We're always
looking for interesting items to add to this page.
Please submit Alumni News items to
info@nathanhalealumni.org
Nathan Hale High
School
50th Anniversary - September, 2009
Nathan Hale High
School was officially opened on September 1, 1959. We would
like to make this special occasion a reason for the entire Hale
community to celebrate the history of our school.
Our first official
planning meeting was very productive. The mother-daughter team
of Suzy Hamilton-Dennis '72
and January
Lambert-Mathews '91, will chair the central planning
committee. I'm sure that January will get her son, the 3rd
generation Ranger in the family, involved as well. He's
currently a student at Hale.
We would like to have
representatives from each graduating class on the planning
committees. If you have an interest in helping with this
special event, please contact us, or come to a planning meeting on
the 3rd Thursday of each month. We meet at 5:45 pm in the main
office conference room at Hale.
Alumni, students, parents,
teachers and staff are welcome to attend.
and many other current & former Ranger event photos now on
check back often... video clips coming soon
We just received a box full of
the old Ranger basketball game scorebooks from Coach Wally Knapp. We're in the process of scanning them to add
to the new
Ranger Sports Archive section of the web site.
The 1962-63 Hale Invitational
Basketball Tournament is the first one that is available.
We have plans to eventually add a forum
or bulletin board to the alumni web site, but until that happens,
you can visit with other Hale Rangers on the Nathan Hale HS Yahoo
Group.
The group was started back in November
by Ralph Seegren, Class of '93 and is open to all Hale alumni.
It is currently experiencing rapid membership growth. Join us,
and see what everyone's chatting about.
ALL PROCEEDS from the sale of these DVDs directly
benefits Hale's Athletic Dept.
September 2007: This
Fall we were able to contribute another
$350 to Hale's athletic dept.
This money came from the sale of football game DVDs over the past
year.
The check was presented to Hale's Athletic Director, Tony Peters.
He was grateful to receive this support from Hale alumni.
Their budget was cut again this year because they are no longer
getting pop money that they counted on for a variety of team needs.
Tony Peters
Hale Athletic Director former Sooner & NFL Safety
Kevin Busch
Head Football Coach
Fall 2006: The day after Hale beat the Edison Eagles and
advanced to the semi-finals in the All-City Tournament, the Alumni
Foundation was very pleased to present a check for almost
$540 to Hale's head football coach,
Kevin Busch. This money came from the sale of vintage Hale
football film DVDs, over the summer.
He was very grateful to receive this unexpected support. They
have a constant need for additional financial support for uniforms
and other essentials for the team.
Coach Busch says the the Rangers have a serious chance of having a
winning season this year, and would love to see more Hale alumni
come out to the games.
The Alumni
Foundation would like to encourage additional direct financial
support of the Hale Athletic Department from any alumnus who has the
means help out the sports programs at the school.
You can make a
tax-deductible
donation, in any amount, through the Alumni Foundation, and specify
ANY school program that you would like to direct those funds to.
For more information, contact us at
info@nathanhalealumni.org.
Posted 8/27/06
NATHAN HALE
YEARBOOKS FOR SALE
There are a
limited number of old yearbooks available to purchase from the 1970's
through the 2006-07 school year.
If you
are interested in purchasing one, please contact
the Nathan Hale Alumni Foundation at info@nathanhalealumni.org
ALL PROCEEDS from the sale of
yearbooks goes
directly back to Hale's current yearbook program.
Each class
year also has it's own
"News & Announcements" page.
Use the
Directory to visit
them.
ANOTHER AMAZING
RANGER
In January, 2008
we posted the obituary of Mike Chittom to the Class of '69 Memorials
page, noting that he was an active volunteer at Celia Clinton Middle
School, through Tulsa's Rotary Club and their Adopt-a-School
program.
The following
press release was issued by Tulsa Public Schools on April 8, 2008.
School
Library Renamed in Honor of Volunteer
A man that
dedicated his life to an area elementary school is now
forever immortalized in that school’s library. A committee
appointed by Board of Education president Gary Percefull
approved creating the Mike Chittom Library
at Celia Clinton Elementary. Chittom was chairman of the
Rotary Club of Tulsa’s Adopt-A-School committee for Celia
Clinton. The club adopted the school in 1993 and spent the
next decade-and-a-half donating office furniture, clothes,
landscaping and mentoring readers.
Chittom
passed away Jan. 17 at the age of 56, the day after
attending a pizza party at the school. Administrators
brought in grief counselors to help students cope with his
death.
“Mike was
an incredible volunteer,” said Celia Clinton Principal Cindy
Taylor. “He worked here for ten years, every day.”
In 2003
Chittom spoke about his relationship with the school:
“This summer, with school out, a little girl started calling
me every week to go to church with her. That church, which
is a poor one, ministers to all the poor people in the
neighborhood where our adopted school is located. I finally
went and, much to my surprise, there were at least 10
children from our adopted school there. They all ran to me
and hugged me,” he said. “…I have six sacks of love notes
and letters of appreciation from children who I was lucky
enough to help. There is no greater reward on this Earth
that I know of.”
Blue Rose: Reborn in London Square
by: SCOTT CHERRY
TULSA WORLD3/14/2008
Do
you ever long for those days when you were tipping a cool one on a
balmy evening at the Blue Rose?
