This is a question most of you would ask me if you had the chance, and most of you will ask me when you have the chance. I'm glad you asked! 

As you go through this website, you will learn that I have gained an extensive skill set that applies directly to what I will be doing on the board:

• Strategic planning--I did this at a very high level in the US Department of Defense as well as in the private sector and in churches I was a member of.

• Budget and finance--I've done this to, in fact, the budget I managed in one of my last jobs prior to retirement was managing a budget that is larger than Toastmaster International's!

• I have a global perspective--I appreciate that our organization is global and that different regions of the world have different challenges--geographic, economic, political, technological--that we must consider when making decisions and policies on the board.

• Cultural awareness--I understand and appreciate that our membership comes from a wide and dynamic range of cultures and traditions that are not only different from my own, but also from each other, and that we must be aware of this to avoid misunderstandings. To help me do this better, I am learning multiple foreign languages (Scottish Gaelic, Spanish, French, Russian, Irish, Chinese and Hindi, and I will be adding to these over the coming years) so that I can communicate better with you because I understand that my native language may not be yours (and I must say, based on what I've learned so far, I am very impressed with how well most of you do speak English as a second or even third language!).

• Collaborative team experience--Many people I meet think that because I was a fairly senior military officer that I must have usually been in command or in charge. In fact, I very rarely was and for most of my career I needed to be able to collaborate effectively on teams with competing interests and I am very good at doing this.

• Open-mindedness--I know that we all see things from different perspectives, and we all bring different talents, abilities and value-added to the board. I know that I don't have all of the answers and may not yet have all of the important information. I can, and do, quickly process information, and can quickly come to conclusions based on that information. But I am also flexible in my thinking. I can accept new information and change my initial conclusions to include that new information. I listen to others and value their ideas and opinions because working together as a team we can find the better solutions to the challenges we are facing than we can working alone. None of us have all of the answers, but we all have part of the best answers.

• Board experience--I have served on several boards within the US Government and in the private sector. It is an environment that I am effective and comfortable in. 

• A commitment to service--I have always been called to serve for as long as I can remember, and I am very fortunate to have been able to serve my country in the military for 30 years and as a civil servant for an additional 20 years. I was blessed with two very successful careers which allowed me not only to give, but from which I gained valuable education, training and experience. Now that I have retired, I have even more opportunity to serve and give back to an organization that has given more to me than I could have imagined when I joined in June of 2013.  I am committed to serving you, our members, and honored to do so to the best of my ability.

• Passion--I am passionate about what Toastmasters does for people--instilling confidence, providing a safe place to grow and develop skills. We have a proud history and a bright future. I am passionate about doing everything it is in my power to do to help us thrive and prosper and help our members and clubs thrive and prosper as we move forward into that future.