Huron's Camella succeeds after changing career paths

HURON — Steve Camella is resilient. Camella needed a job nearly 20 years ago, and his choice to check out the education field proved to be a smart move. "I had no inclination to teach at all. I worked for Armstrong Air Conditioning for 18 years," Camella said. "They were owned by Lennox. They ceased operations in Bellevue and moved to South Carolina (in 2005). I didn't want to go down there so what was I gonna do? "My wife said, 'try teaching.' I tried as a sub. She was teaching at the time and we could have the same work schedule." Camella, a 1978 Sandusky High School graduate, was a district sales manager at Armstrong when the company relocated. He took a role as a substitute at his alma mater, a position that turned into a full-time job teaching a career tech course in 2007. He also was an assistant athletic director at Sandusky from 2008 to 2011 before his teaching job was eliminated. He subbed for another year before he got a call that would chart the rest of his career. "I decided to stay in education," he said. "At the end of July 2012 I was asked if I was interested in being an interim athletic director at Huron. I guess I gave them no reason to look anywhere because 12 years later I'm still here." Huron hired him as a full-time athletic director in 2013. That is the position from which Camella will officially retire on July 31. He's looking forward to what August feels like without having to keep an eye on a full roster of fall sports. "The most grueling season is the fall. There are more sports and the season begins August 1," Camella said. "As an AD your summer is over August 1. The actual events begin before the students come back to school. "I don't plan to do any work from August 1 to August 31. After some rest and relaxation I'll have more focus on what I want to do next. I know I want to make a difference. "People ask what I'm gonna do with my free time. My response is, 'My time's not gonna be free.' " Camella, 64, takes pride in playing a role in the upgrades of many Huron athletic facilities, including the football field, track and gym. "I was part of improvements on all our athletic facilities — the gym, the football turf, the track," he said. "Not that I did it, but I know I was part of it." Camella, whose wife Paula teaches at EHOVE, was born and raised in Sandusky and was a wrestler for the Blue Streaks. He earned his undergraduate degree from Ashland University and picked up his master's in education from the University of Toledo. Camella approaches home athletic events with an eye on customer service. He wants fans to keep coming back. "Coming from being in an industry and doing the mid-life career change into education, I took that operations and sales experience into hosting athletic events," he said. "I always went about it as 'treat your opponents as customers so they want to come back.' "It starts with the ticket ladies, a smile there. We probably all have a venue or school we have to go to that we don't like going to. Host events so opponents have a fair, competitive event and they look forward to coming back the following year." Camella said one big change he's seen is the rising costs of hosting events. "The cost of officials and umpires is a big change," he said. "It might have been $55 initially and now the football officials will be up to $100 next year." He enjoys watching athletes succeed and mentioned the Tigers' 2020 state volleyball championship as one of his highlights. Camella said he's enjoyed great working relationships with booster club leaders, including Amy Springer, Cheryl Zimmerman and current president John Ruf. But soon, Camella will be able to work on his golf game and perhaps enjoy game nights a little more. "For not having this career path in mind, it worked out well," he said. ——— Q&A Q: What is the most significant challenge for an athletic director? Camella: "The amount of work, the amount of hours that you work. The expectations and demands of board members and superintendents. The expectations of parents."