I am a graduate of Wheeling Park High School, West Virginia University and Ohio University. Now retired after a thirty-five-year teaching career, I was a National Board-Certified Teacher, educator of the year for the 2018-2019 school year, and Wheeling Chamber of Commerce teacher of the year. I have always had a great interest in history, especially that of the Civil War. That interest intensified exponentially upon visiting Gettysburg for the first time. I recently published my first book, Born of Rebellion: West Virginia and the Civil War. I am the vice vice-president of the Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable and serve on the Board of Education of Ohio County, WV. In addition I serve on the Board of the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation and was recognized as a West Virginia History Hero in 2022.