About Me

Well… Hmmmmm.

I feel flattered and honored that you have stumbled upon this page, presumably, out of curiosity about this possibly crazed Don guy. I’m glad you’re here.

But “About Me” is a big (potentially boring) topic that I’m guessing will require at least three or four books to cover properly, so I’m struggling how to proceed here, where brevity is the expectation.

For whatever it’s all worth, I’m (sort of) planning to write those aforementioned books later. And, as I get them written, I’ll probably remember to post links to them on this page and/or the home page and/or Medium. So, stay tuned for all that, I guess.

In the meantime, I invite you to just read through my many articles to find out as much “about me” as you will probably ever care to know. I’m an open book. (Ha! I kill me.)

And, to satisfy the present purpose of brevity, I guess I’ll just post my “resume'” below (even though, yes, I’ve seen “experts” say these days that resumes are considered old-fashioned and all-but-worthless).

Yeah, that’ll work.

(One of the great things about being “independent” is that I get to decide that what “experts” say is sometimes all-but-worthless, itself.)

As you peruse what will have to suffice as my “life story,” for now, please keep in mind, Dear Reader, that I’m not really looking for a “job” these days, and a list of my, often inane, past pursuits comes nowhere close to my full story. My resume, for example, mentions nothing of my father, mother, wife, teachers, home town(s), life-long friends or anything else that will figure prominently in the aforementioned books — including, most notably, God.)

But it’s a start, I guess. Here goes.

My Résumé

Education

Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas

  • 33 hours toward Master of Science Degree in Mass Communication (click the link to read the story — pivotal to my life — about why I haven’t finished the degree. )
  • 9 graduate hours in Education
  • Master’s Thesis (as yet unfinished) research focused on incorporating “Media Literacy” into public school curriculum.

Texas State University (forever known to, and appreciated by, me as Southwest Texas State University)

Other schools attended: University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism (1990-1992); Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, Texas (1986-1988)

Employment

  • Self-Employed – Freelance Writer, Lawn Mower, Home Technology Coach, and a bunch of other stuff, including Personal Shopper (the best little gig of my life, to date. Go figure. Thanks be to God!). (2006 – Present)
  • Sweeny ISD – Part Time Substitute Teacher (2019 – 2020)
  • Brazosport Christian School, Lake Jackson, Texas — Teacher/Coach (2014- 2018)
  • Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, Texas – Writing Tutor (2004 – 2006)
  • Marshall High School, Falls Church, VA – English and Journalism Teacher (2003 – 2004)
  • Southwest Texas State University – Mass Communication Graduate Assistant (2001 – 2003)
  • Hill Country News, Cedar Park, Tx (weekly newspaper) – Chief Reporter (2000 – 2001)
  • Coastal Bend E-Press, Corpus Christi, Texas (on-line newspaper) – Founder (1999-2000)
  • Brazosport Sun, Freeport, Tx (weekly newspaper) – Founder, Publisher (1999)
  • Brazorian News, Lake Jackson, Tx (weekly newspaper ) – Associate Editor (1998-1999)
  • Yoakum Herald Times (weekly newspaper) – Editor (1998)
  • Gonzales High School, Gonzales, Tx – Journalism Teacher(1997)
  • Southwest Texas State University – Residence Life Assistant (1995-1997)
  • Navarro High School, Geronimo, Tx – Student Teacher in English and Journalism (1997)
  • KBST, Big Spring, Tx – Production Director, DJ (1995)
  • KOUL Corpus Christi, Tx – Asst. Program Director, DJ (1992 – 1995)
  • KQTX Corpus Christi, Tx – DJ (1992)
  • KIBL Beeville, Tx – Program Director, News Director (1989- 1990)
  • KRYS Corpus Christi, Tx – Asst. News Director, Morning Show Producer, DJ (1988-89)
  • KIOX – AM, Bay City, Tx – News Director (1988)
  • Angleton Times, Angleton, Tx – Sports Editor (1988)
  • The Foghorn (Del Mar College student newspaper) – Editor, Assistant Editor (1986-88)

Awards and Honors

  • Won the Southwest Texas State University Mass Communication Department’s award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student. This award is sponsored by the Instructional and Development Division of the International Communication Association. (2002)
  • Staff member of The Hill Country News, the Texas Community Newspapers Association General Excellence Award winner in 1999 and 2000.
  • Hosted top rated night radio show (adults 25- 64) in Corpus Christi — 1993
  • Named first student editor of the Del Mar College student newspaper – 1987 -88
  • Named Outstanding Journalism Student, Del Mar College – 1988
  • Note: Realizing that “awards and honors” are too often just a means for folks insecure in Christ to feel good about themselves, I quit striving to achieve them in about 2003, Thanks be to God.

