Westfield Class of 1995 Reunion: October 2014

Friday, October 31, 2014

Where in the world is...Chris Debaillon

Home: Sugar Land

What other locations have you called home?

Lafayette, LA

College Station, TX

Cypress, TX

Occupation:

Traffic Engineer at CobbFendley, a Houston-based civil engineering/surveying firm, where I work on traffic signal design, traffic signal timing, traffic engineering studies, roadway illumination design, and traffic impact analyses.

What occupies your days?

Getting paid to play in traffic, being a husband to Jamie, my wife of 15 years, being a father to our kids Jenna (7), David (3), and Sam (6 months), fixing things around the house that either break or are actively destroyed by the aforementioned kids, trying to stay in shape long enough for this reunion.

Currently Reading:

Wrapping up The Hot Zone by Richard Preston and about to start Bernie Madoff: The Wizard of Lies by Diana Henriques

Hobbies:

Reading, exercise, singing in the Sunday 9 am choir at St. Laurence Catholic Church, woodworking, camping and hiking.

Philanthropy or special cause:

Jamie and I have been actively involved in Catholic Engaged Encounter, a marriage preparation retreat for those preparing for marriage in the Catholic Church, for 15 years. We are also advocates for adoption.

Favorite High School Memory:

How simple life was, where the hardest thing in life was a week of marching band practice and your biggest worry was next week’s math test.

Favorite motto or saying:

Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a single grain. But if it dies, it will yield a rich harvest of many grains.

- John 12:24

Are you attending the Reunion?

Yes

Optional contact info (Email, Phone, URL, etc):

https://www.facebook.com/chris.debaillon

chramie@gmail.com

Where in the world is...Melissa Curlee

Home: Spring, TX

What other locations have you called home? College Station, TX…Gig’em Ags!

Occupation: Currently an Ambassador with Plexus Worldwide www.melissaplexus.com & enjoying being a stay at home mom

What occupies your days? Doing my Plexus Thang! Running back & forth to my kiddos school for meetings and shuffling kids between practices

Currently Reading: Rock Your Network Marketing Business by Sarah Robbins & Making Your First Circle Work

Hobbies: Dancing, going to concerts, watching my kids sporting events, Aggie football, Texans football & insurance & school advocating for special needs kids

Philanthropy or special cause: Autism Speaks is very near and dear to my heart. My son Cody has Asperger’s and I have many close friends with kids on the spectrum. Advocating for these kids and their needs in life is my passion!!

Favorite High School Memory: aaahhhh too many…..Going to see Garth Brooks at Rodeo with Kelly Hammonds. Meting my then sweetheart, Chad Wright, who became my lifelong best friend and screaming like kids when garth came right to our seats and caught the flowers we threw him!! Are you ready to roll again next year Kelly? ;)

Weekends at P Road doing crazy scavenger hunts in my mom’s decked out van.

Wilson Road Hall nights….enough said

Favorite motto or saying: Life’s too short…….just enjoy!

Are you attending the Reunion? Yes of course. Can’t wait to see everyone again!

Optional contact info (Email, Phone, URL, etc): mlthomas57@yahoo.com, 832-755-1121, www.melissaplexus.com

Where in the world is...Caroline (Chandler) Cate

Home: Denver, Colorado

What other locations have you called home? Houston, Lubbock & Nacodoches Texas

Occupation: Spanish teacher at Highlands Ranch High School (living the dream!!)

What occupies your days? Teaching, tutoring, music and spending time with my husband

Currently Reading: After Camelot: the Kennedys 1968 to present

Hobbies: playing oboe- I am principal with the Denver Pops Orchestra

Philanthropy or special cause: I volunteer at Littleton Immigrant Resources Center to tutor citizenship and English

Favorite High School Memory: Homecoming junior year

Favorite motto or saying: Same as I had in the senior yearbook: "Knowing even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded." Emerson

Are you attending the Reunion? Yes!

Where in the world is...Eric Mills

Home: Houston, TX

Occupation: Sales & Marketing Asst. Supervisor for EAN Holdings, LLC (formerly Enterprise-Rent-Car)

What occupies your days? Family, work and my kid’s homework!

Hobbies: Activities with the family, Fishing and Art

Philanthropy or special cause: B.O.S. (Brothers of Service) – Our goal is to continue giving back to the community and providing positive male influences to the youth of today.

Favorite High School Memory: Spending my days cracking up laughing with Mrs. Abshere while doing what I loved (Art). She will truly be missed but will never be forgotten. I would also say the blood, sweat and tears shared on the football field with my teammates throughout the many years we played together.

Favorite motto or saying: Too many people want the “Title” but are not fully ready for the “Position”…

Are you attending the reunion: Yes

Contact info: remills58@yahoo.com or Facebook

Where in the world is...Erin Roberson

Home: Grapevine, TX

What other locations have you called home? Atascocita, TX

Occupation: Clinical Nurse Informaticist, Manager, Clinical Change at Tenet Healthcare

What occupies your days? Traveling around to one of our hospitals and doing my best to convince doctors and nurses that using electronic medical records is easy and is the best thing to do for safe and efficient patient care. I’m lucky to work from home a majority of the time so I spend my days letting my dogs in and out of the house in between conference calls and then I get to pick up my precious kids and drive them to volleyball, band events, baseball, basketball, etc.