Tom Dittus
'76 is bringing back his former Brookside haunt, the Blue Rose,
to the south end of London Square, 5800 S. Lewis Ave., by early
May.
A new venture,
Sunset Bar & Grill, owned by former Rangers:
Paul Clarke '74, Wally Trepp '72 and Rob Trepp '71,
opened in the middle of London Square in December.
“Maybe we will get a little synergy going over there,” said Dittus.
“They’re getting ready to remodel the whole center, so hopefully we
can bring some life back to a landmark shopping center.
4/5/08 For those of you who
caught KU's win over North Carolina tonight... did you happen to
notice Win Case's (c/o '81) son, Jeremy (#10), playing at the
end of a very important game? Keep your eyes open for him
Monday night.
Eugene Field Elementary Principal, Cindi Arnett-Hemm,
Class of 1973, has been named the TPS District Administrator
of the Year by the Oklahoma Association of Elementary School
Principals.
The annual award lauds administrators that maintain
high expectations for their students and staff and show evidence of
outstanding contributions to their school and community.
Hemm will be honored during a luncheon this summer.
She’s also in the running for Oklahoma Administrator of the Year,
with the winner attending a recognition ceremony in Washington, DC.
Nathan
Hale Alumni Foundation has donated funds to start an
indoor herb garden at Hale.
The school
received a $10,000 grant to make improvements to the outdoor Nature
Center (aka Pride Ctr) next year. They have plans for some new
raised beds that will be used for vegetables and herbs.
HARDSCAPE MATERIALS in Bixby has
offered to donate pond supplies to renew the water feature in the
Center.
The indoor herb garden will
give students the opportunity to have a trial run before going on to
large-scale gardening next year.
The harvest from the herb
garden, and outdoor Nature Center, will be used in the new Culinary
Arts magnet program. Botany, Biology and Special Education
students will contribute to the gardening efforts.
Stephen
Kearney, Class of '67 has been teaching/coaching at
the Oklahoma School for the Blind in Muskogee, OK for 33 years.
UPDATE:
KOTV-Channel 6 News did a great story about
Stephen's wrestling team on Jan 24, 2008.
Announcing the
marriage of
Paul Cooper, Class of '65
and
Donna Blackwell-Runge, Class of '68
on
December 20, 2007 at Poipu
Beach,
Kauai,
Hawaii
The couple first met when
Donna's family moved next door to Paul, from St.
Louis, MO in 1965. Paul
was about to start college at the University
of Tulsa and Donna was a
Sophomore at Hale when they began dating.
After a two year relationship,
the couple went separate ways but rediscovered each other when Paul
inquired about Donna's fate after Katrina, to find that her
New Orleans home had been devastated in the
storm.
Both had previous marriages
ending in divorce and after a 40 year separation, they discovered
love has no time limits.
Stroke of Genius:
Abstract painter Brad Ellis
has come a long way from exhibiting his artwork in old warehouses.
Sometimes the best artists go most of their careers without success
until late in their lives, but Ellis proves an exception. After
moving to Texas in 1987, he settled in with a collaborative group of
artists in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood.
Their makeshift warehouse
shows paid off as galleries and private dealers lined up to
represent Ellis, yet he manages to stay humble—which makes him that
much cooler.
"I’m primarily motivated by
the work of other artists,” remarks Ellis. “There is so much great
work being created right now by artists all over the world in many
different kinds of mediums so it’s really an exciting time to be
alive and to be making art.”
Creative people find
inspiration in a variety of muses. “I used to follow the Grateful
Dead and saw about 80 shows from coast to coast,” he recalls. It’s
no wonder then that his work incorporates an element of musicality.
A harmonious balance of vibrant colors, lines, shapes, forms and
textures makes his paintings foyer and museum ready.
“My art philosophy is pretty
simple,” he insists. “Paint for paint’s sake!”
Brad's chosen medium is primarily
encaustic, oil, acrylic and collage on canvas. Visit his
web site to see his current work:
www.bradellisart.com
Eddy Stewart,
Class of '85, is the founder and national president
of the Southern Lawmen Motorcycle Club.
Eddy writes:
After several years in law
enforcement, I had an idea to get a small group of
friends together to go on motorcycle road trips. The
idea continued to attract interest and the
Southern Lawmen Motorcycle Club (SLMC) was formed
with its headquarters in Springfield, TN. Our next
chapter is currently being organized in Manchester, TN.
The club is 70% law enforcement and 30% firefighters,
EMS, Prosecutors, Military, etc., (these categories also
include retired and honorably discharged).
When a
need arises, we organize and hold benefit rides to raise
funds for those wounded in the line of duty or for the
families of the fallen. We are developing a
"Scholarship program" to begin in the 2008 year. 100%
of the benefit funds go to the recipients. None of the
club members receive a paycheck. 100% of their time is
donated. We are showing our appreciation for those men
and women who serve and protect our country and our
communities.
Wally Trepp '72
Paul Clarke '74
Wally Trepp '72, Paul Clarke '74 and Rob Trepp '71(no sr photo) have just
opened a new venture - the Sunset Bar & Grill in the London
Square shopping center at 5800 S. Lewis in Tulsa.
