Hometown Brandon - Fall 2015
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volume 2 number 4<br />
<strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong><br />
A Lifetime Commitment<br />
______________________<br />
Clinging to a Promise<br />
______________________<br />
Coach tyler peterson<br />
______________________<br />
Planting Hope
Call us to schedule<br />
your next visit.<br />
(601) 825-3368<br />
Sarah Langston, DMD<br />
14 Woodgate Drive<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong>, Mississippi 39042<br />
2 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
Whether your dental needs include a complete<br />
exam and cleaning, full-mouth restorations,<br />
or anything in between, we promise to provide<br />
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Our Services:<br />
• Sedation Dentistry<br />
• Dental Implants<br />
• Porcelain Veneers<br />
• Cosmetic Dentistry<br />
• Bridges<br />
• Porcelain Crowns<br />
• Root Canal Therapy<br />
• Preventative Dentistry<br />
• Children’s Dentistry<br />
• Teeth Whitening<br />
• Oral Cancer Screenings<br />
• Dentures and Partials<br />
• Restorative Dentistry<br />
• Composite Fillings<br />
• Clear Correct <br />
• Dental Extractions<br />
• Emergency Dental Care<br />
• Periodontal Therapy<br />
Our Dentists:<br />
• Lance Welch, DMD • Jonathan Germany, DMD<br />
*Dr. Germany and Dr. Welch are general dentists.<br />
Our Hours:<br />
7:45 am - 5 pm Mon<br />
7:45 am - 5 pm Wed<br />
7:45 am - 7 pm Tues<br />
7:45 am - 7 pm Thurs<br />
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used in combination with new patient special. Expires 3/31/<strong>2015</strong>. 12/31/<strong>2015</strong>.<br />
your exam. For new patients only. Expires 3/31/<strong>2015</strong>. 12/31/<strong>2015</strong>.<br />
2004 Courtside Drive • <strong>Brandon</strong>, MS 39042 • (601) 866-5709 866-5735 • thegermanydental.com<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 3
4 • Summer 2014
Publisher & Editor<br />
Tahya Dobbs<br />
CFO<br />
Kevin Dobbs<br />
CONSULTANT<br />
Mary Ann Kirby<br />
Account Executives<br />
Alicia Adams<br />
Rachel Lombardo<br />
LeeAnn Evans<br />
Misty Taylor<br />
Staff Photographer<br />
Othel Anding<br />
Contributing<br />
Photographer<br />
Onsby Vinson<br />
Layout Design & Production<br />
Daniel Thomas • 3dt<br />
Contributing Writers<br />
Camille Anding<br />
Olivia Halverson<br />
Charla Jordan<br />
Mary Ann Kirby<br />
K'anne Mcgaughy<br />
Melanie McMillan<br />
Susan Marquez<br />
www.facebook.com<br />
/hometownbrandonmagazine<br />
www.HTMags.com<br />
“Where Are They Now?” is a new addition to this issue – thanks to one of our interns, Olivia<br />
Halverson, who introduced the idea. She’s now a freshman at Samford University in Birmingham<br />
and excited about pursuing her journalism major. We’ll miss her!<br />
The article’s question is relevant to all of us. In this issue you’ll read about Jami Watson and her<br />
battle with cancer as well as Coach Peterson and his family welcoming a new family member coming<br />
from thousands of miles away. Both articles will speak to that question of where they are now.<br />
Ms. Milbrandt will carry us back thirty-plus years all the way to where she is now – quite an<br />
interesting trip!<br />
I feel like I could write my own article with that same title – “Where is She Now?” Our oldest child<br />
pledged her devotion to her mate and our new son-in-law in July. Try that experience for a new level<br />
of emotion. One week prior to that big day, our family watched our baby, CandyLee, march to “Pomp<br />
and Circumstance” as a high school graduate. That song can bring you to tears even without a loved<br />
one in the processional. Kevin and I thought we were spent with emotion until we moved our son,<br />
Carson, to Ole Miss in early August as a junior transfer. Ask me how many tissues it takes to travel<br />
from Oxford to <strong>Brandon</strong>.<br />
Where am I now? Very busy with publishing a magazine that keeps me<br />
up to my neck in “busy-ness” and, boy, am I EVER grateful! Our empty nest<br />
swooped on us like a full-blown hurricane. I’ve definitely needed the<br />
medicinal and emotional help that <strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> has given me in this<br />
issue. My thanks, as always, to our wonderful advertisers and for all you<br />
readers who remember to do business with them. As members of a wonderful<br />
hometown, we have to stick together in our families, churches, businesses,<br />
and communities. It will certainly make an impact on where<br />
we’ll be tomorrow.<br />
Contact us at<br />
info@htmags.com<br />
601.706.4059<br />
26 Eastgate Drive, Suite F<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong>, MS 39042<br />
• • •<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> is published by<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> Magazines.<br />
All rights reserved.<br />
No portion of <strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong><br />
may be reproduced without written<br />
permission from the publisher.<br />
The management of <strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong><br />
is not responsible for opinions expressed<br />
by its writers or editors.<br />
All communications sent to our<br />
editorial staff are subject to publication<br />
and the unrestricted right to be refused,<br />
or to be edited and/or editorially<br />
commented on.<br />
All advertisements are subject<br />
to approval by the publisher.<br />
The production of <strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong><br />
is funded by advertising.<br />
In this issue The Way We Were .....................6<br />
A Familiar Light on a Foreign Path..... 1 0<br />
A Lifetime Commitment.............. 14<br />
Clinging to a Promise ...............22<br />
Planting Hope ....................... 28<br />
Bulldog Bash........................ 38<br />
Coach Tyler Peterson................ 44<br />
A Kindergarten Legend .............. 50<br />
Where Are They Now?............... 60<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 5
The<br />
way<br />
we<br />
were.<br />
Cynthia & Gary Simons<br />
Cynthia and Gary Simons will celebrate their<br />
forty-first wedding anniversary on August 18,<br />
but after spending just a portion of time with<br />
them, it’s obvious that celebration is a way of<br />
life for the Type A couple.<br />
They first saw each other at a college business<br />
meeting their senior year at Mississippi State<br />
University. Gary found out that she was dating<br />
three different guys at the same time. But that<br />
didn’t stop him from asking her for a date. Her<br />
response was, “No, you’re not my type!”<br />
Gary waited for another opportunity and<br />
asked her again–this time in February of 1974.<br />
Cynthia agreed. They laugh as they remember<br />
that first date. Cynthia said, “He carried me to<br />
Cy Thompson’s Steak House, and we ordered<br />
steak. There were pictures of cows along the<br />
wall, and Gary named all the different breeds.”<br />
“I was trying to impress her,” Gary added,<br />
but evidently Cynthia was already impressed<br />
with his personality and good looks. Gary shared<br />
that he didn’t kiss her until after their eighth<br />
date because he wanted to show her that he<br />
wasn’t just attracted to her physically but was<br />
drawn to her godly life style.<br />
Gary explained, “I started looking at life<br />
hard my senior year. I asked myself, ‘Who am<br />
I going to spend the rest of my life with.’” He<br />
had been watching Cynthia and saw qualities<br />
he wanted in a mate.<br />
6 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
Six months later, the two promised each<br />
other “for better or worse” in their wedding<br />
ceremony at Meadow Grove Baptist Church,<br />
and the two became one.<br />
They each had one remaining semester to<br />
complete before graduating–so that semester,<br />
on a newlywed budget, in family housing, made<br />
for some memorable experiences. They made<br />
their own trick or treats for their first Halloween<br />
together–thirty popcorn balls. But the trick or<br />
treaters missed out, because Cynthia and Gary<br />
ate them all.<br />
Kroger sold four packs of cinnamon rolls for<br />
a dollar. That grocery special was kind to their<br />
budget. They remember eating cinnamon rolls<br />
three times a day.<br />
The two opened Gary’s Carpets in <strong>Brandon</strong><br />
in 1979. <strong>Brandon</strong> would become their hometown<br />
where they would raise their two children,<br />
Hayden and Laura. Cynthia is quick to admit<br />
that working together in the same business can<br />
have its challenges, but Cynthia and Gary have<br />
met them all. Gary’s philosophy at the end of<br />
each work day, “Let’s leave that on Hwy 471,”<br />
has helped to make it work.<br />
With their obvious romance still in full<br />
bloom, one would question their secret. Cynthia’s<br />
eyes sparkled as she responded, “I first thought<br />
marriage would be a 50/50 relationship. But it’s<br />
not; you have to give all 100%, build on a<br />
Christian foundation, and always put God first.”<br />
Gary’s broad smile turned more reflective as<br />
he said that he’s thought a lot more about his<br />
wedding vows now than when he first repeated<br />
them. “For better or worse...when the end does<br />
come and you get right down to it, it’s my wife<br />
that will be there for me. Cynthia will always<br />
care most.”<br />
The exemplary couple appears to be the<br />
poster couple for what God designed for<br />
marriage. They obviously see it as a treasure<br />
exactly what God intended. ■<br />
“<br />
I first thought marriage would<br />
be a 50/50 relationship.<br />
But it’s not; you have to give<br />
all 100%.<br />
”<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 7
SunglaSS HeadquarterS<br />
Many great<br />
styles<br />
to suit<br />
your<br />
taste or<br />
any mood.<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong>: (601) 825-8300<br />
Canton: (601) 859-3464<br />
Madison: (601) 605-2259<br />
Ridgeland: (601) 957-9292<br />
Yazoo City: (662) 746-4312<br />
8 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 9
A<br />
Familiar<br />
Light<br />
on a<br />
Foreign<br />
Path<br />
10 • <strong>Fall</strong> 2014
Grayson Orman believed God’s Word – even the verse in Jeremiah<br />
where God asks, “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” However,<br />
like a lot of believers, he had a tendency to compartmentalize his faith.<br />
Grayson knew that Christ met him in the church building for worship.<br />
Every believer knows that, but does He meet us in our work place?<br />
In a mysterious and miraculous experience while Grayson was writing<br />
his final paper before graduating from Belhaven, he got confirmation that he<br />
would indeed live out his faith on foreign soil. Slowly and methodically over<br />
the next seven years, God would teach Grayson that Jesus was truly the<br />
center of his universe, but it would be a gentle and unhurried process –<br />
especially for Grayson’s wife, Karen. His mysterious experience would take<br />
time for it to include her.<br />
While Grayson continued working in the family jewelry store after his<br />
encounter with God, the couple began to see that debt and the desire to own<br />
“things” were robbing their freedom and denying them the abundant life<br />
that God wanted for them. Even though Grayson and Karen weren’t sure<br />
what God was doing, they felt compelled to downsize their lifestyles and<br />
possessions so they could be freed up to be His servants when and wherever.<br />
They even named their new venture: Mobilization for Christ.<br />
The couple prayed, studied, and implemented their venture over the<br />
next few years. Grayson confessed, “God worked miracles in our lives.”<br />
They downsized in their accumulation of “things” and went from a large,<br />
family-size home to a much more modest version. When they felt God was<br />
about to relocate them, they decided to sell their home. A customer, looking<br />
