Introduction
As a competitive water skier, I learned the value of skiing the gates early while striving for perfect form.  I have found the goals in technical writing are very similar.  One must strive for perfection in content, structure, and formatting while always keeping time constraints in mind.  I do that for my clients on a day-in and day-out basis.  And whether making the slalom course at 34 mph or completing a complex document for a valued client, I find that each can be equally gratifying.

But you are no doubt more interested in what sets me apart from other technical writers that you are considering hiring.  There are three things that do that: my education, my work experience, and my hobbies.

Education
I graduated in the top ten of my high school class and was editor of the most awarded high school yearbook in the state.  A listing of my post secondary education follows:

     - 2 years liberal arts.................................................St. John's University
     - 1 1/2 years mechanical engineering.........................University of Minnesota
     - 1 year business courses.........................................Normandale and Inver Hills Colleges
     - 1 year multimedia technology................................. St. Paul Technical College
     - 2 years information technology management............Concordia University

I received a certificate in Multimedia Technology from St. Paul Technical College.  And I received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a 4.0 GPA from Concordia University in Information Technology Management.  I can honestly say that I have drawn on all my education as a technical writer.

Work Experience
I got into technical writing and training development at the Toro Company in 1987.  I started out doing service manuals for their consumer gas powered and electrical products.  My work on those manuals included all phases of development including desktop publishing and working with the printers to get them printed. I also did service training for the same products. Our training was instructor led with slide and video training aids. Not only did I develop the training, I also presented across the U.S., Canada, and parts of Europe.  That was a real opportunity to see what worked (and didn't work)
in the field.

In 1993, our small team was given the opportunity to prove our worth.  We were tasked first with improving our training materials.  We answered this request with a tighter training format, better videos, new workbooks. new instructor guides, and testing.  Not only did we receive top marks from our students, we were able to demonstrate skills improvement through our criterion referenced testing program.  Next we were tasked with implementing electronic performance support and computer based training (CBT).  The mountains of legacy data had to be overcome with precise database design and a lot of hard work.  I, along with my team, put in a tremendous amount of unpaid overtime.  We overcame the challenges with a successful rollout of electronic performance support and CBT in 1997.  I received a "Circle of Excellence" award for my work on the data warehouse.

Upon leaving Toro, I worked for two software firms.  There I did online help as well as paper-based user's guides and training manuals.  I found that I enjoyed working with software as much as the mechanical hardware that I had worked with at Toro.

In 2001, I received my degree from Concordia University.  With that in hand, I decided to fulfill a long-held dream and start my own technical writing business.  The challenge of working with new companies and new products has kept my interest ever since.  The work that I've performed as an independent contractor has been a blended mix of technical writing, business writing, and training development.

Hobbies
My hobbies are another aspect of my life that have helped me become a better technical writer.  As a youth, I flew radio control model airplanes competitively.  The sport involved building model aircraft  from blueprints, tuning engines, and working with radios.  While in high school I built a hot rod with my father.

Later in life, home-ownership expanded my technical skills.  Home improvement projects have had me paging through many a manual for the secrets of success.  My home improvement projects include cement work, framing, roofing, sheet rocking, electrical wiring, plumbing, doors, windows, trim, painting,  furniture making and more.  I believe that using manuals helps one gain insight into writing manuals more effectively and helps one become a better reader advocate.

My competitive outlets of water skiing, triathlons, and racing dirt bikes have been more physical than technical, but there has always been a fair amount of reading involved in improving my performance.  In that area, reading has always been a passion for me.

I have built a very respectable library comprised of about 400 select, non-fiction books on business and life.  I often use these books as reference in my writing.  I find that they are useful not only for their content, but also for their structure and formatting.

Conclusion
It is all the above elements that have prepared me for the rigors of contract technical writing and training development.  I'm hopeful that I will have the opportunity to work for you.  Go ahead, give me a call.