BIOGRAPHY
I grew up in the small coal mining town of Erie, Colorado. My mother was a single woman raising two boys. We lived in a house provided by the Mountain States Telephone Company (Bell System). The front of the home was their business office. Life was difficult for our family, but we always had a clean home with ample food. Coal mining towns were rough places to live. Coal miners were often uneducated. They were confrontational and drank heavily. Erie was not an ideal environment, especially for the young. Growing up under these conditions shaped my life as an assertive, self-reliant individual.
I received an athletic scholarship to Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. My sports were football and wrestling. Following college (1960), I joined the Army and served as a 5th Special Forces team member in Vietnam.
Following the army, I began a career in the food industry. My first opportunity was in food service in Denver. Then, I transferred to Sysco in Houston, Texas, as director. My next opportunity was as a corporate director for Core-Mark, a San Francisco, California grocery business. I worked in the food industry for 40 years.
Interests are world travel, photography, cooking, and writing.
