Personal History
I was born and raised in New York City. Because my family had a second home in the lower Catskill Mountains, I've also spent a fair amount of time in that upstate community. As a result, I have a good appreciation for large city life as well as the quiet life in a small, mountain foothills community. I have respect for nature and all her creatures.
New York was home for most of my adult life. For business reasons, as well as leisure, I have traveled extensively throughout these United States, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and Western Europe. Just prior to moving here I lived briefly in Bergen County, NJ. When we left there in 2000, our Property Taxes were well over $7,000; today that Property Tax alone exceeds $18,000! Because of onerous taxes and poor financial decisions made by many municipalities, I've become a firm believer in financially conservative local government. In recent years I've volunteered my time in Carefree to assist with the Hazardous Waste Recycle events, and the monthly Community Recycle Program. While I can't claim to be a well rounded outdoorsman, I thoroughly enjoy shooting and off-road exploration (my truck is always dirty!). I take great pride in fine tuning the 'tools of the trade', matching the best qualities of each component to achieve optimum performance and results. I also love to cook, using that same logic!
We settled into our new Carefree home in April of 2001. As a family we enjoy reading, theatre, skiing, and spending time with our two 'Troon North' bred Shelties, Tigger & Nitro. Our son AJ, who turned 16 in January, completed freshman year at Cactus Shadows High School. He was an outstanding first year basketball player, with his sights set on the varsity level. He retired from baseball to focus all of his athletic attention on his first love in sports. For academic reasons, he has transferred to Phoenix County Day School in Paradise Valley, 140 miles of driving a day for me, but certainly worth the 4 hours of my time. He is a starter on the varsity team and shows great potential at 6' 2". My wife Barbara is an avid tennis player who loves getting out on the courts all year long. On the business front, she has an active consulting practice, implementing new computer systems for Personal Lines Insurance companies. Fortunately she is able to work from home and has found time to help others through the Foothills Caring Corp in Carefree.