Currently Reading: a terrible romance novel that I bought at the airport to occupy my time on the plane. I try to read books that will make me smarter but that’s no fun :)

Hobbies: I love cooking, spending time with my family, hanging out with friends, and taking care of our household. I’m also the middle school band president at my daughter’s school and den leader for my son’s cub scout den.

Philanthropy or special cause: I’m trying to train myself to be a runner so I look for races that support positive causes. My kids are truly my life at this moment though and I’m trying to soak them in as much as I can because the time is flying!

Favorite High School Memory: My senior year was the absolute best year of my life. I loved being a drum major in the band; I loved getting to know and becoming best friends with Shannon Allmon; I met my future husband (Chris Dickerman CO ‘92) and he continues to make me laugh and bring me joy to this day.

Favorite motto or saying: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Are you attending the Reunion? most likely

Friday, October 24, 2014

Where in the world is Blaire Noble

Home: Austin, TX

What other locations have you called home?

· Texas A&M in College Station,

· Ridgeway, Colorado for a summer in college

· Florence, Italy for a summer in college

· Washington, DC for a semester in college

· Los Angeles, CA for four years

Occupation: Policy Analyst. I work for a department of the Texas House of Representatives called House Research Organization. During the legislative session we write reports that include brief summaries of bills, including supporters and opponents arguments. During the interim we write about hot policy topics. My policy areas are water, energy, electricity, agriculture, land and resource management, state parks, and transportation.

I am currently writing a report on the drought with a focus on increasing the state's water resources through desalination and the storage of surplus water in aquifers.

What occupies your days? Lately, it has been this reunion!!

In my normal life, I spend my week at work writing and doing research. At home I try to be the best wife and friend I can be to my husband, Brad, and the best mom I can be to my too small kids, Gabe and Gillian. Before kids I had never been very domestic or maternal, but the day I became a mom I was all in!

Check out the cuteness:

Currently Reading: Dracula by Bram Stoker

Hobbies: Cooking, photography, painting, drawing, and writing.

Philanthropy or special cause: I really should do more of this. My only real activity comes around once a year. Every Christmas at work I help with the Speaker's office to organize gifts for kids that are under the care of child protective services. I mainly focus on the kids that are about to age out of the system and need things to start an apartment, etc.

Favorite High School Memory: Wow, there are so many! I guess one of my favorites was the night before our first day of school as seniors. There was a lighting at the school. So many of our classmates were there. We were all so excited!

Favorite motto or saying: "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean

I don't know who said it, but I have always liked, "Courage doesn't always roar."

Are you attending the Reunion? Yes

Where in the world is Nathan Harrison

Home: Spring, TX

What other locations have you called home? Waco, TX; Lubbock, TX; Round Rock, TX; Cypress, TX

Occupation: Certified Financial Planner with Lincoln Financial Advisors/Insight Wealth Strategies. I have been doing this for almost 14 years now. I work in a practice with my father- in-law and brother-in-law. I love what I do and find it incredibly fulfilling to help people achieve their goals.

What occupies your days? Work, Family( my wife and 2 kids), and Church

Currently Reading: I read several books at once. I am currently reading:

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life by James Martin, S.J.

To Know Christ Jesus by Frank Sheed

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Hobbies: I would say my family is my hobby and I am very active in my church. I also really enjoy Traveling, Reading, Camping, Fishing, Hunting, and Golfing (when I get an chance, which seems like 1 time year). Olivia and I do several ministries at Prince of Peace Catholic Community and work together on Marriage Prep & Enrichment programs.

Philanthropy or special cause: Prince Of Peace Catholic Church & Boy Scouts

Favorite High School Memory: Wow, so many memories. I would probably say something to do with Football. I loved playing at Kyle Field against Temple. I hated that I let Craig Ramsey get demolished by Derrick Fletcher from Aldine, but will always remember the lesson taught to me by Coach Emory Bellard. Yelling and belittling never make the person who made the mistake do better next time, but reminding him that they could and should do better will almost always lead to better results. I really enjoyed Prom with Blaire Noble Parker, Jason Boyer, Neil Atkinson, and few others and my now wife Olivia Anselmi Harrison. I also loved My English Classes with Mrs. Flynn & Mrs. Pikus, Science with Mr. Musick, Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Truitt. I loved World History with Mrs. Parent and despite what Mrs. Pontius begged me not to remember I can barely remember anything from Latin except "Hic, Hic, Hoc"

Favorite motto or saying: Just because you can does not mean you should

Are you attending the Reunion? Yes

Optional contact info (Email, Phone, URL, etc): nathanharrison77@gmail.com or on facebook

Where in the world is Kelly (Hammonds) Thomas

Home: Cypress, TX

What other locations have you called home? Fort Worth…go FROGS!

