LIGHT BRIGADE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Sales Training ( West Region )
Job Titles:
- Sales Training ( East Region )
Cameron Karch has been involved with communications since 1983 specializing as a technician in both voice and data protocols. He has performed both project management and quality control tasks in addition to splicing, testing, and emergency restoration disciplines for a variety of CATV, telephone companies, end-users, and government organizations. Cameron has a variety of certifications from the White House and the Optical Society of America. He has worked as a fiber optic technician and an instructor for The Light Brigade since 1987.
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- President and Founder of ONUG Communications
Danny is the president and founder of ONUG Communications, a network planning, design, and construction services company he founded in 1999. Before ONUG he served as the Director of Professional Services for a southeastern Engineer, Furnish, and Install company where he developed the concept and business plan. Before his position as Director of Professional Services, he held various management and technical positions with BellSouth Telecommunication.
The limitless possibilities of fiber as a medium for broadband have kept Danny fascinated with fiber optics for 35 years. His interest began early when as a teenager in community college, he built an interferometer in physics class. After community college, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University.
His 35 years of experience in the telecommunications and utility industry have enabled him to provide many customers with varying assessments of industry trends including: "last mile" networks, data, CATV, and broadband technologies. He has additional expertise with FTTx OSP/ISP design, fiber construction methods, material management, operations consulting, and multi-state general contracting.
Travel, hunting (mostly bow), being a shade tree mechanic, martial arts, and gardening are a few of Danny's favorite past times. He keeps everything in perspective with the right order of priorities - God, family (Cindy his wife, and their six children), friends, work, and play. Not a lot of time is spent watching movies so there is no standout favorite tech movie, but he prefers seasoned beef topping on his pizza.
Gary Klingele has over 40 years of experience working as an electronics technician performing installations, troubleshooting, emergency restorations, and inspections. His professional background includes the installation and maintenance of fiber optic voice, video, and data communications networks. He has also worked with microwave, two-way VHF & UHF radio systems and control, security, and video systems.
After retiring in 2013 and began teaching because he loves helping others learn the ins and outs of working with fiber optics. Gary has an Associate of Applied Science in Electronics Technology (AASET), is certified as an ETA Fiber Optic Installer/Administrator, a UTC Fiber Optic Professional Technician, and Fiber Optic Professional Designer, a NARTE Master Technician, and an FCC GROL certification with RADAR endorsement.
In his spare time, Gary enjoys flying as a private pilot and spending time in the great outdoors hunting, skiing, hiking, and camping.
Greg Lambrecht's professional experience began as an avionics technician, working on helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in the Canadian Yukon, and then as an avionics crew chief for a Vancouver BC airline. In 1991, he began teaching in Avionics and Telecommunications Technician program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) also serving as the program head. It was during his time at BCIT, that Greg became involved in fiber optics. He found fiber interesting because of the precision and hands-on skills that appealed to his technology side.
Radiofrequency (RF) communications, fiber optics, and copper cabling services are his areas of expertise. Greg is a certified administrator for the ETA Fiber Optics Installers (FOI) and Fiber Optics Technician Outside Plant (FOT-OSP) exams. He loves being an instructor and approaches the classroom from the perspective of a guy who fixed things for a living to a guy who talks about fixing things for a living.
Greg lives with his wife on Vancouver Island, BC, and is thrilled to be close to his two sons and two grandchildren. He has a home shop to fulfill his passion for furniture making and enjoys hunting, camping, and walking.
John Dron has 25 years of industry experience working as a technician, consultant, instructor, and project manager. The CIA, FBI, NSA, United Nations, and White House Communications Agency (WHCA) are a few of the organizations he has trained.
John is the co-chair of two BICSI sub-committees, the Outside Plant Installation Standards, and the Fiber and Inspection Standards. He enjoys working with fiber because he believes it is leading the way into the future. His areas of expertise include outside and inside plant, copper, and fiber and holds certifications from BICSI in RCDD, OSP, TECH, and CT as well as ETA certifications in FOI, FOT-OSP, and FTAA.
