Jake Tarbet, Class of 1946, was nominated to the Alumni Hall of Fame by his daughter Wendy Tarbet. Jake served in the U.S. Navy in 1945 and 1946. During World War II, Jake, just like many other high school boys did as soon as they were old enough, enlisted in one of the armed services for the duration of the war.
Jake was a Boy Scout leader, a Little League coach for ten years, a member of the MHS Athletic Boosters Club, and served as the "Voice of Minerva High School Football" before Doc Snively became the announcer. In 1962 he served on the first Minerva Park Board. He is a member of the Community Association where he once served ten consecutive years as president, in 1946 he served on the MHS Class of 1946's 50 year reunion committee.
He is the public address announcer for the Christmas Parade, and for the last twenty years, has been the public address announcer for the Homecoming Parade. He has twice been Marshall of the Homecoming Parade.
Although not a member of one of the local service organizations, he was named "Man of the Year for 1997.” At present he serves on the zoning commission, is an active member of the Train Station Committee, and is caretaker for he Community Building. He is a deacon and elder in the Presbyterian Church.
A Salvation Army bell ringer, he also serves several charities including the Cancer Daffodil Drive and the Heart Association.
Whenever Minerva needs a volunteer, Jake Tarbet is one of the first people contacted. Born in Minerva and a life long resident, Jake has spent a large portion of his life working for the good of the village. His dedication and interest in his hometown and its people make him a worthy member of the Minerva High School Alumni Hall of Fame.
Lee Ann Johnston Thorn, class of 1979, was nominated by Diane Walker Evans, also of the class of 1979. Thorn is a senior financial executive with over twenty years of management excellence and career success ranging from financial advisory and restructuring consulting services, executive management in health care, specialty retail, information management and higher education to providing audit and tax services with an international accounting firm.
While in high school, even though Thorn always had a job, she remained at the top of her class and participated in extra-curricular activities such as cheerleading, Crescent staff and National Honor Society. In 1983 she received a bachelor’s of arts degree in accounting, Summa cum Laude, from Mount Union College, and in 1985 became a certified public accountant. In the 1980’s, she was employed by Ernst and Young. In 1998 she became the CFO and treasurer of Camelot Music, Inc. This company was a national specialty retail company with 485 locations and $660 million in annual revenues.
In 2000 she was elected to the board of trustees of Mount Union College where she served as interim Vice President of Business Affairs and Treasurer. During this time she reorganized and restructured the business office, and directed a reallocation of a $130 million endowment resulting in capital preservation, improved investment returns and reduction of management costs. From 2000 to 2005 she became executive vice president and treasurer of GBS Corporation, a company involved in manufacturing distribution and development of document management and technology solutions.
In 2006, Thorn established her own company, LAThorn Consulting, LLC in North Canton. Her recent projects were representing lender interests totaling $4.9 billion relative to evaluation of strategic alternatives for $6 billion REIT; advising agent lender in resolution of inter-creditor concerns relative to a $140 million credit facility for a newly formed diversified media and sports marketing company; and representing secured lender interests in forced bankruptcy of a beverage manufacturing and distribution company with allegations of massive accounting fraud.
Since 2007, she has been the executive director of Atrium OB-Gyn, Inc. & Spa at Atrium, LLC in Canton. She reports to the board of directors on the overall operation of the organization. She serves as the liaison between legal, financial, and other entities within the community and the healthcare delivery system in matters pertaining to future growth and strategic planning.
Lee Ann has a proven track record of exceptional financial management and leadership skills throughout all phases of corporate business cycles including: substantial growth and profitability, leveraged buyouts, aggressive competition, corporate downsizing, financial restructuring and industry consolidation.
In addition to all of her business activity, Thorn is actively involved in many community and professional associations. She has served as trustee of Mount Union College from 1992 to present, and was chairperson of the board from 2004 – 2010. Since 1992 she has served on the Stark County Community Foundation Investment Review Committee and is a trustee of the Mercy Medical Center Development Foundations. The list of her activities is never-ending. She has served as trustee of both the Stark Development Board and the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce. Since 1985, she has been a member of the American Institute and Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants. In 1989, she was chosen as Woman of the Year by the Stark County Women’s Network for which she served as president from 1985 – 1989.
Lee Ann Johnson Thorn fulfills the definition of a member of the Minerva High School Alumni Hall of Fame . . . she is someone who has brought honor and distinction to Minerva High School through her career and her community service.
