Meet Members of Our Logistics Support Team

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I am a 31-year member of the Fire Service, currently holding the rank of Ops Battalion Chief for the North County Fire Authority in California. I will serve as the PIO while we are trekking across the country. “I’m excited to be part of the team. I can still remember waking to my wife crying out in horror as the 2nd plane hit the Towers that fateful morning. I went on duty that day, vividly remembering the faces and attitudes of my crew as we started our shift, wondering what was next for us and how many of our brothers and sisters had been lost. To say the events of 9/11 have left an indelible mark is an understatement. Whatever I can do to help the team reinforce the phrase, ’Never Forget’ is my Mission.”

I was a volunteer/reserve Firefighter 5 years before I was hired by the City of Santa Clara. I worked for the city for 22 years. I retired with a feeling of some unfinished business.

After a vacation in New York in early September 2001, I flew home from New York on September 10th, early AM. During the flight, I saw three middle eastern men across the aisle and one row back from me. We were seated approximately in the middle of the plane. As soon as we leveled off and the seatbelt sign went off, two of the men got up. One man went to the front area near the cockpit door, and the other went to the rear of the plane. Call it instinct, intuition, FBI profile training, whatever you want; I just knew something wasn’t right. The flight attendant quickly asked the men to return to their seats, and one replied, “we just wanted to stretch out.” Later I heard that dry runs were done just before the attack to know how much they could get away with.

Over the last 20 years, I continue to feel that I could have or should have done something. No real answers ever made me right about what and who I saw that night on the plane. While I’m driving across the country, I will honor the 343 and say my final farewells to each and every one of them.

I am an aspiring broadcast meteorologist and will be gathering and disseminating critical weather intelligence for the team as they traverse the Nation. I have been a ‘weather junkie’ from a very young age. I have made appearances on KPIX, Channel 5 in San Francisco; frequently submitting weather intel and mentioned on KTVU, Channel 2 in San Francisco; and as a local observer for the San Francisco Peninsula for the Weather Channel. A recent graduate from Archbishop Riordan High School in SF, I plan on transferring to one of the Texas universities to complete my education in an area where ‘weather happens.’ My own father, a firefighter for over 30 years, is excited to help the team in this area to assist them with their goal of making sure no one ever forgets!

I served in the United States Marine Corps from 1983 to 1987. After the Marines, I began my dream career in the fire service in 1988 with Foster City Fire Department, and 32 years later, I retired as the Fire Chief of the Redwood City Fire Department in April of 2020.

As a veteran and a firefighter, I remember watching the events unfolding on the morning of September 11th, 2001, knowing our world had changed. I stood outside my house and watched the last commercial plane on final approach to San Francisco Airport being escorted by F-15 fighters. The phrases “Never Forget” and “All gave some, Some gave all” are permanently etched in my heart. The Bay2Brooklyn ride is a perfect example of the commitment to “Never Forget”. I am honored beyond words to be able to help in even a small way so that the riders can fulfill that promise. Their incredible dedication to this ride and its Mission is what America is all about.