BRENHAM ISD TO HONOR FOUR ALUMNI AT LUNCHEON
For 141 years, Brenham and Washington County has encouraged and endorsed public education. As the oldest public school district in Texas, it’s once again time to celebrate the history and achievement of the district and some of its most distinguished alumni. The public is invited to join in a special luncheon and recognition event on Friday, September 2, 2016 in the Blinn College Student Center Banquet Room.
The luncheon will begin at 11:30 am and will feature a noon program honoring four Brenham ISD graduates who later distinguished themselves as leaders and visionaries in their community and beyond. This year the honorees will be Harry Kolkhorst, R. Hal Moorman, Octavia Jones-Reed, Charles W. Schwartz.
Harry Kolkhorst graduated from Brenham High School in 1957 after attending Brown Prairie School in Washington, Texas. In high school he was the sophomore and junior class vice president, lettered in football and track for 3 years, was the pep club sweetheart, Mr. BHS and Civics Club vice president. After graduating from Blinn Junior College with an associate degree in Basic Engineering, he served in the Army from 1960-1962 as a 49th Armored Division Combat Construction Engineer. He later received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Math from the University of Albuquerque in 1966 and his MBA from the University of Houston Clear Lake.
Kolkhorst started working for NASA in 1966 and worked with the space program for 44 years, from Gemini through the Space Shuttle program. He was able to work on every shuttle flight and retired the day the last shuttle lifted off. He received the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Achievement Award in recognition of implementing the Orbiter requirements in compliance with the Presidential Commissions for return to flight after the Challenger accident. Among his many achievements, he also received the Grand Lodge of Texas Mirabeau B. Lamar Award of Excellence for personal achievement in 2001.
He currently supports his church, Still Creek Ranch, Hope Pregnancy Center, and works as a volunteer at the Texas A&M Hall of Champions Museum. He is still active playing golf, tennis, and walking. He and his wife, Barbara Dennis Kolkhorst, live in College Station and have two children and three grandchildren.
R. Hal Moorman graduated from Brenham High School as the valedictorian of the Class of 1967. While in high school, he served as president and treasurer of the student council, attended Boys State, won math and social studies awards, was a National Merit Commended Scholar and was voted “Most Likely to Succeed”. He went on to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1971. At Southern Methodist University Law School, he received his Doctorate of Jurisprudence degree in Law with honors. Other accomplishments include serving as a Board member, then Chairman, on the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Named to Best Lawyers in America from 2001-2016, inclusive, he is a fellow Regent and former State Chair of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
Moorman lives in Brenham where he has served in many leadership roles, including as Director of Baylor Scott & White and its predecessor entities including Trinity Medical Center. He has also served as President of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, President of the Brenham Main Street Historical Preservation, Inc., Save Our Simon, President of the Washington on the Brazos State Park Association, Board member of the Brenham Downtown Association, the Washington County United Way, Brenham Gun & Rod Club, and Former Chairman and Board of Directors member of the Brenham Christian Academy.
Hal is currently serving as a Sunday School teacher for 3rd and 4th graders at Champion Fellowship. He and his wife, Lucy Baker Moorman, have three children- Theodore (Ted) and wife Sara, Peter, and Lydia Hattrup and husband, Ed. They also are blessed with four grandchildren-Evelyn, Della, Henry, and Stella. He is the son of the founder of his law firm, George Moorman, and his wife, Billie Moorman.
Octavia Jones-Reed is a 1966 Pickard High School graduate. After high school, she pursued her bachelor’s degree in History and English from Texas Southern University, then earned her master’s degree in History, also at Texas Southern University. She taught history and government at S.P. Waltrip Sr High School, then received her certification for mid-management/administration and went on to serve as a grade level principal at Dick Dowling Middle School/21st Century Coordinator and Dean of Instruction and Grade Level Principal at Evans E. Worthing High School. Her most recent role has been that of adjunct college professor at Houston Community College.
Always busy, she found time to model for the Mayo-Hill Central Modeling Agency, the Neil Hamlin Agency and served on the Board of Directors of Callie Lewis-Watson and the Forty Plus Models, Inc., earning distinction there as head choreographer. She was a member of the Leadership Academy Mentorship Program (LAMP) and the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW). Over the years, she has served her community as a public speaker and is still an active model for Callie-Lewis Watson and the Forty Plus Models who work to raise money for scholarships for high school students.
Octavia Jones-Reed is a Christian, wife, parent, grandparent, educator and model. She has taught many students throughout her teaching career and is married to Joseph Reed. They have three children, Christopher A. Jones, Shanna’n V. Crichlow, and Shannon B. Nelson-Edwards (twins). She is also the proud grandparent of nine grandchildren. She and her husband live in Houston and Washington County.
Charles W. Schwartz, an Eagle Scout and a 1972 graduate of Brenham High School, received his Bachelor of Science with highest honors from the University of Texas, his Master of Arts, also from the University of Texas, his J.D. with Honors, and his Masters of Law in 1980 from Harvard University. He began his career as a law clerk with the Honorable Homer Thornberry, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1977 to 1979, then began his legal practice at Vinson & Elkins in Houston where he became a partner in 1986. He started the Houston litigation practice of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in 2003.
Just a few of his many memberships and affiliations include serving as Chairman of the Board of the State Bar of Texas from 2002-2003 and Director of the State Bar of Texas from 2000-2004. Listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Schwartz was described as “widely considered to be among the state’s leading securities litigators” and as a “very smart, very hard-working” lawyer who “really knows his stuff and is fun to be around”. He is a Regent of the Texas A&M University system where he serves as Chairman of the Finance Committee.
Schwartz is the son of the Former Blinn President and Mayor Walter C. Schwartz and Annie B. Schwartz, the first woman high school band director in Texas. He is married to Kay Anne Schwartz and resides in Houston.
The September 2 luncheon will introduce the four Distinguished Alumni for 2016. There are no tickets for the event, but seating is $25 per person or $225 for a table of nine. Seating will sell out quickly and reservations can be made by calling Jackie Eckert at the Brenham ISD Administration Office at (979) 277-3700, extension 2102, or by stopping by the office at 711 E. Mansfield in Brenham. Deadline to reserve seats is Friday, August 26, or whenever seats are sold out. Story courtesy of Brenham ISD.