23 for 23: Longhorn Next Chapter Alumni Book

LONGHORN NEXT CHAPTER 23 for 23

Cedar Hill Independent School District

Dear Longhorn Nation, A school district’s alumni serves as proof of Cedar Hill ISD’s success and productivity.

After the success of our first Longhorn Next Chapter Book, we decided to continue the tradition.

It’s time to celebrate these distinguished graduates! Some still live here in the community, including teachers in the district, while others have made an impact in communities across the nation. We have doctors, lawyers, business executives, entrepreneurs, and more.

We hope these stories bring back a memory or two from your time as a Longhorn.

Sincerely, Dr. Gerald B. Hudson Superintendent of Schools Cedar Hill Independent School District

Longhorn Next Chapter

Dear Longhorn Nation, Once a Longhorn, always a Longhorn!

During my time as a scholar in CHISD, I have come across many members of our Longhorn Family that show their Longhorn Pride long after they’ve graduated.

Many CHISD alumni have come back to assist in programs that they previously participated in, or just to volunteer anywhere they can.

We have several CHISD staff members who are Longhorn alumni. Some of them are featured in this book. All of them return to support the district that guided them. Our Longhorn graduates often recognize the impact that their time in CHISD had on their lives, and come back to interact with our scholars.

Those who have already built their successful careers give our scholars advice. Our CHISD alumni are huge inspirations to our current Longhorn scholars.

We truly appreciate them taking time out of their days to be a positive influence on scholars. We hope you thoroughly enjoy reading the stories of these exceptional Cedar Hill Graduates!

Saniyah McGrew Teen Superintendent Cedar Hill Independent School District

Longhorn Next Chapter

Table of Contents

Derica Turner

4

Bailey Lemon

6

Brianna Green

8

Kamdyn Benjamin

10

Rex James

12

Johnny Krueger

14

Osie Carroll

16

Derrius Thompson

18

Noel Rendon

20

Andrew Cardwell

22

Corey Chism

24

Precious Ivy

26

Brian Ward

28

Azan Hyson

30

Angela Kay Collier

32

Sharon Hamala Bense

34

Joe Pitt

36

Raymond Dennis

38

Yasmine Downs

40

JT Nanney

42

Clark-Patton Family

44

Keidra McGriff

46

Krystal Hamilton

48

23 for 23 Longhorn Next Chapter 23 for 23 Editorial Staff

Tierney Tinnin Chief of Communications & Marketing

Dr. Kisha McDonald Director of Family & Community Engagement

Michael Sudhalter Communications Coordinator/Writer

Courtney Erskine Website Coordinator /Graphic Designer

Rebecca Garza Communications Executive Assistant

Cedar Hill ISD Board of Trustees

Gayle Sims Board President

Denise Roache-Davis

Vice President

Ramona Ross-Bacon Board Secretary

Carma Morgan Trustee

Cheryl Wesley Trustee

Robert Riggs Trustee

Denishea Williams Trustee

Cedar Hill ISD Executive Leadership Dr. Gerald B. Hudson, Superintendent James Hawthorne, Chief of Police Carla Settle, Chief Financial Officer Tierney Tinnin, Chief of Communications & Marketing Tellauance Graham, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services & Administration Shemeka Millner-Williams, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction Hallema Jackson, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Heath Koenig, Executive Director of School Leadership Tyesha Lowe-Smith, Executive Director of School Leadership/Innovation

Volume 3 | 2023

Cedar Hill Independent School District 285 Uptown Blvd., Bldg. 300 Cedar Hill, TX 75104 (972) 291-1581

The Cedar Hill ISD Education Foundation has partnered with Alumni Nations to bring a new opportunity for all CHISD graduates. We are launching Cedar Hill Longhorn Alumni, an online community for Cedar Hill ISD graduates where you can stay connected in all things Cedar Hill.

By joining Cedar Hill Longhorn Alumni, you will be able to: Reconnect with old classmates and friends through alumni stories and our online directory.

Stay up to date with District and Foundation news and events.

Access support when planning your reunion and information on posted upcoming reunions and events.

Identify meaningful ways to support the Cedar Hill ISD and our students.

By engaging in this network, you will help to ensure a lasting legacy for the Cedar Hill Independent School District and the students it serves - today and tomorrow!

The Cedar Hill Education Foundation is excited about this opportunity to connect with alumni and to provide a logical place for alumni to connect. We invite you to learn more about CHEF by visiting us at chisd.net/chef to learn how we partner with the district to provide funding that benefits students, teachers, and staff. Since its inception, the Education Foundation has funded over $1.1 million dollars in grants to enhance campus educational goals that directly impact students in the classroom, scholarships, and many other district initiatives. We do this by hosting various fundraising events throughout the year and direct donations.