for an engagement ring, prompted Grayson to question the customer about<br />
where he and his new wife planned to live.<br />
The customer just happened to be looking for a modest home. Within<br />
one week, he became the new owner of the Orman home without Grayson<br />
ever putting a “For Sale” sign in his yard.<br />
Today Grayson, Karen and nine-year-old daughter, Cali, make their<br />
home in Southeast Asia where they live out their faith in the midst of a<br />
foreign culture. They operate an art gallery near a college campus where<br />
they also offer dance and art classes with future plans for music classes.<br />
Nine different countries are represented in their art exhibits, and the<br />
Ormans are excited to have entertained and toured visitors from over thirty<br />
origins. They’ve also hosted Bible studies in their home that began with<br />
three and grew to over 120.<br />
In a city that makes <strong>Brandon</strong> look miniscule, this young family is<br />
working and living in a foreign culture that desperately needs the Light. In<br />
order to meet that need, the Ormans simply let their lights shine everyday<br />
as all believers are meant to do. They would be quick to confess that Light<br />
always prevails. ■<br />
______________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
The Ormans are presently on medical leave for extensive dental surgery that<br />
Karen is undergoing. While here they are active in their former church home,<br />
Crossgates Baptist in <strong>Brandon</strong>.<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 11
A Community of Faith called to<br />
Love others the way God loves us<br />
Worship with us EACH Sunday at<br />
8:30am & 10:30am<br />
w/ Strength for the Journey 6:30-7pm<br />
It all kicks off with<br />
on the church grounds THEN Lunch<br />
FOLLOWED BY more fun with…<br />
Silent Auction | live entertainment<br />
Mission market place | fall photo op<br />
Fun zone for only $3 | tailgating<br />
HAYRIDE to Pumpkin patch | Bake sale<br />
pacesetters country store<br />
PROCEEDS GO TOWARD MISSIONS<br />
So Come one, come all!!<br />
23 Crossgates Drive | <strong>Brandon</strong>, MS 39042<br />
601.825.8677 | crossgatesumc.org<br />
12 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
Rotary/Kiwanis<br />
Luncheon<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 13
14 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
A Lifetime<br />
Commitment<br />
Melanie McMillan<br />
Dr. Richard Randolph<br />
has been practicing medicine<br />
in <strong>Brandon</strong> for 30 years–<br />
and has no intentions of<br />
quitting any time soon. . .<br />
Please tell us about where you grew up and your<br />
childhood in Mississippi.<br />
I grew up on a Panola County cotton farm in North Mississippi.<br />
My dad is a retired engineer who worked at Tallahatchie Valley<br />
Electric Power Association in Batesville, and my late mom taught<br />
science and home economics classes at the junior high and high<br />
school level. My identity was shaped by a viable rural community<br />
with enviable simplicity and camaraderie, led by men and women of<br />
faith. I was gainfully employed in my early years by my uncle on the<br />
farm. It was understood that I would ultimately run my grandfather’s<br />
farm which he started in the 1930’s along the edge of the<br />
Delta in the Yocona River lowlands. That all began to change<br />
during my junior year in high school when I contracted pneumonia<br />
and spent a considerable amount of time with Dr. Edward Steward,<br />
our family doctor in Batesville. He suggested that I would find his<br />
vocation both challenging and rewarding, and he asked me to give it<br />
some serious thought.<br />
Why did you decide to become a physician?<br />
This was an insidious process that required a great deal of<br />
transformation from my childhood aspirations. While I dearly<br />
loved working with the soil, I couldn’t help but appreciate what my<br />
doctor did for me in high school. I began to think of the great<br />
privilege it would be for me to be able to help people in such<br />
situations. As I began my undergraduate work at Mississippi State, I<br />
discovered that I actually enjoyed the challenge to understand the<br />
complexities of biology and chemistry. It was during those years that<br />
my relationship with my God began to take center stage, and the<br />
intrigue and privilege became a calling.<br />
What are some of the common illnesses you treat?<br />
I’ve been a family doctor in <strong>Brandon</strong> for all of my 30 years in<br />
practice. As a result, I’ve walked many long roads with quite a few<br />
folks. We treat patients who have a wide variety of acute and chronic<br />
diseases. We do lots of wellness exams and routine immunizations.<br />
We treat patients from school age to geriatrics. A big story in our<br />
community over the years has been Merit Health Rankin (known as<br />
Rankin General Hospital in 1985 when I moved to <strong>Brandon</strong>) and<br />
its valuable contribution to our community. In addition, the Jackson<br />
metro area has continually provided a wide array of consultants.<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 15
What have the last 30 years taught you?<br />
Being a healthcare provider and overseeing a sole proprietorship<br />
have been formidable challenges, though I have found that I was<br />
fashioned for this adventure. I have learned the importance of having an<br />
exceptional staff, and I have been very fortunate to have hard-working,<br />
caring office personnel. These 30 years have provided many opportunities<br />
to meet a lot of people at their greatest point of need. This has<br />
been a huge privilege; it is very humbling to me that someone would<br />
trust that I might be able to point them in the right direction, or ease<br />
their pain. I’ve learned that the responsibility is even greater than I<br />
had imagined – it has required a great deal of discipline to be as<br />
prepared as possible in order to help.<br />
I’ve also learned quite a bit about people over the years. Life on<br />
this side of heaven isn’t always fair, and some have been dealt a lot<br />
more blows than others. I’ve noticed that pain and disease bring<br />
humility and a new perspective for most. There are tons of needs<br />
and there are at least that many people who are very grateful for help.<br />
It may just be our beloved Rankin County, but I’ve learned that there<br />
are lots of very kind and loving individuals who live here, and I’ve been<br />
blessed to have known them.<br />
What do you hope for in the next 30 years?<br />
At 57, I have no reason to rock this boat – I’m in the trenches and<br />
I love what I do. My health is good. I’m pressing forward. A number<br />
of my Rankin County predecessors practiced medicine into their 70’s<br />
and beyond. Besides, Rae Anne believes I would explode or something<br />
if I slow down, and she’s probably right.<br />
What do you and your family like to do around <strong>Brandon</strong>?<br />
We love spending time with our grandchildren, attending church<br />
activities and enjoying the delicious food at our local restaurants.<br />
Where do you go to church?<br />
We attend Crossgates Baptist Church.<br />
What would you tell a new physician about his career<br />
choice?<br />
Cherish the unique opportunity you have been given to help<br />
people. Be deliberate to connect with those who entrust themselves<br />
to you, and don’t ever stop learning.<br />
What are your hobbies? Favorite pastimes?<br />
This may sound strange, but I really enjoy reading about trends<br />
in my profession. Learning about the new frontiers in healthcare and<br />
keeping up with the current standard of care are very intriguing to me.<br />
I dream about the days of my youth that I spent hunting and fishing,<br />
but I just don’t do much of that any more. Also, golf is definitely not a<br />
good walk spoiled, now that I no longer pay attention to my score.<br />
Are there any awards or accolades from your career that<br />
you’d like to share?<br />
I am board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine<br />
and a Fellow in the American Academy of Family Physicians.<br />
Tell us about your family.<br />
Apart from the day I walked an aisle at a church revival in high<br />
school, the best day of my life came when I met my wife, Rae Anne.<br />
We were both attending a college fellowship at First Presbyterian<br />
Church in Jackson. I was still at UMMC, and she was finishing her<br />
bachelor’s degree at Belhaven. She remains the most important person<br />
in my life – she really is the ‘better half’, and those who know her will<br />
agree. Our son and two daughters are out of the nest and on their own:<br />
Megan (and husband Dustin), a housewife and mother of my two<br />
grandchildren, Jonathan (and wife Lacy), a pro golfer finishing his first<br />
year on the PGA Tour, and Miriam (and husband Josh), an RN at the<br />
Blair Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson, also training to be a nurse<br />
practitioner. I have been richly blessed through these individuals, all of<br />
whom still live nearby.<br />
Are there any organizations or causes you support that<br />
you’d like to share information about with readers?<br />
Rae Anne and I have supported the Center for Pregnancy Choices<br />
for a number of years. I’ve been involved in prison ministry through<br />
the Chaplain’s Department at CMCF since 1991.<br />
Who do you look to for advice and inspiration?<br />
As a Christian, I first and continually look up and look to the<br />
Word. Humanly speaking, my single most strategic mentor and<br />
advisor has always been my dad, now 89, who still resides in my<br />
childhood home. Also, I am close to a number of very wise men in our<br />
community whom I trust a great deal. ■<br />
16 • <strong>Fall</strong> 2014
Cherish the unique<br />
opportunity you have<br />
been given to help people.<br />
Be deliberate to connect<br />
with those who entrust<br />
themselves to you, and<br />
don’t ever stop learning.<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 17
Helmets<br />
& Heels<br />
August ???, <strong>2015</strong><br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> High School<br />
18 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 19
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20 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
Don’t Blink-It GoesByFast<br />
Mary Ann Kirby<br />
<strong>Fall</strong> is here. School is back in session and I<br />
already miss the lazy summertime days with<br />
my family; particularly my ever-growing<br />
12-year-old. Time is going so fast.<br />
As adults, we’ve always known that “time<br />
flies” – but just a couple of weeks ago, my own<br />
child commented on how fast the weekends<br />
seem to go by. I didn’t know kids had much<br />
concept of time beyond, “how much longer is it”<br />
and “are we there yet?” Call me crazy, but I’m<br />
pretty sure that time is going by faster than it<br />
used to. And I doubt that the warp-speed<br />
hyper-scheduling we all endure helps much.<br />
The morning that I wrote this, the Kenny<br />
Chesney song Don’t Blink came on the radio<br />
and made me teary. (Note: it doesn’t take much<br />
to get me all blubbery and choked up. They say<br />
having kids does that to a person. I believe it.)<br />
The song refers to a man turning 102 years old.<br />
He’s being interviewed and is asked what he<br />
considers to be the secret of life. He answered,<br />
“Don’t blink. 100 years goes by faster than<br />
you think.”<br />
It got me to thinking (and writing)–am I so<br />
busy running, trying to keep up, that I’m missing<br />
the most important part of it all? Kenny’s<br />
fictitious centenarian says to, “Best start putting<br />
first things first . . . ‘cause when your hourglass<br />
runs out of sand, you can’t flip it over and start<br />
again. Take every breath God gives you for what<br />
it’s worth.”<br />
With that in mind, I’ve made a mid-life<br />
resolution.. I want to do things differently.<br />
