Local personalities of 2006

Residents who made headlines, or just made us proud

By Jeff Walker

San Marcos — Some of them made news headlines. Some inspired us. Some of them made us laugh.

But we found all of the people listed below particularly interesting; as such, the following is a list of the Daily Record’s top 10 local personalities of 2006.



Boko

Boko, the official mascot at Texas State University, found himself as one of nine mascots duking it out for the title of National Mascot Champion this year.

Fur flew on Feb. 5 and 6 at the United Spirit Association Cheerleading and Dance National Championship in Las Vegas. And Boko was up against some fierce competition. UCLA sent three solemn-looking bears, the University of Oregon also had three mascots and Sam Houston State University sent Sammy and Airkat, both orange animals known as Bearkats.

With a little hard work, Boko danced and cheered his way to victory. Formerly known as the “Sensation of the Southland,” he is now using the title “Sensation of the Nation.”

After graduation Boko would like to continue as a mascot. He has even been offered a full-time job with a professional hockey team but turned it down in favor of finishing school.



Jackie Breedlove

When it comes to music ministry, few do it with more compassion than Jackie Breedlove. The one-time pianist for the First Baptist Church in Wimberley and First Christian Church in San Marcos retired earlier this year.

“I feel strongly that God is telling me it’s time,” Breedlove said in March. “But I’ll probably be miserable for a while.”

Jackie’s mother signed her up for piano lessons at the age of six. She grew up as an only child in Almeda, a small rural community south of Houston. She was so short that they had to put an extension on the pedals.

“I was a music teacher’s nightmare,” Jackie said. “I put notes in places where there weren’t any written.”

She was forced by her mother to practice an hour before school and an hour after. She says her crying fits would persuade her father to plead with her mom to allow Jackie to quit practicing. But her mother never let up — something that Jackie is grateful for now.

After all, Breedlove’s been playing in churches since she was 16. That smiling face from behind the keyboard is still missed every Sunday, but rest assured — Jackie’s enjoying the extra time with her grandchildren.



Lorraine Burleson

Lorraine Burleson has developed a strong following around town by helping others — children in particular.

Burleson worked several years for the George Gervin Youth Center based in San Antonio. She was also involved in the ROOTS (Rearing Our Own To Succeed) tutorial program, a program she helped start when local students weren’t getting enough help with their homework outside of school. She now works as the Unit Director for the South Central Texas Boys and Girls Club.

“I especially enjoy finding avenues to help the children. The young people are our most valued commodity, if we don’t put investment in their lives, what do we have to look forward to?”

Earlier this year, Burleson completed the Lay Ministry Program in Austin, which allows her to preach in surrounding communities and at Jackson Chapel United Methodist Church.

But perhaps Burleson’s greatest accomplishment has been caring for her hearing-impaired great-granddaughter. While she still takes speech classes and faces many challenges, now 14-year-old Jasmine is an A and B student, having never heard a word until she was seven.



Elizabeth Crook

Elizabeth Crook, who graduated from San Marcos High School in 1977, released her third novel, “The Night Journal,” early this year. She once again received critical praise from most major Texas publications, but when she spoke to Daily Record columnist Bibb Underwood, she showed her drive and an obsessive devotion to her projects.

In “The Night Journal,” her story threads its way through three generations of women from the 1890s to present day. It seems to define one of her pressing questions that surfaced during the interview. Are we today, a diluted version of our ancestors? Were they made of better stuff than we? Did their hardships and conditions mold and flavor lives with more depth and character than we attain today?

No matter how long we have to wait for the next Elizabeth Crook novel, she’s constantly making San Marcos proud.



Washington Garcia

He played for presidents as a child, wooed a Juilliard panel as a teenager and even had a grand piano flown from Quito to the coastal city of Salinas for a one-night-only Washington Garcia performance. But the Ecuadorian piano extraordinaire’s latest stop is San Marcos, where he’s an assistant professor of piano at Texas State University.

