and rushing about the room because Paul had just 'fallen out of the window."
Paul had run down the inside fire escape o the building while she was out of the room and positioned himself on the ground as if he had fallen and was dead. She ran outside, was crying etc. We laughed so hard that we were all laughing and crying hysterically.
Needless to say, we got in a bit of trouble that day with Dan Rumer the principal. To this day, I've never forgotten the look on Ms. Rucker's face!
