How did you find Chronicle and what made you join the team?

I can not sell a product if I don’t believe in it. I found Chronicle through the review site Capterra which is also how identified my last 4 employers over the last 20 years. I start with their review score then I look at screenshots of the software and make sure it’s not an outdated technology. So the way I find a job is I pick the company I am going to work for and I sell myself to them.

The reason I chose Chronicle is for the Life Chronicle feature which is brand new. I think that is going to be a revolution in the cemetery industry and it’s only in its infancy right now. I believe that these “digital tombstones” are going to be the norm in the industry in 10 years. Chronicle has it today! That will make my job easy.

What’s your favorite activity to do outside work?
I am a huge football and baseball fan so this is my happy time of the year. My wife and I enjoy traveling. We made it to Malaysia, Turkey, Rhodes, Bali, London, Roatan and Mexico before Covid 19 pandemic. My current favorite pastime is chasing my toddler granddaughter around the house.

What is your biggest fear?
Losing a loved one.

Who is your hero and why?
My father. He is 84 years young and in better shape than I am. He served in Vietnam and played football for the Air Force Academy and made it around the world numerous times.  

3 words to describe you.
Loyal, determined, and loving.

What advice would you give to your kids and the people you care about?
Avoid anything that is addictive. Take care of your teeth! Love as though you haven’t been hurt.

Please share a story about you that you would tell your great-grandchildren, or what would the story in your Life Chronicle looks like?

My father grew up in St Louis and was the son of a bus driver. He spent summers with his grandparents in Marthasville Missouri playing baseball and football.

My father was a career pilot for a major airline and eventually made Captain. On one of his flights in the 1970s, his plane was struck by lightning on final approach which is not uncommon but this particular strike made him uneasy. However, his instruments showed no alarms. He was scheduled to take off again and take the same plane to its next destination. He refused to do so until the plane went through a full inspection which takes hours. He was ordered to fly the plane and refused.

He was contemplating how he would be disciplined when the inspection report came back stating that the fuel pump in one of the wings had shorted out and if he had taken off, the plane would have only used fuel from one wing. And as he tells it, “Eventually you would have to fly it sideways which you can do….right before you hit the ground.” There were over 100 people on that flight who have no idea of what transpired and were probably complaining about their flight delay.