#Between2BlueDevils Mark Horner

Season 5 begins with an amazing interview. This interview is only the second time I have had a guest on for a second interview. Why a second one you ask? After 34 years as a teacher and coach in Tallmadge City Schools Mr. Jon Shomo has retired.

Mr. Shomo has certainly cemented himself into the history of Tallmadge High School as both a teacher and coach.

As a coach Mr. Shomo has had quiet the journey. For 9 years he was an assistant coach for the women's softball team. 5 of those years they made it to the state final! He was the very first "official coach" of the women's golf team when it transitioned from a club sport to a varsity sport. He coached basketball for a few years. And he has also spent the last 20 years as the men's golf coach at Tallmadge High School.

Mr. Shomo has viewed his role in the classroom as one of a coach as well. For years Mr. Shomo has been teaching government, US history, economics, and a few other "social studies" classes. There are so many former students who love history because of him, vote because of him, and have gone on to become teachers because of him.

In this interview Mr. Shomo shares with us again who inspired him to become a teacher, and the advice he has for anyone aspiring to become a teacher or beginning their career in any field.

For 34 years Mr. Shomo has impacted lives as a teacher, coach, colleague, mentor, and friend. Help me honor his career by listenting to this episode and learning more about this legend of a teacher.

Mr. Shomo...THANK YOU for your time in the classroom and your time at Tallmadge High School.

Mentioned in the podcast: Roger Howard, Russ Jones, Jim Arbor, Don Duffy, Bill Zirke, Lindsay Cammel, Dave Harris, Ann Peterson, Annie Divac, Mike Hay, Nancy Fluke, Ben Curtis, Jon Karnuth, Mike Srodawa, Darin Hudak, Mark Swindell.




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Episode 57 features teacher and coach Brittany Lightel. I have known Brittany and her family for a long time, after all, like so many of our other guests Brittany has grown up in Tallmadge, she went through Tallmadge City Schools, and now she is a teacher at Tallmadge High School. 

Over the past year I have worked a ton with Brittany during the school day. She is one of our intervention specialists and her room is right down the hallway from my office. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t stop by her room to listen to her laugh and banter with her students. Her classroom is a room of energy and positivity and it fills my bucket just to swing by and listen to her teach. It's the same energy and positivity that she brings everyday to the softball field as our girls head coach.

As our head coach Brittany has poured her heart and soul into coaching our young women. She coaches softball year round. She is dedicated to her craft. This past season was a dream season for her, our girls, and our school in that our team won the Division 2 state championship.!!

Not only that but Coach Lightel was then recognized as the Greater Akron-Canton High School Sports Awards Female Coach of the Year! 

I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing Coach Lightel. Honestly, it is a long episode. The first half we talk about her role as a teacher, and then the second half we chat about softball. 

I loved every second of it, and I know you will.

This young lady is amazing. 

This is the final episode of season 4. Season 5 of Between2bluedevils will resume in the fall. Until then be sure to check out all of the other episodes and hear more amazing stories.

Thanks for listening.

Now, turn up the volume, prop your feet up, and meet Coach Brittany Lightel.






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This is a special one. For the past 20 years I have been a "neighbor" of some kind to Mrs. Dunton. For a few years we shared space in what was called the "cart cave." This was a small room with about 5 or 6 desks, a few filing cabinets, and then a bunch of carts. We teachers who didn't have a classroom called the Cart Cave home. Lisa and I lived there, together, trying desperately to stay organized.

When the new high school opened up she and I were blessed with our own classroom. I was room 1110 and she was room 1111. We were right next to each other.

Every single day Lisa would walk into my room and say "good morning neighbor." I could count on it daily. We shared a love of history, a love of our students, and an appreciation for organized chaos. We would both joke often about how we drew encouragement from the messiness of each others desk, knowing we were both kindred spirits in lack of organization.

Mrs. Dunton loves being a teacher, and she prides herself in caring equally for every single one of her students. In the classroom she spent an extraordinary amount of time holding kids accountable and helping them become the best versions of themselves.

Her life outside of the classroom is intriquing. As you hear about it you will agree with me in that it would make an amazing Hallmark movie.

I will miss seeing Mrs. Dunton in the hallways of THS. Our school will not be the same without her, and it is certainly better because of her.

I hope you enjoy this episode as she and I reflect back on an amazing career, and conversate about an exciting future.

Mrs. Dunton, THANK YOU for your commitment to Tallmadge High School. We all wish you only the best in your repurposed life.


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Episode 55 features Mr. Ken Subak, who at one time had a career with the FBI and now works as the Six District Compact Work Study Coordinator at Tallmadge High school.

His story is fascinating. About 12 years ago I found out Ken had worked for the FBI and we struck up a conversation about his many experiences working in Washington D.C. I then invited Ken in to speak to my Psychology students about criminals, FBI cases, and the role of psychology in that field. Every semester after he would present the students and I would walk away amazed at the stories he told, and the cases he had been involved in. He has been a part of history.

