Jeff graduated from Crisp County High School in Cordele, Georgia, the self-proclaimed "watermelon capital of the world." Yes, they had a festival, a parade, a queen, and a seed-spitting contest. After a long, circuitous college career, he graduated from Georgia Southwestern College with a degree in business and later earned a Master of Business Administration degree from West Georgia College. Jeff served as a helicopter crew chief and a medical service corps officer in the U.S. Army, including getting shot at by Saddam's finest in Iraq in 1991. He married the lovely and talented Gwen in 1989, and he is “the most happily-married man in the lower 48 contiguous states.” Gwen and Jeff have two beautiful daughters who they wouldn't trade for all of the gold in Fort Knox. Being their dad “is a blessing and a privilege.” Jeff served as a licensed local pastor in the United Methodist Church for two years, and remains a certified candidate for ministry in the North Georgia Annual Conference. His current “real” job is Director of Operations & Chief Financial Officer for a software company in Peachtree City, Georgia. Other post-college, post-Army experience is in financial management and general management.