If you would like to donate to CHEF, please visit our website at chisd.net/chef/howtogive or use the QR code below. We are proud of our Longhorn Alumni and look forward to your support of our efforts in helping pay it forward for the current generation of students.

Horns Up! Denise Root Cedar Hill Education Foundation Executive Director To contact CHEF directly, please call 972-291-1581, ext. 4047 or email denise.root@chisd.net.

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Cedar Hill Longhorn Legacy Athletic Hall of Honor Announces 2024 Inductees The Cedar Hill Longhorn Legacy Athletic Hall of Honor will celebrate four inductees, a Legacy Award, and one team for the 2024 Class. The inductees are multiple sports stars John Roy Reid (Class of 1965), Billy Barrett (Class of 1970), Tracy Todd (Class of 1988), cross country runner Shelly Bateman (Class of 1993), the 2004 Boys Basketball Team that finished second at State and former coach/administrator Mike Hogan (Legacy Award).

Reid, a Cedar Hill business owner, earned 16 varsity letters between 1961 and 1965. A three-time all-district selection, Reid was the football captain as a junior and senior. He earned all-district honors twice in basketball, serving as the team captain as a senior. In track, Reid qualified for Regionals four teams. He was a four-year member of the baseball team.

Barrett earned 11 varsity letters. He was a football captain as a junior and a senior and basketball captain as a senior. He earned all-district honors twice in both basketball and football. Barrett was President of the Student Council and was involved in multiple extracurricular activities.

Todd earned 16 varsity letters. She led the cross-country team to the district championship and a spot in regionals. Todd did that while earning first-team all-district volleyball honors. In basketball, she also earned all-district honors. Todd was a team captain for all four sports, earning the Army/Navy Scholarship, the Athletic Heart Award, and Most Valuable Athlete along the way.

Bateman qualified for State Cross Country three times, earning the Most Valuable Cross Country Runner Award and the Athletic Booster Club Scholarship.

The 2004 Boys Basketball Team, coached by the late, great David Milson, was the first CHHS Boys Basketball Team to advance to the State Finals. They lost to Houston Milby, 72-67, in the State Championship Game.

2004 Boys Basketball Team

Hogan was the Athletic Director (1997-2001) and Assistant Principal (1991-1996) who coached basketball and golf and assisted in football.

John Roy Reid (Class of 1965)

Billy Barrett (Class of 1970)

Tracy Todd (Class of 1988)

Shelly Bateman (Class of 1993)

Mike Hogan (Legacy Award)

Cedar Hill Graduate Returns to Support Special Education Scholars Derica Turner, a 2003 Cedar Hill High School Graduate, is honored to lead Cedar Hill ISD’s Special Education Department.

“I have worked with Special Education Scholars for several years,” Turner said. “We are making sure that every child has appropriate services and a quality education.”

Turner transferred to Cedar Hill as a high school junior in 2001 and competed in both volleyball and track & field.

“I began my career here as a resource teacher, and it was definitely a full circle moment coming back,” Turner said. “I love the family environment of Cedar Hill. You never meet a stranger in this community.”

Turner’s younger brother, Dane Ward, was a member of the 2006 Cedar Hill Football State Championship Team.

Turner initially planned to study Social Work at the University of North Texas in Denton.

After several years of working in retail management in Cedar Hill (from K-Mart to Target), she began her career as an educator.

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Turner was a Special Education Teacher at Lake Ridge Elementary for a decade before becoming an assistant principal in a neighboring district.

During her time at Lake Ridge, she earned a Master’s Degree from the University of North Texas at Dallas.

She returned to Cedar Hill ISD in 20202021 and worked as a Special Education Coordinator until she was promoted to her current position.

“I really would like to set out a clear frame supporting campuses from early childhood to adult transition,” Turner said.

“It’s Integral that all teachers and scholars receive quality instruction, and we do what’s right for our children.”

Cedar Hill ISD serves nearly 700 special education scholars.

2003 Graduate

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CHISD Alum Returns To Teach at Waterford Oaks Elementary Bailey Lemon’s life changed in the fall of 2014 when the then-Cedar Hill High School senior enrolled in the Partner Physical Education (PE) Class where she had an opportunity to work with Special Education Scholars.

“She was a great partner and loved her experience in Partner PE,” said CHISD Instructional Specialist Heather Parks, who oversees the Partner PE Program. “She is very caring and always makes a difference in the lives of our scholars. The smiles on her face and her scholars are priceless.”

