I was born in St. Louis, grew up in Imperial, and attended St. Joseph Grade School in Kimmswick and St. Pius X High School.  I attended Benedictine College, UMSL and the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Upon leaving college, I went to work in the "family" business (Wieland Auto Parts).  I remained in the auto parts industry, working for parts stores, warehouses, etc., eventually becoming the Sales Manager at Arnold Muffler, Inc.

Terri and I were married on November 28, 1992 and we live in Imperial.

In 1994, I was elected State Representative in the 101st District.  While serving in the General Assembly, I started my  first small business - "Benderman".  In 1997 I went back to work in the automotive field for a short spell until I had the opportunity to go to work for NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business).

In January 2003, I left NFIB and decided to start my own small business.  With my ever-supportive wife Terri we created and published The Edition monthly newspaper.  In 2004 we added to our publications by starting the Jefferson County Business Journal.

In January of 2005, I began to pursue a new career in the Insurance industry.  In December of 2006 we accepted an offer to sell the Business Journal, and in June of 2007 we founded Wieland Insurance Group, LLC.

For the last three years we have been fortunate to grow our Independent Insurance Agency to a point in which I can now consider once again serving the community in a greater capacity.