I want to notice more–and to appreciate more.<br />
I not only want to step out of my box and go<br />
places I’ve never been, see things I’ve never<br />
seen, eat places I’ve never eaten and do things<br />
I’ve never done–but I want to see the things<br />
around me, differently.<br />
Erma Bombeck is one of my all-time<br />
favorite columnists. Back in 1979, she wrote a<br />
column called, “If I Had My Life to Live Over.” It<br />
reiterates that the time we have should be<br />
appreciated and used wisely. She was 52<br />
when she wrote it–basically, my age. We<br />
should all take it as excellent advice in today’s<br />
high-velocity environment. She says:<br />
“Someone asked me the other day if I had<br />
my life to live over, would I change anything.<br />
My answer was no, but then I thought about it,<br />
and changed my mind.<br />
n If I had my life to live over, I would have<br />
talked less and listened more.<br />
n Instead of wishing away nine months of<br />
pregnancy, and complaining about the shadow<br />
over my feet, I’d have cherished every minute of<br />
it and realized that the wonderment growing<br />
inside me was my only chance in life to assist<br />
God in a miracle.<br />
n I would have never insisted the car windows<br />
be rolled up on a summer day because my hair<br />
had just been teased and sprayed.<br />
n I would have invited friends over to dinner<br />
even if the carpet was stained and the sofa<br />
faded.<br />
n I would have eaten popcorn in the ‘good’<br />
living room and worried less about the dirt<br />
when you lit a fire in the fireplace.<br />
n I would have taken the time to listen to my<br />
grandfather ramble about his youth.<br />
n I would have burned the pink candle<br />
sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.<br />
n I would have sat cross-legged on the lawn<br />
with my children and never worried about<br />
grass stains.<br />
n I would have cried and laughed less while<br />
watching TV–and more while watching life.<br />
n I would have shared more of the<br />
responsibility carried by my husband, which<br />
I took for granted.<br />
n I would have<br />
eaten less cottage<br />
cheese and more ice<br />
cream.<br />
n I would have gone<br />
to bed when I was sick<br />
instead of pretending the<br />
Earth would go into a holding<br />
pattern if I weren’t there for a day.<br />
n I would never have bought ANYTHING<br />
just because it was practical/wouldn’t<br />
show soil/guaranteed to last a lifetime.<br />
n When my kids kissed me impetuously,<br />
I would never have said, ‘Later. Now go get washed<br />
up for dinner.’<br />
n There would have been more ‘I love yous’ ... more<br />
‘I’m sorrys’ ... more “I’m listenings’ ... but mostly, given<br />
another shot at life, I would seize every minute ...<br />
look at it and really see it ... try it on ... live it ...<br />
exhaust it ... and never give that minute back<br />
until there was nothing left of it.”<br />
Is there any way to say it better?<br />
It’s a great lesson for me about<br />
life–and time–and the<br />
passage of time,<br />
particularly as we<br />
embark upon a new<br />
season. I plan<br />
to begin living<br />
life more<br />
deliberately–<br />
and I’m<br />
starting<br />
today.<br />
Don’t blink.<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 21
22 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
Clinging<br />
to a<br />
Promise<br />
Olivia Halverson<br />
Every day seems to bring about a new tragic diagnoses.<br />
Today, everybody knows somebody who has been affected<br />
by cancer. Still, the diagnoses of a dear friend or family<br />
member never fails to surprise and devastate. What people<br />
often forget to consider is their personal vulnerability to<br />
disease and mortality. Despite seeing so many sick and<br />
hurting people around them, humans continue to tell<br />
themselves, “that could never happen to me.” Then, it<br />
happens. One day, a young woman’s relaxing bath entails<br />
her most feared discovery–2 unnatural growths beneath<br />
her skin, a most certain sign of breast cancer.<br />
“There is no way this is cancer,” the doctor told Jami,<br />
“you are too young.” At 33 years of age, Jami Watson, a<br />
studied and trained radiologic technologist, wife, and busy<br />
mother of two, knew better than to accept this doctor’s<br />
diagnosis. She called another physician who recommended<br />
an immediate mammogram and ultrasound.<br />
The results yielded a diagnosis of Stage 0 Ductal<br />
Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), a noninvasive state of breast<br />
cancer that, if not treated quickly, can become invasive.<br />
Fortunately, Jami had detected her cancer at the earliest<br />
possible stage allowing doctors to effectively remove the<br />
tumors and practically eliminate the chances of the same<br />
cancer ever reoccurring in Jami.<br />
Oncologists insisted that there was no need for chemo<br />
if Jami underwent a bilateral mastectomy. In short order,<br />
Jami was having surgery before her 34th birthday. Jami’s<br />
operations took place at Woman’s Hospital in Flowood,<br />
Mississippi where Dr. Steven Paterson performed her<br />
general surgery and Dr. Shelby Brantley did Jami’s<br />
reconstructive work. Jami’s overnight stay was less than 23<br />
hours with a quick recovery to follow. Post-surgery, all of<br />
Jami’s tests came back negative and she was allowed to<br />
return home. As Jami was leaving the hospital, doctors<br />
said with a smile, “We hope we never see you here again.”<br />
For Jami and her family, 2010 proved to be a busy<br />
year. In addition to keeping up with two young and very<br />
involved children, Jami and her husband, David worked<br />
tirelessly on the start of David’s new veterinary practice,<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Veterinary Clinic. While cancer did make a rude<br />
interruption in Jami’s life, her experience was quicker and<br />
less painful than others due to the early discovery of her<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 23
tumors. “After my surgery,” Jami said “we just<br />
picked up and went back to life as usual.”<br />
For almost four years, Jami continued<br />
working at Premier Medical Group, helping<br />
her husband with the clinic, and doing what<br />
she loved most— being a full time mom. Her<br />
son, Connor, took up a love for running and<br />
athleticism in cross country and triathlons.<br />
Macie, Jami’s daughter is active in gymnastics,<br />
tumbling, and competitive swimming. In that<br />
time, the Watson family grew closer with their<br />
Pinelake Church congregation and really<br />
began to feel settled in their weekly routines.<br />
Life was good.<br />
In April of 2014, Jami found herself back<br />
in a nightmare she had lived once before,<br />
surrounded by the same team of doctors and<br />
surgeons. Jami’s cancer had returned, this time<br />
more aggressively in the exact area it had<br />
appeared in before. Invasive Stage 2 Ductal Carcinoma had entered<br />
one of Jami’s lymph nodes— an extremely unexpected outcome as<br />
only 1% of breast tissue remained after her previous surgery.<br />
Cancer came crashing down on Jami and her family once again,<br />
stronger and more violent than before. Jami armored herself for a<br />
battle, knowing the only way to combat such a storm was to match it<br />
with an even greater strength–undeniable faith in a Savior. With God<br />
by her side, Jami endured another surgery, a biopsy, 5 long months of<br />
sickening chemotherapy and 6 weeks of radiation. Not long into<br />
treatment, Jami began to see the physical effects of chemo on her body.<br />
Her long brown hair thinned and fell out. Before long, Jami was the<br />
bald, beautiful epitome of a stage 2 breast cancer patient. Inside,<br />
Jami not only fought a battle with disease but an emotional battle as<br />
she mourned the loss of what so many women identify with–long,<br />
beautiful hair. Still, Jami’s faith ran even deeper than the hurt and pain.<br />
She clung to a promise from God in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the<br />
plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not<br />
to harm you, plans to give you hope and a<br />
future.” Jami weathered the storm with this<br />
verse on her heart, knowing soon her sickness<br />
would end and she would return to fulfill a<br />
greater purpose.<br />
When Jami was diagnosed for the second<br />
time, her friends and family helped in every way<br />
they could. Constant prayer and encouragement<br />
were among the bountiful offerings, in addition<br />
to deliciously prepared meals delivered right to<br />
the Watsons’ home. Jami’s family even attempted<br />
to take on the mom-jobs that Jami was unable<br />
to do, and in doing so, gained a lot of valuable<br />
life skills such as cooking and doing laundry.<br />
“We all shared the love,” Jami said. Prayer<br />
Warriors from Pinelake called Jami every<br />
week with love and encouragement. Even in<br />
her darkest days, Jami was never left alone.<br />
Therein lies the power of faith–with God,<br />
one is never ever alone.<br />
Now a year later, Jami is a stunning cancer free woman with newly<br />
opened eyes and an agenda. Being a mom is what Jami missed most<br />
of all during her treatment. As she regains her strength and energy,<br />
Jami is focused on being an active part of her children’s futures. Macie<br />
is excelling greatly in competitive swimming and Connor will be a<br />
sophomore in high school. Outside of her family, Jami feels a calling to<br />
give back what was given to her by preparing and delivering meals to<br />
other cancer patients saying, “I’ve taken that on as my mission to give<br />
back to others.” Knowing the fears and pain of being a cancer patient,<br />
Jami hopes to ease others who are suffering the same nightmare.<br />
Looking back on her experience, Jami realized “Cancer makes<br />
you think, ‘live life with no regrets.’” A life lived in love and service is<br />
not one Jami will regret. After all, there is no promise for tomorrow.<br />
In the meantime, take this advice from a woman who has fought and<br />
won a treacherous battle, “Put God first in your life, love your family,<br />
and enjoy every single day.” ■<br />
24 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 25
26 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
SAVE THE DATE!!<br />
Thursday,<br />
October 29, <strong>2015</strong><br />
Clyde Muse Center<br />
Pearl, MS<br />
Rankin County Chamber<br />
www.facebook.com/RankinGlowRun<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 27
Hope<br />
PlantingCamille Anding<br />
28 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
Few creatures in the world match the<br />
beauty and grace of the Monarch butterfly.<br />
Local master gardener, Renate Hunt, has spent many years studying the delicate species.<br />
Her involvement with the Master Gardeners of Rankin County has provided an outlet for<br />
her interest by allowing her to give informative lectures about Monarch butterflies.<br />
The primary goal of her lectures is to inform listeners of people’s environmental impact on Monarchs<br />
and to teach people how they can easily nurture and restore this shrinking species.<br />
The Backstory<br />
Beginning as tiny eggs no<br />
bigger than the head of a pin,<br />
Monarchs hatch into small,<br />
colorful caterpillars that eat<br />
their way through the leaves of<br />
milkweed plants—the insect’s<br />
plant host and source of vital<br />
nutrients. The caterpillars spin<br />
a green cocoon which slowly<br />
loses its hue as the butterfly<br />
inside matures. Just before<br />
hatching, the cocoon appears<br />
black and orange, and the fiery<br />
orange wings of a born-again<br />
creature erupt from the<br />
encasement. Weighing less<br />
than one-fifth of an ounce<br />
with wings spanning 4 inches<br />
wide, these delicate creatures<br />
prepare themselves for an<br />
incredible migration of 2,500<br />
miles. At each stop along the<br />
migration, parent butterflies<br />
