I started doing electrical work at the age of 14 working summers, holidays and weekends with my dad in NYC where I made a whopping $1/hr. The education I got there was incredibly helpful to me in my future work. I learned every possible way to get a wire from one place to the other without destroying the walls. My father was a great teacher and showed me how to have a healthy respect for electricity in spite of the fact that he often tested with his fingers.
At 17 years old I left for college and got a BA in psychology from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. I worked as a psychotherapeutic technician, in a home for emotionally disturbed children, for a few years and then realized I really missed the physical labor that went along with electrical work.
I got a job in Woodstock, NY for an electrical contractor for a few years doing light commercial work mostly at the Kingston, NY IBM plant. In 1978 I moved to Chapel Hill, NC where I currently resides. I worked for a few years with a local electrical contractor till I got my license in 1980 when I started Alwon Electric. My company has an emphasis on custom residential work doing some homes over $5 million . I am also the current vice-president and past president of the local chapter of the NC Association of Electrical Contractors.
I have always enjoyed teaching and getting involved in activities that were not for pay. I worked on many habitat homes in the area, was president of the middle school PTA. I also was cub master and pack leader for a local cub scout organization which I helped organize from the start. I still volunteer my time and labor for local non profits such as the schools and other groups. I have led many field trips for the local chapter of the Audubon Society and went on overnight field trips when my children were in middle school.
Dennis Alwon