What is your favorite hobby?
I collect old brewery items, primarily old cans from 1930 – 1960. I have collected intermittently since the 1970s when I started with my brother. Surprisingly, there is a big market out there, and thanks to the internet, an international group of collectors. I have sold cans to collectors in Australia and Germany. The price for some of these collectibles can go into the five-figure range depending on the rarity. It fills the time when I have it. I have my favorites and have been selling off the rest.
What is your dream vacation?
Being the history buff that I am, I am starting a summer-long trip to Normandy, France, to see WWII sites, taking the time to see more of Europe, and ending up visiting my relatives who still live in Bulgaria. That will hopefully be a retirement gift for myself one day.
What was your first job?
Aside from being a neighborhood lawn mower, leaf raker and snow shoveler beginning at the age of 11 (I was very inexpensive and had a monopoly in the neighborhood), I was a dishwasher before eventually being promoted to a cook at Pappans Restaurant. I hated Saturdays because I had to peel hundreds, if not thousands, of potatoes for the home fries we served to the Sunday breakfast church crowds and, of course, Sunday mornings. After all, it was nonstop.
What TV show or book are you into right now?
I just finished reading “How the Best Did It” by Talmage Boston. It discusses leadership lessons from our top eight presidents. It combines history—a passion of mine—with leadership qualities that can be applied today. I circulate through various book types and mostly read military history books and fictional books by David Baldacci, Robert Ludlum, or similar authors for entertainment.
What is an interesting fact about you most people don’t know?
I have gotten into home brewing and have brewed some craft beers that received high ratings at local competitions. I cannot drink it all, so I give away a lot (What tastes better than free beer, right?). Some of my most popular brews were tangerine wheat, coconut ale, maple scotch ale, and chocolate almond porter. In fact, the first time the idea of ECBuild came up was in my garage, sampling a bourbon-barreled beer. I had just finished making, and now look where we are. I have also had my share of failures that got dumped down the drainpipes after the first taste (or second, just to be sure). It takes about four hours to brew a beer, 2 to 3 weeks to ferment (it could be much longer if it is lagered or a style like an Oktoberfest), a few days to carbonate, and it is ready to drink.