We're always looking for interesting items to add to this page.
Please submit Alumni News items to
info@nathanhalealumni.org

1963 BASKETBALL 1st OK 7 Conference All-City Champ - 1964 2A GOLF Individual State Champ: DAVID HINES - 1965 2A CROSS COUNTRY Boys Team State Champ - 1965 2A GOLF Individual State Champ: DAVID HINES - 1965 2A GOLF State Champ Team - 1966 2A BASEBALL State Champ - 1966 2A CROSS COUNTRY Boys Team State Champ - 1972 4A FOOTBALL State Champ - 1972 4A CROSS COUNTRY Boys Team State Champ - 1973 WRESTLING Individual State Champ: DEE PITEZEL - 1974 4A CROSS COUNTRY Boys Team State Champ - 1975 4A BASEBALL State Champ - 1975 4A TRACK Boys State Champ - 1976 4A TRACK Boys State Champ - 1976 4A BASEBALL State Champ - 1979 4A FOOTBALL State Champ - 1982 4A CROSS COUNTRY Individual State Champ: MIKE BILYEU - 1983 4A BASEBALL State Champ - 1985 WRESTLING Team State Champ - 1993 3A SOFTBALL Girls Fast Pitch State Champ - 1994 4A BASKETBALL Girls State Champ - 1994 4A BASEBALL State Champ - 1997 5A BASEBALL State Champ

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.

NEW - Upcoming Events page

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.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NathanHaleHighTulsa/

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.

 


VINTAGE HALE GAME & BAND FILMS
on Sale Now!

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 WORLD  3/14/2008

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.

Jeremy's Bio on the KU web site

 

TPS District Administrator of the Year

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. 

 


Brad Ellis
Class of '76

Brad Ellis: Cool Artist of the year
Brilliant Magazine

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

March, 2007 VIDEO:
Neiman Marcus commissions paintings and produces DVD featuring his work

 


1978-79 Vo-Tech pm drafting class

Did you attend Tulsa Vo-Tech (Lemley Campus) 1977 - 1980?

There is a Yahoo! Group for folks who attended Tulsa Vo-Tech Memorial (Lemley) Campus from the fall of 1977 thru the spring of 1980.

Join us to discuss the upcoming reunion or just to get caught up with old friends.... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tvtreunion/

 

Eddy Stewart

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 '64 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.

John Dougherty '07

Steve Lee '68

Link to Band's web site:
The Fabulous Mid Life Crisis Band
 

NEW:  Music samples on MySpace

Steve Lee '07

 

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).

October, 1967 M.A.T. MuDD

November, 1967 M.A.T MuDD

April, 1968 M.A.T MuDD

in PDF - Adobe Acrobat Reader required
Get Acrobat Reader Web logo

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

If you live in Oregon, make sure to check them out... www.thetouchables.com


Greg Schober, right-front

 

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.

Visit the Car Show page for more details.

Hale on Wheels Photos - Online!
 

 

Thank You!

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:

Discovery Channel video - Clean Your Plate Already!

NPR (audio): Anthropologist Suggests Ways to Stop Wasting Food
 

 

Robbi McDaniel, Class of '88, is the Texas State Representative for the Women's International Motorcycle Association - Robbie's WIMA Bio.

 



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 -

Safari Sanctuary
Camille's Sidewalk Cafe
Joe Momma's Pizza
Tulsa Air & Space Museum

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 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.

VIDEO CLIP:
KOTV News on 6 features
the opening of Camille's 100th Cafe

 


Mike Burnett '91

Mike Burnett '91
aka The Eastside Assassin !

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.
  • Fresh fruit; apples, bananas, peaches, plums, nectarines, grapes. 
  • 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. 

How's this for a headline: "The $6 Million Man"
(cover & article in pdf format)
Get Acrobat Reader Web logo

 

 

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

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."

by David Harper, Tulsa World, August 13, 2006

 


Dave Warburton

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

 

from www.OwassoBaseball.com

DAVID WARBURTON TAKES OVER AT CASCIA HALL

Long-time time pitching coach, David Warburton, will leave Owasso after 24 years to become the head coach of Cascia Hall High 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.

photo courtesy of Owasso Rambler

 

 


Greg Land '81
 

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
Lynn Seaton '75

Bass master
Lynn Seaton's talent earned him a seat beside legends of jazz

By JOHN WOOLEY Tulsa World  7/2/2006

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