GREENVILLE – The Light Foundation welcomed Nate Cole as the new Camp Vohokase Director for the foundation.
Cole graduated from Allen East High School near Lima, where he excelled in football for the Mustangs and went on to play football for Tiffin University. He began coaching as a Tiffin graduate assistant football coach immediately following his playing days and soon progressed through the ranks from offensive coordinator to becoming a successful Tiffin University head football coach.
Cole met his wife Amy while attending Tiffin University. The couple has two children: a 17-year-old daughter, Taylor, and a 22-year-old son, Cooper, who just finished college and is currently enrolled with the City of Dayton Police Academy.
Coach Cole soon had younger children and moved into administration. His career path then took him to the Athletic Director position at Edison State, where he established and built the college’s sports programs, building facilities and adding teams before getting an opportunity to work at the University of Dayton.
“This opportunity came up with the Light Foundation, and it’s kind of in my wheelhouse, working with young men and the opportunity to work with Matt and this great Foundation – what his message and his beliefs are,” said Cole. “It’s such a unique position where I’m not just sitting in the office daily. I’m getting out there and doing things outdoors and directly impacting these campers we help.”
“We had an opportunity to look at several candidates, quite a few put in for it and when we met Nate, his timing was great,” said Troy Eden, Light Foundation Chief Operations Officer. “Matt was here at the time, so we got to sit down with Matt. Matt got a vibe from him, and it worked out perfectly. As soon as we met him, his energy and past experience, organizational skills, leadership skills, and all that – this is the guy.”
Upon founding the Light Foundation, Matt dreamed about starting a camp where young men could learn lifelong skills that would help them be R.E.A.L (Responsible, Ethical, Accountable, Leaders). The Light Foundation’s premier program, Camp Vohokase has done just that.
As the new Camp Vohocase Director, Cole hopes to use his vast knowledge and years of experience to continue the program positively.
“What we do at Camp Vohocase is so unique because we’re not taking the star quarterback that has straight A’s but we’re also not taking the kid that there is no chance,” he noted. “We’re taking the guys on that edge where right now if we give them a little bit of direction, expose them to some positive things, then we can get them turned and going in the right direction. Matt has focused on that with the camp and the type of kids he is looking for. It’s all over the country, not just local kids here; it’s Maine, Florida, and everywhere.”
“The interaction with the young people is what I have done my entire life. As a coach and athletic director, I had direct experience with all of our camps and the different things we do, like our football camp with Matt and other events with younger kids and then the scheduling, the organization, and knowing how to deal with certain situations.”
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” Eden said of a quote by John Maxwell.
“Most of the kids we deal with come from an unstable background; they’re not in great situations, and we can’t be another disappointment in their life,” said Eden. “We have to be the ones that if we say we’re going to do something, we do it.”
“It’s a different world now even in comparison to when I went through college and how you can interact with kids,” Cole added. “Now, working with students, you have to take a different approach; you have to understand now with technology, social media, and how things are different ways to reach. I’m still a big believer that young people thrive on people who can give them structure, they want discipline deep down, they want to know.”
“Nate is a man who tells you what he wants you to do, and he is going to be there beside you,” Eden concluded.