die after the females lay their<br />
eggs, and a new generation of<br />
butterflies rises to continue<br />
the journey. Four generations<br />
of butterflies make up this<br />
process before reaching the<br />
end of migration. Many<br />
dangerous obstacles threaten<br />
Monarch butterflies during<br />
their travels including<br />
rainstorms, cold temperatures,<br />
and perhaps worst of all,<br />
human intervention and<br />
habitat destruction.<br />
Why Monarchs<br />
are Disappearing<br />
Milkweed is a staple for<br />
the birth and growth of the<br />
Monarch caterpillars. For<br />
years, people have treated<br />
milkweed like regular weeds,<br />
killing them with pesticides.<br />
Many farmers and livestockowning<br />
families exterminate<br />
milkweed as soon as possible<br />
due to its toxicity when<br />
consumed. What many do not<br />
know is that milkweed is the<br />
only plant Monarch butterflies<br />
can lay their eggs on and the<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 29
Restoring the Monarch<br />
only plant Monarch caterpillars can eat.<br />
Therefore, as the amount of milkweed<br />
has diminished, equally have the amount<br />
of Monarch Butterflies.<br />
According to the research of the U.S.<br />
Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 970<br />
million butterflies have vanished since<br />
1990 as a result of dangerous herbicides<br />
contaminating and killing milkweed.<br />
Gardeners and butterfly enthusiasts have<br />
taken upon themselves the responsibility<br />
to keep Monarch Butterflies off of the<br />
endangered species list. Protecting and<br />
sustaining this species is not as<br />
difficult as one might think.<br />
Population<br />
According to Renate, the first step to<br />
seeing more monarchs in the community<br />
starts with an abundance of nectar<br />
producing flowers (Petunias, Sunflowers,<br />
Zinnias, etc.) When the Monarchs make<br />
their migration through the southern<br />
United States, they are attracted to areas<br />
with lots of flowers that they may feed<br />
on. The secret to keeping the butterflies<br />
around, however, is milkweed. Adult<br />
butterflies sustain themselves on nectar<br />
flowers, and the females lay the next<br />
generation of eggs beneath the leaves of<br />
milkweed plants. The adult generation<br />
then dies, and the new generation of<br />
butterflies begins their metamorphosis<br />
so that they may continue the migration<br />
into Mexico. Renate Hunt has become<br />
an advocate of the monarch in her own<br />
garden by planting an assortment of<br />
nectar producing flowers in addition to<br />
maintaining a large crop of milkweed.<br />
Every summer, Monarchs take refuge in<br />
Renate’s garden. Her heart is full at the<br />
sight of new butterflies spreading their<br />
wings and flying confidently out of her<br />
garden on to the next part of the journey.<br />
Her hope is that others will find<br />
excitement in providing a resting and<br />
replenishing haven for these beautiful<br />
creatures and join her efforts in helping<br />
the Monarch<br />
butterfly population<br />
take flight once again. ■<br />
30 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 31
32 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
H o m e t o w n L o v e<br />
brandon<br />
K’anne McGaughy<br />
My family moved every two years from the<br />
time I was five years old until my tenth grade year.<br />
We stayed long enough to get involved in the local<br />
Baptist church and make a few friends before it<br />
was time to pack up and move again. There<br />
were lots of positive experiences that shaped<br />
me, but the concept of “home” was foreign.<br />
My Papaw & Mamaw Jarvis lived in <strong>Brandon</strong>.<br />
We would travel there on every major holiday<br />
and take turns spending two weeks of the<br />
summer there. Every summer during our visit<br />
to <strong>Brandon</strong>, we went to vacation bible school<br />
at FBC, ate fried chicken at Little Joe’s and pizza<br />
at Silver Dollar. We learned how to pick tomatoes<br />
and shell peas from my grandparents’ garden,<br />
and we played in the creek with the other<br />
neighborhood kids on Danbar Street.<br />
In the tenth grade, we were living in<br />
Madisonville, KY when my parents announced<br />
that we were moving to <strong>Brandon</strong>. Even though<br />
I wasn’t thrilled to be leaving in the middle of<br />
my tenth grade year, I knew somehow this move<br />
would be different. We settled into school, church<br />
at FBC <strong>Brandon</strong>, and our neighborhood,<br />
Easthaven Estates. Right away, the youth at FBC,<br />
who had grown up in <strong>Brandon</strong>, included me as if<br />
they had known me my entire life. Several of my<br />
new friends were on the annual staff at <strong>Brandon</strong><br />
High School. They invited me to come and meet<br />
the annual staff sponsor, Mrs. Lee Tucker. Mrs.<br />
Tucker took me under her wing and taught me<br />
how to put together an annual. She also taught<br />
me a lot about life.<br />
One of my best friends on the annual staff,<br />
Lynn Walker, lived on Jasper Street. We would<br />
drink Coke Icees and drive around <strong>Brandon</strong> for<br />
hours solving all the problems of the world, or at<br />
least as many as we had as 16 year olds.<br />
About a year later, another family, the<br />
McGaughy’s, moved to town with three boys.<br />
They too had moved every two years growing<br />
up. Several years later, after I graduated from<br />
BHS, I ended up dating one of those new boys.<br />
We dated long distance from <strong>Brandon</strong> to Ole<br />
Miss. After college graduation, Robby McGaughy<br />
and I married in the sanctuary of FBC <strong>Brandon</strong><br />
on College Street, surrounded by our family<br />
and friends. We immediately moved to<br />
Memphis to spread our wings and see the<br />
world. My husband tells everyone I cried all<br />
the way to Memphis.<br />
Three years later, we moved again to Dallas,<br />
TX. We worked all week and played all weekend.<br />
We saw every sporting event, movie, play and<br />
concert, traveled, and experienced life. But our<br />
carefree lifestyle came to a screeching halt<br />
when we found out we were expecting twins.<br />
God began to change our mindset. We no<br />
longer cared about seeing the world and<br />
experiencing life. We wanted to raise our<br />
children in the safety of a small town where<br />
they would grow up with lifelong friends,<br />
where they would know people by name, where<br />
manners and respect for others were a way of<br />
life. A place where God, family and friends, in<br />
that order, came first. We wanted our children<br />
to live in <strong>Brandon</strong>, the place we called HOME.<br />
Before they were born, we began to pray<br />
about our desire to move home. God answered<br />
that prayer when they were 9 months old. Beth<br />
and Sarah are now twelve and have grown up<br />
with the help of FBC <strong>Brandon</strong> children and<br />
youth ministries, FUMC preschool, Rouse,<br />
Stonebridge, <strong>Brandon</strong> Elementary and now<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Middle School. We have also added<br />
another little one to our family, named Grant.<br />
Robby and I are thrilled our children have<br />
lived in <strong>Brandon</strong> most of their lives. We had no<br />
idea how important that would be until our<br />
son was born with special needs. Grant is<br />
developmentally delayed and cannot<br />
communicate the same way typical children<br />
do. He often sings loudly, fails to recognize<br />
boundaries, bumps into people, runs without<br />
abandon, and can tantrum when misunderstood.<br />
The people of <strong>Brandon</strong> have opened their arms<br />
to make us feel comfortable, accepted and<br />
supported. What a blessing it is to go to our<br />
local Kroger where employees call him by name,<br />
to eat at local restaurants, like McAlister’s, and<br />
see other special needs adults and teens<br />
working there, to attend church at FBC <strong>Brandon</strong><br />
and feel the safe haven of God’s love and the<br />
love of others who volunteer to shadow Grant<br />
every Sunday morning, so he too can<br />
experience worship and learn about God.<br />
Robby and I are thankful that God led both<br />
our families home to <strong>Brandon</strong>, not only as<br />
teenagers, but again as new parents. According<br />
to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of<br />
“hometown” is the place where one was born<br />
or grew up. Although, Robby and I were not<br />
born in <strong>Brandon</strong>, we definitely grew up here–<br />
as teenagers, young adults, and now parents.<br />
With God’s help we are raising the next<br />
generation, the fourth in my family, to love<br />
our hometown of <strong>Brandon</strong>. ■<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 33
34 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
– wedding–<br />
Lauren Gail Glass<br />
& John Madison Sisco<br />
Lauren Gail Glass and John Madison Sisco were united in marriage at First<br />
Baptist Church of Jackson on May 2, <strong>2015</strong>. The ceremony was officiated by the<br />
father of the bride, Larry Dale Glass.<br />
The bride is the daughter of Larry and Mary Glass of Flowood, Mississippi<br />
and is a former resident of <strong>Brandon</strong>, Mississippi. The groom is the son of Betty<br />
Tarver Sisco of Brookhaven, Mississippi and the late Madison Sisco.<br />
Nuptial music was presented by pianist Pam Brown of Swanannoa, North<br />
Carolina with scripture read by Karen Bonds, of Charleston, South Carolina.<br />
Both are close friends of the bride from her former church while employed in<br />
the area of Black Mountain, North Carolina.<br />
Given in marriage by her father and assisted by the uncle of the bride, Rev.<br />
Jerry Glass, of Star, Mississippi, the bride wore a gown of rich lace appliquéd<br />
on soft netting with a sculpted neckline featuring scalloped straps and keyhole<br />
back. The empire waist was accented with Swarovski crystal detail. Her veil<br />
was her mother’s, worn on her wedding day forty-two years ago, along with the<br />
train–also part of her mother’s dress. Her bouquet was a spring arrangement<br />
complimenting the kelly green floor-length chiffon dresses worn by the bridal<br />
attendants. They carried complimenting arrangements.<br />
Matrons of honor were Cara Deweese Shroyer of Cumming, Georgia,<br />
sister-in-law of the bride Bevin Chase Glass of Star, Mississippi, and Brooke<br />
Eversmeyer Jarrell of Little Elm, Texas. Kathryn Gray Glass of Star, niece of the<br />
bride, was flower girl.<br />
Best men were brother of the bride Ryan Christopher Glass of Star,<br />
Mississippi, Mitchell Douglas Stuart of Morton, Mississippi and nephew of the<br />
groom William Dwayne Rutland, of Brookhaven, Mississippi. Serving as ushers<br />
were Edward Winslow Chase IV, of Terry, Mississippi and William Paul<br />
Armstrong of <strong>Brandon</strong>, Mississippi. Program attendants were Hanna Grace<br />
Allen and Addison Bessonette, both of Brookhaven, Mississippi.<br />
Following the ceremony, the bride’s parents hosted a reception in the<br />
fellowship hall of the church. A lovely and meaningful bridesmaid’s luncheon<br />
was hosted in the home of Mrs. William L. Waller the day before the wedding<br />
and given by Mrs. Waller, Mrs. Marc Rich, Mrs. Lee Cope, and Mrs. Brian<br />
Fortenberry. On the eve of the wedding, following the rehearsal, a dinner was<br />
hosted by the mother of the bride and family members of the groom in the<br />
Christian Life Center Church dining room.<br />
The couple is at home in Madison following a wedding trip to Costa Rica.<br />
The bride is preschool minister at Broadmoor Baptist Church and the groom is<br />
a senior systems analyst with Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company.<br />
<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 35
36 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
<strong>Brandon</strong><br />
