Candidate: Mike Norris

Captain (Retired) Mike “Chuck” Norris is a native of South Carolina and has been a resident of Palm Coast, Florida since 2006. He enlisted in the United States Army as a Chemical Operations Specialist in July of 1988. While an enlisted soldier he served with the 82nd Airborne Division stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with one tour of duty in Korea with the 2nd Infantry Division. As an enlisted soldier he served in positions ranging from Team Leader to Platoon Sergeant, with a deployment to Operation Desert Storm/Shield from August 1990 to April 1991. His final assignment as an enlisted soldier, after achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant, was as a Senior Drill Sergeant at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri from 1999 to 2002.

He received his commission as a Field Artillery 2nd Lieutenant in June of 2002, graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate from the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia. While assigned as a Lieutenant, Mike served as both a Firing Platoon and Supply Platoon Leader during Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Liberation of Iraq/Transition of Iraq campaigns from March 2003 to November 2003. He was promoted to Captain in November 2005, and graduated from Cameron University, Lawton, Oklahoma in December of the same year, with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. After completion of the U.S. Army Field Artillery’s Captains Career Course in 2006, he was selected to serve as a Military Transition Team member as a Field Artillery Fires and Effects Coordinator. He, along with his team, deployed to Iraq and participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom, National Resolution from January 2007 to December 2007.

In January of 2008, he was assigned as an Assistant Professor of Military Science for the U.S. Army Reserve Training Corps (ROTC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. While in that assignment he served as the primary U.S. Army staff officer at Kennesaw State University, responsible for the professional development of the university’s Corps of Cadets. His final assignment before retirement was as the Human Resources Manager for the Jacksonville Recruiting Battalion, Jacksonville, Florida. Serving as the Human Resources Manager/Personnel Officer for the battalion, which consisted of 6 recruiting companies and 34 recruiting stations, with 306 military and civilian personnel, geographically dispersed over 58,680 square miles in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Mike is the recipient of numerous awards for both meritorious combat service and outstanding work performance, including the Bronze Star w/1 Oak Leaf Cluster (Second Award), Meritorious Service Medal w/1 Oak Leaf Cluster (Second Award), Southwest Asia Service Medal w/2 Bronze Stars, and the Iraqi Campaign Medal w/1 Silver Star.

Following retirement in 2012, Mike again returned to Iraq as a Department of Defense contractor with Engility Corporation located in Chantilly, Virginia. During his assignment he trained Iraqi battle staff officers in the use of the U.S. Army's Military Decision Making Process (MDMP). After returning to the states in 2013, Mike accepted a position as a Compliance Safety Officer with the Florida Department of Transportation’s Highway Motor Safety, Motor Carrier Size and Weight Division (MCSAW). Being recognized as the Inspector of the Quarter for 1st and 2nd Quarter 2014 for Flagler County, and named Inspector of the Quarter for MCSAW for the Southern Region, 2nd Quarter 2014.  

Mike received a Master of Arts Degree in Management and Leadership in 2015 and a Master of Arts Degree in Human Resources Management in 2016 from Webster University, Walker School of Business & Technology, Jacksonville, Florida.

Mike accepted a federal civil servant position with the Department of Defense in August 2016, as a Physical Security Officer and served from 2016 to 2020, functioning as an Antiterrorism Officer/Critical Infrastructure Protection Officer in Okinawa, Japan, an Antiterrorism Program Manager in San Antonio, Texas, and the Physical Security Supervisor for the U.S. Navy Submarine Base, Kings Bay, Georgia.  

Mike is married to the former Ms. Tracey Lynn Ruddy, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a retired Detective from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and has two sons, Christian (23) a U.S. Navy Ensign and Sean (18) a senior at Matanzas High School. Mike and Tracey are the owners of two small businesses here in Palm Coast, Palm Coast Pressure Washing and Paint and Aloha Critters of Palm Coast.   

Mike has been a servant leader in every role of his professional career and seeks to put the needs of the citizens of Palm Coast first. The citizens of our city deserve responsive and caring leaders that have their best interest at heart. His primary goal is to attract industries that can provide livable incomes for our citizens, while preserving the small town feel that has and continues to attract families to settle and build their lives in our little sunny corner of the world.