I was born in a small Southern Illinois town and raised with its small town values. I was one of five children living together with hardworking middle-class parents. Because life happens, I moved away and spent the next thirty years trying to find my way back to my hometown.

During those thirty years I married and raised a family of my own. I proudly served seven years in the Army. I was a District Executive for the Boy Scouts of america and retired as an educator for the Illinois Department of Corrections.