Musicians<br />
The City of <strong>Brandon</strong>’s Senior Services<br />
hosts a music group on Monday mornings<br />
at 9:30. All types of musical instruments<br />
are played and anyone at any musical<br />
level is welcomed to join the group.<br />
If you play an instrument, like<br />
to sing, or you just want to listen,<br />
then come join the fun at<br />
the <strong>Brandon</strong> Senior Center.<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 37
Back to School<br />
BASH<br />
38 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 39
40 • <strong>Fall</strong> 2014 <strong>2015</strong>
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 41
serving our community<br />
Gary Hunn<br />
brandon Fire Department<br />
Why did you decide to become<br />
a fireman?<br />
Basically I enjoyed helping people and<br />
spending time listening to my grandparents<br />
talk about their lives. It was rewarding to<br />
them to know that I cared, which made<br />
me feel great about what I was doing. As<br />
an adult I realized that I could do the same<br />
things as a fireman and also continue a<br />
legacy of firemen within my family.<br />
How long have you been with the<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Fire Department?<br />
15 years<br />
Tell us about your family.<br />
I have three absolutely amazing kids.<br />
Twin girls and a son.<br />
What is the toughest thing you<br />
have experienced in your job?<br />
The first really serious call I had to go to,<br />
I had to pull the body of a six year old out<br />
from underneath a vehicle because he<br />
wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. The rest of the<br />
family walked away without a scratch.<br />
What are three things on your<br />
bucket list?<br />
Move to Belize, take a 6 month long<br />
European vacation, and skydive.<br />
Where do you see yourself ten years<br />
from now?<br />
Retired and living in Belize.<br />
If you could give one piece of<br />
advice to a young person, what<br />
would it be?<br />
Take you education seriously and never<br />
stop learning.<br />
What is the biggest mistake you<br />
think young people make today?<br />
Acting like they are owed something just<br />
because.<br />
What is your favorite thing about<br />
the city of <strong>Brandon</strong>?<br />
Aside from its citizens I would have to say<br />
the current Mayor. It’s refreshing to have a<br />
leader who puts all aspects of the city ahead<br />
of his own agenda.<br />
Share some things you enjoy doing<br />
in your spare time?<br />
Spending time with my kids, of course.<br />
Going to God’s Country (a.k.a. Oxford, Miss.)<br />
to watch my Rebels...errrr Black bears play<br />
football. Playing golf and softball along with<br />
iRacing.<br />
42 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
BRANDon's finest<br />
Officer Seth Brown<br />
brandon police Department<br />
Why did you decide to become<br />
a policeman?<br />
When I started dispatching at <strong>Brandon</strong> Police<br />
Department, and was able to observe the<br />
officers working, I knew for sure that’s what<br />
I wanted to do with my life.<br />
How long have you been with the<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Police Department?<br />
Almost two years. I was sworn in as a police<br />
officer in September of 2013.<br />
What do you enjoy most about<br />
your typical day as a policeman?<br />
The people I work with. I couldn't ask to be at a<br />
better department, or on a better shift.<br />
What is the toughest thing you have<br />
experienced as a policeman?<br />
The hardest thing I have had to see as a police<br />
officer is the mistreatment of children.<br />
Tell us about your family.<br />
I have been married to my beautiful wife<br />
Danielle for five years. We have a son named<br />
Kyler, and a baby girl on the way, and I could<br />
not be more excited.<br />
Share some things that you enjoy<br />
in your spare time.<br />
I enjoy spending time with my family, hunting<br />
fishing, and watching football with my friends.<br />
Roll Tide!!<br />
What are three things on your<br />
bucket list?<br />
1-I just hope to make it to retirement.<br />
2-I want to be able to send both of my children<br />
to college.<br />
3-I want to own a Ford Bronco. I know that<br />
seems a bit insignificant for a bucket list, but<br />
I’ve wanted one my entire life.<br />
What do you consider your greatest<br />
achievement/accomplishments<br />
and why?<br />
I would have to say my children and my<br />
marriage first and foremost. Graduating Basic<br />
Training, graduating Air Force Survival School,<br />
graduating from MLEOTA, and being named<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Police Department’s Officer of the<br />
Year my first year on the job.<br />
Who is someone you admire and why?<br />
My father. I am proud to be his son, and anyone<br />
who knows me can tell you I brag about it quite<br />
a bit.<br />
What is your favorite holiday and why?<br />
Christmas. There is nothing like waking up<br />
on Christmas morning to watch my son’s face<br />
light up.<br />
If you could give one piece of advice<br />
to a young person, what would it be?<br />
Stay in school Focus on your schoolwork and<br />
not what is or is not cool. There is nothing<br />
about the clothes you’re wearing or the vehicle<br />
you’re driving that will get you anywhere later<br />
in life.<br />
What is most rewarding about<br />
your job?<br />
Being able to help people and actually see<br />
changes in their life. It is hard to watch so many<br />
people make mistake after mistake, but the<br />
feeling you get when you see people turn<br />
themselves around and do something with<br />
their life is ultimately why we do this job.<br />
Where do you see yourself ten years<br />
from now?<br />
I would like to still be at <strong>Brandon</strong> Police<br />
Department. I love this department and the<br />
people I work with. I hope to one day move<br />
up to a supervisory role, or become an<br />
investigator.<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 43
PetersonMelanie McMillan<br />
Coach<br />
Tyler
new school year is underway<br />
and with it comes the<br />
excitement of Friday night<br />
football. As the <strong>Brandon</strong><br />
Bulldogs take the field,<br />
they do so under the leadership of a<br />
new head coach. Tyler Peterson has<br />
joined the <strong>Brandon</strong> High School family<br />
from Northwest Rankin, bringing with<br />
him years of coaching experience from<br />
all over the south.<br />
A native of Louisville, Mississippi,<br />
Coach Peterson knew from an early<br />
age that he wanted to be a coach. “As far<br />
back as I can remember, that’s what I’ve<br />
always wanted to do”, he says. “I was<br />
the kid on the playground getting<br />
everybody lined up, telling them where<br />
to go and what to do, and deciding who<br />
was going to kick or hit the ball where.<br />
My dad and his brothers were in<br />
construction and it didn’t take long to<br />
realize that I didn’t want to do that.<br />
Sports seemed like a lot more fun.”<br />
Growing up, playing sports was<br />
truly a family affair for Tyler. Family<br />
gatherings provided opportunities for<br />
playing ball, whatever the season.<br />
“There were a lot of boy cousins our<br />
age and that’s just what we always did.<br />
Whatever the season was, that was the<br />
sport we played.” Two of those cousin<br />
“teammates” were Brad and Chris<br />
Peterson, both successful high school<br />
coaches. Tyler coached with Brad at<br />
Louisville and succeeded<br />
him at <strong>Brandon</strong>, and Brad’s brother,<br />
Chris, is the head coach at Gautier<br />
High School.<br />
After graduating from Louisville<br />
High School, Coach Peterson went on<br />
to play football at the University of<br />
North Alabama. His first coaching job<br />
after college was at the University of<br />
Tennessee at Chattanooga, followed<br />
by a graduate assistant position at his<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 45
alma mater at North Alabama. Following<br />
a stint at the University of Arkansas-<br />
Monticello, Tyler returned to Louisville,<br />
where cousin Brad was the head coach.<br />
Head coaching positions at Noxapater,<br />
Kosciusko and Northwest Rankin<br />
followed, and with each move, Tyler<br />
proved that he had what it took to<br />
develop and maintain a strong football<br />
program. It’s no surprise, then, that he<br />
was chosen to be the head coach at<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong>.<br />
When asked what surprised him<br />
the most when he began his coaching<br />
career, Tyler said that most people don’t<br />
realize how much time is involved.<br />
From cleaning locker rooms to doing<br />
laundry to cutting grass, there are many<br />
things involved in coaching besides<br />
practices and games. Family time is<br />
often sacrificed, particularly during<br />
football season, so family support is<br />
imperative. In this area, Coach<br />
Peterson acknowledges that he is<br />
blessed.<br />
Introduced by mutual friends,<br />
he and his wife Erica have been married<br />
for five years. Erica, a native of<br />
Philadelphia, Mississippi, is a speech<br />
therapist but for now is enjoying time<br />
at home with the couple’s two boys,<br />
Camden, age four, and Case, age three.<br />
Their family of four will soon be<br />
growing however, as they are in the<br />
process of adopting a daughter, Evie<br />
Joy, who turned a year old in May. The<br />
Petersons are waiting to receive a<br />
travel date to go to China to meet their<br />
daughter. Although Tyler did not know<br />
a lot about the adoption process, he<br />
was open to the idea, knowing how<br />
much it meant to his wife. “When you<br />
start doing your research,” he says,<br />
“you realize how many children out<br />
there are in need. We live in our little<br />
bubble sometimes and think that<br />
everyone is blessed and fortunate and<br />
that’s just not the case.“<br />
Although family time can be<br />
limited in the <strong>Fall</strong>, Tyler is grateful<br />
for a job where his family can be<br />
an integral part. Close friendships<br />
among the coaches and their families<br />
are common, as so much time is spent<br />
together. And as his children grow, he<br />
looks forward to having them on the<br />
sidelines and involving his family as<br />
much as he can.<br />
The Petersons are already feeling<br />
very at-home in the <strong>Brandon</strong> family.<br />
Tyler says, “Everyone has been so<br />
helpful and everyone supports the<br />
school. My wife and I are both small<br />
town people and <strong>Brandon</strong> has that<br />
small town feel where everybody<br />
knows everybody. There aren’t many<br />
towns anymore where there’s one<br />
school in the town. I am proud and<br />
excited to be here, and I look forward<br />
to my children growing up here.” ■
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 47
48 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
people - warm, caring, and loving<br />
fellowship - laughter and joy<br />
along with strength and encouragement<br />
ministry - telling people about God’s<br />
love, forgiveness, and grace<br />
growth - inside and out<br />
a road map - helping to show people the way to Jesus Christ<br />
celebration - worshiping God for His work and mercy<br />
Sunday Worship Times:<br />
8:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.—Worship Service<br />
9:30 a.m.— Sunday School<br />
6:00 p.m.—Evening Worship<br />
in our lives through Jesus Christ<br />
Youth Website:<br />
www.brandonbaptiststudents.com<br />
Twitter: @<strong>Brandon</strong>BCMS<br />
Facebook:<br />
www.facebook.com/brandonbcms<br />
<br />
people - warm, caring, and loving<br />
fellowship - laughter and joy<br />
along with strength and encouragement<br />
ministry - telling people about God’s<br />
love, forgiveness, and grace<br />
growth - inside and out<br />
a road map - helping to show people the way to Jesus Christ<br />
celebration - worshiping God for His work and mercy<br />
