GTK: Al Brandenburg, senior advocate and master gardener

Al Brandenburg, a resident of Maricopa since 2008, writes a seniors column for InMaricopa.

Hometown: Syracuse, N.Y.
Reside in: Alterra
Maricopan since: 2008
Occupation: Retired and owner of Maricopa Webs, LLC, website design and hosting
Family: Wife and 3 daughters: 2 here in Arizona and 1 back in N.Y.
Pets: 1 dog, Khloe, and 1 parakeet, Tweetee
Cars: 2
Hobbies: Golf, gardening, RV travel, working out at Copper Sky
Pet peeve: People who stand in the way of progress to satisfy their own agenda
Dream vacation: The Bahamas
Like most about Maricopa: Small-town feel, but larger city services and parks. Progressive city government, excellent first responders.
Like least about Maricopa: Insufficient access to I-10 and too much traffic on SR 347. Need less restaurant chains and more owner establishments.

Favorite …

Charity: St. Jude’s Hospital for Children

Book: “Memory Man,” by Jim Berry

Movie: “Gladiator”

Actor: Russell Crowe

Song: “In the City”

Musician: The Eagles

Team: AZ Cardinals and NY Giants

Athlete: Larry Fitzgerald (class act)

Food: Anything Italian or Asian

Drink: Single-malt scotch

Meal: Rigatoni with sausage, Pad Thai with noodles

Restaurant: Floradinos

Getaway: San Diego

Quote: “If you fall on your face, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep moving forward. Let nothing or nobody stop you from reaching your goal.”

Words to live by: Treat people the way you want to be treated. In addition, if you enjoy digging manure in a ditch, then that’s what you should be doing. Too many people in high paying jobs that they hate.

Joke: What did the DNA strand say to the other DNA strand?……Do these genes make me look fat?

Anything else we should know? Engineer, project and program manager for more than 35 years. Master’s degree in systems management. Graduate of the Maricopa Citizen Leadership Academy. Served on several city committees including the Parks, Recreation and Library Committee, the Maricopa General Plan and the Maricopa Vision 2040 committees. A Pinal County Master Gardener, I have also served as a director and officer of my HOA for 5 years. I am presently a director and secretary of the Maricopa Senior Coalition serving the needs of our senior citizens.