While at SHS, Mike Johnson played football and baseball, served on his class Executive Committee and the Whippet Tales staff, was Scarlet S sports editor and represented SHS at Buckeye Boys State.
After graduating from SHS, Mike earned a bachelor’s degree from the Scripps School at Ohio University, served two years in the Army including 13 months in Korea, earned a juris doctorate at Marshall Law at Cleveland State and completed the Executive Program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
During his 35-year business career, Mike worked for three Fortune 500 companies – General Electric, TRW and Timken. During those years, he also chaired councils for two national trade organizations – the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Iron & Steel Institute. He finished his business career as corporate vice president of global communications for Timken where he was responsible for financial communications, media relations, internal communications, marketing communications, branding and advertising. During the 1970s, he spent six years at Penton Media where he was a senior editor for Industry Week magazine.
In 2001, Mike initiated the SHS Alumni Email Network with the email addresses of 20 classmates. Subsequently, through electronic “word of mouth,” the network has grown to include more than 1,300 members. Also in 2001, he launched Whippet Echoes, an email newsletter that goes to members of the email network. Through October of 2006, Mike had written 57 editions of Whippet Echoes.
Mike has been active with the SHS Alumni Association since its inception in 2002 and led the creation of Shelby’s first all alumni reunion in 2004. He has served as the association’s vice president and has been a member of its Board of Trustees and the Board’s Special Gifts Committee.
For 14 years, Mike served as a “big brother” for two fatherless boys in the Big Brothers of America program.
Mike coached youth sports – baseball and soccer – for 22 years, and his club soccer teams won 8 league titles and one Ohio state title.