[The local Lions Club asked me to prepare a biography about myself for them, in preparation for the speech I'm to deliver at the district L convention this coming November. I sent them the following information:]
[Friends:]
This is Tom Hesley. Here’s the bio information about me you requested..
History
1970 – 1979: Completed elementary, grade, and high schooling at the Western PA School for Blind Children (WPSBC).
1973 – 1979: Worked as a pot and dish washer in the WPSBC kitchens.
1976 – 1981: Held the novice class amateur radio license as well as the third and second class radiotelephone licenses.
1978: Worked as a farm hand in Bellwood, PA, bailing hay, weeding gardens, and other odd jobs.
1978 – 1979: Held a part-time engineering intern position at KDKA radio in Pittsburgh, PA.
1978 – 1979: Worked as a student telephone operator at WPSBC and was also the head technician at the WPSBC student-run radio station.
1979 – 1981: Completed electronics technician training at the Connelley Skill Learning Center in Pittsburgh, PA.
1981 – 1983: Held an electronics position at the University of Pittsburgh, repairing audio visual equipment including TVs, projectors, VCRs, amplifiers, speakers, tape recorders, stereos, lighting systems, and auditorium wiring.
1984 – 1988: Obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science with a minor in mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA.
1988 – 2003: Held various software engineering positions at [...], an electronic publishing company near Dayton, Ohio, where I developed and supported several software systems which to this day, are still turning profit for the company. I led software maintenance teams from 1997 through 2001 there, and at the very end, helped develop a web-based document retrieval system.
1998 – 2003: Maintained Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) expert status for the following computer operating systems: Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT 4.0.
Current Activities
1992 – Present: Holding an Extra Class amateur radio license.
2002 – Present: Running a part-time mobile disc jockey business, called Tommy’s Tunes Professional Disc Jockey Services.
2003 – Present: Pursuing writing full-time, with hopes of publishing motivational books for the lovelorn. I also participate in a monthly writer’s workshop group in Bellwood, PA.
2004 – Present: Holding the treasurer’s post in the alumni organization at WPSBC.
2005 – Present: Bellwood Antis Lions Club member, where I and routinely assist in their fundraising activities.
Interests
I enjoy classic literature, [studying] world religions, science fiction, music, maintaining a healthy life style, home maintenance, computers, old time radio, ham radio, and camping at Beacon Lodge in Mount Union, PA.
Tom Hesley