I am from Southern California, born in Fontana, raised in Ontario and Upland. Upon graduating from Chaffey High School, I joined the Marine Corps, trained as a Tactical Vehicle Operator and Vietnamese Linguist. I was assigned to the 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Marine Division in the I Corps area of Vietnam (MAR68-APR69). My last two years were at MCAS helicopter station in Tustin, CA I married Janice in 1969 and we have two children, five grandchildren and one great granddaughter, all living here in California.
After my military time, I attended Cal Poly Pomona, BS Agricultural Biology/Economic Entomology and later UC Riverside (Entomology Dept.), MS Integrated Pest Management.
I began my career in the honeybee research lab at UC Riverside, then moved into production agriculture as a consultant and farm manager for citrus and avocados, eventually ending up at DuPont Ag Products, which took us to five states and two other countries (India and Singapore). After retirement and semi-retirement, we chose our favorite place to visit as our home here in the Central Coast.
Besides hunting for good food and beverage, I enjoy cycling, hiking and paddling as well as propagating and taking care of plants, I also volunteer at SLO Botanical Gardens.