Comments:
Wow! Thirty years have flown by. So much has happened to me and my family in that span. Some of the highlights and lowlights include:
I served a mission for the LDS church to the Dominican Republic. I, like so many others had my mission cut from two years to 1 1/2 years; however, I was able to recapture those lost six months. Within six months of returning home, my Dad became the Mission President in Bogota, Colombia and I was called on a six-month mission to serve under my Dad.
After the mission, my Mother enrolled me at BYU--I wasn't too thrilled about that. I almost dropped out, until I took two Geography courses that I enjoyed; I went on to graduate with a BS and MS in Geography from BYU. While in school, I met Linda Beliveau, who I married and had four sons with. Unfortunately, she divorced me about three years ago.
In 1989, I went to work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). I have been deployed to many of our nation's worst disasters over the past twenty years, including: Hurricane Hugo, Hurricane Andrew, the Northridge Earthquake, the Oklahoma City Bombing, Hurricane Mitch (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras), the four hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004, and the four hurricanes that have hit Louisiana between 2005 and 2008. I have had many incredible experiences working with people who have lost their homes and livelihoods.
I hope to deploy to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. I have been there on work assignments a dozen times or so, helping the nation develop an emergency management system; obviously I wasn't so successful with that assignment. In fact I was in Haiti, training some teenagers on urban search and rescue when 911 occurred. I really want to go back and provide technical assistance to the nation as it seeks to implement a complex and difficult long-term recovery process.
In 2008 I married Corie McGrath--she is awesome and is widowed from her first husband. I met her on ldssingles.com. Crazy huh? After we married, she left her home in Myrtle Beach, SC to join me in Baton Rouge. She currently is an Assistant Manager at a Sam's Club.
Life is good. I am happy and busy, and involved with home, work, church, etc. I have been very blessed in my life.
I am enjoying the opportunity to see what my classmates have been up to over the past 30 years.
