The “business” version: My resume’

Fresh out of high school I had the dream job, or at least that’s what every guy I knew who was over thirty was telling me. I worked for the City of Veneta in the public works department. I got licensed from the State of Oregon in water and wastewater distribution and due to inner office politics I spent my days on my hands and knees pulling weeds on Veneta landscaping.

Then I went to work for the City of Waldport. I had better benefits and better pay! Finally able to use my licensing……I sat in a water treatment plant, for hours, staring at water gauges, updating charts.

Then I went to work for Monaco coach as a “felt” installer. But eventually proved my worth as a welder….I could finish my assigned job before noon, I spent the rest of the day trying to look busy.

From there I applied at Mutual of Omaha to be a telemarketer; I was hired as an agent. I was licensed by the State of Oregon to sell insurance. I went to work every day in a suit and tie. I got to talk about large numbers in front of people who had no idea that I really didn’t know what I was talking about.

I threw away my career as an insurance salesman to scrub toilets (at least, that’s
what everyone at the office was saying). I worked for a local cleaning company for
about 6 months before starting my own cleaning business out of my garage. After
about 8 months I had saved enough to buy an established cleaning company and
with that came about thirty employees, more money and more taxes.

In between all of these jobs I had jobs like: delivering pizza, pressure washing
trucks, taking surveys, being a cashier, etc. I currently continue to run the cleaning
business but Its been a while since I’ve actually had to scrub a toilet.

The “personal” version: Try not to fall asleep!

My father was an Evangelist. He would travel at times holding church services in
tents, meeting halls and some local churches. I’ll never forget some of the tent
meetings. I met a lot of people and saw a lot.

I met my wife, Stacy, while working for the City of Veneta. We dated for a couple of years and then married. About three years later our son David was born. David was about two years old when we started our cleaning business. Our daughter Nicole was born shortly after.  Stacy and I were married for 16 years. We have a good friendship and are enjoying watching the kids grow up!

It was during those initial few years of owning the cleaning business that I began thinking about writing a book. My motivation for that came from my dealings with various employees. In fact, one of the chapters in Common Sense from a Common Man has a part of what was an employee memo. However, after I began writing the book, I realized I had more to talk about. I pulled from experiences that I had gone through in my marriage, in my friendships, in my family. I thought about the various jobs I held and the various churches I had been in. And I started watching people a little closer. I would hear casual conversations at work or on a job. I began paying a little more attention to what it was people were talking about. Then I put my opinion about the topics on paper.

I am currently located in Eugene, Oregon and enjoy camping, fishing and hunting. I hope you enjoy the book.