Robert T. "Bob" Brown III was born in Sumter, South Carolina in 1940. Bob fished, sailed, and explored the lakes, rivers, and streams of the state as a boy. He earned a BS degree in physical geography from the University of South Carolina. He attended the Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, and was commissioned an Ensign in 1964. After spending four years at sea traveling the world he left the military and worked at a regional agency in Florida as a geographer and later managing their computer technology. Bob is a licensed pilot in single-engine aircraft and gliders.