Sunday Worship Times:<br />
8:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.—Worship Service<br />
9:30 a.m.— Sunday School<br />
6:00 p.m.—Evening Worship<br />
in our lives through Jesus Christ<br />
Youth Website:<br />
www.brandonbaptiststudents.com<br />
Twitter: @<strong>Brandon</strong>BCMS<br />
Facebook:<br />
www.facebook.com/brandonbcms<br />
<br />
people - warm, caring, and loving<br />
fellowship - laughter and joy<br />
along with strength and encouragement<br />
ministry - telling people about God’s<br />
love, forgiveness, and grace<br />
growth - inside and out<br />
a road map - helping to show people the way to Jesus Christ<br />
celebration - worshiping God for His work and mercy<br />
Sunday Worship Times:<br />
8:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.—Worship Service<br />
9:30 a.m.— Sunday School<br />
6:00 p.m.—Evening Worship<br />
in our lives through Jesus Christ<br />
Youth Website:<br />
www.brandonbaptiststudents.com<br />
Twitter: @<strong>Brandon</strong>BCMS<br />
Facebook:<br />
www.facebook.com/brandonbcms<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 49
50 • Summer 2014
A K indergarten Legend Camille<br />
Anding<br />
We never forget the things or people we love.<br />
For Bonnie Milbrandt, it’s the children she<br />
loved for the thirty years she was a kindergarten<br />
teacher in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Her story<br />
is an endearing one.<br />
Bonnie grew up in Mendenhall, Mississippi<br />
with her two older brothers and younger twin<br />
brother and sister. She earned her elementary<br />
education degree from University of Southern<br />
Mississippi and had nothing but a teaching job<br />
on her mind when she accompanied her mother<br />
on a grocery run one Saturday morning in<br />
Mendenhall.<br />
She still remembers going to the apple<br />
display at the front of Jitney Jungle to select a<br />
dozen apples for her mother. A young Penn<br />
State grad drove by with a friend of Bonnie’s<br />
and spotted the 5’9” beauty in the window.<br />
He was shopping too—and at that moment,<br />
found the apple of his eye. He stopped and<br />
sent his friend in to request permission to let<br />
Bonnie join them.<br />
When friend Thelma explained that her<br />
friend, Allen Carl Milbrandt was from<br />
Pennsylvania and just acquired a job as a soil<br />
conservationist in Mississippi, Mrs. Crosby,<br />
Bonnie’s mother, agreed to let her go. One<br />
year later, Bonnie and Allen were married.<br />
A job transfer for Allen to Brookhaven<br />
carried them to their new home that would be<br />
their permanent one. For the next thirty years,<br />
Ms. Milbrandt would teach kindergarten<br />
classes—nineteen at the Presbyterian Church,<br />
and at the Methodist Church for eleven.<br />
Bonnie Milbrandt’s bright green eyes<br />
sparkled as she shared her love for the young<br />
lives she had touched and molded. Her<br />
conversation was fixed on the days and hours<br />
that brought her such joy.<br />
“They knew I loved them,” she said of all<br />
her students. Bonnie was dogmatic about the<br />
key to being a successful teacher; “You’ve got<br />
to love your job and the children. And you<br />
need patience. You don’t scold little children.<br />
Never use a harsh voice.”<br />
When asked about her means of discipline,<br />
she confessed that she never really had any<br />
need for punishment. In her soft voice, she<br />
always encouraged them to “act like big boys<br />
and girls because you’ll soon be first graders.”<br />
Her world of teaching that seems so far<br />
removed from the present began in a circle<br />
where she read a daily Bible story. She taught<br />
them the Lord’s Prayer, ABC’s, numbers to 100<br />
and saved time for coloring and outdoor play.<br />
The year would include field trips to local<br />
fun places with Ms. Milbrandt leading the line<br />
of little “ducks.” “Sometimes the mamas would<br />
be late in picking up their child,” she said, “but<br />
I didn’t mind. I would just sit and talk to the<br />
little one about what we had learned that day.”<br />
She added that so many children had given<br />
her such lovely gifts. One dad gave her two<br />
acres and the oil rights that still provide her<br />
monthly oil checks.<br />
“Little children will tell you everything if<br />
you let them,” she continued. “Once a little boy<br />
told me he wanted to share what his daddy<br />
said. I asked him if it was kind. ‘Oh, no,’ he<br />
said. So I told him let’s don’t talk about it.”<br />
Even at ninety-two, Bonnie still felt the<br />
impact that adults have on little children.<br />
“They need your help,” she said with emotion.<br />
“That’s a little life!”<br />
Another child reported that his daddy mowed<br />
their lawn on Sundays. When Bonnie told the<br />
child that Sunday was supposed to be for<br />
worship and rest, her student admonished<br />
his dad for working on Sunday. According to<br />
another report, the daddy stopped his Sunday<br />
mowing.<br />
In 1989, a fall at her daughter Vickie Smith’s<br />
suspended her days of living alone as a widow.<br />
She recovered from her broken hip and now<br />
enjoys her days at Peach Tree Village Assisted<br />
Living. “I love people,” she says, “and I’ve just<br />
got to help others.”<br />
Then she turned her attention to Lanette<br />
Williams, her friend and executive director of<br />
the facility. “She’s the nicest person I’ve ever<br />
met,” Bonnie said about Lanette. “I tell her<br />
that. In fact, I don’t believe people ought to<br />
stand over a casket and brag about what a<br />
good person he or she was. They need to tell<br />
them before they die!”<br />
I paused outside the Village after my long<br />
conversation with Bonnie. Amazing was my<br />
summation. Her inner beauty of love and<br />
tenderness still radiated from her ageless face.<br />
I thought of the thirty years and the twenty-five<br />
to thirty-four students that she loved<br />
and taught every year, and the things she<br />
taught their parents.<br />
Then it came to me; word should spread<br />
and Ms. Milbrandt should be deluged with<br />
mail, thanking her for her life of love and<br />
molding. I agree with Bonnie—looking over<br />
a casket is a poor place to pay compliments. ■<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 51
BRANDON PUBLIC LIBRARY<br />
1475 W. GOV. ST • (601) 825-2672 • brandonatcmrls.lib.ms.us<br />
Sept-Oct-Nov Events<br />
Displays for September<br />
Decorative Tins of Marie Jackson<br />
Airplane Collection of Dirk Vanderleest<br />
The <strong>Brandon</strong> Library is participating in Red Friday. Wear Red to the<br />
library on Friday during football season and check out one item. You<br />
will be entered into a weekly drawing for a $10 coupon to a <strong>Brandon</strong><br />
eatery - new sign-up and prize every week. All entries go into a grand<br />
prize drawing at the end of the season for an iPad Mini! Sponsored by<br />
the Friends of the <strong>Brandon</strong> Library.<br />
Weekly Events<br />
Mondays - 10:30am Toddler Time<br />
Come join us for stories. Songs and finger plays for ages 0-2 years.<br />
Mondays - 6pm Dulcimer Group *In lieu of Labor Day the Dulcimer Group<br />
will meet Tuesday 9/8 at 6pm.<br />
Tuesdays - 9am Computer Classes Free. Pre-registration requested.<br />
September 15, 22, 29 - Basic Computer Classes<br />
October 6, 13, 20, 27 - Application Classes Word, Excel, Power Point<br />
November 3 - Using the Computer to Evaluate Prescription D Plans<br />
Presented by David Fisher<br />
November 10 - eBooks and Freegal Music: Learn to use the CMRLS<br />
ebooks. Learn to download free music from our website using Freegal.<br />
November 17 - How to buy a computer. What should you look for when<br />
buying a computer or tablet.<br />
Tuesdays 4pm - Kid Connection<br />
1st & 3rd Tuesdays Grades K-6 afterschool story and craft hour.<br />
2nd & 4th Tuesdays Chess Lessons for K-6.<br />
September 29 Allergy & Asthma Awareness Month with Magnolia Health<br />
Wednesdays & Thursdays - 10:30am Preschool Story Time Songs,<br />
stories, and crafts for preschoolers aged 3-5.<br />
Thursdays at 1pm - BYOP Bring Your Own Project crafting group.<br />
Thursdays at 6pm - Creative Crafters Learn and craft together.<br />
Monthly Events and Meetings<br />
Second Monday of the Month<br />
The New <strong>Brandon</strong> Book Club - 10:30am<br />
September 14 A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson<br />
October 12 Rogue Warrior Task Force Blue by Richard Marcinko<br />
November 9 Girl on a Train by Paula Hawkins<br />
Beading Class - 4 & 6pm Please register<br />
September 14 Halloween earrings using super duos. Supply cost $5.<br />
October 12 Triangle earrings using size 11 seed beads. Supply cost $3.<br />
November 9 Elegant Ring. Supply cost $4.<br />
Second and Fourth Mondays of the month<br />
Extra-Ordinary Writers’ Club - 6 pm<br />
Join other local writers as we get together, read each other’s work, and<br />
help each other improve. This group is open to teens and young adults.<br />
Second and Fourth Tuesdays of the month<br />
Adult Chess Lessons - 6:00pm Please register.<br />
First Wednesday of the month<br />
Gardening at Your Library - 10:30am<br />
Join the Master Gardeners as they discuss various gardening topics<br />
September 2 Terrarium Demonstration by Suzette McInnis<br />
October 7 How to make a cheap seed-starting box by Cindy Pannier<br />
and Kathleen Shuller<br />
November 4 Seasonal Arrangement Demonstration using corkscrew<br />
willow by Renata Hunt.<br />
Second Wednesday of the month<br />
V.V.A. Meeting - September 9 and October 14 - 10:30am<br />
Join local veterans for their monthly meeting.<br />
First Thursday of the month<br />
Genealogy Club - 10:30 am Genealogy topics and assistance are the<br />
topic of the day.<br />
Coin Club - 6 pm Love old and new currency? Join the <strong>Brandon</strong> Coin<br />
Club for their monthly meeting.<br />
First or second Saturday of the month<br />
Community Quilt Workdays<br />
Saturdays, September 5, October 10, November 7 - 10 am<br />
Come by and watch, ask questions, or help us!<br />
Sponsored by the <strong>Brandon</strong> Quilters.<br />
Third Saturday of the month<br />
Teens & Young Adult Gaming Day Saturdays at 12 noon<br />
September 19 WiiU Smash Brothers Tournament<br />
October 17 & November 21 Call for the latest details and to register.<br />
Special Events<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Quilters Cozy up with the <strong>Brandon</strong> Quilters for their meeting.<br />
Mondays, September 14, October 5, and November 9 - 6pm<br />
(Note - dates different than normal.)<br />
Begin Your Family Tree Tuesday, September 15 - 10:30am<br />
How to begin your family tree, what records are online, when to go to the<br />
courthouse, and how to organize your information. For questions, call the<br />
library or email Anne Vanderleest at brgenatcmrls.lib.ms.us.<br />
TEEN NIGHT: Movie Making with Curtis Everitt of Saint Studios Films<br />
Monday, September 14 - 5 pm<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Genealogical & Rankin County Historical Society<br />
Tuesday, September 15 - 7 pm Join us for History and Fellowship.<br />
The public is invited. Refreshments provided. Contact Anne Vanderleest<br />
or brgenatcmrls.lib.ms.us or Penny Schooler 601-824-1860.<br />
AARP Safe Driver Course - Wednesday, September 16 - 12 pm<br />
AARP Smart Driver Course helps drivers over 50 become safer, more<br />
aware drivers. Check with your insurance company to see if you will<br />
qualify for available discounts. Material costs - $15 for AARP members,<br />
$20 for non-AARP members. Call Allison Wood at 601-208-6525 to<br />
reserve your place.<br />
Teen Game Night Monday - September 21 - 5pm Play Apples to Apples,<br />
Man Bites Dog and more! Join us for snacks, drinks, and fun!<br />
Family Night Thursday - September 24 - 6pm<br />
Learn how to play the clarinet from Mr. H. G. Hagen.<br />
Boomer University Saturday - September 26 - 10am-3pm<br />
AARP for all of us born from 1945 to 1964. Lunch will be provided. There<br />
