On July 1, Rex Stotts will become the new commander of Albert Lea’s Leo Carey Post 56 of the American Legion.

He’s a retired truck and bus driver and business owner who has had an interesting variety of employment, which gave him the opportunity to see other parts of the nation. Yet, he had these comments about his hometown: “I’ve always enjoyed our city and lake. We have a lot to offer and our focus should be on becoming a destination city.”

He was born at Naeve Hospital, grew up in Albert Lea and received his high school diploma in 1961. That’s the same year he enlisted in the U.S. Navy for four years. After training at the aviation school near Memphis, Tenn., his next assignment was at Kingsville Naval Air Station in Texas.

Stotts’ main assignment was to be an aircraft mechanic specializing in ejection seats. He also flew on aircraft based at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station as an observer and scanner and participated in many landings and takeoffs from an aircraft carrier stationed in the Gulf of Mexico.

After the Navy, Stotts became one of the first four delivery drivers in Albert Lea for United Parcel Service. After a year with UPS, he made a change to being an over-the-road driver for Briggs Transportation Co. for five years. When Briggs ceased operations, he became a farm route driver for Freeborn County Co-op Oil Co.

A decade later he purchased Pat’s Mobile Lunch and operated this break-time and special-events food-vending service for five years. Stotts also worked part-time for the local ambulance service owned by Jess Jackson. He sold the food-service venture, purchased the ambulance service, and operated it for another five years.

“Most everything I’ve done seems to have had a five-year span,” he said.

From 1982 to 1987 Stotts worked in research and development at Pillsbury, mainly in the Twin Cities area. This resulted in being gone from Albert Lea during the week and home on weekends.

This split situation ended when he became a bus driver for Ace Transportation Co. of Albert Lea and also with Minnesota Coaches of Owatonna. As a result, he made many trips to Branson, Mo., and to area casinos.

Age: 66

Address: 524 Grace St., Albert Lea

Livelihood: retired

Family: wife, Lois; children Lynde Nelson and Mark Stotts; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren

Interesting fact: In 2006, he was a candidate for Albert Lea mayor and lost by 314 votes.

During the late 1980s he drove a bus that took the U.S. Marine Band, “The President’s Own,” on their annual concert tour around the nation. He explained that this 52-day trip started in Washington, D.C., and went across the upper part of the nation to Montana, then back to the nation’s capital city.

“We lived on St. Thomas for 30 years, then moved to Grace Street so we could be closer to the lake,” Stotts said.

His involvement with other activities include being governor of the Moose in the 1970s, a captain on the Pelican Breeze, member of the Daybreakers Kiwanis, and an usher at Grace Lutheran Church for 35 to 40 years. Stotts was recently elected to the board of Hillcrest Cemetery.

Regarding his present status of being retired, he commented, “Now I can spend more time at home to be with my grandchildren and to do volunteer work.”