Events

Michael Spraggins Jr. is a 4th generation Floridian whose family has extensive Rotary Club of Orlando history. His grandfather WA McCree, father, great uncle, uncle, cousin, and others were and are very active in Orlando Rotary.  Today, Michael is the CEO of Spraggins Inc., a 39 year old Orlando based building products and specialty construction business with operations throughout Florida.  

In 2009, Michael founded an African focused non-profit, LifeNet International.  Today, LifeNet franchises faith based health centers and hospitals in four African countries.  Serving well over 1 million patients per year and operating in over 100 healthcare facilities, LifeNet is using innovative service delivery in collaboration with the local church to transform African health care.  

Michael has been married for 21 years to Beth and has three children Sarah Beth (19), Emma (17) and Ben (6).

Fritz Scheller, a graduate of University of California at Berkley, has been working as a federal defender in Central Florida since 2002 and now serves as a counselor for the Federal Middle District of Florida. In that role, he represents clients who otherwise could not afford legal representation in a federal case.

Scheller's firm focuses on cases involving appeals, federal prosecution, immigration removal proceedings, white-collar crimes, IRS tax cases and more. Scheller employs a three-pronged approach involving investigation, mitigation and litigation when it comes to defending his clients.

Most notably, Scheller defending Groveland Police Department officer Cindy Homelius who was fired and arrested after using a department credit card to buy party supplies for the department-sponsored Explorer Scout post. The charges against Homelius were dropped and the Public Employees Relations Commission ruled that the city was retaliating against Homelius because she was trying to bring a union to the department.

You will meet our Group Study Exchange team, (Left to Right) Voncara Daly, Greg Territo, Denise Behling, Bryan Moman, Amanda Gunter and Fred Jones.  The team will be sharing their recent trip to Australia and the future of the Group Study Exchange.

Dan Bone joins us from Franklin Templeton, where he has spent the last 25 years of a 35 year career in Investment Management. Dan is a Vice President and Senior Advisor Consultant and works with financial advisors throughout Central and North Florida….Dan holds a CIMA designation ( Certified Investment Management Analyst ) from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Dan is a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, and has lived here in Central Florida since 1984.

Dan and his beautiful wife Betsy recently celebrated their 34thwedding anniversary, and they have two grown (and married!) children, Emily and Jeff.

David Morillo was born and raised in the South Bronx.  He currently serves as the Strategic Relationship Manager at Full Sail University.  David’s main objective is to ensure that the university remains on task in developing mutually advantageous partnerships and relationships with organizations.

He delivers a positive impact to K-12 learners, college students, and industry professionals through the power of technology and innovation.  David’s academic background includes a B.S. in Internet Marketing and an M.S. in Instructional Design & Technology.

David and his wife Dayana serve as licensed ministers under Love Gospel Worship Center of Orlando, a non-denominational Christ-centered church located in Orlando, FL.  They have two girls, Emma Grace and Esther Joy.

Dick Batchelor is a former member of the Florida House of Representatives and is president of Dick Batchelor Management Group, Inc. During his eight years of legislative service, Batchelor held several leadership roles. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as a member of a U.S. delegation to South Africa to observe the elections and meet with president Nelson Mandela, and later to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.

Batchelor established his own consulting group in 1986 that specializes in business development, strategic governmental affairs and public policy issues. In 2002, Batchelor was named “Central Floridian of the Year” by the Orlando Sentinel for his successful efforts to generate more than $2 billion in funding for Orange County Public Schools.
 
Batchelor has served as the honorary chairman of the “Dick Batchelor Run for the Children” since 1981. It is the largest annual fundraiser for the Howard Phillips Center for Children and Families— part of the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.In addition to his annual “Run for the Children,” Dick Batchelor is an advocate for a number of children’s causes, both locally and nationally. In 2010, he was the recipient of the LawtonChiles Advocacy Award and has been named among the “50 Most Powerful People in Orlando” on numerous occasions.

John W. Bozard  is senior vice president, Orlando Health; president, Orlando Health Foundation; and president, Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation. John joined Orlando Health in 1977 as an internal auditor and has held numerous positions including financial analyst; director and vice president of Finance; president, vice president and executive director of Arnold Palmer Hospital; and vice president of Business Development.

