I started out as a small boy infatuated with heavy equipment. At the age of twelve, I began working on a flower and vegetable farm running tractors. I then moved up to working at a small business by the name of Leg Construction were I began working in new home construction. I worked on cellar holes, septic systems, property clearing, driveway installations, road installations, and all other forms of home construction and excavation. In the fall of 1983, I attended Thames Valley State Technical College to pursue a degree in Civil Engineering. In 1985, I joined the Connecticut Army National Guard as a member of the Army Corps of Engineers. As a private in the Connecticut Army National Guard, my unit and I were called out to extinguish a blazing fire that was out of control at the Ledyard Transfer Station. I went in to the fire with a D7 dozer and helped extinguish it with the front blade. I was awarded the Army Achievement Medal.