My wife and I moved from Portland, Oregon, to Santa Rosa inJuly 2021, though we are not newcomers to the Bay Area. Raised in El Paso, Texas, I moved to San Francisco in 1969, finishing my BA at San Francisco State University and a bit lateran MBA/Marketing at Golden Gate University. My career led me into the advertising agency world, in which I was privilegedto work at top agencies in San Francisco, Southern California and Australia, such as the Bates Group, an international agency specializing in branding. Along the way, I owned and operated a restaurant/cabaret in San Francisco and sat on the Orange County Aids Services Foundation Board. I feel honored and proud to be asked to judge at the 2023 Sonoma County Pride Parade. As a marketing and advertising professional, I will employ my background in visual and verbal communications to judge the messages presented by each entry in light of this year’s theme – “Community – United by Diversity”.