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A lot has happened since my last post in September. The past six months have been a whirlwind of activities and events and only in the past two weeks have I been able to take a break to take it all in. On September 20th, I received the news I had prostate cancer. While it was not unexpected, it was still a shock. The doctor carefully explained the treatment options as my wife and I tried to absorb the news. There is never a good time...read more
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As I waited with Tony Schumacher and the U.S. Army Top Fuel Team for the first run of the 2011 NHRA Mac Tools U.S. National on Friday night, I was hit by a wave of nostalgia. For a few minutes I was transported back to my first U.S. Nationals in 2000. It was a cool September evening, not anything yesterday’s close to 90 degrees. There were butterflies in my stomach as I waited for the first run by the brand new U.S. Army Race Team. It was hard to...read more
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The 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl is over. The players, musicians, coaches, Soldier-Heroes, and parents are headed home. The signage is coming down and the lobby looks naked. The frenzy of activity and the excitement dissipated. The assets in the Army Strong Zone are being packed up and will head out Monday morning. The remainder of my team and I will head back to Fort Knox Tuesday tired but very proud of the success of this year’s game and...read more
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LaVerne, California is a small town just outside Los Angeles and just across the street from the LA County Fairplex and the NHRA track. It’s a quaint place with tree lined streets; Craftsman style homes; tree lined streets and mom and pop shops. A first glance, you might think that LaVerne is just a stereotypical “liberal” anti-military California town. But a closer look reveals that no matter what their political leanings, this is a town proud of its...read more
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It has been a busy couple of weeks and I have fallen behind in my blogging. My team and I have been really running and gunning the past month or so with a variety of events to be planned and executed. I have an exceptional team that really shows the quality of the Soldiers our Army produces and the opportunities serving as a Soldier or civilian provides. Joe Cross is a retired sergeant first class and leads our U.S. Army All-American Bowl team. Joe enlisted as...read more
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Not all the memories of our NHRA program are great ones. Our failure to qualify at Englishtown in 2004 is clearly etched in my mind. It was a cold bad weekend all around. It was then that I learned of Don Schumacher’s plan to replace Wes Cerney with Alan Johnson. Most of the 2003 season was one long nightmare. We just couldn’t seem to catch a break or put the gremlins in a box and shift them off. Then there was the day I learned that Alan Johnson was...read more
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In a few weeks, we’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Army’s partnership with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and Don Schumacher Racing (DSR). It has been a remarkable partnership that has had its share of highs and lows. Over the rest of the season, I’ll share some of the highlights both good and bad. In the spring of 2000, we got word that the Congress was going to pass legislation directing us to conduct a five-year motorsports outreach...read more
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Any trip I make to Sonoma is filled with great memories. Besides the fact that my son, Patrick, was born at the Presidio of San Francisco, my assignment there was one of my favorite. And it was 10 years ago at Infineon Raceway that the Army was introduced to Don and Tony Schumacher. Wednesday morning I turned off the Garmin and drove through San Francisco, through the Presidio, and across the Golden Gate Bridge visiting even for just a few minutes my favorite...read more
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I’m off to Sonoma, CA this week for the NHRA race there. With only 5 races left before the start of the Countdown to the Championship, it is an important weekend for the U.S. Army team. Our loss in the quarterfinals in Seattle on Sunday dropped us down to third in the points standing. Ideally, you want to be in first or second heading into the countdown. Third is not bad, but in a year when the competition is particularly strong, the closer you are to the...read more
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On June 12th one of the people I most admire quietly celebrated his 86th birthday. In the past, he has marked the event jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. I have had the honor of being present at some of former President George H.W. Bush’s parachute jumps including his accelerated free-fall jump in 1997 and tandem jumps for his 80th birthday and into the rededication ceremony for his Presidential Library. I first met President Bush 41 in 1988 when...read more
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About Me:
Chief, Outreach and Event Marketing for the U.S. Army Accessions Command. Am responsible for the Army's NASCAR, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), U.S. Army All-American Bowl, Spring Break and multicultural outreach programs. I have 22 people on my team, a mix of Soldiers, Department of the Army civilians, and contractors. Before joining the civil service, I was a Soldier for 22 years retiring in September 1995 as a master sergeant. I am married to the former Kay Lowenstein of Henrietta, NY. We have a son, Patrick Joseph, who is an EMT in Louisville, KY. Patrick and his wife have three sons, Dylan Wayne Sims (13); Nathaniel Thomas (6); and Brayden Patrick (2). We also have a daughter, Sarah who is a customer service rep in Elizabethtown, KY and has a daughter Riley Rose (3). I love spending time with my grandkids, watching the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals; reading biographies of political figures; and working in my garden.
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