I was born in Bozeman , Montana in 1948, where I first attended grade school. While growing up, I also lived in Laurel, MT, Porterville, CA and Carlsbad, CA. In 1965, I graduated from Fergus County High School in Lewistown, MT. I was married to Catherine (Kate) Rose Rathbun for almost 29 years. She recently passed and is sorely missed.
Education: I first attended college at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN, later switching to the University of Minnesota. While simultaneously raising a family and pursuing a career in high tech, I graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Portland, OR in 1984 at the age of 36. I have also done graduate coursework at Cal State Fullerton, as well as University of Southern California.
Employment History and/or Accomplishments: I spent the first 10 years of my engineering career at Tektronix, Inc. in Beaverton, Oregon starting as a technician and leaving as a RF Design Engineer. I have also worked for several defense contractors, including Rockwell, Hughes Missile Systems, and Raytheon Missile Systems, working on RF subsystems for missiles. I then returned to Tektronix, Inc. where I spent the last 10 years of my career. While at Tektronix, I earned a patent in microwave synthesis in 2007. In 2013, I retired and returned to Montana.
Volunteer Work/Military Service: During my second term of employment at Tektronix in Beaverton, Oregon, I became involved with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) where I taught Family-to-Family courses for 2 years and served on the Board of Washington County Chapter of NAMI.
Hobbies/Interests: I was an avid mountain climber and a sailor, which helped draw me to Sequim. I still ride a bike and kayak on occasions. I enjoy brewing and serving quality home-brew beer.
I was originally drawn to Sequim by its sailing opportunities and its mild climate. Since then, I have become aware of the great depth of experience and diversity of the people who live here and the community spirit that prevails in the area.
It is important to me that our city staff feel respected and valued by their city council members for fulfilling their invaluable contributions to keeping our city functioning and a good place to live. It is my hope that the Sequim Health and Housing Collaborative find a building to serve as a center for the enhanced delivery of human services to the community. Among all the other worthwhile goals, it is my hope that by working together as a community, we can find innovative ways to provide affordable housing for our workforce.