A graduate of Florida State University, John is a CPA and certified fundraising executive. He is the current national chairman of the board of trustees for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Mr. Bozard serves on LIFT Orlando Impact Investment Fund Committee. He also is a member of the Florida Baptist Financial Services Board, Florida Baptist Retirement Center Board and New York City-based Board of the Foreign Service Fellowship.

John has previously served as a board member of Arnie’s Army Charitable Foundation,  Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce, Frontline Outreach, Better Business Bureau, Parent Resource Center, Visiting Nurses Association, FSU College of Medicine, and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida. John also served on the Sun Trust Administrative Board and the Clear Channel Advisory Board, and he is a past chairman of the Orange County Citizens Commission for Children, the board of trustees of First Baptist Church/Orlando, and Community Hospitals and Healthcare Systems.

Ron joined Rotary in 1991 and a year later was named the club's Rotarian of the year.  He has held several officer and director positions including President 3 times.  In 2003, Ron and his wife Sue were jointly awarded the club's Service Above Self Award.

Ron has served twice as a District Service Chair, three times as an Assistant Governor, a RYLA Group Leader and is a Rotary Leadership Institute Discussion leader before being named the 2018-19 District Governor.   He has hosted Homestay and several GSE team members.  In 2013-14, he received the District Spirit of Rotary Above and Beyond Award.   

He has been married to his wife, Sue for 45 years. They met skiing, and love to travel, having visited 6 continents and nearly 50 countries.

Ron is a member of the Paul Harris Society, a level two Bequest Society member and a Major Donor.

David Henry is a Contract Administrator with the Department of Defense in Orlando where he manages a portfolio of nineteen contractors and over two hundred supply and service contracts. He periodically deploys to support military or humanitarian missions, worldwide. His most recent deployment was with NATO in Afghanistan from 2017-2018.

Prior to joining the Department of Defense, David was a Warranted Contracting Officer with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a YMCA Executive, and served 26 years with the US Army and Air Force where he flew F-105G and F-4D fighter aircraft as a Combat Systems Officer.
 

David was presented the Exceptional Service Award by the Civil Air Patrol in 1993 for his 26 years of volunteer work with that organization. In 1996 David was selected as the YMCA of the USA National Volunteer of the Year and was also recognized by the Savannah Guardian Newspaper with the Celebrate Savannah Award for his work with YMCA youth sports. In 2005, he was honored as the Branch Executive of the Year by the YMCA Professional Association of Georgia.

David is a founding member of the Rotary Club of Pooler, GA while he and his wife Lisa are members of our Rotary Club.

David is a graduate of Georgia State University-BS, Air Command and Staff College, and Purdue Global University-MPA. He enjoys running, backpacking, alpine climbing, and travelling with his wife Lisa.

Grant Cornwell took office as 15^th president of Rollins College in 2015, following eight years as president of The College of Wooster and 21 years at St. Lawrence University as vice president and dean of academic affairs, and as a faculty member.

Nationally recognized for his work in defining liberal learning in a global environment, he writes regularly about multiculturalism, freedom, diversity, and global citizenship. Cornwell is a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and chairs the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ LEAP Presidents’ Trust.

He is also a member of the executive committee of Florida Campus Compact and has served on the boards of AAC&U and Teach for America, the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Literacy Advisory Board, and the American Council on Education’s Commission on International Initiatives.

He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and biology from St. Lawrence, and master's and doctoral degrees in philosophy from the University of Chicago.

Anthi Christou is an expert on urban resilience, is Resilience Communications Manager of the City of Athens, Greece.  For the past decade, Athens has experienced a serious socio-economic crisis.  Through concerted efforts, it has managed to survive, adapt and transform into a more creative and collaborative city  Through partnerships with NGOs, academic institutions, private organizations and others, the municipality has built robust networks for critical relief, social services and other initiatives.

Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Christou has a diverse background in law and communication studies, along with a passion for urban politics, social media and networking.  She has work experience as a community manager for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations.  From 2013 to 2016, she was a member of the core team of the Athens Municipality awarded civil society platform, "synAthina".  Since 2016, Anthi has served as the Communications Manager of the Resilient Athens program and is responsible for the stakeholder engagement process of the Athens Resilience Strategy.

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971, Robert D. Cabana was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He completed Naval Flight Officer training in Pensacola in 1972 and served as an A-6 bombardier/navigator with Marine Air Wings in Cherry Point, N.C., and Iwakuni, Japan. He returned to Pensacola in 1975 for pilot training and was designated a Naval Aviator in September of 1976, earning the Daughters of the American Revolution award as the top Marine to complete flight training that year. He graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1981, and served in the Flight Systems Branch at the Naval Air Test Center until 1984.

