You're a UNLV alumni; what was your concentration?
Communications

How long have you been in Vegas?
1987; not a native of Vegas. I actually was born in Texas, a little town outside of Houston called Angleton. It's really only known for Texas prisons and swamps. My father and grandmother actually worked for the Texas prisons as security guards, so I never got away with anything as a child; it was tragic.

Tell us what you do currently?
I am the grassroots events manager for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League--defending champions of the UFL! Before that, I wasthe Director of Public Relations at American National Insurance. Thank you to Ken Gallagher and American National Insurance Co. for supporting me and letting me grow with their organization over the last few years. If it wasn't for their support, I would never have been able to take this dream job with a professional football organization, the Las Vegas Locos.

What do you do when your not working?
I love sports! I wanted to get involved with the Locos because I'm such a huge sports fan. I'm always watching something, no matter what season it is--football, basketball, baseball. I also love playing sports--I love community beach volleyball leagues, bowling.. I also love to go out and about downtown; I love the bar scene there. The Griffin is one of my favorite places. Shows, entertainment--I'm a Vegas boy; tell me what there is to do and I'll want to go do it!

How long have you been a member of VYP?
I've been in VYP for 3 years.

What has been your favorite or most memorable VYP moment?
My most memorable moment of VYP was the first Strip View Speakers Toastmasters meeting that I went to. I'm not going to tell you any detail of what happened at that meeting, because it deserves to stay within the Strip View Speakers. You should all come out, though, and find out what I'm talking about. Basically, I was a nervous person that was afraid to speak in public. I went in there for the first time and met an amazing group of people with a lot of funny stories. They were very entertaining and made me feel welcome right away. That was one of most exciting moments with VYP, because even though I was so nervous, I easily became more comfortable there than I had been in many other networking situations.

What advice would you have for new members of VYP?
I would recommend getting involved. Don't just attend a mixer; don't just attend an excursion or a Bigwig Lunch Time; try them all. Find out which ones you like and then really get involved. The other important piece of advice I would give is to join a committee. It allows you to take advantage of so many more opportunities. The goal here with this organization, or any networking organization, is to meet people, develop connections and develop relationships. With the support of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and Vegas Young Professionals (and any committee you're on), it is much easier to meet other people and develop those relationships. You're going to get a lot more out of VYP if you are on a committee.