ÎÛÎÛϺ

Culinary Arts addresses the “Employment” aspect of our district’s new focus on the "Three E’s" pathway for every student: Employment, Enlistment, and Enrollment. My courses prepare students for jobs in the Hospitality Industry. Students who have come through my Culinary classes have worked at over 75 up-scale restaurants, chains, and retirement homes around Charlotte County (and that's just who I've heard from). Several manage restaurants, and one is an owner.

I teach lifetime skills in Culinary Arts I, II/III, and IV. I am a proud Tarpon who graduated from Charlotte High School in 1972. My late wife, Joyce, was the bookkeeper here and our three sons were Tarpon athletes. I earned undergraduate degrees in Business and Political Science, and a Masters in Public Administration. I hold certifications in ESE, Social Science, and English.  I currently teach Culinary and am a ServSafe Certified Instructor/Proctor. I have spent many years in the food service industry as a caterer or overseeing a food delivery system in a Windjammer cruise business. 

I became a late-in-life teacher as a way of "giving back" to my school and community. My teaching career began in a Behavior Unit. I was named Tarpon Alum of the Year in 2009, was twice honored as Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5690’s Charlotte County Teacher of the Year, and was named the 2013 VFW District 10, National Citizenship Teachers Award Winner for Grades 9-12 (as a history teacher). 

You will learn “situational awareness” and benefit from the real-world experiences that I bring to the classroom. That includes being a Policy Analyst for two Kansas Governors, being a corporate yacht captain for a Fortune 400 CEO (Tom Monaghan founder of Domino's Pizza and owner of the 1984 World Series Champion, Detroit Tigers, and Ave Maria, the Naples community and college). I wrote a history column for eight years for five editions of the New York Times-owned Sarasota Herald-Tribune. My articles have been published in the Kansas Govt. Journal, Florida Sportsman, and Harbor Style Magazines. I've self-published numerous history books and two editions of a cookbook.  I also hold a 1600-ton Master's License and co-owned and sailed the American National Historic Landmark Schooner, Victory Chimes, a windjammer in Maine for 28 years that I sailed during summers. She had a galley with a cook and two prep chefs who served up to 150 meals a day. After graduation, two of my advanced ServSafe Certified students even worked aboard, an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives. 

Finally, I love Charlotte High School. I developed the CHS 1972 Reunion Committee Scholarship, The Joyce DeGaeta Community Scholarship, and The Askin/Kidd/Levins Vietnam Essay Scholarship. These have provided more than $95,000 to Tarpon seniors over the past 28 years. Each year Culinary Arts awards a Scholarship to one or more students who will pursue that as a career.  I also serve as the unofficial CHS Historian and we’re gearing up for the 2026 Centennial. Here's one bit of Tarpon trivia/history I'm very proud of: Me and my three sons are the winningest family in Tarpon football history. We notched 82 wins, earning two Regional and six District Titles. That helped pay for college for two of us.