Do you know Dick West?

Dick West

BIRTH DATE AND PLACE: June 1945, Tampa, Fla.

RESIDENCE: Mount Pleasant.

OCCUPATION: Out-of-work construction executive volunteering at Patriots Point on the aircraft carrier Yorktown.

MILITARY SERVICE: The Vietnam War. I served as a first lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers and spent one year building bases in Vietnam.

FAMILY: Wife, Pamela.

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in building construction management from the University of Florida at Gainesville.

WORDS THAT BEST DESCRIBE ME: Dedicated, hard-working, good husband and father.

BIGGEST ISSUE FACING CHARLESTON COUNTY: The financial condition of the Yorktown and Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum. It's a big tourist attraction ... and for lack of money, it's falling apart.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF WHICH I AM MOST PROUD: Having a successful marriage and raising a successful daughter. And I built two NFL football stadiums, one for the Titans in Nashville and another for the Eagles in Philadelphia. I also worked on construction for the Olympic Games in Atlanta.

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY: When I was 6, the Navy escorted my mother and me across the Pacific to join my father, who was serving in Japan. He was career Air Force and served in World War II, and both the Korean and Vietnam wars.

BEST ADVICE I'VE BEEN GIVEN: In the Army, they tell you to look after your men and women first and they will look after you. It's a good leadership principle.