Instructors

Bob Fink

Bob Fink is a full time elementary teacher for the past 30 years in Springfield.  He was named the Regional WEM Outstanding Educator Award winner for Teacher Achievement in 2014.  In 2016, he was named the Springfield Public School Teacher of the Year.  Bob was the head baseball coach at Springfield for 16 seasons.  During that time, Fink’s teams accumulated 262 wins, won 7 conference titles, made 4 state tournament appearances, and won the State championship in 2016.  He was named the Minnesota State Class A Baseball Coach of the Year in 2016.  After retiring from baseball coaching, Bob was named the head football coach at Springfield in 2018.  He guided his teams to two straight section titles and state tournament appearances in his first two seasons as the head football coach.  Fink was named the Vikings Gatorade Coach of the Week, the 2019 Southwest District Football Coach of the Year and named the Section Coach of the Year for two consecutive seasons.

Bob takes pride in designing courses that are up to date, practical and “real life.”  Courses are designed to give professionals the knowledge and skills needed to make a real difference in helping students/athletes reach their fullest potential.  These courses will help educators, administrators and coaches at all levels to in spire, guide and teach today’s youth to be the best they can be!

Bob and his wife, Heidi, have three children; Alex, Taylor and Isaac.

Holli Hoffman

Holli received her B.A. in Theatre Arts and English from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and her M.A. in Secondary Education from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul. She has been an English teacher at Southwest High School (Minneapolis Public Schools) since 1997. Holli is strongly committed to public education and engaging students with creative and academically rigorous curriculum. Holli currently teaches students through interdisciplinary collaborations and artistic residencies within the community. This type of approach allows her and her colleagues to research and support partnership-based education reform that brings the arts to the core of the curriculum. In 2005, Holli was one of two teachers in the state of Minnesota to be the recipient of the NBA Timberwolves ‘Holiday Heroes’ Award.

Bob Fink

Bob Fink is a full time elementary teacher for the past 30 years in Springfield. He was named the Regional WEM Outstanding Educator Award winner for Teacher Achievement in 2014. In 2016, he was named the Springfield Public School Teacher of the Year. Bob was the head baseball coach at Springfield for 16 seasons. During that time, Fink’s teams accumulated 262 wins, won 7 conference titles, made 4 state tournament appearances, and won the State championship in 2016. He was named the Minnesota State Class A Baseball Coach of the Year in 2016. After retiring from baseball coaching, Bob was named the head football coach at Springfield in 2018. He guided his teams to two straight section titles and state tournament appearances in his first two seasons as the head football coach. Fink was named the Vikings Gatorade Coach of the Week, the 2019 Southwest District Football Coach of the Year and named the Section Coach of the Year for two consecutive seasons.

Bob takes pride in designing courses that are up to date, practical and “real life.” Courses are designed to give professionals the knowledge and skills needed to make a real difference in helping students/athletes reach their fullest potential. These courses will help educators, administrators and coaches at all levels to in spire, guide and teach today’s youth to be the best they can be!
Bob and his wife, Heidi, have three children; Alex, Taylor and Isaac.

Bob and his wife, Heidi, have three children; Alex, Taylor and Isaac.

Holli Hoffman

Holli received her B.A. in Theatre Arts and English from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and her M.A. in Secondary Education from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul. She has been an English teacher at Southwest High School (Minneapolis Public Schools) since 1997. Holli is strongly committed to public education and engaging students with creative and academically rigorous curriculum. Holli currently teaches students through interdisciplinary collaborations and artistic residencies within the community. This type of approach allows her and her colleagues to research and support partnership-based education reform that brings the arts to the core of the curriculum. In 2005, Holli was one of two teachers in the state of Minnesota to be the recipient of the NBA Timberwolves ‘Holiday Heroes’ Award.

Jeremy Best

Jeremy Best has served in the education and coaching professions for 20 years. His undergraduate work was completed in 1996 at Bluffton College, with a degree in Elementary Education/Special Education. In 2002 he earned his Masters Degree in Educational Administration from Bowling Green State University. He has taught at various levels ranging from fifth grade to seniors in high school.   Best has taught 14 of his 19 years in special education classrooms. He currently is an Intervention Specialists at the middle school level and is completing his Administrative Licensure through Wright State University.

Jeremy has coached various sports including track (2yrs), football (2yrs), baseball (2yrs), and golf (13yrs) over the span of his nineteen years. He has been a head basketball coach for 17 years, 13 of those years at Convoy Crestview High School. His 2002-03 team played in the OHSAA Division IV State Championship Game. In the 20013-14 hoops season, Coach Best and his team captured the Division IV State Championship, with a 29-0 record.

