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More recently, his uncle David Phillips served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; his aunt Marion Phillips Scherer served as U.S. Navy nurse stationed at Walter Reed Hospital and in Panama, also during World War II; another uncle, Charles Phillips, served in the U.S. Air Force; and his father, Steve Phillips Jr., served as an officer in the U.S. Army Infantry for 30 years, fighting in World War II and the Vietnam War.
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Phillips began his military journey after graduating from Oviedo High School. He was in the field artillery and spent a year in Oklahoma and two years in Augsburg, Germany. After receiving an honorable discharge two weeks after returning home, he started college at Valencia, with a concentration in business administration.
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Retired from the Army, Phillips works as director of finance for the System of the Future at The Coca-Cola Company 麻豆精品 S� an organization that has a long-standing relationship with the Armed Forces, dating back to World War II.
He credits his UCF business degree as the reason he 麻豆精品 S檚 worked in corporate finance at Coca-Cola for the past 16 years, as well as the reason that allowed him to be selected as a U.S. Army comptroller.
Now, he 麻豆精品 S檚 sharing his military and business experiences in his first book, 麻豆精品 S淏oots to Loafers: Finding Your True North. 麻豆精品 S�
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Phillips had the opportunity to speak with fellow veterans about his book and experiences during the UCF Book Festival in April.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 an avid veterans 麻豆精品 S� advocate, and helping those who will follow in my tracks is what I love to do, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淚 didn 麻豆精品 S檛 have anyone doing that for me when I retired, and I wish I did. 麻豆精品 S�
REPORTING FOR Q&A DUTY
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A. I have three off the top of my head. One is 麻豆精品 S渄ude. 麻豆精品 S� I hate it. And, if anyone says it to me, I correct them quickly. I 麻豆精品 S檇 also say 麻豆精品 S渘o 麻豆精品 S� is not one of my favorites either. It takes three 麻豆精品 S渘o 麻豆精品 S漵 to make me go away, and then there 麻豆精品 S檚 no guarantees. And last, 麻豆精品 S渟upposed to 麻豆精品 S� or 麻豆精品 S渟hould. 麻豆精品 S� I hate it when people say this, because they are assuming something.
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A. Play the guitar like Stevie Ray Vaughn!
Q. What/who makes you laugh out loud?
A. Another 1982 UCF graduate and my best friend, Jim Lilly. We met on the practice football field at Oviedo High School trying to get the starting position on the team. We 麻豆精品 S檝e been best friends for more than four decades, and he lives right down the road from me here in Georgia!
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A. Three places come to mind: British Virgin Islands, St. George Island, and the great state of Idaho.
Q. What 麻豆精品 S檚 something you learned in the past week?
A. Patience. Go on vacation with six children and you learn to exercise a tremendous amount of patience and understanding. What we take for granted, they are just learning. Coach, teach, and mentor 麻豆精品 S� just like I learned in the U.S. Army 麻豆精品 S� holds true with kids.
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Q. What do you do for fun?
A. My wife and I love the British Virgin Islands. I also head west with my brother and close friends, and we either whitewater raft or canoe in remote locations through the western U.S. I 麻豆精品 S檓 an avid outdoorsman and love being in very remote and primitive locations.