Candidate for
Councilmember; City of Riverbank

The first part of my life was spent living in Richmond, Indiana in town and on a farm. My mother, sisters, and I moved to Oakdale, California in 1962. I went to Oakdale High School and was on the tennis team. I enjoyed high school and was involved in student government for four years as student body financial manager. During high school I worked on dairies, ranches, and cut wood to earn money,gaining much practical experience from these experiences. I graduated in 1966.

Modesto Junior College was the next school I attended, graduating with an AA degree in general education in 1968. In 1969 I was accepted into the Peace Corps as a volunteer and sent to India to work in a well drilling program to provide better water sources for villages.

Returning from India in 1970, I joined the Army Reserve and completed six months of training with them. I was a company clerk for most of my army career. I completed my army obligations in 1976 with the rank of Specialist 5.

After my military training was completed in 1971, I worked at Nalley's Foods making chili for a year. In 1972 I returned to college at Cal State Hayward where I completed a BA in Liberal Studies in 1973 and a K-9 teaching credential in 1974. I worked for the college at the student union center in a variety of jobs during my college years.

In June of 1974 the Riverbank School District hired me to teach fifth grade at Cardoza School. It was a great first teaching experience from which I learned much. I also met my wife, Marina, a kindergarten teacher, during my first year of at Cardoza. We were married in August of 1975 and our son, Joel, was born ten months later on June 3, 1976. He is our only child.

After two years at Cardoza, I was hired by the Oakdale School District. My teaching experiences while there included teaching first, second, third, fourth, and fifth grades in self-contained classrooms; spending several years at each grade level. I was head teacher and science lead teacher at Fair Oaks School during my career.

During my career in Oakdale I was very active in the Oakdale Teacher's Association. I served as president for two years, negotiator for seven years, and communication editor for four years. My experience in working with others to best solve problems was increased in many positive ways from these experiences.

I returned to Cal State San Jose for a master's program in instructional technology in 1987 while continuing to teach a third grade class. I completed my MA in liberal studies in 1989. Oakdale hired me to be their director of library media services when I completed my MA. My duties included managing the department's budget, training, supervising, and evaluating four library clerks; developing department policies; updating library collections at each school to coorelate with state grade level standards; integrating technolgy into each school library by creating computer labs, video collections, and other needed technology. I also worked with the Stanislaus County Department of Education as a technology trainer and program implementer while serving as the Delta Sierra Technology Consortium state represenative for our area during this time. Funding for this position ended in 1992 so I returned to the classroom as a first grade teacher.

I worked at the Stanislaus Technology High School, a charter school in the Oakdale district, for four years as teacher and director of technology for several years. I finished my teaching career with Oakdale at their charter home study high school assisting parents and students in meeting guidelines to achieve a quality education. I retired in 2006 from the Oakdale School District.

My next job was with Kaplan College in Salida, Californi, in September of 2007. I taught English, Algebra, Basic Science, computer classes, and psychology classes to meet the general education requirements for the criminal justice associate of arts degree program. It was a very enjoyable job but I left in June of 2009 because of my father-in-law's health. My wife and I were his main care givers until he passed away in June of 2011.

My son, Joel, lives in Lodi, California and has blessed us with three grandsons. He works for UPS while his wife, Brandy, works as a nutrionist for a school in Stockton.

I have many hobbies. I enjoy reading fiction and non-fiction as well as the newspaper and many magazines. I am an amateur photographer and videographer with underwater experience and an avid computer user. My favorite hobby is scuba diving which I have done for over twenty-five years. I worked professionally in this sport as a part-time dive instructor for over ten years,training over two hundred students at various levels. I snow ski, jog, shoot pistols, and enjoy fishing. My wife and I enjoy traveling with ourselves and my son and his family.

My latest life pursuit is running for the Riverbank city council. I feel I am prepared for this position from my life's experiences to do a good job if I win. This story will continue after the election.