How it all began!

Thinking back to my childhood years, there was no doubt that I was destine to be an aviator and somehow always involved in the aviation industry.

While most young guys were chasing girls and striving to have the best car in high school, I was not to be bothered as I could only think about airplanes and flying.

I call it my life's passion and curse as I've been many times called a workaholic, but I just laugh at the work jokes because deep in side I know this is not really work at all if I love it!  I mean how could it be?  I look forward to the everyday challenges of the business of which have not been so very good these last few years thanks to our lovely economy.  Even though business is slow and sales are few, the love of the business and the joy of flight still remain a passion of mine.

I've heard that if you love what you do then you will never work a day of your life.  Oh so true!

Perhaps this passion comes from my grandfathers of which both were pilots and loved aviation, but then again my dad had absolutely no interest in aviation at all so perhaps this sickness skips a generation.

Coming from meager means as a child my family could not afford to pay for my pilot lessons, so financially speaking it was up to me 100%.  I looked for the highest paying job that a 16 year old high school freshman could get in the very small town of which I grew up in.  That happened to be a very popular and busy grocery store.  Of course every kid in high school was competing with me to become a box boy and jobs were very hard to come by at the time.

A close friend of the family once gave me some advise that has stuck with me since.  He said, "Son if you want something bad enough then you will figure out a way to get it".  Don't give up!  Put on a tie and go visit that store manager twice a week or more, and let him know you really want that job!  I did exactly that and was successful after a few weeks.

Later on the store manager became a very good friend of mine and he told me that he had actually hired me, not because he needed a box boy but because I was so persistent, plus he was sick of me coming in and bugging him for the job!

To this day I still believe that if you truly want something really bad enough you will figure out how to get it with some well thought out goals and some hard work.

So every dollar I made as a box boy went to flying lessons and a 1969 firebird.

Having all my flight ratings before I was a high school senior allowed the passion to build as I strived to gain more flight experience in larger aircraft which wasn't easy, but I prevailed non the less.

Once I graduated from high school I continued my college education at Oregon State University and continued to fly as much as I could given my work and school schedule.

During college one summer a good friend of my Granddads of which owned a lumber company, paid for my type rating in his Cessna Citation Jet.  That was the last straw and I was hooked for life!

Flying right seat in a Citation, going to college and working as a clerk at Albertson's keep me pretty busy but it was a very fun busy indeed.  Hard work but fun!

After finishing college, I went to work for an Airline and after doing that for a while I decided that the idea of working for a large company and just being a number, no longer interested me as I wanted so much more.  The flying was still fun but I wanted to make much more and expand my experience in the industry.

I went to work for the Cessna Aircraft Company here in the west as a Regional Sales Manager.  I got to fly around in new Cessnas and meet new people which I loved.

I shortly discovered that sales in the aviation business was what I wanted to do.  After all, sales in any industry is the top earning way to go plus the flying was there as a derivative!

After a few years I was recruited over to another newer aircraft company called Commander Aircraft Company.  I excelled greatly as a Regional Sales Manager and sold a ton of Commanders.  I was the top seller for the company for several years and made a lot of money.

When the economy took a strong dip in 2001 the mismanaged company that I worked for went bankrupt and I was out of a job.

I decided that I would no longer be held to the strict boundaries of which I had no control over with another man's company, and I opened OakTree Aviation Services.

Some folks wonder why I named my company "OakTree"?  Well in this part of California’s central valley the Oak Tree is very prevalent and domestic.  These trees can become very huge and majestic and they are not only highly coveted but also protected in some cities from being cut down.  Perfect!

The success of my company has been great in my estimation.  Yes times are hard in the aviation industry but I have grown so much since the early days and have well over 10,000 hours of flight experience.

I am very busy and highly sought after for both aircraft appraisals, as well as a professional witness.

I do a lot of consulting in the business and folks seek me out for assistance with aircraft acquisitions of anything from a single engine Cessna to Gulfstreams.

I thrive on integrity and creditability and I love helping my fellow aviators and aircraft owners achieve their goals.  I have mentored several young aviators over the years and I am very proud of that.

The best part of my job of which I really and truly love, is that all of my past customers become my good friends after the business is finished and I am a better person because of that which I am very thankful for.