BRENHAM ISD HONORS FOUR DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
The Brenham Independent School District is celebrating its 140th birthday this year and four distinguished alumni were honored at a luncheon today (Friday). The four honorees were Donald Ray Ahrens, Clifton Evans, Jim Kolkhorst and Reverend Paul Senff.
Donald Ray Ahrens graduated from Brenham High School in 1956 and went on to become Vice President of Germania Insurance. He also served as a Washington County Commissioner, Director of the Chamber of Commerce and President of the County Fair Association. Ahrens spoke about some of the changes he has seen in the school district:
Clifton Evans graduated from Brenham High School in 1991. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Percussion Performance and a Master of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Houston. He has conducted orchestras in China, Hong Kong, Austria, the Czech Republic, and England and currently leads the orchestra program University of Texas at Arlington. Evans spoke about the importance of music education:
Jim Kolkhorst is a Brenham business leader who graduated from Brenham High School in 1984 and holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Texas Christian University. From 20 employees in 1994, he built his “Rattlers” business to close to 400 in 2014, gaining recognition from the Inc. 500 as one of the nation’s fastest growing companies in both 2008 and 2009. Kolkhorst talked about the quality of teachers in the district and his kindergarten teacher in particular:
Pastor Paul Senff graduated as valedictorian from Brenham High School in 1950, where he was President of the Senior Class, and set a new state record for the half mile run. He served as a missionary to Papua, New Guinea from 1964-1997 where he organized an interchurch fellowship with twelve different churches. He was awarded the Queen’s Medal of Merit for 33 years of service by the New Guinea government. Reverend Senff talked about the importance of Family, Friends, Fun and Faith. He also talked about teamwork:
The Brenham Independent School District is the oldest in the State of Texas and was established in 1875.
