I have been involved in the Ski School and Race Departments at Hoodoo Ski Area since 1989. Starting as a part-timer, I now find that I have been running these departments as well as setting up most of our computer network and designing and writing many of our custom database programs for the last four years.

Hoodoo is a great smaller area at the top of the Santiam Pass that excels as a family area, but has some great expert terrain as well. Known affectionately as the home of the "Steep, Deep, and Cheap" by the locals it will make a real skier out of you.

I have gotten very involved in the Professional Ski Instructors of America over the years I have been teaching. I am presently a Level III Certified Instructor and am on the Board of Directors for the Northwest Division of PSIA, representing the Bend, Oregon Region.

If you have any questions about or interest in the PSIA please e-mail me or click one of links above.

5-String Banjo Player

I have been playing the banjo on and off for the last 20 years. I started out away from other banjo playing influences so it took me a while to get it together. Enjoyed 5 years playing with the group High Strung in Vail, CO and have played with various groups since. I am the only local musician that has been invited to sit in with groups at the High Mountain Dixieland Jazz Festival here in Sisters, unusual invite for a bluegrass instrument.

My interest spans a range including bluegrass, classical, a bit of jazz and classic rock. If you have an interest in the banjo you should check out some of the following links:

• Banjo Tablature Archive

• Phil's Banjo & Tablature Pages

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City Councilor - City of Sisters, Oregon

I had either the fortune or misfortune (I haven't quite figured that out yet!) to be elected to this position in 1992. This was very unusual for a smaller community populated largely by very old time locals to elect such a newcomer in to this position. It has turned out to be a love / hate type of thing in as much as there are no winners, usually, with the issues that you have to deal with.

I try to at least make sure that all of the issues have the various facets aired and discussed, and although sometimes I vote for some things that I am not totally happy with, usually I have made some significant changes toward my viewpoint before the public has a chance to see it come to vote. Do I sound like a politician? Bummer!

My term is up at the end of this year. Should I run again??? I don't relish the idea of another 4 years beating my head against the wall, but, on the other hand, it would scare me to see what would evolve if someone like me was not there. If you have any feedback, Please Let Me Know!

Sailing - A Dance with the Wind

"Between a soft caress and a mad twirl, the breezes either kiss the craft or slap her flow.
Follow as you can, Skipper, for the rythm that I give you is a beat you should know."

Sailing has been a part of me since my youth and our family sailing vacations that were spent on chartered boats for a couple of weeks, usually in the Chesapeake Bay. I have enjoyed cruising type sailing for many years including a dual handed 21 day Puerto Vallarta to California trip in the middle of the summer HurricaneSeason. As kids we gave up Woodstock to sail the Chesapeake in the middle of Hurricane (!! middle age is a bitch. What was the name of that Hurricane???) that hit that weekend and devastated the East Coast as well as leaving Woodstock a giant mud puddle.

I sold yachts for 2 years in San Diego, living on a 44' Peterson for a good part of the time. One of the advantages of being a Yacht Broker is that if you see a boat that you would like to go out on, all you have to do is sell it and you are gauranteed a ride on the sea trials. Life in a marina has some advantages as well.

The sailing life in the mountains of Oregon is relegated now to the sailing in the lakes on my 16' Laser (very fun boat). Actually, I make it sound worse than it is as this sailing tends to be no mean feat with the way the winds operate up here in the mountains. The above quote gives a feel for the type of dance that you play with the winds on the mountain lakes. A 180 degree wind reversal in a matter of seconds is not unusual at all. Quite a suprise when you are hiked out on the weather side to find that you are now on the lee and very wet side!

Windsurfing has also been a pleasure that I enjoy although I am lacking the appropriate equipment at the moment.