John McCandless retired as a senior member of Toyota’s U.S. Corporate Communications team in 2011.  At Toyota, he was responsible for the company’s field public relations offices in Detroit, New York, Miami, Dallas, Houston and Phoenix.  He also served in the U.S. Navy and Naval Reserve for 32 years, retiring as a Captain in 1999.
McCandless was vice chairman for the USS DETROIT (LCS 7) Commissioning Committee and was a founding member of the Freedom Center military lounges at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.  He has been a guest lecturer at Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and the Naval War College and has been a frequent contributor to the OpEd page of the Detroit News.
He earned a B.A. in communication from Michigan State University in June 1969.  He and his wife Roberta (Robbie) reside in Ft. Myers Beach.