John is a full-time Detective Sergeant for the Fort Wayne Police Department, Indiana. He has been in law-enforcement since 2006. John has served in other public safety role such as firefighting and emergency medical services.  He maintains his Indiana Paramedic license, after obtaining his EMT-basic in 2002. John also hold his FAA Remote Pilots License for sUAS.

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John holds a Master's Degree in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University Indiana, and a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Indiana University Fort Wayne. He graduated from the Young Leaders of Northeast Indiana Leadership Academy in 2020. John has severed on the Three Rivers Festival Board of Directors since 2017, and currently is the Board President for the 2023 54nd Three Rivers Festival which is his third consecutive term as President. John has volunteered for the TRF since 2001, when he started the first aid team. In addition to the TRF, John was elected to the Indiana State Festival Associations Board of Directors in 2022, serving a three year term.

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During the 2022 Three Rivers Festival, Upside introduced a walk through metal detector to the Plaza or concert venue. Afterwards, John searched for a better system for searching for weapons without causing inconveniences that come with a traditional metal detector. That is when John found the CEIA OPENGATE     Weapons Detection System. This device allows patrons to quickly be scanned for weapons, without having to remove all metal items from pockets and bags. John was so impressed with the technology that a few months later he became an authorized dealer for CEIA.  What turned into a search for a better way to search patrons at the festival developed into bringing an advanced weapons detection system to Northeast Indiana.