Mark and his family recently (summer 2011) moved to Virginia, where his wife was raised and where they were married in 1990. Prior to moving to Virginia Mark lived in Vermont, where he was raised and where he and his wife had been raising their four children. Mark served two terms in the Vermont Senate (2003-2006) and ran for Congress in the 2006 Republican Primary (Shepard For Congress).

Among the many considerations in relocating from Vermont to Virginia was the fact that relocating would move where the taxes resulting from the Shepard family and business economic activity would go. For the past couple decades, taxes paid to the State of Vermont have been increasingly used to advance socialist-leaning ideas that help ensure the rich and powerful stay rich and powerful while removing opportunities for prosperity from the rest of the population. By stark contrast taxes paid to Virginia help advance ideas rooted in the free market, opening real opportunities for anyone with ambition. Moving also shifts political power as the 2010 census has demonstrated with the shift of members of congress trending away from states with clearly unsustainable liberal (or socialistic-leaning) policies and toward states with sustainable free-market driven policies. Freedom works!

Is it any wonder Vermont is a trustfunder magnet or that billionaire tyrants like George Soros invest so heavily in Vermont's political system. The rich are no different than anyone else; they are inclined to look after themselves. Meanwhile Virginia has been ranked number one business environment four years straight by Forbes Magazine.

Mark holds Bachelor and Master Degrees in Electrical Engineering and operates a small business designing and building control and test systems for industrial applications. Prior to going to college, Mark worked four years in the building trades where he completed the Vermont Electrical Apprenticeship and earned his Journeyman Electrician's License. Mark was raised on a strawberry farm in the hills of Hartland, Vermont, where his family has lived for several generations.