MONROE - Loren Homb has spent so much time with the youth in Monroe and surrounding communities, he can be recognized almost anywhere he goes. While in the throes of teaching, coaching and officiating, he's been rewarded by friendships and the simple joys of watching children grow in so many different ways.
Homb grew up in South Wayne with two siblings and says it was truly the best of times. He came home when the street lights came on and made up games outside all summer. He recalls playing whiffle ball in the old church yard and using outhouses to serve as both first and second base.
He attended South Wayne Elementary School and then Black Hawk High School. He was an active student, taking part in school plays and playing baseball his junior and senior year. He also helped out with wrestling, took part in building the homecoming float and attended lots of sporting events. Eventually he landed a job as a janitor assistant after school and on Saturdays, making $1.50 an hour.
After his graduation in 1973, Homb started at University of Wisconsin-Platteville thinking he may go into broadcast journalism. But an educator at Black Hawk steered him toward teaching, and he earned his degree in 1977 in both history and driver's education.
He landed his first teaching job at Pulaski High School with more than 2,000 students in 10th through 12th grades.
"It was a little out of my comfort zone, to say the least," Homb said. "But it was a great learning experience."
It wasn't long before he looked at other jobs closer to home. He worked as an aide at Abe Lincoln in the special needs room before landing a job in Argyle teaching middle school social studies.
"When I look back now I think it was a great fit," Homb said of teaching in Argyle.
The principal required lesson plans and Homb says it taught him a lot about organization and planning.
"It was the best thing that could have happened to me as a first-year teacher," Homb said. "It made me really well-prepared with great lessons."
The young teacher delved into coaching, starting with track which was then a new sport for Argyle. He said more than 20 girls went out that year and the program was strong in 1980. His free time was spent researching the sport, attending clinics, reading books and talking with other coaches, as it was long before the internet. He says he learned as he went but had dedicated, cooperative athletes who made the program and the experience successful. He sent a girl to state the first four years he coached.
When his teaching position was cut down after his first year at Argyle, the new principal bumped him back up to 100 percent when he also agreed to coach volleyball.
That summer, Homb also began working for the Monroe Parks and Recreation Department, teaching both golf and tennis.
"I have always loved sports," Homb said. "I was active growing up, but there were no summer leagues or crazy schedules then."
Homb took on even more as time went on, coaching junior varsity girls basketball as well. He coached year-round along with teaching and enjoyed a busy life. After five years at the middle school, Homb took a position at the high school teaching history and driver's education, which added Saturday mornings to his schedule.
"I would crash in the teachers' lounge after games some nights to be ready by 7 a.m. on Saturdays," Homb said, laughing.
In 1986, Homb went back to school to earn his certificate to teach elementary students in fourth through eighth grade. By 1989, after 10 years in Argyle, there was an opening at Parkside Elementary School to teach sixth grade and Homb took it.
He says he learned a lot from his co-teacher. He wasn't coaching much then but stuck with track for a while. He volunteered that year to assist coaching the freshman girls basketball team in Monroe, which went to state.
He enjoyed sixth grade and took over the tradition for the overnight field trip until the group moved to the middle school in 2000. By then, he had begun officiating volleyball and basketball, something he felt was a great way to stay involved. He enjoyed being able to work as much or as little as he wanted.
"I wanted to still be involved in sports," he said. "It was an easy way to not make a total commitment."
He has officiated more than 4,000 games and matches for volleyball, more than 1,100 varsity basketball games, not including junior varsity or summers, and more than 400 track meets. He also officiates cross country meets. He has volunteered for 20 years at state track meets and officiated at 13 state tournaments - six in volleyball, three in basketball, two in cross country and two in track.
Those numbers are ongoing, and he's booked for some sports years in advance.
"It is hard to believe," Homb says when he thinks of the events. "Even for me."
The experiences he's endured have been wonderful. Homb says he often doesn't listen or hear outside of the sport he's focused on. He's never kicked anyone out of a game and says in 40 years of officiating, he's given a total of about 10 technical fouls.
"I try to look at situations and see both sides," Homb said. "Seldom do I let a situation get to that point."
He feels privileged to have officiated some of the most talented athletes in the area.
"Each sport has its own, unique characteristics," Homb said. "I don't know if I have a favorite. Some are less taxing on the body, others are more about the mental aspect and vision."
In 1986, one of the players he officiated made a basketball All-Star game in Oshkosh, so Homb reached out offering help. In 1990, he was brought in to a board meeting where the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association president asked him to chair the program. The rest is history, he said, and he's been doing it since, being involved in 32 of the 35 years they've been held. In 2010, he was inducted into the WBCA Hall of Fame.
