I’ve worked in a variety of industries, working to put myself through college, and then my first jobs thereafter. My first job (beyond cutting grass for the brother of Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Penn Warren), was as the manager of all loan documentation for the largest bank in Clarksville, Tennessee, before becoming a self-contract worker, reading meters for the Clarksville Dept. of Electricity. It’s a good thing I love dogs!
Soon after getting married I took a job with the J. Peterman Company, working in what was then called Special Services, This meant I was good at listening to upset customers vent, then making things all better. John Peterman was a brilliant direct-mail marketer. I learned an incredible amount just watching him daily. His motto was, and remains: Absolution Satisfaction. Guaranteed.
From the Lexington, Kentucky area, my wife Kimberly and I relocated to the small town of Crossville, Tennessee. She became the Music Director for the Crossville First United Methodist Church, and I soon became the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Cumberland County Playhouse, a regional theater with many young folks who later make their way to Broadway and Hollywood. Bob Gunton, the warden from The Shawshank Redemption, got his acting start there.
At the Playhouse, I worked with and learned from an incredible number of very talented people, the primary of those being the Producing Director Jim Crabtree, a wonderful storyteller and creative person.
This Yale theatre graduate has spent his life in the theater, beginning on stage as a child actor with the great Helen Hayes (“The First Lady of the American Theatre”) as both of Jim’s parents were involved in Broadway and television.
The bulk of my professional career was spent with the Cosby Harrison Company. CHC began in 1937 as a publishing company. I spent a handful of years in Creative Services, and 17 years in web development, working primarily in front end design and coding, analytics, SEO, and tradeshow marketing in Scotland, Norway, and across the U.S.
In 2020, with the company in its fourth generation of management, the board decided to sell out to its competitor, sending me back into the freelance world—and on the job-hunting trail—for full-time employment. The COVID pandemic brought hiring to a bit of a stand-still, and the next few years have been challenging as I work to find fulfilling employment while based in a small town on the Cumberland Plateau.
I was fortunate to land on the beautiful campus of Midway University for a time as their Web and Digital Marketing Strategist. Ultimately, as much as I loved the work and the school, I simply wanted to be closer to home, since I was working there during the week and commuting home four hours, one way, each weekend to be with my wife and to visit my adult sons.
I've returned to my home and I am currently doing some work for ToolTec of Elkton, KY, a tool and die shop that has been successful since 1988, a local church, and a yoga gym with some outreach ideas they have, alsong with a few other freelance jobs. However, I am currently looking for full-time work in the Middle-to-East Tennessee area, preferably Nashville/hybrid - to onsite from Cookeville to Knoxville, that would allow me to commute daily and be home at night.
On the personal side, I love music and I’ve played trumpet around Nashville and Middle Tennessee with a variety of jazz combos, theater pit orchestras, and brass groups. I enjoy sports, museums, visual design, motion design, reading, live theater, music theory, and a good dog. And really, isn't "good dog" redundant? I love dogs.
I drink Diet Coke instead of coffee, but don’t hold that against me and I’ll pick up the ticket when we have a beverage together!
