Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Sierra Joint Community College District; Trustee Area 2

I am a lifetime resident of Placer County, growing up in Kings Beach at Ferrari's Crown Motel. My parents started building this motel in 1955 and opened in 1957. We are one of the last original family operated businesses in our area. My parents have passed away and I have been the General Manager for the past 15 years.

I am one of 6 children spread out over nearly 20 years. Two of my sisters are teachers, one works with me at the Crown, and my oldest brother is a retired Colonel in the US Army Corps of Engineers. He completed two tours of duty in Vietnam. My middle brother Bennie was an attorney who also served a year in Vietnam. He passed away in 1994.

I attended grammar school in Kings Beach and high school in Truckee. I was quite involved in sports in high school sports where we competed in the old Pioneer League including Colfax, Lincoln, Del Oro, and Wheatland. I have always loved this region and have friends throughout Nevada and Placer Counties.

I attended college at UC Santa Barbara, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. During this period, I also travelled through Mexico and Central America and have a decent command of the Spanish language.

Following college, I worked in the construction trades for 10 years as a carpenter before taking the reigns in our family business.

I have always been involved in the communities where I have lived, as were my parents. I was in a Big Brother progam while attending college in Santa Barbara and since returning to the Tahoe Truckee region, I have been active in many things mostly pertaining to children. I have coached a number of sports including 5 years of high school basketball. I am a co-founder of La Comunidad Unida, a Latino advocacy group formed to ease tensions and to promote cooperation within the different cultures in our community. I am most proud of our Boys & Girls Club which I co-founded in 1997. We are one of the fastest growing Club's in the country and are in the midst of a capital campaign to build a new center in cooperation with our local school district. This facility is a cutting edge project being constructed with both private and public funds. It will be cooperatively used and managed by the Boys & Girls Club and the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District. There is an amazing saving of resources by moving in this direction. This 23,000 sq. ft facility will be open in the fall of 2004.

As a Sierra College Trustee since 1997, I have been able to continue to expand my work towards increased educational opportunities for all people throughout the 3200 square mile district. I look forward to continuing this work and feel much more prepared having 4 years of experience under my belt.

Thank you for your time and I urge you to vote on November 5.