Equally fascinating is his passion project that he shares with his wife. The two of them are extensively involved in advocating for the deaf/blind community. He and his wife began a non profit and have been diligently working towards creating more access and opportunity for this community. Click here to access their website and see the amazing things they are doing.

During his day job Ken represents our students within the Six District Compact making sure they gain the experience needed to be successful in the next chapter of their life.

His bio is amazing. Check this out:


=A native Ohioan: born and raised in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio-Graduate of Walsh Jesuit High School-Graduate of Kent State University with a M.Ed. Intervention Specialist-Concentration in Transition and Career Based Intervention-BS – Photo Illustration-Previous employment: Federal Bureau of Investigation – Special PhotoUnit, Washington, DC; worked in multiple capacities within the graphicarts industry as a technical specialist-Transition/Occupational Work Study/Career and Technical EducationCoordinator – Sixth District Educational Compact-Courses and education in American sign language (ASL)-Co-producer – I’m So Amazing: A documentary exploring disability-Has presented locally, regionally, nationally-Parent of two children with special needs


Check out the trailer for the Subak's documentary: I'm So Amazing
Enjoy this episode. Ken is another great example of how everyone has a story, and their story deserves to be told.


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Josh Gambow is a school counselor at Tallmadge Elementary and the Tallmadge high school men’s tennis coach and he is our next guest on #between2bluedevils. He and I sat down not long ago and had a fantastic conversation. Before this conversation I knew very little about this young man. After this interview I couldn’t wait to share him out with all of you. 

He is awesome.

I reached out to a few people familiar with Josh and asked about him.

TES assistant principal Nicole Koyan had this to say about Mr. Gambow…

“I could not do my job without him at Tallmadge Elementary. He is always available, always willing to help out in whatever capacity is needed. He’s an advocate for students and staff alike and has helped us create and nurture the caring and supportive school culture we have at Tallmadge Elementary.”

Later in this interview Josh and I chat about the power of being a coach. He loves coaching. Listen to what one of his tennis players had to say about Coach Gambow. Kevin Bender said this…

"I admire coach Gambow in how much work he puts in on and off the court, how much he helps the team, how he helps us build up new skills to help us win, and how he treats us like his own students even after he leaves his main job. All of these inspire me to be just like him and learn new ways to help others, either with tennis or out in the real world. Coach, Thank you so much for your time." 

In our interview Josh mentions his colleague, Lianna Dauberman. Her story is amazing and she shared it on episode 46 (click here to listen). The two of them are amazing advocates for our elementary students, and they make an incredible team.

Follow Josh on Twitter at: @MrGambow

It is my honor to introduce Josh Gambow to you. He has an incredible story. He is another reminder that everyone has a story, including you, that is worth being shared.




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Season 4: Episode 53: Laurie Regallis: Athletic Trainer

Stories are the purpose of #Between2BlueDevils. The theme of the podcast is “everyone has a story worth being told.” This could not resonate more than it does after this episode. Sitting down with Laurie was such a pleasure. 

It is always interesting to interview an individual who see’s how the puzzle pieces of life come together. Generally this is an awareness that comes with age and experience, but in her case, this wisdom has come at an early age.

Laurie cherishes her role as a mother and wife. You will hear the passion in her voice as she shares the story of how she and her husband, Jason, knew each other in the early years of their life…drifted…and then were brought back together. 

Passion and love will scream loudly as she shares with us all about her daughter, her adventure as a mom, and how parenthood has caused her to embrace “childlike wonder.”

It was our conversation about being curious like a child that really impacted me during this part of the episode. So often we lose childlike curiosity. Laurie and I chat about that, where it goes, and how do we recapture that quality.

When not being wife and mom Laurie is busy taking care of hundreds of athletes as our athletic trainer. She shares with us all about her love of sports, her love of serving others, and her love of being on the sideline of whichever sport might be in season.

As our conversation unfolded about her role as AT you could see her love of her profession in her eyes and hear it in her voice. What jumped out at me was how much she values relationships. She takes pride in knowing each athlete on a personal level and building trust with them. This affirms her calling. She is doing what she does to change lives. After all, it was through an athletic trainer that her life was changed as well.

It is always intriguing to hear how one becomes who they are. When I hear about the role that someone in a school played in a person’s life I get really excited. For Laurie it was her AT, Rudy, who had such and impact on her that she wanted to be come an AT just like her. Her AT was more than someone who helped with her injuries…she was a second mom, a friend, a therapist, and a mentor. 

The power of relationship.

Like her mentor Rudy, Laurie demonstrates the power of positive relationships in her everyday life. She keeps her door open for every student who needs help, in any way she can provide it.

You are going to be inspired by this young lady and her story. There is so much more than what I have written here.

Enjoy this episode and please share it out. It is being released on what is the final day of Athletic Trainer Appreciation Month. We appreciate Laurie and all of trainers out there who help our young athletes each and everyday.

You can follow Laurie on the following social media platforms (click the links):

Twitter








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