~ Live music in the evenings,
Wednesday thru Saturday ~
~ Salads, soups, burgers, steak, seafood, kids meals ~
~ Dinner Monday thru Saturday - Closed on Sundays ~
~Coming soon...... Lunch ~
(click on the logo to visit the
web site)
John Dougherty, Class of '64, and Steve
Lee, Class of '68, are members of the very popular Tulsa group -
The Fabulous Mid Life Crisis Band.
Larry Wofford Named TU
Bovaird Professor By Tulsa Business
Journal - 7/24/2007
After carefully
considering candidates from across the nation, The University of
Tulsa named Larry Wofford (Hale Class of '66), TU alumnus and
Tulsa business owner, the next Davis D. Bovaird Chair in
Entrepreneurial Studies and Business Enterprise.
The endowed chair is one of the highest honors in TU’s College of
Business Administration. Established on Jan. 1, 1983, by Bill and
Marian Bovaird, its primary goal is to develop a better
understanding of business enterprise and the entrepreneurial process
among students, faculty, the business community and the public.
As Bovaird chair, Wofford will take
the position of associate director at TU’s new International
Business and Entrepreneurship Institute, which opens this fall.
Wofford will develop an entrepreneurship program for TU students
focusing on entrepreneurial innovation and opportunity campus wide.
He will also teach an entrepreneurship course for graduate students,
as well as an independent study course.
Wofford is not new to the TU family.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Master’s degree in
business administration from TU, and he was professor of finance and
real estate at the University from 1974 to 1987. Wofford also has a
Masters of liberal studies degree from the University of Oklahoma, a
Ph.D. in finance and real estate from the University of Texas at
Austin and is a certified urban planner.
Today, Wofford is owner and president of C&L Holding Corporation,
which owns and operates Route
66 Harley-Davidson and the 5 & Diner restaurant in Tulsa,
Okla. His store has been honored four years in a row as one of the
Top 100 Dealerships in North America by Dealernews magazine.
THANKS,
STEVE!
The
NHAF is on the hunt for Ranger items to put on display
during Hale's 50th Anniversary, in 2009.
You
can thank [or blame] Steve Stephens for his donation of 3
issues of the 1967/68 M.A.T. MuDD - Hale's Mu Alpha Theta
math club newsletter.
We
didn't know that this school publication even existed until these
copies arrived in the mail this week, along with an original 1968
Commencement Program.
According to the '68 Patriot yearbook, the MuDD staff members were
David Taylor, Frank Creamer, Doug Brecht, Will Roy,
Wayne Barnes and
Diana Henderson.
It was
more like reading a copy of the National Inquirer than a math club
publication! These issues should bring memories of day-to-day
life at Hale flooding back to those of you who roamed the halls
during the 1967-68 school year.
We'd
love to have copies of the rest of them for the Class of '68
archives, if anyone still has some stashed in their attic.
We'd also like to hear the stories behind some of the ribbing and
innuendo.
While
looking for more info about the M.A.T. newsletter, we also
discovered that the 1968 Key Club had it's own publication -
The Mondo Key Hole. These would also be a great addition
to our Anniversary displays and archives (hint, hint).
Contact the
NHAF if you have items to loan or
donate
for our "in school" Anniversary displays.
Greg Schober, Class of '72, is
a member of a very popular band in Oregon called "The Touchables".
From the band's bio:
For those of us old enough to remember the late
1960s, The Touchables show is a foot tappin’, feel good, fast-paced
trip down memory lane. For the younger generation, The Touchables
deliver an up-close and personal history lesson on the roots of
classic Rock and Roll.
According to their
web site, the band's history includes gigs with these
nationally-known artists:
CHARLIE DANIELS
BAND
CHUBBY CHECKER
BEACH BOY’S ‘DAVID LEE MARKS’
EDDIE MONEY
GRAND FUNK RAILROAD
HERMAN’S HERMITS
JOHNNY RIVERS
LOVERBOY
MARK LINDSAY
MERILEE RUSH
PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS
SAWYER BROWN
THE GRASS ROOTS
THE KINGSMEN
THE MONKEES 'Micky Dolenz’
THE SUPREMES
ERIC BURDON AND THE ANIMALS
TOMMY JAMES AND THE SHONDELLS
Be sure to pick up the July, 2007
issue of
TULSA PEOPLE magazine.
The cover article is about Tulsa's young (under 40) "Movers and
Shapers". These are the up and coming professionals who
"capture the spirit of a city on the move, and are dedicated to
making Tulsa a better place".
Channing Barker, a 2007
graduate of Bishop Kelly, is one of the four young leaders featured
on the cover. She is the daughter of Patti Olzawski-Barker,
Class of '77.
Channing says this about her mom
Patti, "My mom moves me and pushes me to stretch for the best of
everything, from decisions about life to cleaning my room.
She's got more strength and love in her bones than anyone."
Also featured in the article is
Shelly Drullinger. She is the daughter-in-law of Dennis
and Tommie Hisel-Drullinger, Class of '64. She's is the
wife of their son, Tommy, and the mother of Dennis and Tommie's 8
year old twin granddaughters. Tommie writes that they are very
proud of Shelly and her community accomplishments.
2007
Perfect weather, great entries - our best show
yet!
Thanks to everyone who brought their terrific cars, trucks
& motorcycles to Hale on April 28th.