"I've had really great people to work with," he said.
Homb officiated year-round until about 10 years ago, when he decided to take his summers off. Instead, he took up biking and golf.
He tries to get 1,000 miles on his bicycle each year by Labor Day. He golfs a few times a week and is a member at Wolf Hollow Golf Course in Lena.
He got a hole-in-one 25 years ago, becoming part of the Channel 3 Hole in One club and re-enacting it for his students, who wrote in to the television station. Golf is special to him, he said, since it's something he often did with his father.
In 2011, Homb decided to retire from teaching. Two other sixth-grade teachers also retired that year, and the timing was right, he said.
"I didn't get into teaching because of the retirement system," Homb said. "I got into teaching to work with the kids."
He started working at Hibbett Sports but quickly decided retail wasn't for him. He had an opportunity to work for MJM Hill Driving School in Monroe and says it has been the perfect transition. He enjoys driving with students and over the past five-and-a-half years, has had more than 1,000 different drivers.
"I tell the students the car is Vegas," he said, laughing. "Because what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."
Homb has also been driving for the Green County EMS since 1998. He said his father was on the South Wayne Fire Department for years and recalls him being what is now considered a first responder. He became an EVOC instructor two years ago, training others in different communities.
For the past five years, Homb has been a part of the Green County Fair Board. He worked the gate for 15 years before taking over coordinating the entertainment and now he enters all results into the computer program.
He also supervises student teachers for UW-Platteville and substitute teaches if he has free time. He enjoys crafting with pallets and canvas and watching the Badgers, and he's a big Bo Ryan fan.
Travel has always been a part of Homb's life. He goes to Arizona often and has been to the Master's Golf Tournament in Georgia twice. He attended the Kentucky Derby for 30 consecutive years. In 1995, he attended the women's U.S. Golf Open. He's been to 35 U.S. states, Norway and Paris. He has also been to the Rose Bowl twice, once working on parade floats after asking if they needed help.
Many of Homb's best experiences have come from taking a chance or simply asking to help.
"Maybe there were times in my life I should've asked more," Homb said.
Homb said the ultimate reward of spending most of his life surrounded by children is running into them and sharing memories. Now officiating for 40 years, he said he's still surprised when an athlete tells him he officiated their grandparent.
"Take advantage of the opportunities that might be there and see what happens," Homb said. "I look back and I've been so fortunate to have done the things I've been able to do."
Homb grew up in South Wayne with two siblings and says it was truly the best of times. He came home when the street lights came on and made up games outside all summer. He recalls playing whiffle ball in the old church yard and using outhouses to serve as both first and second base.
He attended South Wayne Elementary School and then Black Hawk High School. He was an active student, taking part in school plays and playing baseball his junior and senior year. He also helped out with wrestling, took part in building the homecoming float and attended lots of sporting events. Eventually he landed a job as a janitor assistant after school and on Saturdays, making $1.50 an hour.
After his graduation in 1973, Homb started at University of Wisconsin-Platteville thinking he may go into broadcast journalism. But an educator at Black Hawk steered him toward teaching, and he earned his degree in 1977 in both history and driver's education.
He landed his first teaching job at Pulaski High School with more than 2,000 students in 10th through 12th grades.
"It was a little out of my comfort zone, to say the least," Homb said. "But it was a great learning experience."
It wasn't long before he looked at other jobs closer to home. He worked as an aide at Abe Lincoln in the special needs room before landing a job in Argyle teaching middle school social studies.
"When I look back now I think it was a great fit," Homb said of teaching in Argyle.
The principal required lesson plans and Homb says it taught him a lot about organization and planning.
"It was the best thing that could have happened to me as a first-year teacher," Homb said. "It made me really well-prepared with great lessons."
The young teacher delved into coaching, starting with track which was then a new sport for Argyle. He said more than 20 girls went out that year and the program was strong in 1980. His free time was spent researching the sport, attending clinics, reading books and talking with other coaches, as it was long before the internet. He says he learned as he went but had dedicated, cooperative athletes who made the program and the experience successful. He sent a girl to state the first four years he coached.
When his teaching position was cut down after his first year at Argyle, the new principal bumped him back up to 100 percent when he also agreed to coach volleyball.
That summer, Homb also began working for the Monroe Parks and Recreation Department, teaching both golf and tennis.
"I have always loved sports," Homb said. "I was active growing up, but there were no summer leagues or crazy schedules then."
Homb took on even more as time went on, coaching junior varsity girls basketball as well. He coached year-round along with teaching and enjoyed a busy life. After five years at the middle school, Homb took a position at the high school teaching history and driver's education, which added Saturday mornings to his schedule.