Cabana was selected as an astronaut candidate in June 1985 and completed his initial astronaut training in early 1986. He was assigned to the Johnson Space Center Astronaut Office, serving in a number of leadership positions including lead astronaut in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory; lead CAPCOM in Mission Control; and Chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office.

A veteran of four space flights, he has logged over 910 hours in space, serving as the pilot on missions STS-41 and STS-53, and Mission Commander on STS-65 and STS-88, the first assembly mission of the International Space Station in December of 1998. Following STS-88, he served in numerous, successively challenging, senior management positions, ultimately becoming Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston; Director of the Stennis Space Center in Miss.; and, currently, tenth Director of the Kennedy Space Center in Fla. He retired as a Colonel from the United States Marine Corps in September 2000, and was appointed a member of NASA’s Senior Executive Service.

He has logged over 7,000 hours in over 50 different kinds of aircraft. He is a Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a 2008 inductee into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. He has received numerous personal awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award, the National Space Club Florida Committee's Dr. Kurt H. Debus Award, and in 2015, he was the recipient of the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement, the National Space Trophy.

Dr. Phil Hoffman holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from The University of Akron. He also holds a Master's and Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication. His professional experience includes working in broadcasting for more than 35 years, in positions ranging from entry level to general manager. He is currently serving as the Executive Director of WUCF-PBS and WUCF-FM in Central Florida.

His resume includes positions at WLSR-AM, WKDD-FM, WCUE-AM, WTIG-AM, WAKR-AM, WONE-FM, WAPS-FM, WOAC-TV, WAKC-TV, KMOS-TV, and WNEO/WEAO-TV. For 15 years, he served as a faculty member and lead the students of Z-TV at The University of Akron, where the students have earned more than 30 Emmy nominations and won multiple Emmy Awards. Those students also got jobs with CBS, NBC, Fox, and many other media outlets. He has also worked as an independent producer/editor for ABC, ESPN, Britain’s ITV, and a host of Fortune 500 corporations.

A multiple Emmy Award winning producer and director, Dr. Hoffman has produced documentaries for PBS affiliates across the U.S. Since 2002, he has been nominated for more than 25 Emmy Awards by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In 2017 he served as executive producer of “The Groveland Four,” a feature length film about racial injustice in the U.S. He also serves as the host of “Central Florida Roadtrip” on WUCF.

Phil is a respected authority on early punk music, having produced two documentaries about the Ohio punk music scene. This work included bands like Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders, Devo, and The Waitresses, known for the holiday hit “Christmas Wrapping.” Phil is also a recognized authority on local TV horror movie hosts of the 1960s and 1970s, having produced films including “Turn Blue: The Short Life of Ghoulardi,” and “Monsters Among Us.”

A native of Akron, Ohio; Hoffman is married to award-winning artist Joan Fagan-Hoffman whose work has been featured in the North Carolina Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art. His daughter Mina was a King Family Fellow at Point Park University Cinema School and is now a film director, and his daughter Marissa is currently a third-year law student at The University of Denver.

The Rotary Club of Orlando will feature as program the Honorable O.H. Eaton, Jr., Circuit Judge (Retired).  Judge Eaton is an expert in judicial management of capital cases (death penalty possible) and a keen observer of criminal law and procedure.  For many years, he taught at the Florida College of Advanced Judicial Studies and also, the National Judicial College in Reno, NV.  In both instances, Judge Eaton’s subject matter was the handling of capital cases.  His students were other Judges.

With this background, Judge Eaton has accepted our invitation to share his critical thoughts on issues involving the bail bond industry and its current role in criminal procedure and practice in Florida.  Last spring he authored a My Word column in the Orlando Sentinel on this subject. 

Before his retirement, O.H. Eaton was Chief Judge of the 18^th Judicial Circuit sitting in Sanford. Born and raised in Central Florida, Judge Eaton is a Vietnam veteran.  Upon graduating from the University of Florida College of Law, he began his legal career as an Assistant State Attorney.  This was followed by a period in private practice before being elected Circuit Judge.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities as noted above, Judge Eaton has served as a legal analyst on local television and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors to the Florida Innocence Project.  Judge Eaton has been recognized by his peers with several professional awards for judicial excellence both local and statewide.  

