From EASTWOOD ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
The Eastwood Alumni Association will honor six individuals as they are inducted into Eastwood’s Eagle Way Hall of Fame during a celebration Feb. 22 at Eastwood High School.
This year’s inductees are Ralph Cubberly, Denis Helm, Amy Huffman Pennell, Kathy Jean Loomis, Tim Meyer and Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Donald Tracy Prey.
Ralph Cubberly
Cubberly, a 1981 Eastwood graduate, grew up in the small town of Dowling. He has been a lifelong resident of the Eastwood School District, except when he served in the United States Marine Corps. He graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor Science in Education and a Master of Education in Curriculum Development.
During his 20-year coaching career at Eastwood from 1988 to 2008, he and his wrestlers amassed many honors and championships. Cubberly had a 304-94 Eastwood Dual Meet record.
Under his leadership, Eastwood earned five Suburban Lakes League Team Wrestling Championships, eight Sectional Tournament Team Wrestling Championships and five District Tournament Team Wrestling Championships. The Eagles were Division II State Dual Meet Wrestling Champions in 2006.
Cubberly has also been recognized individually for his coaching skills. Eight times in his career, he was named the Greater Toledo Wrestling Coaches Association Coach of the Year. The Suburban Lakes League honored him five times as Coach of the Year, and in 2006 and 2010, he was named the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Coach of the Year.
In 2010, he was inducted into the Ohio Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame and in 2021, he was named the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Wrestling Coach of the Year.
He and his wife Brenda have two sons, Ryan and Eric.
Denis Helm
Denis Helm is a lifelong resident of Luckey, Ohio, and a proud alumnus of Eastwood High School’s Class of 1969.
He has been a cornerstone of the Eastwood community, serving on the Eastwood Board of Education for 11 consecutive terms. By the end of his current term, he will have devoted 44 years to Eastwood Local Schools—a remarkable milestone that places him among six school board members in Ohio with over 40 years of service and ranking him in the top 1 percent statewide. He also holds the distinction of being the longest-serving board member in Wood County history.
As a board member, Helm led initiatives to name the football stadium “Freedom Field” in honor of veterans and played a pivotal role in numerous levy campaigns to secure resources for the schools.
In the community, he is an active member of Zion United Methodist Church in Luckey and is a volunteer with Eastwood Community Wreaths Across America, Eastwood National Honor Society, concession stands, 50/50 raffles, After Prom and the school musicals.
His dedication to Eastwood has been steadfast, even as his family has grown. His wife, Barbara, retired after 26 years as an Eastwood teacher, and his children—Brad, Kerry, and Amy—are all Eastwood graduates.
Today, Helm remains a familiar and enthusiastic presence at Eastwood events, including cheering on the Eagles and his grandchild, who is a student in the school.
Amy Huffman Pennell
Amy Huffman Pennell grew up on a family produce farm, Huffman’s Market on “The Hill.” The daughter of Paul and Sarah Huffman was always making things or drawing on something as young as 3 years old. Working on that farm with her close family of five siblings, supportive parents and growing up in Pemberville were the backbone of her success.
Encouraged by her family and teachers: David Derr, Jean Long, and Denny Everhardt, Pennell, a 1981 Eastwood graduate, pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Columbus College of Art & Design, with a major in illustration and a minor in advertising.
She worked for the largest architectural firm in Ohio, BÖHM-NBBJ as their lead illustrator, then went to Retail Planning Associates as a retail store designer, designing new store prototypes for large, big box stores and international stores.
She later had a design partnership company “The Drawing Room” for 15 years before moving to Kent, Ohio. There, she is a professor at Kent State University, teaching design and illustration while maintaining her own design company, Amy Pennell Inc.
At Eastwood, she varsity lettered in marching band, basketball, soccer, and track, receiving the Golden Eagle Award, stage band, theater, and set production.
Her design skills have been part of many visual projects for high-profile television shows (e.g. The Ellen Show, Martha Steward, Say Yes to the Dress and Making It), magazines, internet and social media, commercials and major corporate events.
Pennell also has had a hand in many outreach projects for Boy Scouts, 4-H, Girl Scouts, PTA and St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Her talents in painting and illustration have benefited fundraising efforts for organizations such as March of Dimes, Susan G. Komen Foundation and Ravenna Clothing Center.
She and her husband Mark raised three children, Wesley, James and MacKenzie.
Kathy Jean Loomis
Kathy Loomis, daughter of Kenneth and Joann Hinesman, is a 1980 Bowling Green High School graduate who brought a long list of athletic accomplishments to the Eastwood School District in 1984 and made a huge impact on Eastwood athletics.
After lettering four years in volleyball at Bluffton College (University) and earning a degree in health, physical education and recreation, she was hired in 1984 by then Eastwood Athletic Director Richard Heckman to take over the varsity volleyball program. She coached for 18 years and has the longest tenure volleyball career to date with a record of 347-97.
