Q: When and how did you become a motorsports enthusiast?
I grew up hanging out at the Woodburn Dragstrip and Portland International Raceway. In the mid-‘70s, my dad raced a 1957 Ford T-Bird in the Oldies but Goodies Drags, while I sat shotgun and picked up the time slips as we drove back up to the line. He then got into road racing with the SCCA in the early ‘80s, and I would head out to the race track to watch and check out all of the cars throughout the spring and summer. I was hooked!
Q: What kind of influence has that had on your life?
The early beginnings at the race track forged my future in motorsports, as I was inspired to manage racing events and race myself. I raced a 1992 Mustang LX in SCCA’s SSGT (Showroom Stock GT) class from 1996 –2000, winning the ’96 Novice Driver of the Year award along with multiple Oregon Region championships. In 2001 and 2002, I was the event manager for the Champ Car races at PIR along with the Inaugural Portland Grand Prix with the ALMS (American Le Mans) series while working at Global Events Group. The friendships and connections I made during this period have allowed for me to start my own social media, marketing, and communications business focusing on motorsports. Motorsports is my passion.
Q: What makes volunteering at World of Speed meaningful to you?
There are two ways that I look at this. The first is that I love talking with the young kids that are just learning about cars, engineering, racing, and so on. They are just so excited to be there and see the amazing cars, exhibits, and videos. They want to learn as much as they can, just like I did at their age. It really allows me to give them the same great entry into motorsports that my dad gave me. Secondly, I love to learn from the experiences and knowledge of our own members, volunteers, and guests. I truly do learn something new every single time I am at World of Speed.
Q: What is the most memorable experience of your time volunteering?
My most memorable experience was when I was working with a Japanese exchange-student group. We were told that the girls in the group had never driven a car before, as the required age for a driver’s license in Japan was 18. As such, they were extremely timid, and it was like pulling teeth to finally get one of the girls to drive the simulator. Once she got in, she was having so much fun you could hear her laughter from 30 feet away! Due to her antics, all the other girls soon got in line to drive and it was such a pleasure to see the sheer joy on their faces along with those of their teachers.
Q: What do you wish other people knew about World of Speed?
The vast knowledge that the volunteers have is so expansive. I would urge all guests to take time to speak to a docent as they peruse the museum. The experience will be so rewarding, and you’ll keep coming back to learn more. We have so many amazing volunteers with vastly different experience within motorsports that you just never know where a conversation will take you!
Q: If you could choose any vehicle to be displayed in the museum, what would it be?
An Aston Martin DB5 or the 1979 Porsche 935 Momo livery #30, as raced at Le Mans.