After completing two tours in the US Marine Corps as a Team Leader, Platoon Sergeant, and Instructor, Joe became interested in Information Technology while completing his Associate and Bachelor of Arts Degrees and eventually a Master of Science Degree in Telecommunications.
His career spanned 25 years as an Information Technology Contractor to the US Government beginning as a Computer Operator in the Executive Office of the President’s Data Center and finishing as a Network Engineer/Network Security Engineer within the Intelligence Community.
Joe was raised in Northern Virginia and spent most of his life there, aside from his military career, until he married his wife, Gloria, in 2012 and moved to Chapel Hill, NC. After a couple of years working for Cisco Systems in North Carolina, he moved to Houston where he would become introduced to the heat and humidity of Texas which would climatize him to Florida.
Retiring in early 2018, he began contributing to his community by holding several volunteer positions within the Naples UCC as a Stephen Minister and Chair of the Deacons, the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and the Guadalupe Center in Immokalee.
Joe’s interest in Amateur Radio was piqued by his time as a Telecommunications Operator (TCO) in the US Coast Guard. He received his Amateur Radio Technician License in 2021 and his Amateur Extra License the following November. Joe continues to serve his community and the Lee County radio community as a NCS and an Official Relay Station for the Southwest Florida Traffic Net, as a Volunteer Examiner for the Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club, and as the DAEC-Administration for Lee County ARES.