Mike’s family has been in Virginia for well over 200 years. He was born in California while his father was serving in the United States Navy. His father, a career naval officer, settled the family down in Annandale, Virginia when Mike was in grade school. He graduated from Annandale High School and joined the labor force as a carpenter’s apprentice working his way up to lead carpenter. After working several years in the construction field and saving enough money for tuition, Mike was accepted into the Electrical Engineering program at Virginia Tech. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics. Mike joined the United States Navy, completed Aviation Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as an ensign in August of 1980. In June of 1981 Mike earned his wings as a United States Naval Aviator.
Mike served for 6 years on active duty. In addition to flying as a plane commander on the P-3 Orion, he also served as an instructor pilot. Mike separated from active duty and took a position as a pilot for Northwest Airlines in 1986. While flying for Northwest Airlines, Mike continued to fly as a reserve officer with the United States Naval Reserve. He retired from the Navy in 2002 with a combined 22 years of service. Mike is currently a Captain on the Airbus 320. While at Northwest, Mike was selected to be an instructor pilot as well as a check airman in the training division. He also volunteered to be the contract administrative point man to serve his fellow pilots. In this position, Mike assisted his fellow pilots as they tried to interpret a union contract that was (like our congressional legislation) hundreds of pages long and filled with legal doublespeak. Between his military service and the airlines, Mike traveled the world. He has had the opportunity to meet and work with people throughout Europe, Asia, North and Central America. He is also president of Liberty Trading Partners Incorporated a small financial services corporation.
In March of 2010, Mike and his wife Meggan celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. They settled in North Garden, Virginia in 1993, where they raised their family.
Mike and Meggan have two daughters, two sons and one son-in-law. Katie and her husband, Matt, are both graduates of The College of William and Mary and Eastern Virginia Medical School. They currently reside in Norfolk, Virginia. Jacob, a graduate of UVA, is a second year medical student at Eastern Virginia Medical School. Hunter is a recent graduate of Virginia Tech with a degree in civil engineering and a small businessman. Sami is currently a senior at James Madison University. She will graduate in the spring with a degree in Theatre.
When you meet Mike, the first thing that you will notice is that Mike is not a politician. He is a working man and has been his whole life. If you ask him a question, he will give you a straight answer. You may not always agree with him, but you will never be in doubt about where he stands on any issue nor his commitment to constitutional principles.
