The story of my career starts in Washington, D.C. during my Senior year of College. I spent my Fall Semester with 24 of my fellow classmates as we interned in the various offices in our Nation’s Capitol. I was able to secure an internship in the office of my hometown Congressman, CW “Bill” Young, a senior member in the minority party. As my semester drew to a close , I inquired about a permanent position and was offered on upon graduation.
Coming back to Washiington after my graduation, I assumed the position of Legislative Aid for Congressman Young.. During the two and a half years with the Congressman, I was able to hone my research and writing skills. I was also afforded the opportunity to work out of the distict office back in St. Petersburg on occassion . Upon returning to St. Petersburg, I was recruited to serve as Campaign Manager for two political campaigns including the Mayor’s race in St. Pete. As I found out, campaign management is really akin to running a start-up. You are responsible for the planning, budget development, acquisition of funds and hiring of staff. During this time, I began utilizing the latest technologies to assist with the managment of information, the personal computer, my trusty Commodore 64 followed by an IBM clone.
From my campaign beginnings in St. Petersburg, I was recruited to Tallahassee to run the Florida House Campaign Committee by the GOP. As the Director for this organization, I was tasked with recruiting the candidates in key legislative districts, assisting those candidates with campaign planning, staffing and overbite of their campaigns, as well as, the staffing of my regional campaign offices. This position built upon my previous skills by challenging me to enhance my staff management skills, monitoring and accessing multiple projects and winning the confidence of those individuals with greater experience and age.