His analysis promises to enlighten the group to current procedures followed statewide, the result of which determines which offenders go back on the street and which ones remain in jail awaiting trial.

You are urged to consider bringing a guest who may have an interest in this discussion. 

Leon Handley, Of Counsel, practices out of the firm's Orlando office. His practice focuses on civil trial defense work. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is a member of The Florida Bar, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, the International Association of Defense Counsel, the Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel, the American Judicature Society, and the American Bar Association. Honors have been received by Leon from The Best Lawyers of America, Who's Who in Finance and Industry, Who's Who in the South and Southwest, Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in America, and Who's Who in the World. He is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

For more than 50 years, Leon has had a successful legal career practicing in Orlando. He has traveled extensively, lecturing on the subject of trial practice and has acted as a master of ceremonies and a keynote speaker for many events. He has also been involved in a number of local community organizations, including serving as Past President and Life Director of the Central Florida Fair, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of WMFE, Past Chairman of the Community Service Award Committee of Walt Disney World® and a Trustee of Lake Highland Preparatory School. Positions held with corporate affiliations include Past Chairman of the Board of Directors of Beneficial Savings Bank; Past President and Director of the Southern Industrial Savings Bank; Vice President and Director of Claude H. Wolfe, Inc.; President and Director of Cracker Groves of Florida, Inc., and President and Chairman of the Board of Mine and Mill Supply Co., Inc. of Lakeland.

Leon earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with honors, and his J.D., both from the University of Florida in a total of four years. Before attending college, Leon was a Warrant Officer in the United States Maritime Service, with sea duty to Italy. He served the country overseas in Korea as a Sergeant in the Army and was the first Air Force Cadet Colonel in Florida R.O.T.C. history. At the end of his military career, Handley retired as Captain in the United States Air Force Reserve.

In the late sixties Bob Snow started Rosie O’Grady’s  Good Time  Emporium in a derelict area of downtown Pensacola, Florida.  This effort resulted in Seville Quarter, an entertainment and dining  complex which is still the largest tourist attraction between New  Orleans and Orlando and is considered the first urban entertainment complex in  America. About the same time, he started Rosie O’Grady’s  Flying Circus, and as the chief skywriter and  balloon pilot, spread the goodtime word across the  skies of America with this exciting nostalgic aerial extravaganza. With world class balloonist Col. Joe Kittinger, his VP of Flight  Operations he flew gas and hot air balloons across America, Europe,  Australia, Africa, and Russia.  Together, as the USA team, they won a  number of national and world competitions, and set some world records  in the  process. In 1972, Bob put together a larger operation in  Orlando, Florida which became Church Street  Station, the fourth largest tourist attraction in  Florida.  At one point the complex employed  over 900 people and was the largest privately  owned food and beverage operation in the  country when he sold it in 1990.

Both operations were credited with the total downtown revitalization and restoration of their respective  cities. Bob subsequently opened the Main Street Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas,  Nevada and then moved back to Orlando to create his worldwide project consulting  company, Snow & Associates. Bob has worked on joint venture development projects with his friend Jim Rouse’s Enterprise Development  Company in cities around the world.  Together with Jim, he has worked on the design and development of  numerous urban entertainment and casino projects including MGM, Harrah’s, RKO Pictures, Station  Casino, Universal Studios, and Main Street Station. He has received numerous architectural and civic awards including the  Florida Businessman of the Year, the John Young Award, and the Synergy  Award from The Society of American Registered Architects. The City of Orlando dedicated a prominent downtown street, “Bob Snow  Lane”, in his honor in 1992.  Bob lives with his wife Linda in Orlando.

Dr. Dan Chong is an Associate Professor at Rollins College, teaching courses in international human rights, global poverty, and peace and conflict resolution.  He has led international field study courses focused on human rights and poverty to Guatemala, Cuba, South Africa, Tanzania, and the Thai-Burma border. His first book, Freedom from Poverty: NGOs and Human Rights Praxis, analyzes the methods that NGOs use to advocate for rights to food, housing, and health care. His most recent book, Debating Human Rights, examines major controversies in the field of human rights. He has also contributed to journals such as Development and Change, Human Rights Review, and Global Environmental Politics. He is also the Faculty Co-Director of the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub at Rollins.

