Summer 2012
If you’re looking for Tommy Hohl, you won’t find him vegging in front of the TV like a typical kid his age. You might see the Hamilton Middle School seventh-grader shooting YouTube videos somewhere in his neighborhood, hitting the slopes with his snowboard, or even rubbing elbows with Hollywood stars. The down-to-earth, fun-loving teen recently starred in the short film Hellion, directed by Kat Candler and featured at the Sundance Film Festival. Continue reading “Rising Star Tommy Hohl”
When he graduated from Cy-Fair High School in 2006, Chris Wallace only dreamed of someday having his name on a Houston Astros baseball card. This year, that dream will become a reality when the catcher joins the team he grew up idolizing.
As my son’s wedding day drew near, I faced the need for an appropriate dress to wear. Giving my firstborn to another woman was hard enough, but finding a striking gown in which to offer him up overwhelmed me. In desperation, I chose clothes to match the wedding party. To this day, I am still horrified by photos showing me looking more like a bridesmaid than my son’s guest on his big day. 
It’s a startling statistic: One in five people will suffer from a serious mental disorder at some point in their life. Anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit disorder are prevalent conditions. Children probably aren’t the first age group you think of as dealing with these issues, but 4 million children and adolescents in the U.S. suffer from a serious mental disorder that causes a significant impact on their quality of life. 
Like any teenager, Jordan Merecka did what he loved most in his free time: hunt during the season and fish all through the summer. Cy-Fair mom Brandy Parker was happily caring for her family and working s a bank teller. Both were born with heart defects, but managed to lead normal lives, until heart failure turned their worlds upside down. Merecka had to trade his Wranglers for a hospital gown, and Parked traded her role taking care of others for taking care of herself. Both also received life-changed operations that saved their lives and have allowed them to continue to thrive in our community. 
When Cy-Fair resident Denise Corliss began training a golden retriever named Bretagne for search and rescue, she had no idea his first deployment would be Ground Zero in New York City. Shortly after the second tower fell, Corliss received word that she and Bretagne would be searching for survivors. “When I received the call, I was honored, but nervous, because I didn’t know if there was more to come,” says Corliss. “But our training is in place, so as we respond we’re thinking and planning. There are strategies of what to do.” Corliss is a canine search specialist and member of Texas Task Force 1 (TX-TFI), a group of search and rescue volunteer who were deployed to New York City following the terrorist attacks. 
Grandmothers do it. Doctors do it. Lawyers, pilots, and oil rig mechanics do it. Servicemen do it. Gymnasts do it. Wedding couples, graduates, and birthday girls do it. Over a weekend of bright, still days, 200 or so people will jump out of perfectly good airplanes at Skydive Houston. From over 10,000 feet in the heavens, they leap and smile as they ride the wind at 120 miles per hour to catch up with the ground far below them. It is the rush of a lifetime. 
When Patrick Timmons’s best friend challenged him to compete in an Ironman triathlon, he signed up and began training. On race day – a cloudy, summer morning – Timmons swam 2.4 miles before mounting his bike. The sun burned through as Timmons cycled 112 miles. Heat flared off the pavement, so he took advantage of nutrition and hydration offered at the halfway point. By the time Timmons kicked off on three nearly nine-mile running loops to complete the race, his stomach hurt. He felt sick by mile 10 and drank a cola with ice to settle his stomach. His worst fear was throwing up the fuel needed to continue or upsetting his chemical balance. Timmons lost it all anyway, but felt better. More cola and ice with more running, and in the 11th hour, Timmons crossed the finish line. 
Fighting for their lives taught Cy-Fair residents like Martha Ocampo, Logan Holley, and John Bonner to persevere through pain, fear, and tough odds. Healthy again, they credit family and friends for their unwavering support. The three also show a tenacious compassion toward others who are still in the struggle. 
While a variety of skills are needed to fight fires, but these courageous Cy-Fair firefighters have one thing in common: They are dedicated to help others in their worst moments. Their commitment to their community makes them some of Cy-Fair’s hottest firefighters.