His list of accomplishments is thicker than a phone book, but here’s the highlights: By the time he was 14, Garcia had been invited to perform for the former president of Chile. He earned a bachelors degree at age 18, a masters degree from Johns Hopkins University at 20 and finished his doctorate degree at age 25, the youngest ever for a Latin American student there.

His goals for San Marcos are as lofty as his track record.

“I want to recruit and maintain quality students that would take the name Texas State University all over the world,” Garcia said. “I want to prepare them so that they can represent us on the concert platform at the highest level.”



Nathali Hernandez

It’s not just that Nathali Hernandez, recent San Marcos High School graduate, was offered an internship at the Capitol in Washington D.C. this summer. It’s that the Brown University student wants to take what she learned and give back to her hometown.

Focusing a lot of her efforts on the issue of education during her internship, Hernandez would love to be able to come right back to San Marcos and share her story and show other high school students that the same resources exist for them that existed for her.

“I’m the first in my family to go to college, and my parents didn’t know how to help me there,” Hernandez said. “I really want to go back to create an organization that makes this information readily available to students back home.”



Jerry and Jim Kimmel

The San Marcos Springs have flowed for over 10 million years, ut Jim and Jerry Kimmel did something for the river that’s been long over due — they made it a published entity.

“The San Marcos: A River’s Story” is a beautifully put together guidebook to a waterway that is brimming with plants, wildlife and an abundance of history. Jerry’s photographs capture the beauty of the river while Jim keeps readers in tune with the complexities and the culture of it.

But really, they just want you to love the river as much as they do.

“The real purpose of this book is to get people to love the river,” Jim said. “It’s to give them enough information and inspiration about it for them to say, ‘this is a real special place.’ The technical history is not necessary to do that. The stories are necessary to do that.”



Betty Porter

Though she’s fairly new to the community — she came to San Marcos for a little peace and quiet — Betty Porter brings with her a lifetime of world travels and good stories to share.

She’s traveled through Europe, Australia, New Guinea and South Africa. Her poetry has been published in seven books. She’s been commissioned to paint and sculpt several pieces for private collectors, most notably Lady Bird Johnson.

She also offers some sage advice for local artists.

Now primarily a writer, Porter notes in her art technique book “Creativity in Art:” “I am not interested in art as a means of making a living, but as a means of living a life.”



Sparky and

Thomasine Sparks

Sparky and his wife Thomasine Sparks aren’t afraid of going to prison — they go every few weeks.

But it’s what they do for the prisoners that’s so touching.

The couple has devoted the past five years of their lives to Kairos, a world-wide prison ministry that spreads love and understanding to inmates.

Every other week or so, at least one of the two is en route to prisons in Huntsville, Palestine or Gatesville to spend time with prisoners — some new to the Kairos program, and some that they’ve kept up with for years. The Greek word Kairos refers to “God’s special time,” as opposed to conventional linear time.

For the inmates they meet, they offer home cooking, an open ear, plenty of prayers and all the hugs they could ever hope for.

“Some of them have never had a hug, or haven’t had one in a long time,” Sparky said. “We’re not here to change (their) life in any way, unless they want to. We’re there to tell you that God loves you and we do too, and he can forgive you whatever you’ve done.”



Priscilla Speed

It’s pretty easy to tell that Gospel music was a first love for Priscilla Speed.

When she released her CD “Led By the Spirit,” early this fall, Speed fulfilled a lifelong dream of hers. Hearing her talk about the recording process and the excitement in her voice, we couldn’t help but get excited too.

“Led by the Spirit” was recorded in Nashville at a friend’s studio. The session almost didn’t happen when Speed fell ill — she and her husband almost turned around halfway to Tennessee.

“I had so many problems, but it was if I was being told this was the time to do it,” Speed said. “Putting your hands in the Lord’s will is sometimes just the way to do it.”

The CD, available at Hastings in San Marcos, features a duet with longtime Nashville star Tommy Cash on “Softly and Tenderly.” In turn, Speed included Cash’s “I Want to Live my Life for Jesus” on her Gospel album.

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