Tom’s mining career began in 1977 at the Henderson Mine where he became a shift supervisor. He joined the mine rescue team in 1983 and held various positions including team trainer. Through his efforts the team participated in local, regional and national competitions. Under Tom’s leadership, an Incident Command system was implemented at the mine and training was provided for all management personnel, including underground emergency scenarios managed using the Incident Command system. Tom retired from active participation on a team in December, 2011, due to a promotion and continues to provide support for the teams.