David Hoover, President
A graduate of Miami University, David founded Forklift Training Systems (FTS) in 1998, after entering the material handling world in 1991. His experiences working for a forklift dealership in aftermarket sales, new equipment sales and major accounts helped him gain knowledge of how safety training should be accomplished and how forklift fleets should be managed.
David has trained many thousands of forklift operators and trainers. He has served as an authorized trainer for OSHA 10 & 30 hour general industry outreach classes. David has attended many specialized training classes, including factory sponsored training with manufacturers such as Clark and JLG. He has conducted thousands of forklift and material handling safety audits and a large number of forklift accident investigations. David has served as an expert witness in Federal and State cases involving serious injuries and deaths on forklifts.
David loves his job and has a real passion for trying to find new and creative ways to convince people to work safe for themselves and their families. In his free time he enjoys riding ATV’s, coaching the pole vault and spending time with his family and friends on their farm in Central Ohio.
Contact us today at 740-763-4978 or dhoover@forklifttrainingsystem.com
Dick Evans, Senior Safety Trainer
Richard (Dick) Evans joined FTS in October 2006; he is now semi-retired, but still conducts onsite trainer’s classes for us in the Midwest. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, OH and has been associated with the forklift industry for over 30 years. For thirteen of those years, he owned his own forklift dealership.
He has experience in fleet management, warehouse layout, and knows how forklifts should be safely utilized. Dick also has a lot of experience working with the paper industry and brings that experience with him when conducting attachment training. Because of his experience, he is able to communicate well with experienced operators and provide them with new, interesting information that they haven’t seen before.
Dick is married to Linda, his wife of over 30 years, and they have one grown son. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing and golf.
Dick can be reached at 513-519-6947 or devans@forklifttrainingsystem.com
Tom Taylor, Senior Safety Trainer
Tom joined FTS as a trainer in May 2012 after running his own safety consulting business. Tom has worked for several large, well known manufacturing and construction companies over the years in a variety of positions, including site safety manager.
Having worked on the shop floor for many years, Tom has a special way of connecting with people in his classes and communicating critical safety messages to them. Tom has a degree in safety from WVU and is an authorized OSHA 501 outreach instructor for 10/30 general industry classes. He is also an emergency incident commander, a competent person in fall protection and teaches popular courses such as hazard communication and confined space entry.
Tom has audited hundreds of facilities over his career and has participated in a number of accident investigations, including fatalities. He has driven and trained on all seven classes of forklifts and both types of aerial work platforms. He is an avid outdoorsman, hunter and fisherman and loves spending time with his kids and wife at their campground by the river.
Rob McIntosh, Senior Safety Trainer
Rob joined FTS in July 2013. He is a graduate of Park University and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Management/Logistics. He also has 24 years experience working in the United States Air Force as a Survival Instructor. He held a number of positions over the years such as Facility Manager, Safety Officer, HazMat Site Manager, Forklift Safety Trainer, Operational Risk Management Instructor, Unit Logistics Manager, Organizational Training Manager, and First Sergeant. These positions gave Rob the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in activities such as facility and system audits, contract development and negotiations, project management and training development/implementation.
Rob’s passion for teaching is clearly demonstrated through his enthusiasm in the classroom. His main goal, like our other trainers, is to ensure people are well informed, properly trained and most importantly, SAFE! In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, woodworking, and playing golf.
Brian Colburn, Senior Safety Trainer
Brian joined the FTS family in November 2014. He was born and raised in Central Ohio. He has worked in a number of industries including GPS mapping, industrial staffing and material handling. Brian worked to help market training for our company during his tenure at a successful local forklift dealership. While in the material handling industry, Brian sold forklifts and related equipment and also dealt in aftermarket support, such as service, parts and training.
In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his son, Lucas, and longtime girlfriend, Susie. He enjoys attending Lucas’ sporting events, camping, hiking the outdoors and motorcycling.
Mark Hollis, Safety Trainer
Mark Hollis joined FTS in January 2013. He began his career as a forklift operator at the Hoover Company in North Canton, Ohio and later moved into Industrial Engineering. Mark developed the Hoover Company’s ergonomics program in 1985, and he did all the program training and coordination for 19 years. Mark also spent a number of years as a safety manager for Howden Buffalo; he was responsible for the development of a comprehensive safety program leading to OHSAS 18001 certification. As part of this effort, Mark developed and presented training in numerous safety disciplines including Hearing Protection, Hot Work Permitting, Emergency Response and powered industrial truck operation.
Mark is a Lean Six/Sigma Master Black Belt. He lives with his wife Susie in Canal Fulton. They have been married 32 years, and have 6 children. Mark loves travel and enjoys many outdoor activities.
John Harter, Safety Trainer
John joined FTS in August 2021 after retiring from the TimkenSteel Corporation with over 37 years of experience. While at Timken, John worked in Environmental Health and Safety, developing and conducting continuing training for key technical personnel on a vareity of safety topics including Powered Industrial Trucks, LOTO, and fall protection. John also worked as a Mechanical Maintainer for many years, giving him real lift experience with the subjects he teaches. He enjoys using examples from his many years of experience in his classes.
John lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, Kathy. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family. John has also served as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game Committee since 2011.
Don Stone, Safety Trainer
Don joined FTS in July 2022. He is a graduate of Cleveland State University with a bachelor’s degree in business-Operations Management. Don worked as a supervisor in the automotive stamping and aerospace forging industries for many years. He was involved in both safety and employee training during those years. Don has been married for 40+ years, he has three children and five grandchildren. He enjoys spending time with his grandkids in his spare time.
Victor Roush II, Safety Trainer
Vic joined FTS in February of 2023. He attended Ohio University and has been employed in a variety of industries over the years, including sales, management and construction equipment. He has worked as a technician and parts manager on all types of forklifts and mobile elevating work platforms for many years. He oversaw multiple locations, leading a team of technicians with over 400 pieces of mobile equipment. In his free time, he likes spending time with family, playing guitar and is an avid history buff.
Jessica Hoover, Office Manager
Jessica joined Forklift Training Systems in December 2000 as a part-time Office Assistant to help her brother-in-law, David Hoover. Over the years, Jessica mastered every task given to her and was promoted to Office Manager. She currently handles our customer paperwork, accounting, internet product sales and works closely with all our trainers in the field. She is the driving force behind the high efficiency in our office.
She coaches high school track and field and cross country, as well as being an avid runner. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
Beth Curry, Assistant Office Manager
Beth joined Forklift Training Systems in 2022 after 30+ years in the healthcare industry. She runs a craft business and enjoys hiking and jet skiing with her husband Bryan. She has two daughters and four grandchildren, along with a border collie and four cats!