I was born and grew up in Claude, Texas (population 750 at that time!).  Howard's dad was in the air force; so he lived in many "exotic" places.  When Howard was a freshman in high school and his dad died suddenly at the young age of 43, his mom moved back to her hometown of Claude where Howard and I met and fell in love.  We got married during his first year of med school and lived 10 years in Baltimore and then a year in Toronto while he trained.  We moved back to the Texas Panhandle in 1980 and started our life in Amarillo.

Howard's aunt and uncle owned our current house in Lake City and they were nice to invite us up many times to hike, fish, elk hunt and enjoy the mountains.  The story is that his uncle won the house in the late 1970's in a poker game!  In 1994, when they could no longer come to 9000 feet due to health issues, we bought our current house from them.  We loved Lake City and Lake San Cristobal and in 2007 we decided to remodel and add on to the cabin.  Of course, it took twice as long and twice as much money to complete but we're glad we did it.  With Howard still working, our time in LC was limited; however, once he retired in 2015, we have been able to spend at least 4-5 months in LC in the summers and to come up in the winters as well.  Obviously, it is our happy place! 

In 2018, our sweet neighbor, Barbara Hoaglin, called and invited me to come with her to a PJWC meeting.  I had a lovely lunch, met more women than I'd met in the 24 years that we'd owned our house, and heard an excellent and inspiring talk about the history of Lake City by Grant Houston.  I was hooked!  I wanted to join this group of very nice, fun women and help them continue to contribute to the wonderful place we all love.  Our family has had a great time hiking, fishing, touring and participating in many activities in the community, but it is also really meaningful to help give back to ensure that others can appreciate and enjoy these same benefits.  PJWC is the best group to do that with!  We work hard but have a lot of fun too.  

My favorite thing about PJWC is getting to know and work with so many talented and wonderful women who are now my friends as well!  Lake City is like summer camp for old folks.  I look forward to "camp opening" every spring when we all arrive and get to share some great times and I get very sad at "camp closing" in the fall when we leave and are apart for the winter months.  However, there is always next summer and more PJWC fun!

We have 2 adult children, Christi and Trent, and 2 grandchildren. They love Lake City too, although it is a trek from Houston and San Antonio.  They don't get to come as often as they (or we!) would like.  We are, however, hosting a family reunion for about 22 people this summer over July 4; so that will be fun (and I won't be working in the hot dog booth this year!).  

I have been honored and privileged to have served on the PJWC executive board for the past few years.  It has been fun and a wonderful experience for me.  Thank you all for allowing me to have this opportunity.  I will miss it!  However, I am very happy that we have such a good and talented group of leaders and members who I know will continue to work to further our PJWC goals.  I will enjoy continuing to work with everyone on our various projects.  The best is yet to come!

I wish everyone best wishes for 2026.  I look forward to seeing you all at Camp Lake City 2026!