Road Scholar Doug Fisher

Pennsylvania to Arizona

The Fishers Doug, Debbie, & Reagan Doug Fisher Doug Fisher

By Greg Collurn,

Senior Communication Specialist

Central Penn College Business Instructor

Heads out on the road

Did you know that Central Penn College has a satellite campus in Quartzite,

Arizona? Well, how about Fort Worth,

Texas, or Baton Rouge, Louisiana? While the college doesn’t officially have any out-of-state locations, don’t tell that to

Business Instructor Doug Fisher.

Over the winter term, the former CEO taught a full load of business classes remotely, mainly from southwestern Arizona where he and his wife Debbie, along with their dog Reagan, were

“boondocking” in their motor coach-style RV.

Doug Fisher Doug Fisher

Classroom

Reagan: Is dinner ready Home & Classroom on the road

Big Campgroud

Two days after Christmas, the couple left their York County home, hoping to put the harsh Pennsylvania winter far in their rearview, as they began an eight-day, 2800-mile trek that would take them through 10 states, before reaching the warmer climes of Arizona.

On the way out to the Grand Canyon State, Fisher taught a business class from the parking lot of a busy Texas shopping center. The lesson focused on the business differences between McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, and Starbucks. Guess which three fastfood restaurants were in the background?

“The 30+ students on each call were fully engaged, as they watched cars come and go from those same businesses, where I was hosting the call from,” said Fisher.

Deep Business Background

Before joining Central Penn as an adjunct instructor in fall 2015, Fisher has spent more than 35 years as a business executive in the capital region. He founded, ran and sold companies.

Over the course of nearly four decades, Fisher was the president of four companies. Most recently, he served as the president of

DynaTech Generators in Lebanon, Pa., as well as CSSI and CSSI Global, technology firms based in Lewisburg, Pa., and Bangalore, India.

Before joining CSSI, he served 10 years as the chief operations officer for AFS

Energy Systems, one of the nation’s leading providers of renewable energy biomass systems.

In early 2014, he retired at the relatively young age of 55. After a few months, he realized he needed a new challenge. Why not teaching?

His parents were both educators. He loved mentoring employees as an executive. He also had coached youth soccer for a number of years, when his two sons were younger and he really enjoyed that experience.

“I instantly fell in love with giving back to the business community by producing quality students and the challenge of making every class interesting, relevant and dynamic,” said Fisher, who has a bachelor’s from Penn State and a master’s in business management/ strategy from Troy University.

After a few years as an adjunct, he was asked to join the faculty as a full-time member. He even served as the business program chair for a year or so. With his wide-ranging expertise and his down-toearth teaching style, he was well-regarded by both faculty and students. For two years, he also coached the men’s soccer team, guiding them to their first two winning seasons in the program’s history.

Second Retirement?

While his new career was taking off, the Fishers were looking forward to traveling more. It’s a big country, and they were ready to explore as much of it as they could. However, there was one problem— he now had a full-time gig as a business instructor. He was all set to retire for a second time, but was persuaded he could combine both of his passions— traveling and teaching––by conducting classes remotely in the winter and the summer terms.

He’s appreciative of the support and encouragement he received from President Linda Fedrizzi-Williams; Dr. Krista Wolfe, vice president of Academic Affairs; and Ben Lipschutz, dean, School of Business and Professional Studies.

“I love teaching and don’t ever want to stop,” says Fisher, “but I’m going to see this country with my wife while we can. The college allowing me to have both of my dreams—that’s a big deal. I’m very thankful.”

During the spring and fall terms, Fisher teaches mainly in-person classes at the Summerdale campus. For the winter and summer terms, he will be out on the road, teaching a full load of business classes remotely.

A Different Perspective

“People don’t take trips; trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

Traveling has made him a better teacher, admits Fisher. “I’m experiencing many businesses and business professionals I would never meet in a somewhat predictable local life. Sharing these experiences opens up many dynamic conversations on our weekly live calls.” Reducing your living space by several thousand square feet clears away the distractions, too. “I have more time to dedicate to my class and live call preparation because I’m living in a small home and living a simple life.”

Of course, small is a matter of perspective. The Tiffin Allegro Open Road RV measures 36-feet-long, stands 12 feet and 3 inches, and weighs more 10 tons when loaded. Fisher enjoyed, sitting in the driver’s seat of his big rig, tooling along the highways and interstates, racking up hundreds of miles each day on their way across the country.

Big Vehicle, Big Picture

“Time at the wheel is time to think about the ‘big picture’ aspects of my teaching,” said Fisher, who grew up in Bellafonte, Pa., in Centre County. “I also listen to higher-ed podcasts that expand my thinking and knowledge.”

While he had owned and driven smaller RVs before, this trip was his first time navigating a vehicle this large.

“Every time you drive a big rig (bus-style motorhome), it gets easier,” says Fisher. “I’ve driven through Atlanta and Dallas at rush hour now, and I’m fine. If the road gets too narrow, you pretend you’re an airplane and take your half from the middle,” he says, with a wink.

The Fishers’ 10-week excursion also set personal records for both distance and length of stay. Previously, their longest trip had been a two-week jaunt to Nashville and Cape Hatteras in a much smaller RV. For the majority of their most recent trip, they “boondocked” or camped at offthe-grid locations in Arizona on Bureau of Land Management property, avoiding crowded campgrounds.

Always a popular teacher, Fisher was pleasantly surprised by his students enthusiastic response to his cross-country classes. “I was averaging 30+ students on every Collaborate call and the dynamic on those calls is beyond my expectations. The students are constantly engaged and the participation is higher than ever.”

What’s Next?

Doug and Debbie are currently preparing for their summer sojourn. This time, they will take a northerly route through New England, with stops in Idaho, Montana and the Dakotas.

“We look forward to seeing,” says Fisher, “all the beauty and history the north has to offer as we explore the national parks and other sites throughout this part of the country.” t

Overnight Stops (on the way out])

Roanoke, Virginia Asheville, North Carolina Atlanta, Georgia Birmingham, Alabama Memphis, Tennessee Murfreesboro, Arkansas Dallas, Texas Abilene, Texas El Paso, Texas Tucson, Arizona Phoenix, Arizona Quartzsite, Arizona

Trip Technology

Internet – Hot spot on each of our two phones for only computer data/usage. Computer – MacBook Air & iPad. I teach and do several hours of live calls with close to 100 students.

Video – Unlimited streaming on our iPhones allows us to watch TV/stream Prime Video at no additional charge beyond our phone plans. We project our phones to our TVs with an Apple HDMI adapter.

Power

1 Kilowatt solar panel on the roof 2 Bluetti solar generators that power everything but our lights, charge e-bike, etc. 2 AGM deep-cycle house batteries for lighting 4000-watt gas generator that fuels from the 75-gallon gas tank