The Rotary Club of Orlando will deck the halls with a festive performance by The Ladies 4.  Under the direction of Mr. Derric Johnson, creator of Disney’s Voices of Liberty, we will be treated to a program that is sure to leave us in the Christmas spirit!  Please join us on December 20th for our Christmas program and the presentation of uplifting Christmas songs by the beautiful voices of The Ladies 4.

Brian Brenneman is a vice president and senior advisor consultant representing Franklin Templeton in west central Florida. As a trusted business partner, he brings valuable perspective to financial advisors in the areas of practice management, asset allocation and portfolio construction. Brian supports financial advisors and their clients in their pursuit to reach their long-term investment goals.

He began his career in the financial services industry when he joined Franklin Templeton Investments in 1994. As an advisor to the advisor, Brian is a resource for all of Franklin Templeton’s investment solutions, including mutual funds, separately managed accounts, 529 plans and insurance products.

Brian is a FINRA registered representative and holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst® designation. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from University of South Florida and currently resides in Parrish, Florida with his wife, Karen, and son, Trevor.

Conner is a junior studying vocal performance under Professor Jan (yann) Opalach at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. This summer he studied German and singing in Vienna, Austria and performed at the Mozarthaus.  The summer before he sang at multiple opera houses in Italy. He also studies classical piano at Eastman. Conner was a student of Rollins College Professor Richard Owens for nine years.

Winston E. Scott is a retired U. S. Navy Captain and aviator.  He entered Naval Aviation Officers Candidate School in 1973 and completed flight training and was designated a naval aviator in 1974. Scott later earned his Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering with avionics. During his Navy career, Captain Scott served as a helicopter pilot with Helicopter AntiSubmarine Warfare Squadron Light Thirty-Three at NAS North Island, CA. flying the SH-2F helicopter. He later served a tour of duty as a fighter pilot with Fighter Squadron Eighty Four at NAS Oceana, Virginia flying the F-14 Tomcat fighter/ interceptor. He subsequently served as a production test pilot and engineering director at the Naval Aviation Depot at NAS Jacksonville, FL., as a research development test and evaluation (RDTE) pilot and Deputy Director of the Tactical Aircraft Systems Department in Warminster, Pennsylvania.

As a RDTE pilot Scott was current in the F-14 Tomcat, the F/A-18 Hornet and the A-7 Corsair aircraft. He has accumulated more than 7,000 hours of flight time in more than 25 different military and civilian aircraft and more than 200 shipboard landings. Captain Scott was an associate instructor of electrical engineering at Florida A&M University and Florida Community College at Jacksonville.  Captain Scott was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1992. Serving as a mission specialist, he logged over 24 days in space; including 3 spacewalks totaling over 19 hours.  He has advised elected officials on matters related to space and aeronautics.

Semi-retired Capt. Scott currently serves as Senior Advisor to the President for External Relations at Florida Institute of Technology. Capt. Scott holds the rank of professor of aeronautics in the college of aeronautics and professor of music in the college of psychology and liberal arts. Captain Scott’s book Reflections from Earth Orbit was published in 2005.

Kevin Sherin MD, has been board certified in General Preventive Medicine and Public Health since 1991. With nearly 20 years of public health experience, Dr. Sherin currently serves as the health officer for the Florida Department of Health in Orange County. Dr. Sherin is a graduate of the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. He was a residency director at the University of Illinois Family Medicine Residency at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Chicago, received an MPH from the University of Illinois, and completed his preventive medicine practicum year within the Florida Public Health system.

A member of the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) since 1989, he has served in various leadership roles. He chaired ACPM’s prevention practice committee from 2012-2015. Was ACPM’s liaison to the American Medical Association (AMA) council on physician performance improvement, and he was an AMA young physician delegate. He has published numerous articles on public health and preventive medicine including the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Dr. Sherin served on ACPM’s strategic planning committee, and served as ACPM’s treasurer and chair of the finance committee until July of 2017. He is Past President of the American Association of Public Health Physicians and the Florida Public Health Association. 

Dr. Sherin has participated in multiple hurricane response and recovery efforts in the roles of health and medical and special needs sheltering. His recent deployment was in October 2018 with Hurricane Michael serving in Liberty and Calhoun counties.   

Donald Lykkebak has been an Orlando Rotarian for 40 years.  Most recently he served as President of the club and is currently the immediate past-President. 