Occupation: Over-committed mom, Owner of hobby-turned-business The Iron Door Gift Boutique

What occupies your days? My kids’ gagillion activities, 2 tennis teams, work, and always have to make time for vacations and happy hours!

Currently Reading: does facebook count as reading?

Hobbies: Tennis, exercise, artsy-crafty stuff, traveling, Texans football, spending time with family and friends

Philanthropy or special cause: Not really philanthropic, but….at the moment, coaching my daughter’s cheer squad, team mom for my son’s football team and homeroom mom for my son’s class. I’m a ‘Yes’ girl to a fault.

Favorite High School Memory: Definitely cheerleading...we had so many laugh-until-you-pee moments in the mirror room, at games, UCA camps, etc. Truly defined my high school experience!

Favorite motto or saying: The fun never ends!

Are you attending the Reunion? Yes

Optional contact info (Email, Phone, URL, etc): KellyHThomas@gmail.com

Where in the world is...Angela (Neary) Hughes

Home: Austin, Tx

What other locations have you called home? Spring, Tx

Occupation: I used to be an 8^th grade math teacher, but had a career change when my family got the opportunity to move to Austin for my husband’s new job. I am now a Domestic Engineer. J

What occupies your days? Running our neighborhood South Austin mom’s group, play dates and field trips with my girl and teaching her preschool stuff.

Currently Reading: Just about anything that Goodreads has on their top young adult reading list. Why?... because it is fun easy reading.

Hobbies: watching movies, reading, spending time at Lake Limestone (doing whatever project needs to be done) and hopefully we’ll start traveling again

Philanthropy or special cause: My family is currently doing the JDRF fundraiser to help find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. Feel free to donate to the cause. I’ll even attach a link: http://www2.jdrf.org/site/TR?px=9401563&pg=personal&fr_id=3906&et=r-YbwPBjwRi-FHm632ffRA

Favorite High School Memory: spending time with my girls

Favorite motto or saying: “It will all be OK.”

Are you attending the Reunion? Most likely

Optional contact info (Email, Phone, URL, etc): angelnear01@gmail.com

Friday, October 17, 2014

Where in the world is...

Enjoying the "Where in the world is..." series? Let's hear from you too!

Send your answers to the following questions to whsclassof95reunion @gmail.com along with your picture. We will post them on the reunion blog and on the reunion Facebook page.

Home:

What other locations have you called home?

Occupation:

What occupies your days?

Currently Reading:

Hobbies:

Philanthropy or special cause:

Favorite High School Memory:

Favorite motto or saying:

Are you attending the Reunion?

Optional contact info (Email, Phone, URL, etc):

Where in the world is...Katie Christman

Check out what Katie Christman has been up to!

Where in the World is Katie (Christman) Rose

Home: South Bend, Indiana

What other locations have you called home? Only South Bend after leaving Houston!

Occupation: I am the Senior Director for User Services in the Office of Information Technologies at the University of Notre Dame. (A very long title that basically means I try to make people feel happy about using technology.) I also teach a course at ND every spring called “Internet and Society” that examines the changes that technology is causing throughout our society - from attention spans, to relationships, to the complete reinvention of entire industries.

What occupies your days? In my position at Notre Dame, I lead a team of people charged with making people feel comfortable with technology and that helps them use it effectively. The rest of my time is spent with my talented and sweet husband Jonathon and our two dogs.

Currently Reading: Right now, I’m reading Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect by Matthew D. Lieberman. It explores how the default state of our brain is actually focused on our relationships with other people, and yet our society and organizations focus on the analytical or reasoning processes that turn off our ability to connect with others.

Hobbies: My husband and I travel whenever we can, looking for amazing places to photograph. As in high school, I still play the piano. I love to cook and bake. I also occasionally teach vinyasa yoga.

Philanthropy or special cause: Relay for Life with American Cancer Society is the cause I fight for.

Favorite High School Memory: I have to pick just one??

Favorite motto or saying: Breathe in. Breathe out. If you can do that, everything else will be okay.

Are you attending the Reunion? Yes - I can’t wait to see everyone!

Optional contact info (Email, Phone, URL, etc): katie@alumni.nd.edu

Where in the world is...Kelley McCoy

Check out what Kelley McCoy has been up to!

Where in the World is Kelley McCoy

Home: Spring, TX

What other locations have you called home? None other

Occupation: Executive Assistant for and oil and gas company, I also sell Origami Owl Jewelry and Younique Make up on the side.

What occupies your days? Working 8-5 M-F and my two precious daughters

Currently Reading: Romance Novels

Hobbies: I sell Origami Owl Jewelry and Younique Make as a hobby. I also enjoy reading and camping

Philanthropy or special cause:

Favorite High School Memory: Drill team and Friday night football games

Favorite motto or saying:

Are you attending the Reunion? No, L I’ll be in Chicago that weekend for the Origami Owl
Convention

Optional contact info (Email, Phone, URL, etc): chio4018@yahoo.com 832-794-1859