The Alumni
Foundation and Hale's 2007 National Honor Society group would like
thank Donald
Hudson, Class of 1965, for serving as the keynote speaker for the recent NHS Leadership Convention at Hale.
The convention
brought in NHS students from all over Oklahoma. Donald made a
great motivational presentation to this group of young future
leaders. We were proud to have him here to represent us.
We received a note from Dr. Tim Jones, Class of
'71 this week, pointing out that we had mistakenly put his
photo, with Butch Karatzou's name, on the Class of '71 Memorials
page.
We
just hate it when that happens!
On the up side, he was also kind
enough to tell us about his interesting work with the Bureau of
Applied Research in Anthropology, at the University of Arizona.
For the last decade, he has been conducting a very interesting study
on how much food is thrown away or wasted in the US, with some
amazing results.
According
to Tim's research,
a shocking 40 to 50 per cent of all food ready for harvest never
gets eaten. Each
year food stores and restaurants throw out approximately 27 million
tons (or $30 billion) of edible food. He
estimates an average family of four currently tosses out $590 per
year, just in meat, fruits, vegetables and grain products.
Nationwide, household food waste alone adds up to $43 billion.
Here
are a couple of interviews available online about his study:
Lindsay Harrell-Starr, Class of '98, is enjoying her first year, teaching English at HALE!
Lindsay joins a whole list of
other Hale alums
who are back teaching at Hale today...
Becky Barnes-Baker, Class of '87
Special Education;
Hale Varsity Cheer sponsor; NHS
sponsor
Jill Blackwelder, Class of '72
Assistant Principal
in charge of Academic Affairs
Jason Byrd, Class of '93
Math; Student Council sponsor
Kim Ford-MacDonald, class of '73
English; sponsor of school newspaper
the "Patriot Press"
Richard
"Top" Frost, Class of 65
Hale's award-winning JROTC program
Patti Goble-Duncan, Class of '74
French/Fine Arts and Concert Choir; also wife of Hale's
Vice-Principal, Bill Duncan
D'Ann Huggins, class of '79
Special Education
Lynda Hill-Holt, Class of '74
Special Education
Hale Rangerette Pom Squad sponsor
Patty Wallace-Ferguson, Class of 80
Fine Arts/English; Junior class sponsor; Academic Bowl
sponsor
Kami Wright, Class of '89
Treasurer/Requisitions Clerk
Sandy Wood-Jones, Class of '67, who was nominated
for Tulsa Public Schools Teacher of the Year last year,
retired at the close of the 05-06 school year - ending a
21-year teaching career.
click to enlarge
The Hale Athletic Department
invited all former Rangers to attend
Alumni Night at their
final home game against the Washington Hornets on Feb 16, 2007.
Hale PTA hosted a Spaghetti Dinner
and the Alumni Foundation was present to welcome alumni, give out a
few Hale t-shirts and some great door prizes from alumni-owned
businesses -
Hale's coaching staff made a
special presentation to
Steve Irvine '72, owner of
Irv's Sporting Goods, in appreciation of his support of
the Hale Rangers athletic program this year.
John Russell, Class of '86, is the lead guitar & vocalist
for the popular Tulsa band Admiral Twin
~from the 1986 Patriot Yearbook
Camille Blystone-Rutkauskas, Class of '86, and
her husband David are the founders of an amazing success story -
Camille's Sidewalk Cafe, which began as a single location in
Tulsa at Woodland Hills Mall in 1995.
Just ten years later, Camille's Sidewalk Cafe
operates in over 100 locations in 35 states. They are also
franchising Camille's all over the world with over 900 franchise
locations open or in development as of June, 2006.
I'm very casual in life. I have been
UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fighting for 12 years now. I've
got some injuries to heal, then I'll be back.
I am on
Ultimate
Fighter 4. Fighting is what I do for a living, but it does not
describe me as a person. I have a lot of other interests, including
hanging with my kids.
Editor's note: Ultimate
Fighting is mixed martial arts fighting. Mixed martial arts (MMA)
is a combat sport in which two competitors attempt to achieve
dominance over one another by utilizing a wide variety of permitted
martial arts techniques, including striking and grappling.
Lori Ensign '86
We intended to have information on the web site about
Safari's Sanctuary, in Broken Arrow, OK early last summer,
when we found out that it was owned by Class of '86 alumnus,
Lori Ensign.
Unfortunately, the
sanctuary is in the news these days because some VERY misguided
person or persons have been poisoning some of the defenseless
animals by giving them meat laced with rat poison.
The animals in this sanctuary have
been rescued. They are not violent or a threat to any human.
Lori and her volunteer staff do wonderful work with the animals, and
provide many opportunities for educational field trips, tours,
private parties, etc.
Here is a link to the story about the animal poisonings that
appeared in the
Broken Arrow Daily Ledger on Oct 27, 2006.
There is currently a $900 reward offered for information leading to
an arrest in this case.
Please visit the
sanctuary's web site
to read about the work that they do. Then, if you would like
to do something to help, there are always openings for volunteers,
docents, internships and apprentices.
