I currently live in Athens, GA., home of the University of Georgia and the beautiful countryside of Northeast Georgia. I have spent my entire adult life in Public Safety and retired in 2021after a 22-year career in the Fire Service at the rank of Captain. I still work part-time as a paramedic for University of Georgia Athletic Events, entering my 40th year providing care to both athletes and spectators. I have been married to my wife Karla for 39 years and we have three children (all married and out of the house). Our oldest son is a Georgia State Trooper, our middle son is a Software Engineer for Credit Karma in Charlotte, NC, and our youngest daughter is a 1st-grade teacher. We both could not be prouder of our kids. We welcomed our first grandson in April 2024 and welcomed a beautiful granddaughter on October 6th, 2024. We have our third grandchild due in March 2025. Three little ones under a year old is going to be epic!! I love being a “Pop Pop”.
My ham radio hobby began after I retired from the Fire Service. I have always been interested in the hobby, but did not have time to pursue it given the shift schedule I was on. I became licensed in 2021, and shortly afterwards got hit with the CW bug. I became enthusiastic about CW and spent the first few months trying to “self-teach” myself Morse code. I found the CW Academy in 2022 and immediately enrolled in the beginner class. Steve Robbs (WJ0C) guided me through both the beginner and fundamentals class. He is a phenomenal advisor, and I would never have gotten the confidence to get on the air regularly without his encouragement. My Intermediate advisor, Roy Godden (KK6M) has brought me to a new level with both speed and head copy. I want to thank both for their guidance.
Special thanks go to John Laney (K4BAI) for nominating me, Quentin Caudron (K7DRQ), Phil Specht (K4PQC), Steve Randall (K04VW) and Cathy Goodrich (W4CMG) for their confidence shown in me by their sponsorships. Each one of these outstanding CWops members have given me so much valuable advice and guidance. I cannot thank them enough.
I look forward to many more years growing in my abilities as a CW operator and can’t wait to see what the future holds.
This biography is what appeared in Solid Copy when the member joined CWops.