Steven L. Tibrea, class of 1978, was nominated by Michael Gallina. In his nomination letter Gallina quotes Benjamin Disraili, "Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think." This is what Gallina believes has led Tibrea to levels of ultimate distinction in his field of engineering. Gallina goes on to write, "There is not a more reflective, studious, nor humble person in this world than Steve Tibrea. His work with DuPont, Westinghouse, The Washington Group, URS, and Northrop Grumman is simply amazing. He has literally overseen work that has affected Homeland Security (nuclear materials detection and shipping/storage containers for legacy nuclear materials), the National Security Agency (ultra secure wireless communication), and the National Institute of Justice Law Enforcement Agency (standardized law enforcement technologies with regard to data systems). In a word, Wow!"
Tibrea holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University. He has over twenty-eight years of engineering and technical management experience, and is currently the Director of Research and Development Engineering at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) research community. He is past manager of the SRNL Robotics Section, and the Instrumentation Development Section. He is a co-inventor of a patented innovative encapsulation method for nuclear waste materials, and was featured on a segment of the television's History Channel episode of "Modern Marvels" highlighting technology associated with canning nuclear materials.
At SRNL, Tibrea directs and oversees the activities of over 115 engineers, technicians and specialists who design develop, integrate, and deploy unique systems to serve the U.S. Department of Energy and other Federal Agency programs in the areas of national and homeland security, energy security and environmental cleanup and nuclear materials disposition.
Some highlights of his accomplishments during his management tenure with SRNL engineering are: He developed and deployed automated equipment to safely isolate and store Plutonium for future processing into fuel for U.S. nuclear reactors; developed first response capability to address characterization and attribution needs for a domestic nuclear terror event, deployed unique precision instrumentation for the measurement and accountability of Plutonium in Japan, Austria, and Russia; developed and deployed custom imaging systems to NASA White Sands, Oak Ridge National Lab, and the DOE's Hanford facility in Washington State; and deployed SRNL engineering experts to the International Thermonuclear Reactor projects in Japan and France.
In his local community, Tibrea serves on the Advisory Board to the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Deptartment and is a Board Member for the non-profit organization, Enabletech, which provides unique devices to assist the handicapped. He is a founding organizer of the Aiken County FIRST Robotics program. He has served as School Board Secretary for Mead Hall, the primary and middle school of St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church.
Tibrea and his wife Lisi live in Aiken, South Carolina. They are the parents of two college-age sons, Andrew and Charlie.
The Reverend Dr. R. Eldon Trubee, class of 1962, was nominated to the Minerva High School Alumni Hall of Fame by Samuel M. Bemstine. He wrote that Reverend Trubee is a credit to his alma mater having maintained good character, integrity and dependability.
Dr. Trubee was two years old when his family moved to Minerva. At the ages of seven through twelve, he lived in Canton. The family then returned to Minerva and Dr. Trubee to attended and graduated from Minerva High School. While in high school he was a member of the band, the varsity debate team, a delegate to Boys' State and the Kent State University Institute in Speech. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wooster College in 1966, his Master of Divinity from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1969, and his Doctor of Ministry from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1994.
Along with his pastoral duties, he has served in three different communities as a volunteer fireman. As a Rotarian, he worked in four different communities organizing and expanding activities. He has been a Boy Scout leader, and served on the county mental board of health. He has served in different churches as a pastor and member of the ministerial association, as well as working with various committees dealing with development and placement of clergy. He developed a plan for harmonious relations where two or more churches share the same ministry. Also, he has established programs providing care for the needy.
After serving the Millersburg First and Clark Community Presbyterian Churches for twenty-five years, Trubee officially retired in 2009; however, he currently serves as an interim pastor in Cambridge, Ohio. His current activities include: membership on the Pomerene Hospital's Medical Ethics Board, the Holmes County Probate Court's Volunteer Guardianship Board, the Millersburg Police Auxiliary, and the Holmes County Habitat for Humanity's Family Selection Committee. He published Like as a Fire, a devotional book for fire and rescue personnel and currently writes a column for The Farm and Dairy.
The communities in which he has lived have always been very supportive of his work. The many abilities he possesses have been shared through his generosity and kindness. He often returns to contribute to the businesses and professional people in the Minerva Community. Bemstine wrote that Minerva is proud of the things Reverend Trubee accomplished while representing this community.
Dr. Trubee and his wife Bonnie, who live in Millersburg, Ohio, have two adult children, a daughter Heather and a son Kenton.