A Little Bit About Me
Where It All Started
I’ve always enjoyed being a storyteller, and believe so many of life's celebrations deserve to be shared. With this philosophy in mind, and an amusing amount of pressure from friends claiming I have a "warm, calming voice", I became a celebrant. I've been blessed with the opportunity to speak before groups of people in both my personal and professional lives. Additionally, as the Secretary and later the Master of a lodge I attended in Alaska, I was instrumental in organizing and performing a number of speaking engagements as well as educational sessions in lodge as an Orator and occasional Prelate. I would enjoy the opportunity to hear your story, and share it with your friends and family as a part of your Life's Celebration.
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By way of a few more specifics, I have recently retired from almost forty-five years of information technologies and data processing services. As owner and operator of my business for thirty-five years, I've had the opportunity to work closely within many, MANY fields of endeavor. Originally from Colorado, educated in Las Vegas, Nevada, (among many other places) and a thirty-five year resident of Alaska, now residing in the Southern Suburbs of Adelaide. Additionally worked as the technologies division director of a company bringing declassified military technology down to the private sector, as well as having been on the board of directors of a small company producing portable power systems. Retired from it all and starting a new life as a writer and celebrant.
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One of the fun things that I did while in Alaska that I think makes me uniquely qualified in some ways, I joined the Shriners of North America - formerly known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Think parades, clowns in little cars and motorcycles, men in Red Fez's riding Harley Davidson motorcycles. Think also twenty-two pediatric Shrine Hospitals where there is no charge for the services for kids as well as some of the finest pediatric burn research facilities in the world. As a clown (Pirate Character Clown) and later the Chief Clown, we did a LOT of fun stuff for kids. I think my two favorites were the Outreach Clinics and the Christmas Season. Well, the parades... parties... all kinds of celebrations where a Pirate Clown that can almost juggle and makes mediocre balloon characters were also a lot of fun.
As I'm 'rocking the look', I made it through Christmas again with a LOT of fun stories. Though, honestly, the beard is looking a bit more like a 'Gandolf The White' than The Man himself, so I will need some judicious trimming when the time comes. On that note, I think theme weddings can also be a great deal of fun. (OOPS! I trimmed the beard a bit to make it a bit neater... but I do take special requests! :D )
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If I were to have a bumper sticker or t-shirt made up to describe me, it would say "Plays well with others, but still runs with scissors."
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And that is me in a nut shell... sometimes more nut than shell.
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