I was raised on a farm/ranch in northeast Colorado. I learned about academic achievement, discipline, ethics, integrity, and hard work from my parents and teachers. I learned how to lead by example and participation in school athletics, band, thespians, and Scouts. I headed off to college in Wyoming and had no idea what I wanted to do, so after three semesters, I joined the US Army. This was among my best decisions…ever. I served on active duty in the US Army for twenty years and retired as a Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3). I continued to serve our nation as a Department of Defense contractor and civilian for nearly an additional decade. I was assigned to Germany and South Korea, deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and was stationed in several CONUS locations.

These and other experiences laid the solid foundations that enabled me to chart my course in life. What I thought I needed out of life was at times altered, sometimes drastically and not within my realm of control. However, I worked through the rough times and became a better human…most of the time…there is no perfect human. I try to love like our dogs and know I fail regularly, but I keep paddling against the waves of anxiety and unhappiness that opposes my noblest desires. This past year, 2020, has challenged all of us to find that happiness that resides inside ourselves and can be brightly illuminated by those we love and who love us in return…just because we are special to them through thick and thin.