I was born and raised in the small city of Port Jervis in the state of New York. It is a beautiful place, 10 minutes from the mountains and 40 minutes from New York City. I attended Port Jervis schools from Kindergarten through the 12th grade.
I decided I wanted to be a teacher when I was in 3rd grade. For college, I chose the small private New England College in Henniker, N.H. I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education with a minor in French.
After 4 years of college I decided to take a first grade position at New Boston Central School. I was so impressed with the school, town and people that I decided to make New Boston my home.
I became very active in town. I worked as Summer Recreation Director for two years and was a member of the Recreation Commission for 10 years. I also got involved in local government when I decided to become an elected town official for the position of Supervisor of the Checklist. What a great opportunity to work with so many wonderful people!
I was introduced to my lovely wife Jeanne by her then little brother who was a member of my first "first grade". Her parents were the owners of Andy's Drive-In where I worked my summers for years.
In a few years after our marriage, I decided to go back to school for a Master's Degree. I chose Notre Dame College, because it was convenient and close. I earned two Masters Degrees. One in General Special Education and another in Learning and Language Disabilities.
Soon after, our one and only son, Tyler, was born. Ironically, he was born on the first day of school on Sept. 10th. How fortunate I was to have Tyler at NBCS for 6 years.
Tyler is now a graduate from the University of New Hampshire. He has just completed his Master's program at Plymouth University. Tyler is now working as a special education teacher at Conval High School. We are very proud of him. Following in his dad's footsteps I guess. He also plays a mean guitar and writes his own material. Sometimes he will play solo as T Mudd and other times he will play in the band. He has released a cd entitled, "The Monster Under My Bed." Tyler also continues to play basketball, one sport that he excelled at in high school and college. He will also be coaching the boy's JV basketball team this year.
My love of teaching has taken me from first grade to second to third. Being a big kid myself, I guess I fit in with the "third grade age group".
I have enjoyed coaching Tyler and all of his buddies in baseball and basketball while they were in grades first through 8th. I can still be seen playing hoops or swinging a tennis racket. These were the two sports I excelled at in High School.
I have a passion for singing (what I would do if I didn't teach) and enjoy all kinds of music.
I love the ocean and I enjoy my pool and friends in the summer.
I like to collect "I Love Lucy" and "Snoopy" memorabilia.
I also love to travel and watch movies and sports on TV. Go Mets!