During Loomis’s 18 seasons, Eastwood compiled 15 Suburban Lakes League titles, 17 Sectional titles, three District titles, two regional titles, one State Runner-Up title in 1985, and one State Championship title in 1993. She was named District 7 Coach of the Year in 1985, 1989, 1998 and 1999.
Several of her teams earned All-academic honors with 3.5 and above. Ten players went on to play collegiately and several earned All-Ohio honors. She credits the program’s success to contributions from junior varsity coaches, scorekeepers, statisticians and managers, who traveled to matches and took time to help.
She was a member of the District 7 Volleyball Coaches Association, Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association and a poll voter. She coached several all-star teams including one at the state level in 1985. After retiring from coaching, she spent several years officiating for the Ohio High School Athletic Association at all levels.
Loomis, along with her husband Wade, an Eastwood alumnus, started a fast-pitch program and coached the team for five years. Kathy and Wade have two children, Karly Oberdick (Josh) and Kyle Loomis (Amanda Haws) and five grandchildren, Emma, Amelia, Landon, Liam and Owen.
Timothy L. Meyer
Timothy L. Meyer was born on July 9, 1951, in Bowling Green to Lloyd and Irma (Snyder) Meyer. He passed away on July 24, 2014, after battling cancer for 12 years. Even after numerous surgeries and treatments, he never complained and refused to slow down. He was a constant presence in the community attending Mud Hen games with his family, playing dart ball, coaching several seasons of baseball and soccer, and volunteering whenever and wherever needed.
The 1969 Eastwood graduate received a Bachelor of Commercial Science-Business Management from Tiffin University, a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in human resources and budgeting from the University of Toledo and a Certificate of Quality Assurance from Owens Community College.
Meyer worked with the Ohio Department of Taxation as an examiner and group supervisor for State and Use Tax, district manager of the Toledo district and quality manager for the entire State of Ohio for process improvement, facilitating teams and training in quality improvement until his retirement in 2003. Additionally, he enjoyed teaching as an adjunct math instructor at Owens Community College and as a CISR insurance agent for Woodville Insurance for 10 years.
His educational services included serving nine years as a governing board member of the Wood County Educational Service Center, six years on the Eastwood School District board, and two years as a board member and finance committee member for Penta Career Center. He also served on the Owens Community College Quality Assurance Advisory Committee that discussed quality programming and classes to meet the needs of area employers, and the Ohio School Board Association (OSBA). He received the Executive OSBA Award of Achievement, OSBA Master Board Member Award and a Northwest Region Apple Award.
In the community, he spearheaded The Loft Youth Center in Luckey where he was on the board of directors and president for five years; served on the Zion Lutheran Church Council, where he was an elder, choir member and Sunday school teacher; and helped start SonFire by the River Ministry in Pemberville.
He married his high school sweetheart, Kathy Oehmke, in 1971. Their children– Stacia Reynolds ’92, Steve Meyer ’94, and Stephanie Speck ’98–were all graduates of Eastwood High School. He enjoyed life, loved laughing, and enjoyed his five granddaughters and two grandsons. He never had the chance to enjoy the presence of his three great-grandchildren.
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Donald Tracy Prey
Donald Tracy Prey graduated from Eastwood High School in 1991. The following year, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and served as an Airborne Communications Technician onboard the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft for 12 years. He deployed to many locations across the globe and served an overseas assignment at Geilenkirchen NATO Air Base in Germany where he deployed back to the United States when Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty was invoked (the only time in history) after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
After completing his Bachelor of Science Degree in Professional Aeronautics, Prey received his commission as a second lieutenant and became a nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Officer. He subsequently completed his Master of Science Degree in Space Studies and served an overseas assignment in support of the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base, South Korea. Additionally, he was continually deployed in place in a variety of capacities in support of nuclear deterrence alert operations throughout the 18 years he served as a missile officer.
In addition to the 4,500 flight hours and over 7,000 ICBM alert hours, he also accumulated 42 hours underway on the USS Rhode Island, an Ohio-class U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine, as part of an innovative U.S. Air Force/U.S. Navy inter-service exchange program he developed and implemented.
Among Prey’s major awards and decorations are the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal, Combat Readiness Medal, NATO Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Field Grade Officer of the Year, and Professional Team of the Year. He retired from the Air Force on Sept. 1, 2022, after nearly 30 years of service, which included assignments in12 different duty stations throughout the United States and overseas during his military career.
In addition to his incredible military service, Tracy also served as a Cub/Boy Scout leader, church/military chapel leader and teacher, community volunteer and school mentor in every U.S. and overseas community he has lived in.
He lives in Papillion, Nebraska, with his wife Kimberly (Leiser), a 1993 Eastwood High School graduate, and their son Liam. In his retirement, he continues to serve the military as a defense sector civilian contractor and is employed as a director of Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications Strategy & Business Development with General Dynamics Mission Systems.
Tickets for the Feb. 22 celebration event at Eastwood High School, 4900 Sugar Ridge Road, are $15 and will be available at the door or by contacting Marcia Cousino. Doors open at 6 p.m. Light refreshments will be served, and the presentation of inductees will begin at 6:30 p.m.
