About

Mike was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 13, 1946. He was brought up in the suburb of Skokie on Chicago’s northwest side and graduated from Niles Township ( East ) high school In 1964. Two years later he joined the US Air Force in November of 1966. After 2 years of Intense training he volunteered for Viet Nam and was sent to Bien Hoa Airbase, which was 25 miles from Saigon, the nation’s capital. He volunteered for a number of especially dangerous missions on his days off, such as flying as a door gunner on a US Army helicopter and as a technical assistant on a psychological operation on an Air Force O-1E observation aircraft. Capping off his impressive accomplishments was winning the coveted Base Airman of the Month for March 1969, a feat which was featured in the Pacific Stars And Stripes newspaper read by every service man stationed in the Pacific theater of operations. After his Viet Nam tour of duty he was stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona where he met and married his wife, Lequita. He graduated from Arizona State University in May, 1973, and after a 30-plus year career as a financial advisor he joined a number of service organizations including Easter Seals and Valley Forward, sponsor of EarthFest. He was also involved with the National Federation of Independent Business and became the longest-serving chairman of the Leadership Committee ever. He spoke before the ( AZ ) House Ways and Means & Senate Finance committees. He then joined Disabled American Veterans ( DAV ) in September of 2015. He rose quickly through the ranks and became Chapter 8 Commander in May of 2019 where he served with Distinction for 3 years before being “ termed out”. The next year, as Vice Commander, he won the title of National Champion Recruiter!