You can donate cash in person, by
mail or through a PayPal link on the web site. Here are a couple of
special immediate needs:
Donate to
their veterinary bill. With all the extensive blood work,
tissue sampling, autopsy’s… Donate directly to Dr Dan
Danner, Animal Medical & Surgical Hospital, Tulsa, OK and
he’ll deduct from our bill – but please your send name and
address, so the sanctuary can send you a tax receipt and
thank you.
www.drdandanner.com
Donate toward the purchase of
the video surveillance system on loan from Solutions Boxes
Inc. The sanctuary cannot afford to buy the system. They
are so thankful to the company for going to the trouble to
set it all up for free, even if its just for a month or so.
They're hoping for enough donations to be able to keep the
system. (Ed Note:
Solutions Boxes Inc is located at 5455 S Mingo, in Tulsa.
Their phone number is 918-622-8115, if you like to discuss
making a donation towards the purchase of the surveillance
system that is currently on loan to the sanctuary.)
Want to give something other than
cash? Here is a list of ongoing needed items. Please
help where & when you can.
Basic daily supplies:
Paper towels, bleach, large
animal food bowls, scrubber brushes, liquid dishwasher soap,
Pedigree can dog food, Can cat food, Large trash bags 35 gal
or more. Sponges, Laundry soap, liquid fragrance free, or
dry tub soaps. Downey liquid and/or dryer sheets.
Vegetables; cabbage, romaine
lettuce, carrots, collard greens, dark greens.
Old towels, blankets, for
winter bedding.
Aspen, or pine bedding –need
lots in winter.
Square bales of hay
Cabinet freezer, one of our
freezers just died.
Welder, we have supplies
Electrician, plumber
Bird treats – hanging play toys
–so they don’t get too bored in winter months.
Zupreme Parrot & Conure large
bags of pellet food.-use 1-2 bags month.
Mazuri Primate Biscuits
Dry.-use 1-2 bags month.
Zupreem exotic can cat food –
use a couple cases per month.
Ferret diet, Guinea Pig Harvest
All of the above animal foods
can be purchased at Southern Agriculture
71st & Sheridan or 71st & Lynn Lane
Safari's Sanctuary is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations are used to
help the animals and are tax deductible.
David Miller, Class of '87 the owner of
Trinity Restoration, an
automotive restoration business that provides paint, body and
mechanical services with three current locations and a fourth (the
largest in town) under construction now. Plus we just shot the pilot
for a national, weekly car restoration TV series.
My wife owns a
home furnishings and design business in Utica Square called
The Home Collection. Work
keeps us pretty busy, obviously.
David's getting a lot of extra media attention
these days. Besides the article in the Tulsa World (below) he & his
shop were the cover story for a major industry trade magazine last
month.
Restoration shop
gears for growth
By DEBBIE
BLOSSOM
Tulsa World 9/26/2006
Trinity
constructs auto repair facility, awaits broadcast of reality TV show
A baby
boomer-fueled love of classic cars and the popularity of reality
television has revved up business at a Tulsa company that is
expanding its space and adding jobs to meet the demand.
Trinity
Restoration owner David Miller expects sales at his collision
repair and restoration firm to approach $6 million annually after he
opens a new 25,611-square-foot automobile repair facility in south
Tulsa next year. An official ground-breaking on the
multimillion-dollar building is set for mid-October on 2.5 acres at
8324 E. 97th St., just east of the intersection of Memorial Drive
and 98th Street.
Construction on
the $3 million project actually began Sept. 11. and is expected to
be complete by mid- March -- in time to celebrate Trinity's 20th
year in Tulsa. "It will be the biggest free-standing
shop in town," said Miller, who has quadrupled the business since he
took over the company three years ago. "I've been real
aggressive about it," he said, and this latest expansion will also
mean doubling the staff of 15 employees to handle the workload.
Trinity
Restoration offers paint and body work, including paint-less dent
repair, and for the first time full mechanical services. The new
facility will include the latest paint, body and mechanical
equipment, and a car dealership-style showroom displaying several
restored classic automobiles and motorcycles.
Miller is holding
on to Trinity's current space at 8618 E. 46th St., though, turning
over the original building and two smaller ones to the portion of
his business that handles classic car restoration and complete-kit
car construction. "We're busy and we need the space,"
Miller said, but the expansion also provides a chance to show off
his creativity and expertise with custom-car designs on a reality
show on CMT, or Country Music Television.
"We've been
chosen to do a car restoration show called 'My First Ride,' " Miller
said. The show is part detective work -- staffers hunt
down someone's first car, at the request of family members -- while
the remainder of the broadcast has Miller and his team transforming
it into the dream car that the former owner always wanted but often
never had. "They bring the car to me, and I restore it,"
Miller said. "People are very passionate about their first car, they
have very strong feelings about it." And that's what
makes the show so special. "These are people's dreams,"
he said. "I love the concept."
The pilot was
shot in July, Miller said, and the show could debut next spring.
The opportunity to showcase his passion for classic cars and Trinity
Restoration came about by chance.
TV production
crews based in Joplin, Mo., for another CMT show, "Trick My Truck,"
which turns beat-up trucks into works of art, began scoping out
Tulsa for "My First Ride" after they couldn't find a suitable car
restoration firm in Joplin.
"It just kind of
fell into my lap," said the 38-year-old Miller, who grew up around
cars and watched his mechanic father work on Camaros and Corvettes
for years. "There were always lots of hot rods sitting around"
that needed a lot of work and personal attention. "After
awhile I started to like it -- I guess it's in my blood," the Tulsa
native said.