Don is a criminal defense attorney who has been a board certified criminal trial lawyer for the past 30 years by the Florida Bar and National Board of Trial Advocacy.  During his long career as a trial lawyer he has had occasion to handle many prominent and high-profile cases.  He has been repeatedly recognized for his professional accomplishments. Through the process of peer review Don was recently selected for recognition in Orlando Magazine as this year’s Criminal Trial Lawyer of the Year-White Collar.  He was also honored in 2017 as Criminal Trial Lawyer of the Year in the same publication. 

On previous occasions Mr. Lykkebak has spoken to our club on subjects involving his unique professional expertise.  His presentations have proven to be lively, informative and always provoke questions from the membership.

After attending the University of Florida, Joe joined the US Force in 1949. Upon graduation he was assigned to a Fighter Squadron in Germany flying the P-47, the F-84 and the F-86 all in a 3 year period. His next assignment was to the Fighter Test Section at Holloman AFB, NM. While there he became involved with several projects in preparation for the coming Space Age. Led by Dr John Paul Stapp, Kittinger did the first human research of weightlessness in a T-33 jet trainer, followed by the F-94,F-89.F-100 and F 104. In June 1957 he made the first flight of the Project Man High- flying a stratospheric balloon solo to 97,000 ft. He was then assigned to the AeroMed Lab in Dayton Ohio where he made 3 research stratospheric parachute jumps from 67,000, 67,500 feet and 102, 800 feet-a record that stood for 52 years. For the jump from 102,800 ft he was presented the Harmon Trophy by President Eisenhower. Following another stratospheric balloon flight to 86,000 feet, with Bill White, an astronomer, Kittinger was assigned to the Air Commandos where he flew combat in Vietnam in 1963 64 in B-26's, followed by a combat tour in 1966-67 in A-26's, followed by a combat tour in 1971-72 where he was the Squadron Commander of the Triple Nickel Squadron flying the Phantom F-4 aircraft. In March 1972, he shot down a Mig 21 and in May 1972 he was shot down by a Mig 21 and ended up as a POW at the Hanoi Hilton until released in March 1973. He had a total of 1000 hours combat with 483.5 combat missions.

Upon retiring from the USAF in 1978 he stayed connected to aviation barnstorming in a 1929 New Standard aircraft, skywriting, banner towing and flying gas and hot air balloons around the world. He won the prestigious Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race four times. In 1981 he made a flight in a Cessna 180 from Orlando Florida to Salzburg Rhodesia, for a total flight time of 96 hours. In 1984, he made the first solo gas balloon flight across the Atlantic Ocean; launching from Caribou Maine and landing some 86 hours later in Northern Italy, setting several World's records. Joe was the Capsule Communicator in Oct 2012 on Project Stratos where Felix Baumgartner jumped from a stratospheric balloon from 128,000 feet, excelling Kittinger's record set in 1960. He is a Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and a Fellow in The Royal Aeronautical Society of the UK. He is a member of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, The Living Legends of Aviation, The Parachutist Hall of Fame, The Balloon Hall of Fame, the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame and a Medalist in The Explorers Club. In 2008 he was awarded the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum Lifetime Achievement award for his aeronautical achievements and contribution to aviation. In addition, he received the National Aeronautical Association Elder Statesman Award for his contributions of significant value to aeronautics. In 2003 he was selected as one of the most famous aviators in the past 100 years during the celebration of the 100 anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight from Kitty Hawy, NC.

His military awards include the Silver Star with one oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with 6 oak leaf clusters, The Air Medal with 24 oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters and the Purple Heart with one Oak leaf cluster,etc. He has 16,800 hours of flight time in 93 different aircraft and 2000 hours in gas and hot air balloons. In addition, Joe has 101 parachute jumps and two emergency ejections from jet aircraft. Currently Joe is an Aviation and Aerospace Consultant and is a speaker for the Aviation Speakers Bureau. He lives in Altamonte Springs Florida with his wife Sherry and still flys aircraft and balloons. His book, "Come Up and Get Me" describes his interesting career.

Special Agent Grettel Chavarria with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has been with the FBI for approximately 6.5 years. She is currently assigned to the Tampa Division/Orlando RA, Joint Terrorism Task Force working International Terrorism cases. Prior to arriving to Orlando, she was assigned to the San Juan Division, tasked to investigate Violent Crimes and Violent Crimes Against Children (VCAC).

Prior to working with the FBI, SA Chavarria was employed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Attorney General Child Predator Cyber Crime Unit, and Miami-Dade Police Department.