School Story
I joined the Waggener family after my Sophomore year, transferring in from Shawnee H.S. in the west end of Louisville. The two years in St. Matthews were great and friends were formed at school and church (Bethel). I don't have any great school stories, only some wonderful memories - from German classes with Frau Barrow to stage production at the "Teahouse."
Waggener did set me up for the next phase of schooling - 4 years at West Point and then 7 years on active duty in the Army. I closed out my schooling by going back to grad school after 25 years (1992) at American University; this has been supplemented by receiving an Honorary Doctorate from the State Medical university of Gomel, Belarus.
The past 50 years have been a great blessing and an opportunity serve both God and Country. Eleven years in the Army, reaching the rank of Captain; 20 years of additional Federal service with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where I was responsible for the administration of the U.S. Emergency Operations Center, the assistance provided to Russia and the Ukraine after the accident at Chernobyl and, finally, the oversight of safety at all of the nuclear installations in the Western U.S. in the aftermath of 911.
Judy and i spent four years on a diplomatic posting the the U.N's International Atomic Energy Agency (Vienna, Austria) where i worked with countries, worldwide, in the development and implementation of safety practices and operations, and the inspections associated with the non-proliferation treaty. In this latter duty, we were proud to be part of the IAEA when it received the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.
For the last 10 years, Judy and I have been working on being the best grandparents that we can be. i continue to work with nuclear utilities and developing countries as they try to implement nuclear programs as safely as possible; Judy and I also are doing our best to see that the all of the kids and grandkids have the best memories possible of their time with "memos and papaw."
