What kind of music do you like?

I like smooth jazz. I was traveling in a convertible out west and we had a CD compilation of some jazz artists. There’s just something about riding with the top down and the mountains before me—I never looked back.

What are you proud of?

My accomplishments with the local Rotary Clubs and also my stepdaughter Erin. She was the founder and charter president of the Rotaract Club of the University of South Florida.

What do you do for fun?

That’s probably traveling. We’re very blessed to be able to see a lot of the world.

Top five places?

New Zealand, St. Lucia, Denmark, Argentina and Switzerland. That’s where we were married, in Zermatt, Switzerland.

How did you choose that city?

I was watching PBS, a continuing series with Rick Steves, and while I was courting Miss Janet, he was in Zermatt. What captivated me was that he said there were no automobiles, and all these horse and carriages were going back and forth behind him. I said, I think that’s a great place to get married so I called the consulate. But there was a two-page, single-spaced list of requirements. That took 90 days and a lot of money before we got on the plane.

What was your very first job?

I was a short order cook in a hot dog stand at Long Point Park at Conesus Lake in upstate New York.

What’s something we don’t know about you?

I can’t swim a lick. I served in the United States Navy and through the quirks of the Navy god above or something, I’d flunked my test and, when they dragged me out of the pool, they checked off the guy below me. They had to call him back for remedial swimming. For Mahoney it was a minor inconvenience. For me, it was a miracle.

Rate Get to know ... Steve Melching

Ave. rating: Not Rated from 0 votes.

ExcellentVery GoodGoodFairPoor