Fall of 1992, I saw the cutest boy ever in marching band. I didn’t know his name at the time, but followed him to his bus at BD every day just to get a closer glimpse. Months went by and finally on February 3, 1993 he finally asked me to be his girlfriend. (We may have had a little help from some band friends getting us connected!)

I was a sophomore, he was a junior. I really didn’t know anything about him, and certainly had no idea that my persistent “stalking” (as my family calls it) would lead us to becoming husband and wife almost 7 years later.

David and I created a family and eventually moved to Brownsburg to raise our beautiful daughters. Sydney is 24 and just recently married and Lynsey is 20. Just like us, they became musicians and participated in a competitive marching band. We enjoyed watching them develop into musicians and volunteer with their high school music program.

After 15 years working in the warehouse industry, David made a huge change in his professional life by studying taxidermy, opening up his shop, and most recently expanding his business to a taxidermy school. He loves sharing his artistic talents with students across the nation. Additionally, he works at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the Track Rescue/Recovery team and travels with IndyCar.
I graduated from Marian University in 1999 with a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics, Secondary Education. I also graduated from the distinguished Butler University EPPSP program where I received my Masters in Educational Leadership and Administration in 2015. I am currently in my 27th year of education in Speedway Public Schools, and very much enjoy working with high school students.

Music is where our relationship began. Had we not been in marching band, I’m not sure that we would have crossed paths. Playing in concert, swing, pep, and marching bands created many memories for us. Because music was and still is a passion for us, we joined the Ben Davis Alumni Band 12 years ago under the direction of our beloved Gary Wishmeyer. When “Wish” passed away, we had fewer members attend rehearsals. David and I along with a committee of BD alumni created a new band called West Indy Winds Community Band, with our mission to give people beyond the Ben Davis community a concert band to play music. In 2018, West Indy Winds was formed and established itself as a not for profit 501(c)(3) organization. Our band fundraiser and uses the money to provide scholarships for westside high school students to help offset their band fees. Additionally we donate/loan instruments to students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford an instrument to participate in band. David is the president and I am the treasurer for West Indy Winds. It gives us so much joy to continue to play our instruments in an ensemble together with several other BD alumni, serve the community with free concerts, and support our local school music programs.

A big shout out to our band directors Craig Reasoner, Gary Wishmeyer, Jim Butz, and Gary Fields for instilling a love of music and creating a strong foundation.