Courses Taught

  • Writing for the Mass Media– Taught a number of lab sections of this course as part of graduate assistant duties at Southwest Texas State University. The introductory writing course covered the basics of writing for newspapers, radio, television, public relations and advertising. Played a major role in revising the course and won the school’s Outstanding Teaching award (see above) for this work.
  • High school publications – Advised the staff of the student newspaper at George C. Marshall High Supervised newspaper and yearbook staffs at Gonzales High School (1997). Also taught the school’s broadcasting and photo journalism courses. Currently building the yearbook program (and, God willing, turning it into a full “student media” program) at Brazosport Christian School.
  • College publication – Served as a graduate assistant advisor to the editors and staff of the Southwest Texas State University student newspaper, the University Star (2001-2003)
  • High School English – Taught three sections of freshman English at George C. Marshall High. Taught freshman and sophomore classes during time as student teacher at Navarro High school. Covered units on Homer, Shakespeare, and research paper writing. Also participated in a revision of Gonzales High School’s English curriculum. Currently teaching 8th and 11th grade English classes at Brazosport Christian School and participating in a revision of the school’s curriculum.
  • Other — *Served four semesters as a teaching assistant for the Mass Media Law course at Southwest Texas State University. *Have also worked informally since 1988 with dozens of high school and college students interested in the media. *Worked with Southwest Texas State faculty on an initiative to establish a media literacy course in the university’s core curriculum.

Scholarly work

  • Mass Communication 1301 Course Plan — Plan adopted in 2003 by the Mass Communication faculty at Southwest Texas State University for use in the school’s class for beginning media writers.
  • Media Literacy World Wide — paper presented during Third World Studies Conference, University of Nebraska at Omaha (October, 2002) (Not currently available publicly, but, if you’d like to see it, I will be glad to hunt for it in my files and give you a copy if I find it.)
  • Not necessarily what’s going on: A study of media portrayal of crime — paper accepted for presentation during the 2002 symposium of the Southwestern Association of Educators of Journalism and Mass Communication. (Not currently available publicly, but, if you’d like to see it, I will be glad to hunt for it in my files and give you a copy if I find it.)
  • Media Literacy Levels at Texas State — presentation during Texas State University’s Mass Communication Week, based on the paper “A study evaluating the effectiveness of media literacy education” (March 2002)
  • Building Prestige: An analysis of Texas State’s plans to upgrade to Division I-A football — paper completed during Issues in Advertising and Public Relations Management graduate course. (Dec. 2001) (Not currently available publicly, but, if you’d like to see it, I will be glad to hunt for it in my files and give you a copy if I find it.)

Coaching work

  • Tennis Coach at Brazosport Christian School. The team had two Texas Association of Private and Parochial School (TAPPS) Class 2A state-semi finalists in 2015 and the girls’ team finished the state tournament 4th place overall. Players from BCS qualified for the state tournament in each of the seasons I was the team’s coach (2015 – 2018)
  • Cross Country Coast at Brazosport Christian School. Led a team of inexperienced runners to become athletes who believed they could be, and had a legitimate shot at being, competitive at the TAPPS 2A state meet in 2018. (The school’s leaders made the unfortunate decision in the summer of 2018 to disband the team.)
  • Co-Founder of the Gulf Coast Tennis Association. As a former president and board member of this all-volunteer group devoted to building tennis in Brazoria and Matagorda Counties, I organized countless free clinics for new players of all ages, established playing opportunities for experienced adult players, and coordinated high-caliber training opportunities for top high school players in the area.
  • Competitive tennis. Have maintained USTA-Texas rankings in (or near) the Top 100 (3.5 – 4.0 levels) for many years. Occasional (but formerly frequent) participant in USTA tournaments and leagues.

I last updated this page on March 24, 2024, but I do review it several times each year to assure it’s still accurate and up-to-date. Please check this site’s main page to see the date of my last review.