If you’ve seen a local initiative or idea go from “someone should…” to “we did,” you’ve probably seen our Unsung Hero’s fingerprints on it. Mike Tumbarello fell in love with Deep Creek Lake and came to Garrett County with the kind of background you’d expect to stay in the big cities: his past includes C-suite roles, an NYU MBA, multiple startups, and years teaching at Johns Hopkins University. The difference to Garrett County wasn’t just his impressive résumé; it was his perspective and his pace.
Mike grew up modestly on Long Island and built a career across Dallas, the Baltimore-DC corridor, and New York City. Those experiences trained him to ask bigger, better questions. Instead of “Can we do this?” he asked “What would it take to do this right?” Under Mike’s leadership, local
projects gained timelines, accountability, and outcomes.
Beyond one-to-one mentorship, he helped develop a robust ecosystem to support rural entrepreneurship. He managed the Garrett Information Enterprise Center incubator, helped start the Mountain Maryland Angel Investor Network, co-founded the Mountain Maryland Tech Network, and co-created and launched the Power of Possibilities training and conference series.
Launching Leadership Garrett County was classic Mike—after years of discussion elsewhere, he stood it up and made it real.
This impressive list wasn’t a series of one-off programs; they were interconnected resources that matched founders with capital, coaching, and a practical path forward.
These initiatives were (and still are) significant opportunities for our local community. On a personal note, I approached Mike when we were both working at Garrett College in 2012. I could tell he was different and I wanted to be a sponge around someone who moved fast with purpose. He and I worked shoulder-to-shoulder on Power of Possibilities, partnered on Deep Creek Times (he’s since retired), wrote a book together, shared marketing clients, and taught several marketing courses side by side. I’m grateful for Mike. He coached me, challenged me, and believed in me the whole way.
Teaching was never theory for theory’s sake with him. After years as senior professional faculty at Johns Hopkins University and stints at Loyola University Maryland, and the Community College of Baltimore County, Mike brought the classroom to real life here in Garrett County. Mike worked hard to sharpen the Garrett College brand, grow enrollment, and shape entrepreneurship content across the credit and noncredit departments. People left his classroom with an understanding of pricing structures, target markets, with the confidence to execute their dreams. A lot of folks still stop him to say something simple yet profound, “Mike, you changed my life.”
Bob O’Brien spent 17 years at the Luke paper mill before being laid off and wondering about his next steps. The first person he met at Garrett College was Mike. “Mike breathed life into my business and he believed in me,” Bob says. Mike pushed Bob to enroll for an associate degree: it’s “no big deal,” even when Bob was a nontraditional student already in his 50s. With a servant’s heart and a little NYC edge, Mike kept Bob focused on results, not excuses. “Mike always encouraged me to take the first step, then the next.”
Today, Bob’s licensed, running 2nd Home Services, LLC tackling small repairs and growing by word of mouth. “Mike helps turn little guys like me into successes,” Bob says. “I was just a guy off the street and now here I am.”
Local entrepreneur Brenda McDonnell shared, “Mike has this type of excitement about him, and you want to be a part of it. For a while, I swear if Mike T. french fries fundraiser french fries fundraiser was teaching a class or seminar on anything, we would all go and take it. If Mike was doing anything I knew we were in to support him and learn from him. Mike is always so positive and willing to jump in to help.”
Mike has an inherent respect for the mission and everyone’s time. That clarity carried into public service too, as a governor’s appointee to the
Maryland Venture Fund Authority, where discipline Mike’s Book Cover Mike’s Book Cover and transparency mattered to the wider community.
He also shows up where it counts outside of business. He served as president of the Rotary Club of Oakland, pitched in with the Deep Creek Lake Lions Club, and put real energy behind Reflection House for women in recovery. His faith, grounded by a local Christian men’s group, continues to grow.
Because Mike was here, entrepreneurship in Garrett County took root in a durable way. The ecosystem gained structure, education stayed practical, and impact was real.
Through all of it, Mike has been a champion for the underdog: he is direct, fair, and all-in on getting the work done. He and I got along so well because he believed in people and expected results, and that combination changed lives here. He invited more people to the table.
Mike and his high-school sweetheart, Jean, have been at this together for 47 years. He’ll joke that he’s retired four times but the rest of us know he’s never stopped building for other people. As Mike and Jean prepare to move away from the area, I hope that the county can keep what he intended to leave: opportunity.
And, people who think a little bigger and move a little faster because he showed what that looks like. There’s going to be a gaping hole in the economic-development landscape of our community.
Unsung heroes don’t chase the mic; they build the stage and hand it to you.