Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas Board of Directors

David Morrow, President
David is a Brevard NC native who served in Vietnam as a member of Seabee Team 0517 in 1970. He earned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering Technology from Southern Technical Institute in 1972 and is a Partner in Newbanks & Company as a construction consultant for lenders. He is a founding board member of the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas.

Bobby Kotlowski, Vice President
Born in Butler, N.J., Bobby enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1091 and retired in 2001. He traveled around the world as a Logistics Specialist, Embarkation NCO, Force Recon Marine, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Marine, First Sergeant and Sergeant Major. He was the Senior Enlisted Advisor to several Commanding Officers before retirement. He then worked for 18 years at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum USS Yorktown in museum services, operations and events. He is married to Harriet Reda and enjoys reading military history.

Phil Davis, Secretary
Born and raised in West Virginia, Phil graduated in 1970 from WVU in Aerospace Engineering. Upon graduation he was commissioned via ROTC in the US Army. He served on active duty, reserves and Indiana National Guard in Air Defense Artillery Nike, Hercules missiles and Field Artillery, 105mm towed howitzers.  Phil worked as a test engineer and as a turbine section designer for Allison Div. of General Motors in Indianapolis, IN. He worked in three companies with increasing responsibilities before retiring as a V.P. of Engineering in 2011.

Michel Robertson, Treasurer
A native of the Chicago area, Michel graduated from Smith College and received her MBA at the University of South Florida. She owned Accountability Businesses Systems until her retirement in 2017. Michel volunteers her accounting and financial services on several local boards. Michel’s experience includes Consultant and Technical Editor for Booz Allen Hamilton; District Sales Manager, Hershey Chocolate Company, Accountant for the Cradle of Forestry Interpretive Association in Brevard, NC and Smith & Fuller, P.A., Washington, D.C. She recently authored Welcome Home, Brother—Memoirs of Vietnam War Veterans.

Thomas Bugala, Board Member
Tom served in the US Air Force for eleven years as an Avionics Technician servicing all models of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. He currently is continuing his 40-year career in aviation maintenance as a Lead Technician at the Asheville Regional Airport working for Allegiant Airlines. A lifelong interest in military history began at an early age, inspired by his father — a history teacher and military collector. Tom is the proud owner of LuLu the Jeep, parade participant and official mascot of the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas.

Ken Corn, Board Member
Ken Corn is an award-winning videographer with twenty-five years of experience working at local television stations across North Carolina. In 2003, Ken traveled to Iraq with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, North Carolina as an embedded photojournalist to document Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ken spent two months conveying across the country of Iraq with the paratroopers as they liberated the Iraqi people from dictator Saddam Hussein. In 2004 Ken returned to Iraq, this time embedded with the North Carolina National Guard as the Guard relieved regular U.S. Army troops in the country for over a year. Because of his experiences working inside a theater of war, Ken joined the Sons of the American Legion and continued reporting on issues facing all veterans. In 2016, Ken joined a group of veterans and civilians with the idea to start a museum that honored the sacrifices of American service members. Ken became one of the founding members of the Veterans History Museum and served five years as the Vice President of the board of directors.

Greg Ehr, Board Member
Greg is a native of Wisconsin and a graduate of Carroll University and Harvard Business School. Greg’s business career was based in New York, where he was a partner in the consulting divisions of PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte. He also held corporate positions with Avon Products Inc., Bankers Trust New York, and Sterling National Bank. Earlier, Greg served two tours as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, in Seoul, Korea and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Altogether, he lived, worked, and studied in the Far East for more than eight years. For the museum, he has served as a Pathfinder (docent) and in other volunteer roles since 2021.

Kathy Garofalo, Board Member
Kathy retired from the New Jersey Judiciary after 27 years of service. She and her husband, Larry, moved to Pisgah Forest in 1999. She has volunteered at Transylvania Regional Hospital, chaired the Relay for Life of Transylvania County, and served on the Board of Directors in her Glen Cannon community for six years. She currently volunteers at the Brevard Music Center and the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas, and works part time at Neumann Law Firm in Brevard, NC.

Carl Newman, Board Member
A native of NJ, Carl served in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1968 during the Vietnam Era. After an honorable discharge, he earned bachelor and master degrees at night school on the GI Bill. He was employed in financial and business management for Tenneco and Becton Dickinson for more than 25 years. In order to honor deceased veterans, he participates as a proud member of the Transylvania County Honor Guard.

John Shawkins, Board Member

John William Shawkins, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret), is a native of West Virginia, a public educator, and a former military officer with over 27 years of enlisted and commissioned service. As a public educator, he has held various roles, including history instructor for Pikes Peak State College, and he presently teaches history at Blue Ridge Community College. Before transitioning to education, John served in the U.S. Army as a task force executive officer in Iraq, command inspector general at Fort Carson, and battalion operations officer in South Korea. During John’s military service, he earned the senior parachutist badge, the senior army aviator badge, the combat action badge, and the Bronze Star. John holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Colorado College and a Master of Arts in History from The University of Louisville. John is privileged to honor the historical legacy of our veterans by volunteering for the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas. He resides in Mills River, North Carolina, with his wife, Ava, and their dog Murray

Honorary Board of Directors Member

Lt. Col. Edwin B. Cottrell, USAF (Ret), P-47 pilot, Battle of the Bulge, 48th Fighter Group, 493rd Fighter Squadron
9th Air Force, WWII-Europe. Serving in the Air Force Reserves after the war, Cottrell represented the new Air Force Academy, speaking to high school students all over the United States about career opportunities. His second career was education, serving as professor, coach, and Assistant Dean at West Chester State College in Pennsylvania. Professional golf became Cottrell’s third career, starting his own golf school and conducting golf clinics all over the world. Cottrell presents educational programs for the museum and visits potential sponsors.