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May 12, 2007
John,
Had a few minutes to clean out old email and thought I’d respond and give
you a quick update on me and my family.
Daughter Robyn will be 16 this month and is wrapping up her sophomore year
at Central High School. She just took the ACT for the first time last month
and discovered we have a lot of work to do before college. She is on the
Central volleyball team and works part-time at a health club. Gaining her
independence and driving alone is “TOTALLY” occupying her mind these days.
Remember, we all started driving alone at the age of 14. What were our
parents thinking!?
Son Ryan just finished this semester at the UA, electrical engineering, and
needs only 4-hours to finish his bachelors degree. Nearly finished a 5-year
degree in four. He will stay in Fayetteville until he completes his masters
in another year, or at least by end of next summer. He’s really into playing
the guitar and uses music as a way to escape from the pressures of
engineering school. Boy how I remember those days!
Wife Kristin is scrapbooking our life and has taken up photograph as another
major hobby. She and her younger brother share the duties of helping their
aging mom, who still lives up on Greers Ferry Lake.
We still have our 31-foot travel trailer that we pull around the country on
summer vacations and up to Fayetteville for football games in the fall. My
big GMC gets 6.5 mpg when towing, so the price of gas is curtailing our
travel plans this year. Might have to stay local this year and just enjoy
our great State.
With Mom and Dad both gone now, my two sisters and I are still trying to
sort through all the stuff they collected and saved after 60-years in the
same house. It’s unbelievable, but enjoyable to look through all the old
papers and pictures. I have found a number of old photos that may be of
interest to some of our classmates and will share them in the coming months.
I merged my 40-person engineering company with another Arkansas engineering
firm in Rogers, Crafton-Tull and Associates, 3-years ago this month. At the
time of the merger we had a combined staff of 160 folks. As of today, we
have grown to about 320 with offices in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and
Alabama. I now have about 60 people in my office in Little Rock. While this
is part of my original 10-year plan to retirement, it has really added the
pressure to my life. Most of the time I feel as if I work 24/7, with little
chance for a break. I know, I know, Mom’s do it all the time, and in heels
at that! I did purchase a stress reliever not too long ago (see attached
picture) and really enjoy an end of day or weekend ride whenever I can steal
away. My K1200R Beemer will do zero to 60 in 2.6 seconds if you have the
nerve (I don’t), but the acceleration is thrilling. You must stay focused
when riding the back road twisties, so no time to think about work.
If you get time, change my posted email address to ken.jones@craftontull.com
and my company name to Crafton, Tull, Sparks and Associates, Inc.
Are we going to have a 40th reunion? Would love to see everyone again!
Thanks
Ken |