John lives for his students ‘lightbulb' moments when they understand a concept, theory, or procedure that they have been wanting or needing to understand. When not illuminating the world of fiber, John is managing his side hustles TerraTech Fiber Services and Bluestar Fiber Services. He also enjoys hunting, fishing, archery, Legos, and racing on dirt tracks especially the World of Outlaws Sprint Car racing. He has a soft spot for American Pit Bull Terriers (APBT) and believes you can't put enough pig on pizza-loving bacon and pepperoni!
Larry has been an instructor and technician for the Light Brigade for 16 years. He has an Associate of Applied Sciences and numerous certifications including FOI, FOI-OSP, and IMSA Fiber Technician levels 1-3. His areas of expertise are testing fibers, OTDRs, OLTs, fiber characterization, and PMD testing and splicing and cable management.
Understanding the advancements in technology that allow for ever-increasing bandwidth is important to Larry. He enjoys the challenge of working with students to help them understand the ever-evolving medium of fiber optics. When not keeping pace with technology, he likes spending time with family and friends, boating, snowmobiling, knife making, and leatherwork.
Creating new projects in leather, wood, and metal is a favorite pastime for Larry. When he wants to enjoy a good tech movie his favorite is Enemy of the State and his go-to pizza toppings are bacon, jalapeno, and ham.
Lee Renfore's 22 years of industry experience began with Bell South/AT&T as a technician installing and maintaining telecommunications systems and equipment. He then began teaching fiber optics, phone system installation, structured cabling networking, and electronic security at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College.
Lee was named BICSI Installer of the Year in 2012 and 2013 after winning the BICSI Cabling Skills Challenge.
He is the owner of GoFroe, a technology-based company specializing in security, communications, and business networking.
Lee has an Associate of Applied Sciences (AAS) in Technology from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. He holds certifications in RCDD, ESS, and Technician from BICSI, FOI from ETA, and CFOT CFOS/I/T/S/C/O/H/L/A/DC/D from FOA.
Mark has worked in the technology industry for over 25 years. He has several certifications including ETA FOI, ETA FOT-OSP, BICSI RCDD, OSP Designer, RTPM, Certified ICT Technician, and is Six Sigma Green Belt certified. He has extensive knowledge working with electrical codes and industry standards for inside plant and outside plant communication design and installation solutions.
In 2016, Mark was named ETA International's Top Certification Administrator for proctoring most fiber optic examinations. He has studied adult learning with a concentration on curriculum content and delivery process (DACUM) from The Ohio State University and has managed a team of telecom trainers and instructional designers. Mark enjoys traveling to explore our country and various sporting activities.
Nick Kjos has 18 years of experience working with fiber and has been teaching for more than 25 years. His teaching career began at Bismarck State College (BSC) where he taught students how to plan, construct, and maintain FTTx systems.
The amount of data that can be transmitted on a fiber system over long distances with near 100% reliability amazes Nick. With his background in technical fields, like electronics and computer hardware, transitioning into fiber was only natural. He enjoys learning new technologies and sharing that knowledge with like-minded people.
Nick joined the Light Brigade in 2012, as an instructor for Fiber Optics 1-2-3 and FTTx for Installers and Technicians and is a technician for Advanced OSP Technician, Emergency Restoration, and Fiber Optics for Oil and Gas. Nick earned his Associate of Applied Science from North Dakota State College of Science and a Bachelor of Arts from Valley City State University. He is certified as an FOI and an FOT-OSP from the ETA.
After college Nick worked for an oil exploration company for 14 years and moved a lot - working in 20 different states and 20 countries! He and his wife are now settled in North Dakota in the summer and Arizona in the winter. His wife's interest in crafting has inspired Nick to begin making metal art, using a welder or torch to create objects like small animals and motorcycles. When not making metal masterpieces, Nick enjoys watching Star Trek (original cast) with his wife and enjoying a pizza topped with sausage.
