Sailing Background
Having been born into the 4th generation of a sailing family, I began when I was very young.  I'm not sure of my first competitive regatta, but it had to have been in my early years crewing on my family's Cal 25 out of Toledo's Jolly Roger Sailing Club.
Most youngsters sailing in Jolly Roger's Junior Program started out in a small cat-rigged boat called a 320.  They were relatively easy to sail and fit the need as a junior trainer for kids aged 7-12.  I took my lumps in the early years, but practicing and travel (throughout Western Lake Erie) helped and I took my share of the hardware before graduating to the Sears/Bemis/Smythe competions.
Being a bit younger than the rest of my friends, I was usually a year behind.  In hindsight, this really helped fuel the competitive fire as I soon started mixing it up with the older kids.
I crewed with my brother in my first real Junior experience, Jr. Bay Week.  Jr. Bay was held on an island just off the southern shore of Lake Erie, Put-In-Bay.  Teams from all over the Inter-Lake Yachting Association would travel to Put-In-Bay and compete for the right to head to the Area E Semi-Finals.  I'm not totally sure, but I think that Jr. Bay may be the largest Quarter Final event covering the greatest geography.  That year, 1985, my brother and I finished a respectable 3rd.  The fire was lit!
I went on to compete well in all Jr. Events having won the Interlake Jr. Nationals three times.  The greatest memories of that time, however, weren't the scores, but rather the friends that I made along the way.  In fact, I still have life-long friendships with a far majority of the competitors I've met along the way.
Most sailors either enhance their skills or get exposed to sailing through Collegiate Regattas.  Although going to a sailing school was important, so was graduating quickly.  I selected Eastern Michigan Univ. as my school of choice.  There wasn't the heritage of sailing there, but a few friends showed interest in developing a program. Unfortunately, either the parties or the school work restricted our plans, so we often traveled to the regattas and filled-in for teams needing personnel.  Again, it was a lot of fun, and the list of sailing friends grew exponentially.
I was hired right out of school by one of my sponsors, Aktion Associates.  I went to work in the Marketing Department and soon was promoted and given a sales territory.  I learned more about business during this period and it helped develop my career.  The Executives at Aktion each have their own sailing backgrounds.  This helped as I still wanted to develop my sailing skills especially with time-off.  I'm back with Aktion now and they continue to support me as I strive to build on my sailing experiences.
I did, however, take a short leave from Aktion.  In 1995, I was hired by North Sails to be the Sales Manager of their Cleveland location.  I spent a lot of time sailing both PHRF and Offshore One-Design.  I helped customers win regattas such as the Falcon Cup, Cleveland Race Week, Put-in-Bay Race Week, Toledo Race Week and secure such honors as Lake Erie Boat-of-the-Year and AYC Boat-of-the-Year.  The successes didn't go unnoticed, and soon I was shipped off to Chicago to help the sales staff at North Sails Midwest.  Through my experience with North, I've made great friends and continue to work with world-class sailors and sailmakers.  The list is virtually a who's who: Greg Fisher, Larry MacDonald, Perry Lewis, Gary Weisman, Vince Brun, Chris Larson, Brad Read, Jody Lutz, Ched Proctor, Ken Read, Tom Whidden...all were extremely supportive and terrific colleagues.
During my time with North, I sharpened my skills and the results showed...victories at Interlake Nationals, Highlander Midwinters, Flying Scot Midwinters and other impressive results at J/80 NA's, Thistle Nationals, Thistle Midwinters, Lightning Midwest regattas all have got me to where I am today.
I'm now back at Aktion helping get their Chicago operation off the ground and fully-functional.  My business experiences with North have certainly helped here as well.  I'm looking forward to continued business success...my colleagues are terrific!
Now I'm ready to embark on a 3-month program to compete in the Finn Olympic Trials.  I've been sailing, working out and preparing mentally for this challenge and with the support of my Sponsors, Family and Friends, I know that I can compete with the best and that I've got an excellent shot at being the representative for the US at the Olympic Games in Sydney.
For a snapshot at my sailing resume, click:
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SAILING RESUME