After graduating from Springfield College with a degree in English and Communications, I taught English in Western New York for two years as a (very) “permanent sub,” while coaching varsity wrestling.

Over the next twenty-something years, I worked (in chronological order) as a resume writer; a proofreader; an advertising copywriter; a sports writer; a journalist for a Rochester-based business publication; an editorial writer and editor of Rochester’s leading weekly magazine.

In 1993, I was recruited, reluctantly, into the public sector by Monroe County Executive Robert L. King. I served as his speechwriter and as the Senior Writer for King and his successor, John Doyle. 

Two years later, I was appointed to the position of Chief Speechwriter by newly-elected Gov. George E. Pataki, and stayed in that position for almost eleven of his twelve years in office.  

That gubernatorial appointment marked the beginning of an unforgettable decade in which I played a key role in everything from mundane government policy and party politics to pivotal decisions and historic events, from the crash of TWA Flight 800 to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

As Gov. Pataki’s Chief Speechwriter, I wrote – and helped craft the message – of virtually every speech that the Governor delivered throughout most of his tenure as the Governor of New York State.

Every year, the Governor was statutorily obligated to deliver two major addresses to a joint session of the State Legislature. The first speech – the State of the State Address – was typically an hour-long address that outlined his legislative agenda for the coming year. The second speech was the Budget Address – which was sort of an oratory prelude that coincided with the release of the proposed state budget.

I wrote 21 of these addresses to the New York State Legislature, which is why I can be seen (with varying degrees of hair color) doing the exact same thing, year after year: staring stone-faced at either the glass plates of a Tele Prompter or the Tele Prompter operator’s screen, reading speeches (for the millionth time) minutes before Gov. Pataki delivered them.

On the eve of his nominating address at the 1996 Republican National Convention, Gov. Pataki and I review the speech a final time as we wait for Dan Quayle to leave podium during a rehearsal session on the main stage.

Moments after Gov. Pataki delivered his 1997 State of the State Address.

Meeting with Gov. Pataki and the late Secretary of State, Lawrence Eagleburger, along with Eagleburger’s Chief of Staff and another top Pataki aide. I learned early on in my writing career that you never know who, where or when someone is going to say something that leads to a great idea for a speech or some other piece of writing. That’s why I’m the only one with a notepad.

A three-way meeting about Kosovo between Gov. Pataki and Henry Kissinger and I.

I’m a writer, not a “travel guy,” so when I was working at this joint gubernatorial-presidential event in Lake Placid, NY, I made the “Mother of All Travel Guy” mistakes: I got in between the Executive and the camera.

Before entering the public sector, I served as Editor-In-Chief and Editorial Writer for two Rochester-based magazines: The Rochesterian and Rochester Business Profiles.  During my tenure as Editor, both publications were known for their hard-hitting editorials and cover stories . 

As Editor of the Rochesterian, I preferred having artwork on the covers, bleeding right off the page. I commissioned local artists to do the work, and they loved doing it because I gave them what artists crave most: a ton of “creative license" and exposure.  Basically, I would ask them to read the cover story and call me back with an idea. And then they would put the brush to the canvass. These are two of my favorite covers.

After writing a series of investigative articles, commentary-based cover stories and editorials about the prolonged, three-on-one brawl between Rochester’s teachers and Rochester’s power structure (The Superintendent, the School Board and “Central Office” administrators), The Rochester Teacher’s Association presented me with a special award for journalism – not for taking sides -- but fair and even handed. In this case, I would have accepted the same award for taking sides. The teachers were right.

The day I was hired as Editor of Rochester Business Profiles, I changed the Magazine’s format – dramatically. The days of puff pieces and reprinting press releases verbatim were over. I began to write the cover stories myself -- and people wrote back. I have a four-page hate letter from U.S. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter – on her Official Congressional Stationery. You know you’ve done your job when it takes a member of Congress four pages to refute a three paragraph editorial.

In the early 90s, after a two-year stint as an Advertising Copywriter for Hutchins/Young & Rubicam, I worked as a freelance writer for a variety of clients including the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Buffalo Bills publication "Shout!," a job that included nightly appearances (during the NFL playoffs) as a sports commentator for a TV station in Rochester.

That’s a glimpse of my career in every sense of the word. It doesn’t include the long list of “miscellaneous” or freelance work that underscores what I consider to be my greatest strength: Versatility.

Today, I live on a beautiful lake in the Adirondack Mountains, and write for a handful of clients, while working on a personal, first-time endeavor called “Jack’s Free bird: the trail marked on their father’s path.”