I have been married to my wife Maria for 28 years and we have two daughters: Emily 21 and Julia 19. Emily is a student at South Eastern in Hammond and Julia is a student at LSU. I am a registered Professional Engineer and work at Manchac Consulting Group here in Baton Rouge. My wife Maria is a Registered Dietician and works at Baton Rouge General (Mid City). I am a convert to Catholicism and went through RCIA 20 years ago. I belong to St. Patrick Parish and have served in many ministries over the last several years. Why the Diaconate? A few years ago I committed to, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” This resulted in a re-ordering of my life. God first, others second, me third. Now to be honest, I fall short of that commitment quite often. Ok, more than quite often, almost daily. From my experience though, as long as I keep coming back to that commitment, I have the Peace promised by Jesus Christ. As a Deacon, I hope to be able to share my experiences and help others obtain that Peace that only He can give.