is no cost but you must register by calling the library. Topics include:<br />
Discussion about Social Security, 10 Steps to Retirement Security, How to<br />
Protect Yourself from Fraud, Life Reimagined<br />
Social Security “What you don’t know could hurt you”<br />
Tuesday September 29 - 6pm This informative session will answer<br />
many of your questions and clear up many of your concerns. Presented<br />
by Roy and Diane Thompson. Call to register.<br />
Coin Show - Saturday October 3 - 10am-4pm<br />
Sign Language Class Saturday - October 3 - 10:30am Learn to speak<br />
with your hands! Free class. Pre-registration suggested.<br />
Teen Game Night - Monday, October 5 - 5pm<br />
Munch on History - October 13 - 12noon<br />
Mississippi Archives and History and the Rankin County Historical<br />
Society present A Photographic Revisit of Rankin County – Then and<br />
Now by Paul Davis. Bring your lunch, we will provide drinks and dessert.<br />
Teen Craft Night - Monday, October 19 - 5pm Pumpkin decorating just<br />
in time for Halloween.<br />
Family Night-<strong>Fall</strong> Festival Thursday, October 29 - 6pm<br />
It’s time for our Annual <strong>Fall</strong> Festival with games, prizes, treats, and more.<br />
BOOK SALE! It’s the BIG ONE!<br />
Friday, October 30, 10-5 & Saturday, October 31, 10-4<br />
Bag Day ($5 a bag or $10 a box) – Monday, November 2, 10-8<br />
Garland Wreath - Thursday, November 12 at 6pm<br />
Presented by Polly Agee. Call for supply list to bring. Free class.<br />
Teen Game Night - Monday, November 16 at 5pm<br />
Painting with Carla - Monday, November 16 at 6pm<br />
Enjoy a seasonal painting with Carla Nations. $6 fee. Please register.<br />
Family Night - Thursday, November 19 at 6 pm<br />
<strong>Fall</strong> stories, games & activities for the whole family.<br />
Teen Craft Night - Monday, November 30 at 5 pm<br />
Make Mod Podge boxes for Christmas gifts.<br />
The library will be closed: Monday, September 7 for Labor Day<br />
Wednesday, November 11 for Veterans Day<br />
Thursday, November 26 for Thanksgiving Day<br />
______________________________________________________<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Public Library is part of the Central Mississippi Regional Library System, which serves<br />
Rankin, Scott, Simpson, and Smith Counties.<br />
52 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 53
City of <strong>Brandon</strong> EVENTS<br />
Sep 19<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Opry<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Civic Center<br />
6pm • $5 Admission<br />
Oct 17<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Opry presents<br />
The Blackwood Quarter<br />
Tickets $10<br />
Oct 24<br />
Mother-Son Dance<br />
Nov 7<br />
Military Ball<br />
Nov 11<br />
Veterans Breakfast<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Garden Club<br />
Blue Star Memorial<br />
Marker Dedication<br />
at the Rankin County<br />
Justice Center after breakfast.<br />
For more information visit www.cityofbrandon.net or call 601.825.5021<br />
54 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
Shirley Botkin, Pat Robinson<br />
John Thompson, Elan Brown, Ruth Thompson<br />
Justin Haris, Barbara Magee, Treazure Washington<br />
Grandparents<br />
Day<br />
Ernestine Crawford, Laura Swanson<br />
Yvonne Bianchi<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Senior Center<br />
June 12, <strong>2015</strong><br />
Mary Bailey, Collin Washington<br />
Georgia Henry, Aniyah Fleming<br />
Jo Parkerson, Popfeener Wooten<br />
Joyce Edmondson, Virginia Goff<br />
Taya Stratton, Lee Mary Burton, Taylor Stratton<br />
Jamie Moak, Rose McKay<br />
James Ward<br />
Jim Moulds, Vladik Moulds, Moulds<br />
Linette Williams, Diana Meredith, Chris<br />
Kay Davis, Bill & Rosemary Hoffa<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 55
Everything’s<br />
Coming Up<br />
This year spring quickly turned into the<br />
usual hot Mississippi summer, with children and<br />
adults searching for a fun daytime activity. The<br />
<strong>2015</strong>-2016 members of the <strong>Brandon</strong> Garden Club<br />
(BGC) executive committee decided to host an<br />
early-morning garden party for their<br />
grandchildren and “grandfriends,” all ten-years<br />
of age and younger. Adults and children alike<br />
enjoyed a laid-back, bright summer day before<br />
the mid-morning heat chased everyone indoors<br />
to one of life’s best inventions, air conditioning.<br />
The garden party was held at the home of<br />
Suzanne Ross. While the hostesses made final<br />
preparations, Suzanne introduced the children<br />
to herbs and other plants in the mini French<br />
courtyard-style garden. They picked and tasted<br />
parsley and rosemary, rubbed pieces of mint on<br />
their hands, but declined to pick or taste garlic<br />
chives. The success of this small garden tour<br />
was best expressed by <strong>Fall</strong>on Frisby, who said “I<br />
really want a garden when I grow-up.”<br />
All children like to give flowers to their<br />
Moms, Nanas, Mimis, and even Suzies, so the<br />
next activity was chosen to help make those<br />
gifts happen. BGC used an idea demonstrated<br />
by The Garden Club of Jackson at the spring<br />
Natchez Trace District Workshops - a small<br />
floral design formula using three components:<br />
thriller, spiller and filler.<br />
With a little adult guidance to know the<br />
difference in plants, each of the nine children<br />
made floral arrangements in a variety of<br />
containers from candlesticks to empty bubble<br />
bath bottles to take home to very special<br />
people.<br />
And you can’t have a party without food.<br />
The menu and table decorations were chosen to<br />
be easy and child friendly. Red tablecloths,<br />
green and white dishes, and a centerpiece<br />
containing potted plants enhanced the<br />
plantings in patio area. The small arrangements<br />
were added to the table while guests and BCG<br />
executive committee members enjoyed chicken<br />
salad sandwiches, watermelon, carrots and<br />
celery with peanut butter and Nutella dip, and<br />
plenty of lemonade and water to wash it all<br />
down. The eye-catching and delicious ice<br />
cream flower pot desserts were made by new<br />
executive committee member Marion McKee.<br />
The best testimonial came from Mary<br />
Ainsley Zischke, who said “This was a FUN day,<br />
Maymay!” ■<br />
Front row - Debbie Zischke, Lily Chapman, Kameron Jordan, <strong>Fall</strong>on Frisby.<br />
Middle row - Ross Gaskin, Anna Reagan McKee, Dylan Chapman, Mason Jordan, Charla Jordan.<br />
Back row - Suzanne Ross, Mary Ainsley Zischke, Ethan Chapman, Delena Hamel, Ginger Parker, Marion McKee.<br />
56 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
Mary Ainsley Zischke<br />
granddaughter of Debbie Zischke<br />
Ross Gaskin<br />
grandson of Suzanne Ross<br />
Kameron Jordan<br />
granddaughter of Charla Jordan<br />
Anna Reagan McKee<br />
granddaughter of Marion McKee<br />
Dylan Chapman<br />
grandson of Delena Hamel<br />
Lily Chapman<br />
granddaughter of Delena Hamel<br />
Mason Jordan<br />
grandson of Charla Jordan<br />
<strong>Fall</strong>on Frisby<br />
friend of Ginger Parker<br />
Ethan Chapman<br />
grandson of Delena Hamel<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 57
Curry Chicken Salad<br />
Roses, Recipes, and Reflections; Something Special<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Garden Club First Tablescapes Luncheon,<br />
2008<br />
• 3 to 4 cups chicken breast, cooked and diced<br />
• 1 cup celery, diced<br />
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice<br />
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise<br />
• 2 cups green seedless grapes, halved<br />
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds<br />
• 1-1/2 teaspoons curry powder<br />
• salt and pepper<br />
In a bowl, mix all ingredients.<br />
Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.<br />
To serve as a salad, sprinkle with paprika and<br />
serve on a lettuce leaf. Serves 8.<br />
To serve as a sandwich, cut grapes in quarters<br />
instead of halves. Remove crusts from bread.<br />
Spread mayonnaise on bread before adding<br />
chicken salad. Optional: Sprinkle with paprika.<br />
Cut into triangles after assembly.<br />
Flower Pot Ice Cream Dessert<br />
• 1 pound cake, store bought or homemade<br />
• 1/2 gallon ice cream, your favorite flavor<br />
• 1 package chocolate sandwich cookies<br />
(we used Oreos)<br />
You will also need:<br />
• 8 small plastic or clay flower pots (lead free)<br />
• 8 straws, cut 1/2 inch taller than the pot<br />
• Fresh flowers<br />
Slice the pound cake 1” thick. Cut with a cookie<br />
cutter to fit the bottom of the pot. Place pound<br />
cake round in the pot. (Substitution: Use a vanilla<br />
wafer.) This keeps melting ice cream from<br />
dripping through the hole in the pot.<br />
Hold a straw in the center of the pot. Surround<br />
the straw with softened ice cream almost to the<br />
rim. Clean the rim with a damp paper towel.<br />
Place in freezer until firm.<br />
In a food processor, pulse the cookies until they<br />
resemble rich topsoil. (You can also crush them<br />
in a plastic bag with a rolling pin.)<br />
Remove pots from the freezer. Spoon the crushed<br />
cookies on top of the ice cream to the rim of the<br />
pot. Place a fresh flower in the straw and serve<br />
immediately.<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Garden Club welcomes volunteers for both small and large projects.<br />
For information, visit thebrandongardenclub.com.<br />
_______________________________________________ ________________________________________________<br />
Charla Jordan, President, <strong>Brandon</strong> Garden Club; Public Relations Chairman and Photographer,<br />
The Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc., National Garden Clubs, Inc.<br />
Suzanne Ross, Chairman, <strong>Brandon</strong> Garden Club Civic Projects; Natchez Trace District Director,<br />
The Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc., National Garden Clubs, Inc.<br />
58 • <strong>Fall</strong> 2014
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Don’t Miss Our Next Issue<br />
Winter <strong>2015</strong><br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 59
WhereAreTheyNow?<br />
Olivia Halverson<br />
Megan Williams is a Class of 2007<br />
graduate of <strong>Brandon</strong> High School.<br />
During her time as a <strong>Brandon</strong> Bulldog,<br />
Megan participated in a number of<br />
extracurricular activities which she credits<br />
for cultivating in her a love for working<br />
with others. The students Megan studied<br />
with at BHS she described as “top-notch.”<br />
Since graduating, Megan has sought to<br />
surround herself with similarly skilled<br />
individuals who inspire and nurture her<br />
desire to learn. Today, Megan resides in<br />
Washington, D.C. where she works as<br />
an investment operations associate for<br />
Cambridge Associates.<br />
With her she always carries the<br />
wisdom she gained from <strong>Brandon</strong> High<br />
School. “Most importantly,” Megan says,<br />
“the faculty at <strong>Brandon</strong> High School<br />
encouraged me to not only have pride in<br />
who I am and where I’m from, but also<br />
to continuously look for ways to expose<br />
myself to a new way of thinking.”<br />
Emily Eichelberger Blalock<br />
graduated from <strong>Brandon</strong> High School<br />
with the Class of 2000. She played varsity<br />
basketball throughout her entire high<br />
school career, which helped influence her<br />
personality and professional drive. Emily’s<br />
geography teacher, Mrs. Hollis, inspired a<br />
desire to travel in Emily. “She gave me the<br />
initial idea that anything was possible for<br />
a young woman seeking adventure with a<br />
thirst for knowledge.”<br />
Carrying with her lessons in trusting<br />
others, maintaining humility, perseverance<br />
and dedication, Emily moved on from<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> to the University of Georgia<br />
