Current job title: Chief development officer, Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center.

Hometown: Hazard.

Family: Beautiful wife Jenny, an amazing mother to our three children who fill our lives with joy, learning, activity … and the occasional challenge.

The one thing no one knows about me is … even though I enjoy making an impact through my work, I would love to live simply on a tropical beach with no daily commitment except to go with my wife to the seaside hammock with nonfiction books on American history, fiction books by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and select beverages.

My dream job is … leading a large organization with power, resources and cache to truly change lives and communities. An example would be serving as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

My first job was … mowing lawns and doing other occasional work for several ladies in the neighborhood where I grew up.

The best advice I ever got was … from a quote by John F. Kennedy. He once said that “Too often we … enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” I try to continue growing personally by working to thoughtfully respond instead of simply react.

My hero (and why) is … my paternal grandfather. He always loved, cared and worked for those around him, whether family, church, co-workers, friends or simply one who needed help. Growing up with grandparents living on the same street as me, I was witness to actions and the spirit in which he made them, whether something done for me, taught to me or for the benefit of others. Because he lived the golden rule daily, I grew up surrounded by family that to this day lives out what he taught and expected. Though gone from this Earth for more than 30 years, he is still with me.

If I could do it all over again, I … really don’t know. How far back do I go? How many things would I change? Sure, there are individual things that occurred and decisions made that I may prefer to modify, but would that change my path for the good? Would I end up never meeting people who are important in my life today? I am the sum of my experiences, relationships and decisions. This question for me is more about what I can learn from the good and the bad and where it takes me from here.

The part of my job I could do without is … the constant need to help people realize that SKyPAC wasn’t designed to operate on ticket sales alone. Let’s have conversations about educational experiences for children and SKyPAC’s effects on economic activity. Let’s have them on equal footing with conversations about the next show. Let’s talk about breadth of impact across the community and not solely about entertainment.

The one thing I always carry with me is … the knowledge that I am blessed beyond measure and am assured an eternal life through my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Best meal I ever had was … on a picnic table. Jenny and I sat under a sunny, blue sky at a local seafood joint on the intra-coastal waterway in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. We dined on fresh, local, flavorful, steamed seafood, the simple memory of which still makes my mouth water.

At the top of my bucket list is … traveling with my family to major U.S. national parks and historic sites to see them for myself, AND to see them through the eyes of my children.