FOUR BRENHAM HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI TO BE HONORED AT BRENHAM ISD ANNIVERSARY LUNCHEON
Brenham ISD will be celebrating the 140th anniversary of being the oldest public school system in Texas tomorrow (Friday), with an Anniversary Luncheon.
The event will take place from 11:30am to 1:00pm at the Blinn College Student Center Banquet Room.
Brenham ISD is the first public school district to be established in Texas. Brenham ISD was established following a bill passed on March 25, 1875 during the14th Legislature.
Four distinguished Brenham High School graduates will be honored at the luncheon, including Donald Ray Ahrens from the Class of 1956, Clifton Evans from the Class of 1991, Jim Kolkhorst, from the Class of 1984, and Paul Senff, from the Class of 1950.
Donald Ray Ahrens graduated from Brenham High School in 1956. In 1968 he began his career with Germania Insurance and in 2000 he was elected a First Vice President. He has served as President, Vice President and on several committees of the Texas Association of Insurance Companies. In 2006, he was elected as Washington County Commissioner for Precinct 2 and served from 2007-2010, the years during which the new EMS building was constructed. He has served as a Director for the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Industrial Committee and was appointed to the Brazos Valley Development Council Economic Development Committee. In 2015, he was honored by the Chamber of Commerce as Man of the Year. After showing the Grand Champion lamb at the Washington County Fair in 1953, he has had a lifelong interest in the Fair, serving as Director since 1981 and as President of the Fair in 1982-1983. He has helped with the Junior Livestock Auction every year and assisted the Fair directors and Fair Committee members in bringing the Houston Livestock Show Swine Sift to Brenham for many years. After being elected to the Texas Association of Fairs and Events Board of Directors in 1988, he was elected President in 2007, and in 2011 he was honored in their Hall of Fame. Donald Ahrens is a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Brenham where he has served as a councilman and Chairman of the Congregation, Sunday School Superintendent, usher, Explorer Scout Leader and on many other committees. He and his wife, Florence Rose Ahrens, have two children. Their son, Craig, and wife, Vicky Ahrens, are the parents of his grandson, Matthew. Their daughter, Tamara, and husband, Chuck Canterbury are the parents of Kristen and Kyle.
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 was an elected member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and has created a musical legacy serving as Director of Orchestras and Chamber Music for the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston from 2000-2007 and as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Orchestras at the University of Texas from 2007 to the present. In addition to being the founder and Artistic Director of the Arlington Youth Symphony in 2012, he has also served as a member of the Diversity Committee of the American Federation of Musicians and the Board of Directors of St. Cecilia Chamber Music Society in Houston. Dr. Evans is a proud product of the public schools of Brenham. His musical training there provided the foundation upon which he has been able to build a professional career as a conductor and teacher. He has conducted orchestras in China, Hong Kong, Austria, the Czech Republic, and England and currently leads the orchestra program at one of the largest public universities in Texas, with over 34,000 students. He and his wife, Christy Swedlund Evans, are the proud parents of four children: Samuel, Luke, Gabriel and Ava Grace. They currently reside in Arlington, Texas. His parents, James and Diana Evans, live in Brenham.
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. He has generously devoted his time and resources to many causes and organizations, including serving as President of Washington on the Brazos for the second time after many years on the Board. He is a past president of Brenham Children’s Chorus, past Chairman of the Board of the Texas Food and Fuel Association (the nation’s largest petroleum organization), past member of Small Business Development Council for the University of Houston, past member of Exxon Mobil Business Improvement Council and current President of the Blinn Alumni and Friends Board. Jim Kolkhorst is a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church of Brenham, where he serves in the capacity of Chairman of the Stewardship Committee. He and his wife Lois Winkelmann Kolkhorst, have two children, Lois Kate and Jake.
Pastor Paul Senff graduated as valedictorian from Brenham High School in 1950, where he was President of the Senior Class, chosen “Best All Around Student”, and set a new state record for the half mile run with a time of 1:59. He attended Rice University for one semester on a full scholarship for track, received an academic scholarship to Harvard University, and graduated from Texas Lutheran College in 1954. Subsequently, he attended theological training at Trinity Lutheran Seminary from 1954-1958 and in 1989, he received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1978, he attended the World Congress on Evangelism in Lausanne, Switzerland and in 1980, he was a chaplain to mission/church retreats through the Lutheran Chrysio of Minnesota. His travels worldwide continued as he served as a missionary to Papua, New Guinea from 1964-1997. In New Guinea, Paul organized an interchurch fellowship with twelve different churches (Baptist, Catholic, Salvation Army, etc) to provide services to the jails, hospitals and schools. He focused on conflict resolution between tribes through counseling and negotiating peaceful agreements. While on furlough, the family visited homes and churches throughout the US telling people of their work. In 1997, he was awarded the Queen’s Medal of Merit for 33 years of service by the New Guinea government and the British Commonwealth of Sovereign Independent Nations. After retiring, he and his wife, Marie (Meier) Senff, returned to New Guinea as volunteers to teach in 2001 and again in 2003. Together, they had worked for 33 years teaching Christian instruction in government schools, training women in Bible studies and working for the church. All three of their daughters, Tanya, Miriam and Grace, attended boarding schools in New Guinea, then went on to Texas Lutheran College. The Senff family includes seven grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren. Today, after a life of service to the church, Paul and Marie reside at their home in Stonewall, Texas.