"I would crash in the teachers' lounge after games some nights to be ready by 7 a.m. on Saturdays," Homb said, laughing.
In 1986, Homb went back to school to earn his certificate to teach elementary students in fourth through eighth grade. By 1989, after 10 years in Argyle, there was an opening at Parkside Elementary School to teach sixth grade and Homb took it.
He says he learned a lot from his co-teacher. He wasn't coaching much then but stuck with track for a while. He volunteered that year to assist coaching the freshman girls basketball team in Monroe, which went to state.
He enjoyed sixth grade and took over the tradition for the overnight field trip until the group moved to the middle school in 2000. By then, he had begun officiating volleyball and basketball, something he felt was a great way to stay involved. He enjoyed being able to work as much or as little as he wanted.
"I wanted to still be involved in sports," he said. "It was an easy way to not make a total commitment."
He has officiated more than 4,000 games and matches for volleyball, more than 1,100 varsity basketball games, not including junior varsity or summers, and more than 400 track meets. He also officiates cross country meets. He has volunteered for 20 years at state track meets and officiated at 13 state tournaments - six in volleyball, three in basketball, two in cross country and two in track.
Those numbers are ongoing, and he's booked for some sports years in advance.
"It is hard to believe," Homb says when he thinks of the events. "Even for me."
The experiences he's endured have been wonderful. Homb says he often doesn't listen or hear outside of the sport he's focused on. He's never kicked anyone out of a game and says in 40 years of officiating, he's given a total of about 10 technical fouls.
"I try to look at situations and see both sides," Homb said. "Seldom do I let a situation get to that point."
He feels privileged to have officiated some of the most talented athletes in the area.
"Each sport has its own, unique characteristics," Homb said. "I don't know if I have a favorite. Some are less taxing on the body, others are more about the mental aspect and vision."
In 1986, one of the players he officiated made a basketball All-Star game in Oshkosh, so Homb reached out offering help. In 1990, he was brought in to a board meeting where the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association president asked him to chair the program. The rest is history, he said, and he's been doing it since, being involved in 32 of the 35 years they've been held. In 2010, he was inducted into the WBCA Hall of Fame.
"I've had really great people to work with," he said.
Homb officiated year-round until about 10 years ago, when he decided to take his summers off. Instead, he took up biking and golf.
He tries to get 1,000 miles on his bicycle each year by Labor Day. He golfs a few times a week and is a member at Wolf Hollow Golf Course in Lena.
He got a hole-in-one 25 years ago, becoming part of the Channel 3 Hole in One club and re-enacting it for his students, who wrote in to the television station. Golf is special to him, he said, since it's something he often did with his father.
In 2011, Homb decided to retire from teaching. Two other sixth-grade teachers also retired that year, and the timing was right, he said.
"I didn't get into teaching because of the retirement system," Homb said. "I got into teaching to work with the kids."
He started working at Hibbett Sports but quickly decided retail wasn't for him. He had an opportunity to work for MJM Hill Driving School in Monroe and says it has been the perfect transition. He enjoys driving with students and over the past five-and-a-half years, has had more than 1,000 different drivers.
"I tell the students the car is Vegas," he said, laughing. "Because what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."
Homb has also been driving for the Green County EMS since 1998. He said his father was on the South Wayne Fire Department for years and recalls him being what is now considered a first responder. He became an EVOC instructor two years ago, training others in different communities.
For the past five years, Homb has been a part of the Green County Fair Board. He worked the gate for 15 years before taking over coordinating the entertainment and now he enters all results into the computer program.
He also supervises student teachers for UW-Platteville and substitute teaches if he has free time. He enjoys crafting with pallets and canvas and watching the Badgers, and he's a big Bo Ryan fan.
Travel has always been a part of Homb's life. He goes to Arizona often and has been to the Master's Golf Tournament in Georgia twice. He attended the Kentucky Derby for 30 consecutive years. In 1995, he attended the women's U.S. Golf Open. He's been to 35 U.S. states, Norway and Paris. He has also been to the Rose Bowl twice, once working on parade floats after asking if they needed help.
Many of Homb's best experiences have come from taking a chance or simply asking to help.
"Maybe there were times in my life I should've asked more," Homb said.
Homb said the ultimate reward of spending most of his life surrounded by children is running into them and sharing memories. Now officiating for 40 years, he said he's still surprised when an athlete tells him he officiated their grandparent.
"Take advantage of the opportunities that might be there and see what happens," Homb said. "I look back and I've been so fortunate to have done the things I've been able to do."