What year did you graduate? “1992”

Were you involved in any sports/clubs? “Football, Track and FCA.”

• Why did you join? “I enjoyed sports, and I grew up watching football and playing football in the yard, which kids don’t do anymore since they are too busy playing video games. Coach Tom Sumner was a big part of that too; he was my middle school coach and high school coach, so he encouraged me to play.”
• Did sports have a lasting effect on you after high school? “Yes. One, I went on to play college football for Washington University and without high school football that wouldn’t have happened. Two, I came back to Eureka and continued to coach football here for 16 years. I’ve also continued to coach track, so it’s fun to give back and to do what people had done for me as well.”

Did you have a job during high school? “My uncle offered me a job at his construction company one summer. I also worked at Walmart in the lawn and garden department, and I worked at Hardee’s.”

What were you like in high school? “I was relatively quiet and I kept to myself. I didn’t like to get in trouble; I was a good kid.”

• Social life? “I had teams that I was involved in, so there were people I’d hang out with and do stuff with. Academics were important to me, so I paid attention and did what I needed to do to get good grades.”
• Clothes/Style? “I wore gym shorts and a t-shirt unless it was cold, then I wore blue jeans and a t-shirt.”
• Nicknames? “I went by my last name.”

What are some memorable moments or stories you recall from your high school experiences? “I remember that Mike Hunt would give me a Snickers candy bar each week because I blocked well for him in football. Also, my wife, Meredith, was my high school sweetheart, so that’s pretty memorable.”

• How did you meet her? “Mrs. Billy Coons moved her in the seating chart to sit next to me because she found out that she liked me. We had been in other classes together but we started dating the spring of our senior year.”

How was EHS similar or different to how it is now? “Sports have continued to stay competitive. The campus has grown a lot. Back then not all the buildings were enclosed and we had to walk outside to go to the Language Arts building and other departments, but since then they have been enclosed and built together, except the gym. I think Eureka always had a small town atmosphere where people liked community. That’s changed over the years, as we have changed in size and in culture. I think there’s a lot of folks that want to get that back. Also, there were only two high schools in the district then, Eureka and Lafayette or Eureka and ‘Eureka North.’ They wanted to be called Lafayette, but they were ‘Eureka North,’ an extension of us because Eureka was the original high school in Rockwood.”

What music did you like to listen to in high school? “I listened to country-Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn. The Eureka students then as a whole- a good chunk listened to country, but you still had some rock heads, classic rock was big for some groups.”

Do you remember any specific teachers that you had? What do you remember about them? “Coach Kimball was a track coach and was my anatomy teacher and obviously had an impact on me going into science. Mrs. Kennedy was one of my teachers, but she wasn’t Mrs. Kennedy then she was Ms. Naebe. I remember boys would try to make her cry every class period, I think it was her first year teaching, if I’m not mistaken. I wasn’t one of them because I was the quiet, good kid.”

What was your favorite year in high school? “I guess my senior year because that’s when I met my wife, or my junior year because that’s when I met Jesus.”

Did you attend your high school reunion? “No, because the few people I would care to still talk to I talk to anyway; there’s a handful of guys I still talk to.”

Do you still have your yearbook? “Yes, I have two copies because my wife has one also.”

Why did you decide to work here? “I liked our school. I liked the community. I wanted to be able to give back to it have an influence in kids lives because Tom Sumner was one of the biggest ones in mine because I didn’t grow up with my dad in this area and so he was definitely a fatherly figure to me.”