Born in Rockford, Illinois, in 1962, my family moved around quite a lot. I believe that helped me a great deal in several important ways. I learned to quickly become accustomed to new people and places. I was exposed to many more people and things than would otherwise have been possible. We moved to the Phoenix area in 1974, where, again, we moved around a fair amount. I did manage to spend all four years in the same High School, Cortez High, though we lived in two different places during that time. I did many odd jobs as a kid, including babysitting, moving furniture, the recquisite paper route, but really was happy to be able to get a "real" job at age 16.

When I went to work at Smitty's #6, I entered at the bottom; a dishwasher/bus boy. In a year or so, I was able to move to the Snack Bar and learned to make pizzas and work a steam table. When I decided to join the Army, my Assistant Manager told me I had been selected to participate in the Assistant Manager program, which was a fast-track to management, in which I would work part-time as an Assistant Manager, while going to College with tuition provided by Smitty's. I was already committed to joining the Army, so I had to pass up this fine opportunity.

I entered the Army as a buck private. After Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, I went to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California to learn Russian. I was one of a very select group offered the Russian Add-on course based upon how well I did in the Basic course. I was promoted 5 times, every time with a waiver for time in service or time in grade, usually both. I was sent to both the Primary Leadership Development Course and the Basic Non-Commissioned Officer course very early, based upon time in grade. I was stationed in Berlin, Germany and Misawa, Japan, as well as a number of places in the US. After about ten years, and the Army reducing its forces by approximately 30,000 troops, I felt it was time to change careers. The Cold War was pretty much over, and I had done my part. I left the Army and came back to Arizona, where I landed a Veterans Readjustment Act position at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona... As a clerk/typist in the computer room! After being there about six months, and studying the VMS manuals on the shelf, a Computer Operator position opened up. To the surprise of my boss, I applied, and did very well in the technical interview. I was rewarded with the position. After a time, the senior systems person left, and it was decided that I was doing such a good job, that they did not need to replace the position with a systems person. I was given a promotion to GS-7 and continued.

I left the VA some time later to care for a sick friend. After my friend had gotten significantly better, I started looking for work, again. I landed a fantastic opportunity at Sunquest Information Systems, Inc., as an Operator. I again used my spare time to become knowledgeable on UNIX systems, and was rewarded by a promotion to Senior Computer Operator. I was offered the job of Systems Administrator when the previous one left, but was also offered a job that would allow me to expand my knowledge of networking and NT at the Pima County Justice Courts.

After only a year at the Justice Courts, I was contacted by a good friend from my years at the VAMC Tucson. Brad was now in charge of Information Resources Management at the VAMC Big Spring, TX. He wanted me to come and work for him as the Site Manager, in charge of everything from the internet back down to the desktop.

After a year there, I found that I missed Tucson and my family in Phoenix very much, and, when another opportunity opened up at Sunquest Information Systems, Inc., I jumped at the chance to get back to Arizona, even though it was a big step down in complexity, and a small step down in pay.

I have finally found a wonderful company that is a pretty good fit.  I have a good deal of autonomy, though not as much as I'd like.  I have responsibility and plenty of work.  I am appreciated.  I have been able to grow in ways I had hoped, mainly into Programming and Product Management.  This has made me much happier than I would otherwise have been.  Due to the necessities of a small company, I have not been able to specialize or completely focus on these areas, so I am trying to move that direction, still.  If I cannot in this company, then I have no choice but to explore other opportunities.  With the economy improving, I am hoping 2004 will be a good year to do this.