Three Lake graduates honored as Lake Distinguished Alumni

        Lake Schools announced and congratulated three awardees of the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Awards. This year’s honorees include:
        • Brad Deal, class of 1985. At Lake, Deal was a member of the National Honor Society, the vice-president of his junior and senior classes, and earned six varsity letters in cross country, basketball, and baseball.
        He also began working part-time mowing grass and cleaning offices at Rudolph Libbe, which began a connection that has continued to this day.
        He then attended Ohio State University, graduating with 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. That would also lead to a loyal devotion to OSU and the Buckeyes.
        After college, Deal returned to Lake Township and began his career with Rudolph Libbe contractors as a project engineer. In 1992, while working in Florida in the wake of Hurricane Andrew, he met a girl from Chile, Susan, and the pair were later married.
        Today, they live in Moline as semi-empty-nesters. Their daughter, Kristen, a 2016 Lake graduate, and daughter Rachel, a 2018 Lake graduate, both chose to continue their education at OSU.
        Deal’s career at Rudolph Libbe progressed from project engineer, to assistant project manager, to project manager, to his current position as vice president of project management, where he now supervises 32 project managers and project engineers.
        During his career, Deal has been involved in construction projects totaling more than $1 billion, including the Walgreen’s Distribution Center, Chrysler Toledo North Assembly Plant (the new Jeep plant), Levis Commons and First Solar.
        The jewel of all his projects, he says, is the new Lake High School. In the aftermath of the June 5, 2010 tornado, Deal led the effort to secure the site, assess the damage, coordinate the initial cleanup and enlist the assistance of Rudolph Libbe to help with the initial demolition and repairs across the campus. He then served as the project executive on the $30 million project.
        Deal has also coached youth T-ball, soccer, and basketball, and he has supported the school’s academic and athletic programs.
 
        • Lori (Huber) Ernsthausen, was the co-valedictorian of the class of 1999, was on the High Honor Roll all four years and was a member of the National Honor Society. She also earned 10 varsity letters and was named Lake Senior Female Athlete of the Year.
        She attended the University of Toledo, graduating cum laude in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences. She continued her education at the UT College of Pharmacy from 2003-2005 and earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, magna cum laude.
        In 2006, she completed a Primary Care Residency Program at Toledo Hospital and W.W. Knight Family Practice. She also started practicing inpatient pharmacy at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, and continues to do so, on a per diem basis, to this day.
        In 2007, she began a distinguished career at the University of Findlay as an assistant professor of pharmacy practice and Director of Experiential Education in the College of Pharmacy. In 2011, she was promoted to associate professor of pharmacy practice. In 2015, she was appointed chairman of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, and in 2018, she was appointed Associate Dean of Curricular Affairs, College of Pharmacy.
        Ernsthausen’s practice areas of interest include diabetes, lipid and anticoagulation management, and skin disorders. She currently teaches several pharmacology, pathophysiology and therapeutics disease classes and coordinates the advanced self-care course.
        She is a member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and five other professional organizations. She has authored or co-authored seven peer-reviewed publications and 15 peer-reviewed posters and presentations in the field of pharmacology.
        Ernsthausen and her husband, Wes, reside near Pemberville with their two daughters, Emily and Lainey. They are members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.
        Since 2008, Ernsthausen has been a volunteer side walker and board member at Serenity Farm, an equine therapy program for children and adults with disabilities, located in Luckey.
 
        • Marty Pennington was the salutatorian of the LHS Class of 1986. He was the outstanding senior in math and social studies, a member of the National Honor Society and also won a National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete Award.
        He earned five varsity letters at Lake, and he also loved vocal music. He was in school musicals, show choir and concert choir. Later, he sang first tenor in a popular Southern Gospel Quartet called “The Gospels.”
        After graduation, he turned down a congressional appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point and enrolled at Bowling Green State University, where he attended from 1986-1988. He then transferred to the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Sciences, graduating in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mortuary Science.
        From 1989-1995, he worked at Witzler-Shank Funeral Home in Walbridge as a Licensed Funeral Director. In 1995, he was called into the ministry at Main Street Church in Walbridge. He was Main Street’s first worship pastor from 1995-2005. In 2005, he became the lead pastor, and earned a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from Huntington University.
        As lead pastor at Main Street, Pennington led and oversaw the building of the new church in Moline on a 40-acre campus, where about 800 now worship every week.
        Under his leadership, Main Street Church built a home for a needy family in Walbridge, and after the 2010 tornado, Main Street became the hub for Lake Township relief efforts, winning several awards, including the Glamm Volunteer of the Year Award from the United Way.
        As lead pastor, he also opened Main Street Church for use by Lake Local Schools for concerts, musicals, plays and other school events.
        Pennington served on the Executive Leadership Team of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ Denomination for eight years and he is currently on the Higher Education Leadership Team. In 2018, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of Huntington University in Huntington, Indiana.
        He is also actively involved at Lake Schools. He helps keep the scoreboard at football and basketball games, and he serves as a spiritual advisor to the Flyer football team.
        He and his wife, Amy, live on Bradner Road, where they raised four children, Nathan, Nicole, Emily and Marty, all Lake graduates.

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