USAF IM
FUNCTIONAL MANAGER'S

Mitch was born in Cleveland, Ohio on 25 April 1961. His family moved to Columbia Station, Ohio in 1975 where he attended Columbia High School and participated in various school activities. He participated in wrestling, baseball and football. He is one of six children of which four graduated from Columbia.

He enlisted in the Air Force under the Delayed Enlistment Program on 24 April 1979 and was called to active duty on 28 August 1979.

Mitch completed Basic Military Training (BMT) at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Following BMT, he attended the administrative specialist course at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi where he graduated in December 1979. Following technical training, Mitch was assigned to Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. While there he received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Commander, Eastern Space and Missile Center for his humanitarian efforts in rendering assistance to victims of a collapsed condo.

Mitch was transferred to a rougher assignment, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii in October 1981. He traveled to several of the islands of which Kauai was his favorite. He spent much of his time participating in racquetball and traveling in tournaments - he even got his teeth knocked out with a backhand on one Friday night. He spent three weeks in Korea spending $100 on several products (blankets, baseball gloves, shoes, gym bags) that he is still using today. After four years of the beaches and great weather he decided to move on to Europe.

After not driving long distances in Hawaii, Mitch decided to drive back to Ohio before his trip to Europe. This turned out to be a much longer drive because he decided to stop and visit family and friends along the extended route. He started in San Francisco, CA to Las Vegas, NV to Kansas City, MO to Austin, TX to Ft Walton Beach, FL and then finally to Cleveland - a trip that was 21 days and over 5,000 miles. He was home about a week before he flew to Belgium just before Christmas in 1985.

He was stationed at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Belgium for a little over two years. He did extensive traveling throughout the area. He was able to travel throughout central Europe, but one of his favorite trips was to Lennigrad/St Petersburg (whatever they call it now) and Moscow. The other trip was to Berlin and this was before the "Wall" was down. He learned about other countries and how lucky he was to be an American! He started attending college in the evenings and completed his degree with the Community College of the Air Force in Administrative Management and Associate Degree with the University of Maryland in Management.

He decided to move on and drove to his next location in Heidelberg, Germany. This trip was at speeds over 100 mph since there were no speed limits in Germany. He luckily survived his entire time in Europe without getting in any accidents. It was here that he ended up renting a house five minutes from the golf course. At the time of renting the house, he was not aware of the golf course location. He completed his Masters Degree in Public Administration through Troy State University and his Bachelors of Science through the University of Maryland in Management. By the end of his tour in Germany - six years, he was playing golf seven days a week. While in Germany he took several trips throughout the continent. Ski trips in the Alps, hiking in Ireland and Switzerland, golfing in Spain/France/Ireland and vacations in Budapest (Hungary), Rome (Italy), and Barcelona (Spain). The most memorable vacation was attending the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. He rented a motor home with six of his friends and drove to Barcelona in style. He slept 100 yards from the Mediterranean Beach. In the morning he would jump in the water to wake up before taking local busses into the city for the events. He and his friends were interviewed by the Detroit press and had their photos in the newspaper. He saw the original "Dream Team" in action, along with track & field events, baseball, and his favorite volleyball.

He would have stayed there forever, but the military closed the Air Force portion of the base. He decided to stay in Europe and moved to Norway. He enjoyed Norway and the scenery - fjords, mountains and water. He had several trips back to Germany to visit friends and get a little warmer. He was there only two years before deciding it was time to return back to the states. He was overseas fifteen years and was about to lose his citizenship! He was originally assigned back to Ohio, but things changed and his assignment was cancelled. He was diverted to Tampa, Florida.

He finally thawed out after a few months and enjoyed the Tampa community. He purchased a house and was enjoying a great job working with photographers, printers, graphics and video personnel. He was able to play golf the entire year. They say, "expect visitors if you move to Florida". Well, he had a span of 40 consecutive weeks which he had visitors. He was planning on retirement, but then got promoted and was transferred to OHIO.

He was finally back in his home state. He was able to travel to and from Cleveland (three hour trip) and visit family and friends. He eventually met his future wife. He got married, retired from the Air Force, and turned 40 all in the same weekend. He started his own web business and is currently designed web sites for golf courses, salons, and other small businesses.