I spent over 30 years in the Marine Corps, finishing my career with multiple expert award qualifications in both pistol and rifle. Upon retiring from the Marine Corps in 2020, I immediately assumed the duties of the rifle coach from Sapulpa High School Marine Corps JROTC. This is something I feel passionate about, and we need to expand opportunities for youth in this state. At Sapulpa, we quickly expanded the matches we host for youth in the state of Oklahoma, expanded membership to include USA Shooting as a club and to host/compete in USA Shooting events. Over the summer, I doubled the size of our range to 20 firing points so we could expand opportunities for the JROTC cadets to compete on a team. I’m working with Red Castle Gun Club to reopen their Youth Indoor Range which would allow youth to shoot both 10M air and 50ft smallbore as a way to expand opportunities for youth outside of JROTCs and 4-H club teams in the Tulsa area. We have had Midway USA at two of our larger matches this last year to speak to coaches about creating endowments that can benefit their teams.

I have no other awards or accolades to mention. My rewards are when we see kids smiling at a match, or seeing the reaction when someone shoots a 10.9. I love seeing my athletes hit the scores to advance to the next higher level matches or shoot a PR.

I’ve been married for 32 years, and my wife and I have four children, one of which is a rifle athlete for a NCAA team. My hobbies include trail running, mountain biking, hiking and hunting. I would love one day to operate my own non-profit that would be solely focused on introducing and developing junior air rifle and smallbore athletes here in Oklahoma.

When our last State Director, Geoge Tabor, resigned from the position, we have had a void in support of youth shooting sports and the connective tissue that JROTCs and 4-H rifle teams need. We also needed someone who could certify Army and other service air gun ranges. I’m happy to work with Rachel but understand her focus is high power.

I want to grow youth air gun and smallbore rifle athletes across this state and help develop programs at our larger clubs that drive this in parallel with what we are doing at the high schools. I would like all the JROTC programs to have competitive rifle teams in our state.