As a way for our members to get to know and become better acquainted with the Board , each month one of the Board members will be highlighted in the newsletter. You will read about their interesting backgrounds (all of our members have one). My hope is that more members will come forward and write about themselves since everybody has an interesting story to tell. Why not you? Again , we would appreciate your input as to how we can improve our Chapter and newsletter. Please contact me or anyone on the Board . We would really like to hear from you . I was born and raised in Little Rock , Arkansas and the middle son of three boys. My mother worked hard trying to raise us especially since my father was not around a lot due to his job . My mother worked as a housekeeper . Since we did not own a car, she had to walk to work in all kinds of weather—rain , snow , heat—this really bothered me and would later have a major impact on where life would lead me. In 1952, I was a Junior in high school. Life was not easy . Every morning at 4:00 A.M ., I would get up to deliver milk on a milk truck before heading off to school. After school, I worked in a bowling alley setting up bowling pins until midnight.  Because I was up so early and working late , I would oftent imes find myself falling asleep in class . One day, two Marine Corps Recruiters came by my high school looking for recruits to sign up for the Marine Corps. Man!  Did they look sharp in their dress blues. At that moment, I realized that I wanted to be a Marine! More importantly , it would also be one less son for my mother to feed . Since I was only 17 and could not legally sign up my - self , I had to convince my mother to allow me to join the Marine Corps. This was not easy especially since my older brother was already in the Army . With the help of my great-aunt, we were successful in putting aside my mother’s fears and convincing her that letting me go was the right thing to do . Five days after my 17 th birthday and camp in San Diego, California . For the next 20 years, I breathed and loved being a Marine —it was my life . In 1966 , I found myself in Vietnam and served there for 13 months before finally coming home in 1 9 6 8 . From there , I became a Marine Corps Recruiter and transferred to San Francisco for recruiting duty . Since sentiment against the war was high , there were a few times while I was walking down the streets of San Francisco wearing my dress blues that I encountered anti -war demonstrators. Surprisingly , they saw me but left me alone . In   19 71 , after 20 years, I retired from the Marine Corps and started a new career with the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART ). I was initially hired as an Assistant Service Supervisor . The pay and benefits were good as well as the possibility of promotions . Within a short time , I was promoted to Service Supervisor . This was a very exciting time for me . Everything was new and state-of-the -art. Also, during the first 12 months, I had the opportunity to train and learn all I could about BART . I was fortunate that I was able to work my way up through the ranks. One of the positions I enjoyed was work - ing as the Transportation Department Labor Relations Liai- son . I represented BART during union labor negotiations (maybe you might have seen me on TV ?).  My greatest achievement and satisfaction came when I was promoted to Chief Transportation Officer. I was responsible for the day-to -day operations of the BART system —trains, stations, and station cleanliness . I held that position until my retirement having been with BART for 34 + years. There may be some of you wondering how BART could promote a high school dropout to the position of Chief Transportation Officer. They didn ’t. While in the Marine Corps, I completed my education and received my high school diploma. In addition , while at BART , I continued my education and obtained my Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Administration degrees from Cal State Hayward .