A Jacksonville, Florida resident since 2008, I came to Northeast Florida though my service in the U.S. Navy. Born and raised in the Northeast Ohio "Rust Belt", I joined the Navy after graduating high school in 1994, and after 23 years of serving on multiple ships, an operational fleet command, and various training commands, I retired as a Chief Petty Officer here in Jacksonville. After serving in the U.S. Navy, it was important for me to continue a life of service, so I decided to serve my community as a Realtor here in Northeast Florida. Despite an award winning and high level of production in my 7 years in real estate sales, I have decided to answer a call to my passion for serving my fellow Veterans and our Military Service Men and women and I joined the Operation New Uniform (ONU) Team as their Outreach Coordinator. Although I will retain my Florida real-estate licensure, my full-time job with ONU will be assisting our Service Men and Women in their transition from the military to the civilian sector. For more information on what we do at ONU, please visit our website: https://onuvets.org. I am a servant-leader and volunteer a lot of time in the National, State, Regional, and local Veteran Community and I'm a Veterans' advocate; I'm a Bronze Legacy Life Member of and served as the Post Commander at the Greater Beaches Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3270 earning All-State and All-American Awards. I currently serve as the VFW Department of Florida, District 6 Commander. I'm the immediate past Chairman of the Veterans Council of Duval County. I serve on the Board of Directors of the National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum and am a member of the Jacksonville National Cemetery Support Committee. In March of 2024, I was selected out of many candidates nation-wide to represent the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) as a member of their "Calvary", working with them to meet our Countries Senators and Congressmen to advocate for Veterans and Military Servicemembers during the spring legislative session in Washington, DC.Throughout my Naval career and afterward, I've gained vast experience in multiple aspects of program management, including conducting fleet, unit, and personnel training analysis, scenario development and delivery, curriculum development and maintenance, managing training projects, and instructor scheduling and performance evaluation. I have honed the skills of personnel, systems, security, and emergency management through multiple commands and situations. I have led multiple organizations successfully through change.