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Tom resides in the small community of Converse, Indiana. He retired from Chrysler Corp. and he and his wife, Suzi have been married 32 years. After an early retirement due to health he was forced to look for something to fill his time. Remembering his years in Scouting from Cub to Eagle to Scoutmaster he recalled how much he loved the carving projects. Tom along with two other Scoutmasters started the Eastern Woodland Carvers Club in 1988 and he still serves as their President. His club now owns the only three story building in town and is set to host the CCA annual meeting and seminars plus the competition in 2007. Tom served for 6 years as President of the Affiliated Woodcarvers, Ltd. and the International Wood Carvers Congress and in Jan. 07 he will become the President of the CCA for a two year term. He also belongs to National Wood Carvers Association. Early classes with Harold Enlow and Ed Zinger gave Tom the desire to become a caricature carver. He was inspired also by the works of Dave Dunham and the other founders of the CCA. Tom paired his humorous look at life with his love of carving and embraced the world from then on as a caricature carver. He is very proud to have been elected to the CCA in 1995. Some of Tom’s awards that are dear to his heart are the Gerald Sears Chicken Dobber Award in 1992, the Ron Ryan Award from Dayton Carvers Guild in 2000, and the Sagamore Of The Wabash awarded by the Governor of Indiana in 2001. Tom served in the Navy aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Essex and loved working on the flight deck. This may help explain why his favorite subject matter in carving is pilots. Tom’s firm belief that carvers need to work with the sharpest tools possible made him decide to start sharpening tools. He sharpens at Silver Dollar City for their March Carving Seminars and for the Ed Zinger’s June and Oct. Woodcarving Rendezvous in Branson, MO. Tom also teaches a class called WHAT YOUR TOOLS CAN DO FOR YOU that has been well received by both beginners and advanced carvers. He
has served as a judge at a variety of woodcarving
shows throughout the country including at the AWC, Dayton
OH, Mt. Home AR, Grapevine, TX, Metro Carving show in MI
and Dollywood for example. |
