Biography, Stories, or Comments:
After graduating from Lanier, I attended Auburn University where I majored in Mechanical Engineering. In 1973, while at Auburn, I married Karen Franklin, also a Lanier grad. I graduated in late 1974, then entered Air Force active duty in July 1975. During the course of my Air Force career, I was assigned to Minot AFB, North Dakota; RAF Chicksands, United Kingdom; Eglin AFB, Florida; Thule AB, Greenland; Arnold AFB, Tennessee; Yokota AB, Japan, and Kirtland AFB, New Mexico.
In December 1998, I retired from the Air Force and accepted a position with Florida Community College in Jacksonville, FL as their Associate Vice President for Facility Management & Construction. I resigned that position after 3+ years to accept a job offer from TRW (now Northrop Grumman), and returned to Eglin AFB, this time as a contractor. Subsequently, I worked for other defense contractors, then retired for good in 2017.
After 49+ years together, Karen and I are still wondering what we'll do when we grow up. Our children are doing well. Michael, his wife Dawn, and their two children live in Orlando, FL where Michael owns several businesses and Dawn teaches. Lindsay and her husband, Chris Auger, live in Arlington, VA with their two children.
When I reflect on my time at Lanier, so many of my memories involve music--the Lanier band, The Soul Division during my sophomore year, Southern Comfort during my junior year, playing in Bye Bye Birdie as a sophomore, and conducting the pit band for Lil' Abner my senior year. Good times!
Music continues to play a major role in my life even today! I've been involved with contemporary church music for the past 40+ years (guitar & voice) and still play trumpet in a local big band. Actually, let's make that trumpets as you just can't have too many!
