My roots and heart are in Oregon, but Florida is now home and I love all the sunshine! While in 7th grade I had a teacher inform the class that she believed every person should somehow serve their country...and so I did! Thank you Mrs. Heman. I enlisted in the Air Force with the mind set of making it a career. My career path started in communication electronics maintenance, a male dominated field. The welcome from my first supervisor went something like this...we have never had a female in this field before. Fortunately for me I had seven other male airmen in the work center that welcomed me as an equal. I jumped at the opportunity to retrain and entered the education and training realm. My best assignment was to Eglin AFB, FL where I served in a field training unit. I spent seven years as an instructor and averaged 800 students a year...fortunately for the students, my classes were only 2, 3 and 6 days! My biggest challenge as an instructor was being able to talk over the roar of F-15's launching...impossible! I retired after 20 years, finished my last two classes to complete a MA in Human Resources Development. My work in the civilian sector was an eye opener...I learned that I am a person that thrives with black & white rules, human resources is anything but black & white! My husband (from upstate New York) also served and retired from the Air Force. We have four children and eight grandchildren.