Board Thomas William Welsh  
Tom did his undergraduate work in Mathematics Education (1967) and, subsequently, earned a masters degree (1969) in Counselor Education, both at Florida State University. He was a math teacher, guidance counselor, elementary school princial and district administrator.
From June of 1976 through August of 1981, Tom was an Air Traffic Controller with the Federal Aviation Administration. Following the strike of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), in August of 1981, Tom was fired by the federal government and returned to education. In June of 2008, Tom retired from Duval County, Florida, after 34 years in public education. In July of 2008 he moved to Salisbury, Maryland.

Academic Competition: For 19 years, through 2008, Tom was the moderator of the televised Academic Competition in Duval County, "Brain Brawl". He has been a Coordinating Judge and Reader with the Commissioner's Academic Challenge (CAC) in Florida since 1997 and filled the same roles with the Panasonic Academic Challenge (PAC) from 1997-2008.

Sister Cities: Tom was active with Jacksonville Sister Cities Association (1995-2008), completing trips to sister cities Murmansk, Russia (1995) and Port Elizabeth, South Africa (1999). Frequently a member of the board and twice Treasurer, in June, 2008, Tom was named Volunteer of the Year of Jacksonville Sister Cities Association. Since moving to Salisbury, MD, Tom has been active with Salisbury Wicomico Sister Cities, maintaining their website. In May of 2013, he attended the Mayor Making Ceremony in Salisbury, England.

Family: In August, 1974, Tom married Lydia Maud Engle, of Snow Hill, Maryland, who was then a teacher at Highlands Elementary School in Jacksonville. In September of 1978, Katherine Victoria Welsh was born. Kate married Sal Ferrarello in April of 2003 and is practicing medicine in the Reading, Pennsylvania area. Tom and Lydia have two grandsons, Dominic (2008), and Leo (2011).

Community Service: In January, 2012, Tom was appointed to the Salisbury Traffic and Safety Advisory Committee and served as Chairman.

Stage: Tom has appeared in The Community Players of Salisbury productions as Sir Henry Angetell in "The Hollow" (June, 2011), Reporter #6 in "Chicago" (November, 2011), Major Metcalf in "The Mousetrap" (February, 2012), and as Dr. Grimwig for "Oliver" (November, 2012). He most recently appeared in the chorus of "The Wizard of Oz" in June, 2013.

06/07/2017