Miller is
Trinity's second owner -- he bought the business from the
husband-and-wife team who founded it in 1987. "It
started as a Mustang restoration shop, but it just grew into fixing
everyone's car," Miller said.
But now the TV
show could put Trinity on the map. "We're doing the kind
of work people think is only being done in places like Los Angeles
or Phoenix," Miller said. "It has the potential to be huge for us."
Trinity
Restoration owner David Miller and his crew are customizing this
2006 Lamborghini for a car enthusiast. Photo by SHERRY BROWN /
Tulsa World
An
artist's rendering depicts Trinity Restoration's 25,611-square-foot
automobile
repair facility, which is being built at 8324 E. 97th St. by Rupe
Construction of Tulsa.
The $3 million project was designed by Brad Lechtenberger and Tom
Daman.
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Caitlin
Huggins, Class of 2000, has been nominated for a Regional
Emmy Award. She is the Producer of Fox 23’s new morning show
and the Emmy nomination is for Best Morning News Show. Caitlin’s
mother, D’Ann Huggins, teaches at Hale and is a Class of
’79 Hale Grad.
Allen
Smallwood's honor was for the betterment of the nation's solo
practitioners.
A longtime Tulsa
attorney has received national recognition for his legal career from
the American Bar Association.
Allen Smallwood
received the Donald C. Rikli Lifetime Achievement Award from the
ABA's General Practice Solo and Small Firm Division at the group's
annual meeting in Honolulu.
Smallwood, 59, is a
lifelong resident of Tulsa. After graduating from Hale High
School in 1965, he served in the Marine Corps from 1966
until 1968, spending 14 months as an infantryman in Vietnam.
He received his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University
in 1972 and his law degree from the University of Tulsa in 1974.
Smallwood has
practiced law since 1975, concentrating primarily on criminal
defense work in both state and federal courts. He has
previously received awards for ethics and professionalism from the
Oklahoma and Tulsa County bar associations.
Smallwood is
currently a fellow with the American College of Trial Lawyers. He
previously was a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association Board of
Governors.
The Donald C.
Rikli Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a lawyer who has worked
diligently toward the betterment of the nation's solo practitioners,
according to the ABA's Web site.
Smallwood said last
week that receiving the award was a "huge honor." He said he
has been told that the Rikli Lifetime Achievement Award is not
presented every year.
Smallwood said he
originally was not planning to attend the meeting in Hawaii but then
learned that his presence was required. He said he bought an airline
ticket on short notice and made a whirlwind trip to Honolulu to
receive the award on August 3rd.
Tulsa attorney Michael
McBride said Friday that he co-nominated Smallwood for the award.
He said new 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jerome Holmes,
Tulsa County District Judge Tom Gillert, outgoing Federal Public
Defender Paul Brunton and Tulsa attorney R. Thomas Seymour all
submitted letters supporting the nomination.
McBride described
Smallwood as a "consummate trial lawyer" who served as his mentor.
He wrote in his nomination letter, "If my liberty ever were at
stake, Allen would be the first lawyer I would call."
David Warburton, Class of '71, recently retired from Owasso
Public Schools after 25 years of service to that community.
As you may recall, David was a basketball and baseball Varsity letterman
during the years he was enrolled at Hale.
After graduation, David signed with the Houston Astros baseball
organization as a pitcher, he played ball with the Astros farm teams in
Florida and in West Virginia for 2 years.
He was traded to
Milwaukee and played with that club's farm teams for 1 year. He
suffered an injury to his pitching arm common to pitchers in those days,
and was forced to make a decision of surgery and/or steroid injections
or go home. Dave made the choice and came home.
I would like to note, that now days peewee baseball players start
with tee ball and coach pitch baseball. It has been found that pitching
too young, too early, can damage a pitcher's arm later in life,
something that was not known when he started playing baseball in the
early 1960s.
Dave attended and graduated from the University of Tulsa. He
helped Coach Shell with the TU baseball program while he was there.
After graduation, he moved to Oklahoma City and was a teacher for
Oklahoma City Public Schools - Capitol Hill High School.
Dave became aware of an opening at Owasso Public Schools. He
applied and in the mean time was married. He and his wife, Starlene, moved
to Tulsa and he started his 25 year career at Owasso as the Pitching
Coach of the Owasso Rams.
Even though Dave has retired from Owasso Public Schools his love of
baseball has taken him to a new school with a new Baseball Program as
Head Baseball Coach at Cascia Hall in Tulsa.
Dave's dream of making it to the New York Yankees never came to pass,
but his love for the sport has helped him to mold young minds and
baseball players his whole life. Most of this was devoted to
baseball, but Dave also teaches Sociology, Oklahoma History, US History
and World History. In addition, he was an assistant football coach
at Owasso, and will be an assistant football coach at Cascia Hall.
submitted by his brother, Michael Warburton, Class of '74
Long-time time pitching coach, David
Warburton, will leave Owasso after 24 years to become the head coach of
CasciaHallHigh School
in Tulsa.
Warburton had a great career at Owasso and
influenced the lives and careers of countless players. Numerous pitchers
have continued their careers in college and the professional ranks under
his tutelage. Dallas Trahern (Tigers) and Mark Roberts (Padres) are
presently pitching in the minors with 2006 graduate, Chris Armstrong,
currently in negotiations with the Angels.
