I was raised in South Cottonwood on a large plot of land that was first homesteaded by my Great-Grandfather, who came to Utah in 1855. My Dad always had a large garden which required a lot of weeding and watering, not to mention an acre or so of non-native Kentucky Blue Grass to be mowed each week. I spent the rest of my youth wading and swimming in Little Cottonwood Creek. Later, I moved with Sandy, my wife, to Sandy, where we raised our five children and where we now live.
After receiving degrees from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, I spent my career working for the Utah Legislature on the staff of the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, first as a Policy Analyst and later as Deputy Director where I directed the finances and operations of the office. Staffing assignments included various committees dealing with environmental, education, health, human services, and taxation issues. I retired from the office in 2017.
During my career with the Legislature I was also active in the National Conference of State Legislatures where I served as chair of the Research and Committee Staff Section and on other committees.