where she traveled to West Africa five<br />
times to help African women establish<br />
business and trade. During her time as a<br />
UGA student, Emily also trained teachers<br />
in Honduras, worked in an Ecuadorian<br />
textile factory, and studied fashion<br />
production in China. Today, Emily and<br />
her husband Brent have accepted jobs<br />
at an international school in Shanghai<br />
China. Brent will be an elementary art<br />
teacher and Emily will be the high school<br />
college counselor. Emily says, “We are<br />
excited to live in the biggest city in the<br />
world and study a culture so different<br />
from our own.”<br />
Nathan McLaurin graduated from<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> High School in 1999. He says,<br />
“The community and school system<br />
played a vital role in who I am and what<br />
I do today.” Nathan returned to his alma<br />
mater years later where he works today<br />
as a psychology teacher, assistant football<br />
coach, and head coach for the boys track<br />
and field team. Nathan has found that the<br />
principles instilled in him as a <strong>Brandon</strong><br />
High School student remain with him<br />
today. Now as a teacher, he tries to instill<br />
the same in all of the students he<br />
encounters. Today Nathan lives happily<br />
in his hometown with his wife, Adonya<br />
McLaurin and their two children who<br />
also attend <strong>Brandon</strong> schools.<br />
60 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
? ?<br />
Brett Baer is a 2008 graduate of<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> High School. During his high<br />
school career, Brett was very involved<br />
in athletics and extracurricular activities<br />
that led him to his future career path in<br />
physical therapy. Brett currently resides<br />
in Austin, TX where he attends physical<br />
therapy school at the University of St.<br />
Augustine. He is engaged to Lauren<br />
Breaux, and their wedding is set for<br />
August 22nd.<br />
In his future career, Brett will encounter<br />
people from all walks of life. He says,<br />
“Attending BHS helped prepare the<br />
way for me to be able to interact with<br />
everyone.” While one can find a good<br />
education anywhere, <strong>Brandon</strong> High<br />
School stands out among other schools<br />
because of its diversity and priority of<br />
people skills. “If I could rewind my life,”<br />
Brett says, “I would choose <strong>Brandon</strong> High<br />
School 100 out of 100 times.”<br />
Meredith Burgess graduated from<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> High School with the Class<br />
of 2004. After attending college at the<br />
University of Mississippi, Meredith’s<br />
natural desire for wanderlust led her to<br />
joining the Peace Corps as a volunteer in<br />
the Costa Rican jungle. From <strong>Brandon</strong>,<br />
to Oxford, to Costa Rica, Meredith made<br />
a new home for herself in each new<br />
community she encountered carrying<br />
with her the earliest lessons she learned<br />
growing up in <strong>Brandon</strong>. Today, Meredith<br />
has settled into a brand new community,<br />
the belly of the beast–New York City.<br />
She sells music licenses in Manhattan,<br />
in addition to simply enjoying and<br />
experiencing “city-life” and culture.<br />
Everywhere she goes, Meredith<br />
maintains connections with friends she<br />
has met along her travels. She speaks to<br />
Costa Rican community members at least<br />
once a week, and always keeps in touch<br />
with her friends and family at home in<br />
Mississippi. Meredith says, “Living in<br />
many different places has strengthened my<br />
affinity for Mississippi and its simplicity.<br />
Who wouldn’t want to call such a place<br />
home?”<br />
Mark Storm graduated from <strong>Brandon</strong><br />
High School with the Class of 1997.<br />
During high school he played soccer and<br />
swam competitively with the swim team.<br />
In addition to his extracurricular activities,<br />
Mark also worked as a lifeguard. Following<br />
high school, Mark sought a degree in<br />
mechanical engineering from Mississippi<br />
State University. His degree led him to a<br />
short-term job in California, which he left<br />
so he could hike the Appalachian Trail.<br />
Mark says, “The education in history<br />
I received from <strong>Brandon</strong> High School<br />
really had an impact on me and where<br />
I am today.” Mark experienced world<br />
history first hand, traveling to Thailand<br />
for 6 months and Nepal for 5 years to do<br />
missionary work. Now, he is back home<br />
in the United States where he works in<br />
Atlanta, Georgia as a financial advisor<br />
with Edward Jones.<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 61
The Metropolitan Supper Club<br />
Susan Marquez<br />
Barbara and John Collier waited until they were both<br />
in their early 40’s to get engaged in the summer of 1993.<br />
John enjoyed cutting a rug on the dance floor, Barbara not<br />
so much. But when John’s cousin invited the couple to join<br />
a supper club that centered on dancing, they jumped at the<br />
chance. “We attended mainly for the fellowship, but<br />
I ended up enjoying the dancing more than I thought I<br />
would,” said Barbara Collier.<br />
The Colliers have been members of the Metropolitan<br />
Supper Club ever since. “We’ve made some wonderful<br />
friends over the years,” Collier said. “We see several of<br />
them outside of the supper club. We’ve been through all<br />
kinds of things together.”<br />
The Metropolitan Supper Club was started by Stuart<br />
C. Irby, Jr. and Dudley Hughes in 1992 to promote dancing<br />
to live music in a 1940s supper club atmosphere. It was<br />
organized to provide a place to listen and dance to big<br />
band music, enjoy a good meal, and to have fellowship<br />
with friends. Over the years, the club has met at various<br />
locations and as often as three times a week.<br />
Currently the club meets eight times a year at the Capital<br />
Club in downtown Jackson. The dance is held on a Friday<br />
night from 7:00 to 10:30pm. A buffet dinner is served,<br />
and a cash bar is available. But the main attraction is the<br />
music, always provided by a live band. The bands are the<br />
Jackson All Stars, led by Dave Schommer, and The Sessions,<br />
led by Bob Davidson. The two bands alternate each month.<br />
When the club was organized, the membership<br />
consisted of over 100 couples. In recent years, however,<br />
the membership has not grown in proportion to the<br />
number of aging members who have dropped out due to<br />
ill health, moving or death. Today the club has 36 couples<br />
from <strong>Brandon</strong>, Clinton, Madison, Canton and Jackson<br />
who are members, with several potential memberships<br />
pending. Membership is contingent upon being approved<br />
by the board of directors. A couple may come as a guest one<br />
time at a cost of $52. After the first visit, a couple may come<br />
as a guest for $90 each time. The board of directors will not<br />
approve those whose behavior makes others uncomfortable.<br />
The cost to join the club is $240 per year. In addition,<br />
the cost of the buffet meal with gratuity is $52 per couple<br />
each time the couple attends. Reservations are made in<br />
advance. There are two formal dances a year, one in March<br />
and the other in December. Black tie is requested for the<br />
formal dances, but not required. Dress for the other dances<br />
during the year is coat and tie for men, while women may<br />
wear a dressy pantsuit or a Sunday dress.<br />
Being involved with the Metropolitan Supper Club<br />
has been a joy for Barbara Collier. “It’s been so much fun.<br />
We look forward to it each month!” Collier said she wishes<br />
more young people would get involved. “It’s such a fun<br />
activity for young couples, and like us, you grow old with<br />
friends you meet in the supper club. Unfortunately, it’s a<br />
well-kept secret, but we’re trying to get the word out!” ■<br />
For more information on the Metropolitan Supper Club, visit their website at www.metsupclub.com.<br />
62 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
DELTA<br />
STATE<br />
Working toward the next big idea, together.<br />
www.deltastate.edu/visit<br />
@DELTASTATE • FACEBOOK.COM/DELTASTATEUNIVERSITY<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 63
Jim Balgard, Bob Hutson<br />
Alderwoman Monica Corley,<br />
Alderman Bob Morrow<br />
Alderman Cris Vinson,<br />
Lt. Col. Cregg Puckett<br />
Alderman James Morris,<br />
Yvonne Bianchi<br />
Don & Jane Cunningham, Abbie Cunningham<br />
Bob Whitley, Jerry Burke, Bob Catlett<br />
Charla Jordan, Mayor Butch Lee, Lori Farrar<br />
Chief Terry Wages, Alderman Harry Williams, Richard Fortune<br />
Maggie Harper<br />
Shirley Dear, Yvonne Bianchi, Eddie Dear<br />
Savannah, Tamara, Patrick Robinson<br />
Lauren, Michael, & Ruby Smith<br />
64 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
Richard Stamper & Richard Catlett Hayden Gibbons, Olivia Garrett Kyle Brown, Alderman Bobby Christopher Rep. Mark Baker & Marty Miller<br />
Remembering<br />
Our <strong>Fall</strong>en<br />
<br />
Eddie & Jenny Smith<br />
June 15<br />
<strong>Brandon</strong> Civic Center<br />
Hayden Gibbons<br />
Esther Fabbricante, Carol Gallagher, Kay Davis<br />
Carolyn Palmer, Diana Meredith<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Brandon</strong> • 65
Camille Anding<br />
The Time Coin<br />
The last days of summer are not<br />
only stealing away all the flower<br />
gardens, they’re sending students<br />
off to college in pursuit of higher education.<br />
Delta State University probably looks<br />
nothing like it did in the fall of ’63, but<br />
some of the pain I felt after being left there<br />
by my family must still be bouncing around<br />
the walls. They call it adulthood, maturity, cutting the apron strings.<br />
It felt more like open heart surgery with no anesthetic.<br />
It was a strange campus in a strange land that I struggled to<br />
appreciate. I missed the red hills and tree-lined highways of north<br />
Mississippi. I unpacked my suitcases in a lifeless steel-gray room and<br />
set up home with a roommate that I had only met by letter. I was<br />
appalled that I was leaving a family of seventeen years to re-locate<br />
in an unfamiliar building and hang my toothbrush next to a perfect<br />
stranger. Would she be a new adult friend for life, or would she turn<br />
schizophrenic at midnight? Only time would tell.<br />
I relived some of those same emotions when we helped move<br />
our own children to their freshman dorms. Optimism attempted to<br />
remind me that college days were better with this generation, and<br />
everyone had cell phones.<br />
Optimism fled when we said our final<br />
goodbyes, and my jaw, that I had clinched with<br />
my teeth, didn’t hurt as badly as my heart.<br />
My trip home was a tearful “cry-down.”<br />
By the time we reached home, my<br />
composure had returned along with a positive<br />
mindset about the blessings of going to college<br />
and minds that could learn. Then I stepped<br />
into the back door and met the lingering fragrance of our daughter’s<br />
favorite perfume.<br />
A pain that can’t be rubbed away encompassed me.<br />
But suddenly I was lifted out of gloom to joy when I realized that<br />
our children’s fragrances had always been a sweet aroma to their<br />
parents. Their cologne and perfume fragrances were reminders of the<br />
blessed aromas of their lives that would always fill our home.<br />
We all leave behind aromas—sweet or bitter, kind or harsh, friendly<br />
or alien, generous or selfish . . . and the choices go on and on. Aromas are<br />
a part of all of our lives. Whether we leave the room, leave for college,<br />
or leave this life, we all leave some kind of aroma. An occasional “sniff”<br />
test might be in order for each of us. n<br />
66 • <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2015</strong>
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