Owasso wishes Coach Warburton all the best
in his new adventure. It was a great run “Wavy.” Good luck and God Bless.
excerpt from an earlier Owasso
Rambler newspaper story:
When [Brent] McConnell (Hale '73) came [to Owasso], he rejoined
David Warburton, with whom he had been teammates at Nathan Hale High
School in Tulsa. Warburton had been at Owasso since 1983, the year
Turner took over head coaching duties from Spencer.
Leading the Owasso
Rams baseball program to success over the years are colleagues and
friends Brent McConnell, Hale '73, Head Coach Larry Turner,
Steve Holleman and David Warburton, Hale '71.
Cendant Hotel Group
Announces
Senior Global Sales Appointment
July 27, 2006- Cendant
Hotel Group today announced the appointment of Greg Land, Class of '81,
as Senior Vice President of global sales.
Land’s
primary responsibilities will be setting the Hotel Group’s global sales
strategy, leading the Global Sales team and building customer
relationships.
Prior to
joining Cendant, Land worked for Sabre Holdings in Southlake, Texas, in
several sales capacities, most recently as senior vice president, sales
and marketing. From 1989 to 1995 he worked for AMR Corporation in Fort
Worth, Texas, in various legal and financial roles for its American
Airlines brand. He began his career in 1987 as a financial auditor and
consultant for Dallas-based Arthur Young & Company (now Ernst & Young).
Land
received his bachelor’s degree in computer science and accounting and his
master’s degree in accounting and finance from Oklahoma State University
in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Cendant
Hotel Group, which will become part of a Cendant spin-off hospitality
company called Wyndham Worldwide this month, is one of the world's largest
integrated lodging franchise and management companies with more than 6,400
hotels on six continents franchised under the Wyndham®, Ramada®,
Days Inn®, Super 8®, Wingate Inn®, Howard
Johnson®, Travelodge®, Knights Inn®,
Baymont Inn & Suites® and AmeriHost Inn® brands.
All
hotels are owned individually and operated independently or by a Cendant
subsidiary. Cendant Hotel Group's TripRewards® loyalty program
is the largest in the industry, based on the number of participating
hotels.
Russ Teubner '74
Russ Teubner, Class of '74 founded his first company in 1983 -
Teubner
and Associates.
Over 15 years, Teubner and Associates developed four product lines (A-Net,
Corridor, Faxgate, and ESP: The Expert Support Program) and spread its
reach to include customers in 35 countries on six continents. Teubner
was named to Inc. Magazine's list of the 500 fastest growing privately
held companies in America three consecutive years.
In
1997, Teubner and Associates merged with French-based Esker S.A. to form
Esker, Inc. Russ currently serves on the Esker Supervisory Board.
Russ also serves on the Board of Directors of
Southwest Bancorp, Inc.
and iTradeFair
Personal highlights:
1992,
Stillwater Chamber of Commerce recognized Russ as Citizen of the Year
1993,
Russ received the Outstanding Young Oklahoman award from the Oklahoma
Jaycees
1996,
Graduate of the MIT Birthing of Giants program
1996
and 1997, Russ served on the Citizen's Commission on the Future of
Oklahoma Higher Education
1997,
Oklahoma State University (OSU) named Russ as a recipient of their
Distinguished Alumni Award
1998,
Russ and his wife Julie were honored by President and Mrs. Clinton
during a White House Rose Garden Ceremony which recognized a select
group of companies and business owners who promote family-friendly
employment policies within their organizations and communities
1999,
Russ was inducted into the OSU College of Business Hall of Fame - the
highest honor the College can bestow upon one of its graduates
Currently, Russ serves as a board member of these organizations:
OSU
Education and Research Foundation
Oklahoma Technology Development Corporation
Stillwater Center for Business Development
Global Commerce Network (GCN), a non-profit organization devoted to
helping business leaders extend their influence into the social sector
Lynn Seaton '75
Bass master
Lynn Seaton's talent earned him a seat
beside legends of jazz By JOHN
WOOLEY Tulsa World7/2/2006
Alaska. Despite the fact that it has a reputation for giving
musicians lots of opportunities and good wages, it's the only state in the
union where jazz bassist Lynn Seaton hasn't yet performed.
"I haven't been able to find a gig
there," he said in a recent telephone interview from his Texas home.
"So if you hear of one, let me know."
Don't feel too badly for him. He may
not have had the chance to do his stuff for Alaskan music lovers, but
chances are many of them have heard the Tulsa native and recent
Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame inductee on one of the more than
100 recordings he's done -- including the 1987 Grammy-winning album
"Diane Schuur and the Count Basie Orchestra" and the 1986
Grammy-nominated "50th Anniversary Tour" from Woody Herman and His Big
Band.
He's also appeared at festivals and
other engagements all over the world, and teaches in the
internationally famous jazz program at the University of North Texas.
By the time he graduated from
Tulsa's Nathan Hale High School, Seaton had been playing the bass for
almost a decade. But, he said, he didn't get into a real band until
he'd left Tulsa for the University of Oklahoma.
"I was in innumerable garage bands
in Tulsa. My parents were very tolerant of my youthful musical
endeavors," he said with a chuckle. "But after I got to OU, I played
in a couple of bands out of Norman that were around for a while.