Paul Neveux's 35 years of fiber optic experience can be described as soup to nuts, meaning covering a great deal! He has worked in research and development and R&D supervision, manufacturing engineering, pre-sales engineering, and product management and he has earned 10 patents. Cable design and manufacturing and testing including material analyses are his areas of expertise.
The interaction between light and matter, especially photovoltaics has always interested Paul. Continued learning and growth are important to Paul and are reflected in his academic achievements. He has a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Biology from Antioch College and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In his spare time, Paul builds his own computers and is learning RUST, a programming language designed for performance and safety. He enjoys scuba diving, is an occasional baritone for the local chorus where he volunteers his program layout and editing skills (InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop). His favorite tech movie is 2001: A Space Odyssey and as far as pizza toppings he says, "I'm sorry I am afraid I can't do that," to anchovies.
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Member of Our Training Team
Phil Shoemaker has been a member of our training team since 2000. Within the field of fiber optics, he has designed, installed, and maintained fiber optic voice, video, and data communications networks and has worked with troubleshooting and emergency restorations. He has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electronic Engineering Technology and is certified as an ETA Installer/Administrator, NARTE Technician Class III, FOA CFOT, and CFOS/I, IMSA Fiber Optics for ITS Level 1 and FCC GROL Certification.
Treating everyone equally and knowing there will always be someone smarter than you, in other words, do not act like you are the smartest person in the room, has been Phil's approach to teaching and life. He believes that in the world of fiber technology you can never stop learning.
Phil grew up in Washington but is now a proud Texan! He loves traveling for pleasure with his wife and seeing the world through other cultures. Their motto is we work to live and if Phil did not have to work, he would be hanging out in his garage or by the pool. The Matrix is his favorite tech movie and meat, and more meat tops his pizza.
Sean Sheedy has over three decades of experience that includes ISP and OSP installation, troubleshooting, emergency restoration, design, system integration, and inspection. He is a published author, consultant, and trainer whose experience spans the military, government, federal and state prisons, the commercial market, and the private sector.
He holds 30 industry certifications, as well as instructor certificates from ETA, FOA, industry manufacturers, and Washington state. In addition to still working in the field, Sean developed the fiber optic/copper communications installation and troubleshooting courses for Edmonds Community College in Edmonds, WA, He serves on the ETA board and serves as an ETA instructor. Sean has been an instructor and technician with Light Brigade since 2012.
Tim Yount has 35 years of experience specializing in fiber optic communications infrastructure including advanced testing and network troubleshooting. He is the co-founder of Fiber Insight, an organization providing fiber optic network training, advanced testing, and consulting services.
His fascination with fiber technology was sparked by a summer internship with Superior Cable in Hickory, NC. Siecor bought Superior in 1980 and Tim's copper world morphed into fiber. Tim's professional background includes product line management roles at industry-leading companies including Siecor (Corning Cable), Tektronix, ILX Lightwave, Hewlett Packard, and JDSU.
Working in the field with telecom customers to understand their challenges and needs formed Tim's philosophy to pay it forward. He always strived to ensure his customers received a quality reliable solution. His teaching philosophy is the same, working to assure students understand the concepts presented and that they can put them into practice.
Tim holds a Bachelor of Technology in Business from Appalachian State University and is an OTT licensed instructor for Certified Fiber Characterization Engineer (CFCE) and Certified Optical Network Associate (CONA). He and his wife Carla enjoy spending time with their adopted four-legged kids (dogs) past and present. They like spending time on the water, reading, and travel and operate Fiber Insight out of Maine, the West, and Hilo, Hawaii.
Wendell Harris's 21 years in fiber began as an Alabama DOT consultant for fiber optic network maintenance and repair. In 2009, he started WENlight Fiber Optic Services, a seven-employee company that provides fiber optic underground installation, fiber splicing, termination and testing, and network design and troubleshooting. He is a licensed general contractor in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Wendell is a Navy veteran who served during Desert Storm. He is the father of seven sons and has six grandchildren (three granddaughters and three grandsons). Greensboro, Alabama is Wendell's hometown, and he is a huge fan of college football.