Our Board Spotlight: Tory Thrush

We want to shine the Board Spotlight on Mr. Tory Thrush who serves as CAPE Council Chair.

Tory grew up in Shepherd Mi and after graduating from Shepherd High School in 2007 went on to attend Ferris State University. Tory graduated from Ferris State with a Bachelors in Criminal Justice. After attending Ferris, he worked in the criminal justice system as a city park ranger and courtroom bailiff, but received an offer to work at Lakeview Academy in Petoskey Mi and jumped at the opportunity. At Lakeview Academy Tory was a Youth Worker and really found that his true passion was working with kids. Tory eventually began working for CharEm ISD in the Career Tech Education Department as a Career and College Readiness Consultant and has had the pleasure of working on that team since 2014.In 2018 Tory also went back to school and received his Masters in Social Work from Michigan State University. In addition to his role as a Career/College Readiness Consultant he is also the Homeless Liaison and Truancy Officer where he provided services to students and families that may be experiencing homelessness or students who are having trouble with attendance. Tory also enjoys being the Varsity Baseball Coach for Boyne Falls High School. Beyond Tory’s professional life he is a husband to his wonderful wife Shelby and the father to 2 energetic fun loving kiddos; Kinsley (8 yrs) and Rylan Eugene (5yrs).

Tory shares some of his favorite things to do in his spare time: "I love spending time with family and friends doing anything outdoors or sports related (camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, baseball, outdoor sports, biking, paddle boarding, etc). I also enjoy playing board games or reading with my kids."

Something fun about Tory: "I love building Lego stuff with my kids. It is a way to keep me feeling like a kid again and just another way for me to hang out with my kiddos. It also has become my method of self-care and a way for me to de-stress."

The highlighted Protective Factor that Tory wants to share about is Concrete Supports in Time of Need and Social Connections.

"I wanted to share about the impact of having supportive people and connections in your life. When my wife and I were expecting our first kiddo we obviously had the first time parent jitters, however it escalated to a whole new level we definitely weren't prepared to handle on our own. Our daughter Kinsley was born 2 months premature, weighing in at just over 3 lbs. As new parents my wife and I were excited, scared, worried, and all other sorts of emotions. 8 days after she was born we also found out she was born with biliary atresia (rare liver disease) that would eventually lead to her needing a liver transplant. Through this entire span and still continuing we have been very fortunate to have very strong support systems consisting of our family, friends, and even our employers. At first we were both very proud individuals and didn't want to ask for help, but eventually found that there were many of our social connections that wanted to do just that; help us. Whether it was making a meal, helping us with groceries, getting our mail, reaching out to talk, or even just coming and sitting with us at the hospital so we had someone to talk to, there were tons of people in our support circle willing to help and all we needed to do was ask. Not only did we have our own personal connections, those branched out as they knew others that could help or may have had access to resources or support that could help us during this challenging time. We also had support from hospital staff and social workers that really helped us understand that its ok to ask for help and our network of people wanted to be there to support us. In summary I cannot thank our family, friends, employers enough for what they did and continue to do to help us. These relationships we have built have been a huge help over the years and has made our lives a little less stressed and certainly helped us become stronger as parents. As an update, Kinsley did receive a liver transplant when she was just a year old and continues to thrive "

The C.A.P.E. Council is grateful Tory chose to share this message with us all, and to have his dedication in our mission to end child abuse and neglect!