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Allen Sommers was born and raised in Holmes County . He grew up on his family ’ s fifth-generation dairy farm but said he enjoyed the fieldwork over the animals . He graduated from East Holmes High School in 1989 and went to work for Holmes Custom Molding .
After a year , a co-worker encouraged him to consider a different occupation , so he went to the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster . After a year Sommers realized agriculture was not what he truly loved doing . He always had an interest in computers and helped out at Hiland High School , where he was encouraged to pursue computer technology .
He went to Stark State College in Canton for computer science and earned an associate degree .
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Allen Sommers
While attending Stark State College , he met his wife Penny . After graduating from Stark State , he started his career with Akron Brass in Wooster , a company that makes firefighting nozzles . After five years he recognized the need for additional training in the computer science field .
Sommers went to
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DeVry University and earned a bachelor ’ s degree in computer science while working at a company out of Mount Vernon called InfoLink . Soon after graduating , a job at Walnut Creek Foods opened up , and he became the IT manager for the company .
A need for a change brought Sommers to Coshocton , working for Synced Consulting , which then led to McWane Ductile as the network / systems administrator . His primary responsibility is to maintain the network and servers for the organization . He makes sure everything is connected and working , and he also handles any issues related to the hardware of the equipment .
When Sommers ’ coworker Mary Jackson asked if he would be interested in the leadership program , he decided to say yes . Being
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new to the community , he knew it would be a great place to start and get him out of his comfort zone . He said he likes meeting people and getting acquainted with businesses in the area . He said he has enjoyed learning the history and has found it fascinating .
“ Besides learning more about the area and meeting people ,” Sommers said , “ I ’ d like to learn how to be a better leader for the people I work with .”
When asked about his view of the community , Sommers said , “ People are friendly and laid-back . It is a wonderful place to raise a family . Many improvements are being made to build the community back up after plant closures . It is always wonderful to see a community grow .”
When asked about what would need to be
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done to make the county stronger , Sommers looks at growing the tourism industry . Coming from a community that has grown substantially in tourism and seeing what it brings to the local economy gives him the desire to see this for Coshocton .
“ The thought is exciting to me . Coshocton has many great qualities to offer . We are well on our way to providing great community events . We just need to find the best ways to amplify and improve those qualities to entice people to come ,” he said .
Sommers would recommend Leadership Coshocton County to others . “ If you are new to the area , it ’ s a great way to learn about the history , businesses and companies as a whole ,” he said . “ It is nice to know where the county has been and what the future holds .”
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This September Sommers and his wife will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary . Penny works for Coshocton Christian School as an art teacher . With two children age 17 and 8 , they stay busy but said they enjoy taking part in many community functions .
A couple of favorites the whole family enjoys include the Apple Butter Festival and the KOA activities
“ My family is enjoying being part of this community , and we are happy to call it home ,” Sommers said .
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