He is a 4-Time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year. Best was also a recipient of the 2013 and 2014 District 8 Coach of the Year honor. In 2014 he was named the AP Division IV State Coach of the Year as well as the State Coaches’ Association Coach of the Year. He is a member of the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association and District 8 Coaches Association.  Jeremy is married to Jennifer and they have two children, Ethan (12) and Lillie (8). In his spare time he enjoys his family, exercise and following Cincinnati Reds baseball.

Lee Day

Lee Day has been instructing summer leadership courses for Educational Resources since 2003.  The 2018-19 school year is his 40th year in education.  Lee graduated from Ohio Northern University with a Mathematics degree in education in 1979 and then earned his Masters in counseling from Xavier University in 1983.  After teaching high school math, he became head of the guidance department at Lebanon High School in 1990 and served in that capacity until he retired in June of 2014.  He now serves as the District Head Counselor at Middletown HS.  Lee has coached sophomore basketball (1 year), varsity football (9 years of which 3 as head coach), reserve golf (14 years), head golf (13 years) and reserve baseball (2 years) all at Lebanon.  At the completion of the 2010 baseball season, Lee retired as Lebanon’s Head Varsity coach after 29 years.  He served on the state baseball coaches’ association executive board for 14 years and was President in 2013.  Lee also has officiated high school and college basketball for 37 years, retiring in 2017.  He has been fortunate to have worked 8 OHSAA state championship basketball tournaments, and was named Ohio Boys Basketball Official of the Year in 2017.  He is a member of the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2000) and a member of the Middletown Basketball Officials Association Hall of Fame (2006).

In his spare time, Day enjoys playing golf.  He and his wife Jodi were married in 1980 and have two sons, Trevor and Clint.  Both boys played golf and baseball at Lebanon High School and earned many academic and athletic awards.  Trevor lives and works in the restaurant business in Georgetown, SC and Clint is a Vice-President in the Lending Department at LCNB National Bank in Lebanon.

Tom Held

Tom Held has been instructing summer leadership courses with Educational Resources since 2004. With conclusion of the 2018-19 school year, he will have completed 33 years in education. Tom Held is the current Head Baseball Coach (1999 – present) at the Defiance High School in Northwest Ohio. In 1984, he earned his teaching degree in Comprehensive Business Education from Defiance College. In 1995, he earned his Masters of Education in Administration from the University of Toledo. He coached basketball for 13 years at Elmwood and Bryan High School. With the upcoming 2018 season, Tom has coached baseball for 32 years and 31 as a head coach at Elmwood, Bryan and Defiance. He was the Ohio Coach of the Year in 1999, 2008, 2012 2013, and 2016. Tom is also a member of the Acme Baseball Board of Directors. He has had the fortune to have over 90 former players go on to play college baseball and nine have played professionally. Currently four former Bulldogs are playing professionally. He was inducted into the Ohio HS Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame 2012 and the Defiance College Hall of Fame in the fall of 2012. Tom resides in Defiance with his wife, Deanne, and has three children, Chayse, 35, Cassidy, 23, and Cal, 18.

Jody Madsen

Jody Madsen earned her B.A. from Bemidji State University in elementary education and went on to complete her Master’s degree in Special Education from Minnesota State University- Mankato with an emphasis in learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disabilities. She has taught in ISD 518- Worthington since 2000, beginning with 11 years in the Special Education department at Worthington Middle School before transferring to her current 6th grade English Language Arts classroom. She participates on several committees at the building and district level, including the district’s continuing education committee. In 2019, Jody was bestowed the honor of Teacher of the Year for Education Minnesota- Worthington, Local 9721. She loves any opportunity to learn from her students, and tries to return the favor by setting a goal of engaging them with relevant, diverse curriculum; all while doing her part in developing them into compassionate, successful humans.

Jody and her husband are raising three boys on a crop and livestock farm near Okabena, MN. She is a certified CPR/AED/First Aid instructor for the American Heart Association and a volunteer E.M.T. for the Heron Lake Emergency Medical Service.

Matt Lundeen

Matt Lundeen is a graduate of Becker High School and Bethel College. He has been a teacher and a coach at Redwood Valley for over 20 years. He teaches 6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies, coaches middle school basketball and is the head football coach. He loves using the platform as a teacher and a coach to work with a wide range of students and athletes.

Matt was recently chosen as a recipient of a 2019 WEM Outstanding Educator Award as an Athletic Coach.  Lundeen is one of six educators being honored by the WEM Foundation and Synergy & Leadership Exchange for outstanding accomplishments and contributions to student learning. His recognition comes in the Athletic Coach Award, which recognizes teachers who are exemplary coaches of athletic teams.

He and his wife have three children who all attend Redwood Valley.