Candidate for
Director; Cameron Park Community Services District

I have been married for 30 years to my wife Gabriella. We have two sons, Ryan (23) and Patrick (21). Gabriella is a Human Resources Manager with the State of California. Both of our sons attended Blue Oak, Rolling Hills and Ponderosa. Ryan graduated from CSU Sacramento in May 2008 with a degree in English and with minors in Journalism and Government. Patrick is a senior at UCLA and is majoring in Biology. He is currently completing an internship with the UCLA Sports Medicine Program.

I moved my family to Cameron Park in 1991. We really liked the community and the people here. Everyone just seemed to be on the same page. The schools were great and the teachers were just awesome. There were a ton of parents who volunteered at the schools and in the youth sports programs. Our family has always been our top priority and we have always stayed involve in our kids activities. I coached basketball and baseball, helped with soccer, and even ran a "tiger cub" Cub Scout group. It was a lot of fun!

I started my career after graduating from CSU Sacramento with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Social Science and secondary teaching credential. I wanted to teach and coach football. I worked as a seasonal firefighter beginning in 1970 and used that to stay in shape to play college football and pay for my education. In 1975, I finished school and went to work for Citrus Heights Fire Department.

In 1976 I became permanent with the California Division of Forestry. Once you get firefighting in your blood, you can never get it out! You are for the most part an occupational athlete. You train hard so when it is time to perform you can complete your assignments with competency. One of the greatest things about being a firefighter is learning how to work effectively together with other people, as a team, to solve problems. The job just makes you a better person because of this working environment.

I advanced through the ranks from seasonal Firefighter to the executive assignment of Assistant Deputy Director of Fire Protection where I was the Chief of Operations and responsible for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's statewide fire protection program and a budget of $92 million dollars. Some of the executive committees that I sat on prior to my retirement were:

• Strategic State Committee on Terrorism (S-SCOT)
• State Committee on Homeland Security
• FIRESCOPE: FIrefighting RESources of California Organized for Potential Emergencies
• California Wildfire Coordinating Group (CWCG)
• Western States Fire Managers
• Public Safety Radio Strategic Planning Committee (PSRSPC)