Where are you from? I am from Boston, MA. 

How did you make it to Jackson? I came out to ski for 1 year in 1998 and I never left.

What do you do for work? I build houses.

What do you do in your free time? I volunteer for Fire/EMS, help coach the girls 19U hockey team and I enjoy pretty much everything this place offers with my wife, kids, and dogs: skiing, biking, hiking, fishing, rafting, camping, dirt biking, etc.

How long have you been a part of JH Fire/EMS? I think I started in 2010.

What made you want to join? I wanted to do some type of service work for our community and wanted it to be something where I would learn new skills and have some excitement.

What are your current certifications? FF2 and EMR.

What are your future goals in the department? I’m pretty busy outside of the department, but when I’m done coaching hockey, I’d like to get my EMT cert.

Favorite part of volunteering so far? I thought it would be the excitement of going on calls. Fighting fires and cutting open cars is great, but the camaraderie with the other responders is awesome.

Most challenging? Sometimes you just want to stay in bed at 2am.

What advice would you give new recruits? The first 2 years can be a bit overwhelming, but hang in there. Once you get the requirements completed, you can determine how much you bite off and that may vary with the seasons of your life.

Is there anything you wish you had known when starting? I wish I had come in with my EMT cert because it seems like there’s never a good time to tackle that now, but that’s just because of my own schedule.

What is the most valuable trait for someone to have in this line of work? Absorb what you can from anyone with more experience and pace yourself. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

What do you think you bring to the department? A certain ‘je ne sais quoi.’

Who is your mentor in the department? Mike Sullivan, the sage of Station 7.