Ray was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida and worked for the St. Petersburg Water Resources Department for thirty seven years retiring in May 2005. He holds a Florida Department of Environmental Protection Water Distribution Level 1 License. Ray attended the first class offered in the State of Florida for Backflow Assembly Testing Certification held at the Treeo Center, University of Florida. In 1994 he was certified as a Backflow Assembly Tester and a Backflow Assembly Repair/Maintenance Instructor. Ray has been instructing Backflow class for the Institute for Cross-Connection since 2004.