This should be fairly straight forward in any decent editing software. Is it a jpeg or RAW file? It's not that dark so even jpeg should do OK.
You should be able to improve it. Whether it fixes it will depend on your expectations. The approach will depend on what software you have available. A shadows/highlights adjustment if available will help as would increasing the exposure or brightness and possibly reducing the contrast a bit. Localized dodging can also be used to lift the face.
i have light room on my desktop to play with...will try to get that ps elements as well. thanks for the advice guys....going to work on this on my days off. thanks again
Dedric, it is a pleasure. I am glad you do not think I messed it up.
ACDSee is very user friendly for “technologically retards” like myself.