I was born a Texas and grew up in Colorado Springs, CO after a short stint in Tampa, FL.  I have explored much of Colorado in the last 30 years and and have had the good fortune to spend time in Florida, Washington DC, the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Los Angeles in recent years.  My wife and children have wanted to be nearer to the ocean and when a job opportunity in Seattle, Washington came up last year I jumped at the chance.  We now live in a very exciting place just north of Lake Washington and enjoy the daily sight of float planes flying taking off and flying overhead to the San Juan Islands.  I had no idea that there were beautiful, sunny islands in the Puget Sound and North to Canada.  We have had the good fortune to make new friends in Seattle and have enjoyed sailing in the Puget Sound surrounded by the Cascade Mountains, the Olympics, and the spectacular view of Mt. Ranier.   

I enjoy spending time with my wife Dana, and our children Jacob and Laura.  Jake is in the fifth grade and he is a proud cub scout and archery marksman.  Laura is a first grader and in her first year of softball and shows signs of being quite an athlete, just like her mom.  On the weekends when I can drag the kids off the trampoline we like to shoot hoops and go hiking on nearby trails around Lake Washington.  We missed out on skiing last winter with our move to Washington but hope to go again this year. 

When I was younger my hobby was amateur radio and I learned morse code when I was 12 years old.  I participated in radio contests for many years and it left me with an acute sense of hearing.  Not that I really have better hearing than others but I tend to filter out surrounding "noise" without any effort or even trying.  So be warned if I'm nearby and you think I might have heard something someone didn't want me to hear, I probably did.  Knowing morse code has come in handy when people program their cell phones to send the caller's name in morse code.  People are surprised when I tell them the name of their caller before they pick up the phone.  Its an annoying habit I know, but hey you've come this far so you might as well continue and really get to know me.  I consider my greatest failure as never having learned a foreign language.  Morse code almost counts but just isn't the same.  I'm proud to say that my son Jacob has had the good fortune of 4 years of Spanish at his previous elementary school and Laura even learned some in Kindergarten.  I won't let my children get out of school without significant exposure to other languages. 

Before moving to Seattle we spent several Summer vacations in Durango, CO.  We have ridden the Durango to Silverton train several times and have hiked in spectacular La Plata County and the area surrounding Ouray, CO.  We spend most of our holidays with my wife's in-laws in Eads and Cheyenne Wells, CO.  Eads is a farming community and light years different than my city upbringing.  When there we enjoy shooting skeet, touring the local farms, and just living the small town life.

I got my insurance license when I was 19 years old and have never changed careers.  I enjoy working with people on their financial goals and helping them achieve them through practical planning.  I worked at a national insurance brokerage firm for 15 years and was the youngest person promoted to Marketing Director.  While there I worked with brokers all over the country and helped many transition to a direct response model of insurance selling. Though successful, I knew I needed a change and left to join the "O" team at Only Financial Group as Director of their direct response selling unit TermOnly.com.  One of the most satisfying aspects of selling life insurance is helping someone who has had difficulty buying insurance get coverage. I have helped thousands of people with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other ailments secure life insurance at a reasonable rate.  5 years ago I earned the CLU designation from the American College have used the knowledge in many business insurance cases.  I constantly strive to learn more about the insurance business and mentor others in the business.  We're moving fast at OFG and TermOnly and the future is incredibly bright!  I can't wait to see what the future brings.  We help families every day. 

My family and work takes up much of my time but in my personal life I enjoy running.  The last few years I have run numerous 10K's around Colorado Springs and ran the Bolder Boulder the last 2 years.  I have started running around Lake Washington and hope to do a few more 10K's this Summer.  The last few years I have read most of John MacDonald's Travis McGee novels.  These novels have given me inspiration to move off the mainland into my own houseboat and explore the nation's marinas - maybe when the kids have moved out of the house.  No RV for me.  I also read several Dickens novels.  If you must read a Dickens novel read "A Tale of Two Cities".  The first and last page will do.  Its the one that starts "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  It was the age of reason, it was the age of incredulity."  It goes on and on and puts me in a good mood every time I pick it up.  Skip the rest and go to the last page.  The last paragraph goes something like this - "It is a better thing I do now than I have ever done before".   With that I wish you a long and happy life.