Bio

I was born and raised among the rolling hills of Bluefield, Virginia, in Tazewell County, where blue chicory wild flowers grow along the roadsides with the morning fog rising through the mountains. I graduated from Graham High School. I worked for the U.S. Federal Government as a Budget Analyst for ten years at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters and the Department of Energy, both in Washington D.C. and the Naval Telecommunications Systems Integration Center in Cheltenham, Maryland.

I am retired with 24 years in the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve, as a wartime veteran, as a Chief Petty Officer and retired from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. I was on extended active duty at U. S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., 3rd Coast Guard District, Governor's Island, New York, 5th Coast Guard District, Portsmouth, Virginia during the Cuban Refugee Crisis and 17th Coast Guard District, Anchorage, Alaska on the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. My remaining time was spent at various reserve units in the United States. I participated on 10 different mission building team trips in the U. S. and several trips in Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.