Tom was first licensed around 1995 when he was asked to organize an Emergency Response Communications (ERC) group for his church.  Like many folks who get licensed, Tom was not very active in the hobby after the initial enthusiasm waned.  After retirement, his interest in the hobby was rekindled.  He started exploring new areas of interest, such as digital modes, which were just in their infancy when he was first licensed.  He is now active in the South Pasadena Amateur Radio Club (SPARC) and supports them as the club treasurer.  But his obsession over the past year, and one that he shares with Carol KE6SRN, has been in exploring summits as part of SOTA.  Although living in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountain range for the past 35 years, they previously had only hiked a few of the local trails.  Now 151 summits later, they feel they have a better understanding and appreciation of our wonderful SoCal trails and peaks.  In addition, Tom appreciates the support offered by the SOTA community.  When hiking with Franzi WE7CAT on A1 mountain in Flagstaff earlier this year, it was interesting to note how differently Franzi and Tom oriented their antennas.  Franzi, from the state of Washington, explained she wanted to communicate with operators to the NorthWest, as these were “her people”.  Tom wanted to communicate with operators to the West, explaining that this is where “his people” were located.  Tom now refers to W6 SOTA folks as “his people” but also looks forward to making connections to the broader national and international SOTA group.