THIS WEEK'S PERSONALITY: Miller bows out of teaching to start arrow tip enterprise

Josh Miller, who has served 18 distinguished years as a physical science, geology, astronomy, STEM and robotics teacher at Loudonville High School, resigned from his position to pursue private business and start a company.

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Both Miller and his wife, Emily, who taught junior high math in the Mount Vernon City Schools, resigned their teaching positions at the end of this school year to pursue TriplePoint Outdoors. Their product is a magnetic mechanical broadhead, the lethal tip of an arrow, Miller invented.

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“I have been an avid bow hunter since my days growing up on a farm near Killbuck in Holmes County,” Miller said. “For the past 12 years, I have been working to develop a product that improves the effectiveness of broadheads, and brings something to the industry never seen before. Hunters have been frustrated with the inefficiencies of mechanical arrowheads, which often don’t fly right, stay balanced during flight or at the shot, and which fail to penetrate a target enough to make a clean and effective kill."

Miller said he worked with features such as a diametric rare earth magnet, stainless steel single bevel cutting blades and sharper leading tips to develop a "new broadhead unlike anything in the world of bowhunting.

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He said he studied concepts for 10 years, researching what may work best, sometimes from a tree stand. He developed his model over the past three years using a computer modeling program.

“I then went through the difficult process of getting my design patented, finally receiving my patent pending status on Dec. 27, 2022,” he said. “In the time since, I have developed contacts with suppliers to assemble the parts needed for manufacturing, as well as developing a team to build and market the broadhead. We are getting close to the point where we can market the product and go into full production of the Clovis mechanical broadhead.”

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Miller is lining up providers to handle different phases of his broadhead manufacturing, working with firms in Wooster, Mount Vernon and Wadsworth to build parts, and acquiring a shop building near his home in Apple Valley to build them. He uses Custom Cutters out of Mount Vernon for the cutting blades, a Swiss CNC company out of Wooster for the ferrules and a packaging company out of Wadsworth for the blister packs, which will be the in-store packaging retailers will use.

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He said he used many of the concepts from his background in mechanical engineering, concepts he used in teaching STEM classes at Loudonville High School, as he developed his product.

“For instance, I utilized the concept of conservation energy to create a broadhead that can produce the maximum penetration of the target while using the least amount of energy to deploy, and I applied STEM education techniques to design, review and improve the product throughout the design process," he said. "It's incredible how good that curriculum is at preparing students for the business world of engineering."

The idea behind the product is to produce an aerodynamic, energy-conserving broadhead that delivers the maximum energy into the game so hunters can effectively  put their game down in the most humane manner for a hunter; all while doing it with a process no one has ever used in the industry.

Giving the Millers the confidence to take their TriplePoint Outdoors idea to the production phase was a series of endorsements they received by some of the most prestigious bowhunters in the world, and viral nature of interest that the design has produced.

“Some of the most renown archers and bowhunters worldwide have told me my broadhead is the best they have ever used or have seen in the industry,” he said.

The Millers are finalizing production details. He says he thinks when his broadheads hit the shelves, they will sell at close to $65 for a three pack.

'Loved every day in my time teaching'

Miller has taught physical science at Loudonville High School for 18 years. Among his classes are physical science, geology, astronomy, principles of engineering, and robotics. In his eight years as the high school’s robotics coach, he has taken six teams to the World Robotics Championship, including this spring in Dallas.

“I loved every day in my time of teaching,” he said, “particularly working with the students. The decision to leave teaching was a difficult one. I will miss the students and absolutely loved helping to start the STEM curriculum at LHS as well as begin the robotics program. It's been an incredible part of my life that will be missed. It's hard because I've been in the same room teaching science my entire career here at Loudonville; it's who I've been.”

He said the school experience during COVID was difficult, and feels since “modern life struggles seemed to make it more difficult to get kids to stay on track with school. I love teaching, particularly the technical side of teaching, but we have this opportunity now, and now is the time to take it and it feels like what I should be doing in life at this moment.”

The Millers have two children, Myla, 13, and Easton, 8, both in Mount Vernon schools.

In addition to junior high math, Emily has taken after Josh as the teacher of the school’s junior high robotics classes as they are starting to add STEM courses at Mount Vernon.

For a while, the Millers lived in the L-P School District, but they moved to Apple Valley 12 years ago and enjoy the lake and activities in the summer with their two kids.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Former Loudonville teacher starts TriplePoint arrow enterprise