Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog. Before I get started I would like to tell you a little about myself and how I got to this point. I moved to the Phoenix area in 1982 and began my career working in roadway construction, primarily as a concrete finisher. I left the construction industry in 1994 to start my own commercial printing company, which I sold eight years later to return to heavy construction. It was at this point in my life that I began to think about returning to college to finish my degree studies. Finally in 2008 I enrolled at Arizona State University in order to finish what I had started a long time ago - obtaining my college degree. I have been married to my wife, Angel, for twenty eight years. Together we have two sons, Ryan, who is twenty five years old and a graduate student at the University of Memphis and Tyler, who is twenty three years old and a recent graduate of Wright State University with a degree in finance.

I recently had the privilege of working through the summer break as an intern for the Arizona Rock Producers Association. This alliance is best known by the acronym ARPA. ARPA's member companies are producers of aggregates, ready-mix concrete, asphalt and cement. These materials are used in every construction project throughout the State of Arizona. Collectively the companies that make up ARPA are a significant contributor to the Arizona economy and as an advocacy organization, ARPA prides itself on its ability to effectively represent its membership on any policy issue that is relevant to the industry. While working for this organization I was able to see first hand the process, from conception through implementation, of public policy being formulated. This peaked my interest and my desire to pursue a career in policy making.

Throughout the semester I will blog about some of the interesting and not so interesting things that I was a part of during my internship. Hopefully you, as a reader of this blog, will gain some benefit from my experiences.