Mike Core
Larry Wolfe
Note: This article was first published in the November 2012 edition of the Sun Lakes Splash and is being republished in memory of Mike Core who passed in October.
His career may have taken a divergent path from what Mike Core had planned, but it was a major success nonetheless. After earning a BS in journalism at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), Mike was a high school teacher for five years before eventually becoming general manager and editor of the St. Marys, Ohio, The Evening Leader newspaper. He expected to remain in journalism but was recruited to join Midwest Electric, Inc., a rural electrical co-op, as their Member Services advisor. This “right turn” in his career path led to positions with the Ohio Rural Electrical Cooperatives, Buckeye Power, the Delaware (Ohio) Rural Co-op, the Indiana Statewide Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, and, finally, to Big Rivers Electric Corporation. As president and CEO of Big Rivers, Mike led the company from bankruptcy and negative net worth to a position of financial strength with positive equity of nearly $400 million. Now in retirement, as a respected industry leader, he is still called upon to consult with numerous cooperatives.
Mike grew up on a farm near Hume, Ohio, home of the Humans and a suburb of Wapakoneta, birthplace of another famous native named Neil Armstrong. Although Mike didn’t make it to the moon, he did achieve great heights in his career. He was also the “star” (aka male lead) in two high school musicals and played on the Wapakoneta Redskins basketball team. His interest in journalism started in high school when he landed a job with the local newspaper as a sportswriter. He’d later be assistant sports editor of the BGSU college newspaper and a sports broadcaster for WBGU-FM.
His love of all things softball and baseball goes back to grade school where yours truly first met Mike. We played some kind of ball from sunrise to sunset whenever possible. He later became known as the “Iron Man” for pitching wiffle ball tripleheaders every Sunday afternoon. If the weather didn’t cooperate, we’d go inside and play APBA, a baseball game played with dice and cards. Mike has now brought that love of the game to Sun Lakes Softball. Besides playing in our league, he serves on the board of directors, is our official photographer, and is co-webmaster of our website.
He does have other interests, including live theater, movies, digital photography, and golf. Besides attending local theatrical events, Mike and Sue, his wife of 44 years, make an annual pilgrimage to New York City to see seven or eight Broadway shows. They also enjoy trips back to Ohio to visit their two sons and the grandkids. He’s an avid Reds fan (but will root for the D-backs if they’re not playing Cincy) and is a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan as well.
Mike’s truly one of the “good guys” you’re lucky to meet. We all have thousands of acquaintances over our lifetime, some who become friends and some very good friends, but only one can be your best friend, and for nearly 55 years, mine has been the “Iron Man.”