I was born and raised in Williamsburg, Iowa. I graduated from the University of Iowa with a BA in Math in 1977 and an MBA in 1978. I have worked as an actuary for the Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa since 1979. My wife, Karen, and I have been married since 1994.
I received my Novice license (WN0CSG) in September, 1970, shortly before my 15th birthday. I enjoyed operating my Heathkit HW-16 crystal-controlled transceiver while building up my code speed and trying to work all states. I upgraded to General in August, 1972 just before my Novice license would have expired. My call changed to WB0CSG. While in college, I operated the University of Iowa club station W0IO and was club treasurer for five years. I upgraded to Advanced in 1977 and to Extra in 1978. In 1986, I asked for a new callsign and received NU0Q. I belong to the Des Moines Radio Amateurs Association, and have served as treasurer for over ten years.
I've always enjoyed contesting. I credit the Novice roundup and the ARRL sweepstakes for helping me increase my code speed and allowing me to upgrade to General class in 1972. Since then, I've operated almost exclusively on CW, and my code speed has increased to over 20 wpm. Although my station and antennas are modest, I've enjoyed some success in winning some contest awards. It helps being in a less populated state, and it's always a good feeling to be someone's first Iowa contact. I'm somewhat popular in the WPX contests, too.