Tom was initiated into the North Dakota Alpha Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at the University of North Dakota in 1994. Tom served on the General Headquarters staff as the project coordinator for alcohol-free housing from 1997–2001. During that time, he had the opportunity to visit more than one hundred Phi Delt chapters and one hundred fifty campuses throughout the United States and Canada. As an undergraduate, Tom served as awards chair, alumni relations chair, recruitment chair, Phikeia educator, and chapter president. Currently, Tom was elected at the 2021 General Convention in Pittsburgh to serve as a member-at-large of the General Council.
Previously, Tom served the Fraternity as the Zeta East Province President and Lambda Province President. Additionally, Tom has served on the faculty at numerous Presidents Leadership Conferences and the Kleberg Emerging Leaders Institute. Tom has more than twenty-five years of professional experience as an association executive, currently serving as the president and CEO of the Ohio Trucking Association in Columbus, Ohio. Before that, he held positions as executive vice president of the North Dakota Motor Carriers Association and executive director of the Prairie Rose State Games. Tom was credentialed in 2006 as a certified association executive by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), a distinction held by less than 4,700 professionals worldwide. Tom has a BBA from the University of North Dakota and an MBA from the University of Mary.
Tom serves in numerous volunteer capacities, including a member of the Civil Discourse Working Group of ASAE, treasurer of the Ohio Society of Association Professionals Foundation, and a board member of the American Trucking Associations TruckPAC.
Tom is a CrossFit Level 1 trainer and a competitive masters athlete. In his free time, he enjoys golfing and cooking. In addition, he is a cigar aficionado currently pursuing his certified tobacconist designation.
A Piece of Advice:
Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Part of being the greatest version of yourself is about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. It is about expanding your sphere of knowledge, trying something new, or simply engaging in a conversation with someone you typically wouldn’t. The Immortal Six founded our great brotherhood at a time of great uncertainty. Brother Morrison implores us “to do what ought to be done but what would not have been done unless I did it, I thought to be my duty.” To do this requires us to get a little uncomfortable.