Back in 1968 I began an amazing career in the Florida tourism industry when, as a college student, I worked a part time job washing cars for Avis Rent-A-Car in Clearwater.I have been a destination marketing executive for the greatest part of my career. My career in selling Florida began as Director of Tourism Sales at the Jacksonville Convention and Visitors Bureau in 1980. In 1983 I was chosen to create the Lee County Convention and Visitors Bureau as it's first Executive Director. In early 1997 I joined the VISIT FLORIDA in its first year of existence as Chief Operating Officer and became its CEO.After retiring in 2016, Gail and I moved back to my Pinellas County roots with a home near downtown Dunedin. By December, 2021, we decided it was time for another adventure. We said good-bye to Florida and moved to the countryside of rural Tennessee, about 45 miles Northwest of Nashville.