I started collecting coins in Boy Scouts while earning a merit badge in coins. During the late 1970s and most of the 1980s, school consumed most of my spare time. I spent 6 years in the Naval Reserves as an Aviation Electronic Technician. I was also heavily involved in the American Red Cross teaching swimming, lifesaving, CPR, first aid, sailing, canoeing, and adapted aquatics. I became an instructor in each of these, with more than 2,500 hours of volunteer service and was also a swim coach at many different levels.