"One was Oleo, like the margarine -- or the Sonny Rollins tune, which
is what the name was based on. And there was Xebec, which was my first
full-time music gig."
Xebec, the rock band that was also
the one-time home of well-known Tulsa keyboardist Jim Downing,
afforded Seaton the first chance he had to practice music as a
vocation. "I'd always dreamed of making a living at my music,"
he said with another chuckle. "Be careful what you wish for."
Seaton spent several years as a road
musician, and then, in early 1980, he went to visit his sister Rebecca
and her husband in Cincinnati. "I sat in at the Blue Wisp,
a jazz club, and gave them my card," he remembered. "I said, 'If you
ever need a bass player, let me know.' Two weeks later, they called
and asked if I was serious."
The Blue Wisp, which featured
big-name soloists every week, became Seaton's musical home for the
next three and a half years. He played steadily, five nights a week,
until 1984, when he got a chance to go out on the road with one of the
biggest of the big-band names. "The Woody Herman band
offered me a position, and I was torn," he said. "I thought, 'Here I
am, playing with top jazz acts every week. Why would I want to go out
on the road?'
"The drummer at the Blue Wisp was a
wise sage named John Von Ohlen, who'd played with Herman and with Stan
Kenton. He said, 'You should go. You get a certain other kind of
experience when you travel. You get a kind of consistency. Plus, you
get to see the country.'
"He was right. What he meant when he
said 'consistency' was that you travel every day, and each time you
play for people who paid their money to hear your music played at the
highest level possible. It doesn't matter how tired or sick you are,
how bad the hotel or the food has been. You learn to turn on the
switch."
The legendary Herman, Seaton
remembered, "was very understanding, very loose, and very cool. He'd
seen it all and done it all. It was a band with a lot of young people
in it, and we called him the road father." That first
experience with Herman lasted for a year, leading to other jobs with
the likes of the Count Basie Orchestra, Tony Bennett and George
Shearing. He moved to New York, where he found plenty of work touring
and freelancing with a dizzying variety of jazz musicians.
In the midst of it, he married his
wife, Marianne. "I got married in 1986," he recalled. "I asked
her after I'd been on the road for six months."
The two stayed in New York until
1998, when he accepted the offer to teach at North Texas University.
Now, Texas is his base, although he's hardly slowed down. "I
still take several trips a year," he said. "It's a performing school,
so they encourage us to perform. "Many good things throughout my
life have fallen into my lap," he added. "This is one of them."
CONGRATULATIONS TO LYNN for his well-deserved induction into the
Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in June, 2006.
For more information about Lynn's
career, discography and appearances, visit his web site: www.LynnSeaton.com
Darrell Gilbert, Class of '68 is the
Assistant Democratic Floor Leader in the
Oklahoma House of Representatives. He represents
District 72 in the Tulsa.
He has served in
the Oklahoma House since 1997. His term limit will be up 2008.
He currently serves on the following
committees:
County and Municipal Government Committee;
Health and Human Services Committee; Rules
Committee; County and Municipal Government Committee.
He also served on the Tulsa City
council, representing District 3 from 1993 to 1996.
David McGill,
Principal Bassoon
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
David McGill, Class of '81, began his
tenure as principal bassoon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the fall
of 1997. He came here from the Cleveland Orchestra, where he had been
principal bassoon since 1988. Prior to that, he was principal bassoon of
the Toronto Symphony from 1985 to 1988, and principal bassoon of the Tulsa
Philharmonic from 1980-1981.
David has appeared as soloist with the CSO,
the Cleveland Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the Oklahoma Symphony, the
Tulsa Philharmonic, the Annapolis Symphony, Orchestra London, Symphony New
Brunswick, the Colorado Philharmonic, and the student orchestras of the
Curtis and Cleveland Institutes of Music. He was principal bassoon of the
World Orchestra for Peace in 1995 and the Solti Orchestral Project at
Carnegie Hall in 1994, both under the direction of Sir Georg Solti. He has
also performed at the Marlboro, Tanglewood, Colorado Philharmonic (now
National Repertory Orchestra), and Aspen music festivals.
Born in 1963, David is a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his father is a
retired architect and his mother a retired church organist and piano
teacher. After hearing Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,
David began his musical studies on the clarinet at the age of eleven. Soon
afterward, he decided to switch to the bassoon. David began private
studies with Jane Orzel, principal bassoon of the Tulsa Philharmonic, and,
when she left the orchestra during his senior year of high school, he won
her position.
He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music
(1985), where his teachers included Sol Schoenbach, John de Lancie, and
John Minsker. In 1983, he won first prize in the Fernand Gillet
Competition sponsored by the International Double Reed Society.
David was a recipient of the 2001Grammy Award for Best Instrumental
Soloist with Orchestra for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s recording
of Strauss Wind Concertos. Among his other recordings are Musique
Française with oboist Alfred Genovese and pianist Peter Serkin, Orchestral
Excerpts for Bassoon (a teaching CD), and Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto with
the Cleveland Orchestra. In 1994, he gave the world premiere of Oskar
Morawetz’s Concerto for Bassoon and Chamber Orchestra, which was written
for him, and, in 1996, he performed in the American premiere of Jean
Françaix’s Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano at the International Double
Reed Society’s convention. He has given master classes in Canada, Finland,
Hungary, and throughout the United States. He has
