About

I was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada on May 31, 1956, and am a naturalized US Citizen by adoption. My late adoptive parents were in the US Air Force and stationed at what was then Pepperrell Air Force Base. My younger sister Janet and I share the same biological mother and we grew up together. She lives nearby to this day and we remain close.

As children in an Air Force family we lived in Arlington, Virginia, and Wiesbaden, Germany. I have lived in Brevard County since the summer of 1967. I attended Holland Elementary (6th grade) and DeLaura Junior High. After graduating Satellite High School in 1974, I attended Brevard Community College (now Eastern Florida State College) in Cocoa and received an AS Degree in Electronics. What followed was a thirty-one year career working at Kennedy Space Center during the height of the Shuttle era. From December of 2008 until the end of March of 2015 I worked on the Navy side of the Air Force 45th Space Wing supporting submarine missile tests. It was an excellent ride. I am now officially retired from “regular” work.

I have lived in Suntree close to US1, the Rotary Park and the Pineda Inn for 19 years as of March, 2021. This area has much to offer and is centrally located to serve the events.

When I'm not organizing events, I work out, occasionally kayak, ride my bicycle and walk, the latter two considerable distances. I occasionally participate in living history reenacting and years ago was active as a Civil War reenactor (7th Florida & 35th Massachusetts) also having had the honor of being an ‘extra’ (they called us ‘background artists’) in the movies GLORY and GETTYSBURG. I am currently a member of a colonial era cannon crew in St. Augustine, the HMS Falcon, where we hope to return to regular cannon firing demonstrations later this year. I enjoy being connected to the local community and am a frequent blood donor. I’m out the door most evenings and can be found patronizing venues that support the local live music scene.

I'm now serving you as the Mad Hatter full time. I organize, promote and host, events from small scale happy hours to theme parties. I have also organized, co-organized or supported events as diversified as street parties, bicycle rides, pub crawls, weekend road trips, costume parties and charity events, often in combinations. There is always a charity involved and we have contributed to the Children’s Hunger Project, Candlelighters, National Veterans Homeless Support and the National Kidney Foundation of Florida, among others. We will soon be adding Brevard Music Aid to the list. Themes have been as varied as Pirates, Togas, Zombies, St. Paddy’s Day, Krampus, Mardi Gras, Easter Bunny, Woodstock, Santa Stumble, and many more. My ‘signature’ event is an annual Pirate Costume Bash held each winter and this year was our 18th annual now held at Squid Lips Melbourne. I maintain memberships with social organizations as diverse as Trailblazers Singles, Outdoors and Active, Brevard Social Scene, Brevard Outdoor Adventures, Space Coast Parrot Head Club, the Brevard Hash House Harriers, The Brevard Astronomical Society, and more.

www.MadHatterPromotions.com is an LLC. I have a registered Fictitious Name and a State of Florida Business License. MadHatterPromotions.com is also a partner with the Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber of commerce. Stay tuned for the soon to be released and promoted www.SpaceCoastPubCrawls.com.

Gary@MadHatterPromotions.com 321-543-1346

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