Cedar Hill High School teacher/coach Kevin Benjamin was one of the Partner PE Instructors when Lemon was a scholar.

“She was a mature and dedicated scholar - it doesn’t surprise me that she went into teaching Special Education,” Benjamin said.

Lemon, a Cedar Hill High School Class of 2015 Graduate, is now a Special Education Teacher at Waterford Oaks Elementary.

“This is really my dream job,” Lemon said. “On the good days, it’s beautiful. On the hard days, the kids keep you going. When you watch the progress and you’re part of it, it hits a little different. Waterford Oaks Elementary is a great, supportive community.”

She succeeded fellow Cedar Hill High School Graduate Melissa Tyler, who herself was part of the Partner PE Program about a decade earlier. Tyler, the 2019-2020 Cedar Hill ISD Elementary Teacher, is now an Adapted PE Specialist at Education Service Center (ESC) 10 in Richardson.

Any day, I can call her,” Lemon said. “The way she loves these scholars, it’s beautiful.”

Lemon was a paraprofessional when she started at Waterford Oaks, but she decided to become a full time teacher last year. She’s also the parent of a Waterford Oaks Kindergarten Scholar.

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“I think it’s good for the community to see that kids can matriculate through Cedar Hill ISD and they can assist, support, and grow in the community,” Waterford Oaks Principal William Davis said. “Lemon succeeded someone (Tyler) we thought would be irreplaceable.

Lemon is energizing the scholars to be their best every day.”

Tyler is proud of the work that Lemon has done over the past few years.

“We always hope that our peer partners from Partner PE go into the field of Special Education,” Tyler said.

“Ms. Lemon is a true product of what Partner PE intends and hopes to do for our general education peers. As a paraprofessional, she was committed to learning as much as she could from all of her coworkers and scholars of all abilities. Now, as a classroom teacher, she has pulled what she’s learned over the years to make it her own and is truly committed to bringing out the best in every scholar she teaches.”

CHISD Executive Director of Special Education Derica Turner, a Cedar Hill High School Class of 2002 Graduate, said Lemon has made an impact on her campus – and in her role as a Special Olympics coach.

“Ms. Lemon is an amazing individual and educator,” Turner said. “I remember serving in the district with her as a paraprofessional, and I am so honored to be a part of her journey as a teacher in the district. She loves her scholars and serves with passion. She builds trusting and lasting relationships with her families. She is the epitome of the character and stock of a CHISD Alumni.”

Lemon moved to Cedar Hill as a high school freshman in 2011, from the San Diego area. She played varsity softball, earning a scholarship to Grambling State University, a Historically Black College & University (HBCU) located in northern Louisiana. She enjoyed playing NCAA Division I Softball in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) but transferred to Liberty University and completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Special Education online.

Lemon plans to pursue a Master’s Degree in the coming years. She earned a $10,000 Cedar Hill ISD Education Foundation (CHEF) Grant in December 2022 to support her SPED scholars.

2003 Graduate

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Brianna Green has never backed down from a challenge The 2019 Collegiate High School Graduate balanced her college-level courses while competing for both the Cedar Hill High School Volleyball Team and her club team, 360 Volleyball.

“There were some days, we would have to go to Cedar Valley College and then go straight to practice or a game,” said Green, who plays middle blocker for the Texas Christian University Volleyball Team. “I knew how to organize myself and what to be prepared for in college.”

“With the whole season being pushed back, it was hard,” Green said. “There are teams when we wonder ‘are we even going to have a season?’ That was an uneasy time.

Now, we have something to work toward.

It’s been easier, and now we have more time to focus on individual skills.”

Green moved to Cedar Hill from Dallas as a first grader, enrolling at High Pointe Elementary.

She led the University of Denver to the NCAA Tournament and upon graduation, joined the TCU Volleyball Program as a graduate school. She made an immediate impact on the Horned Frogs.

“Cedar Hill ISD was always engaging and fun in my opinion,” Green said. “The teachers that I had really catered to the scholars. Everyone has a chance to learn. I am a visual learner, so they did a lot to cater to that.”

When she was at Denver, the Pioneers met topranked Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

After West Intermediate, she went to Bessie Coleman Middle School where seventh graders are asked to choose two sports.

“Going against #1 was fun,” Green said. “A lot of people shy away from that challenge, but my teammates and I stood up to it. We knew they were the top team, but we decided to make them work for it.”

Stanford prevailed, but the experience is something that Green and her teammates won’t soon forget.

For the first time since seventh grade in 2013, Green faced a fall without volleyball matches.

The COVID-19 Pandemic forced the Summit League, of which Denver is a member, to postpone volleyball to the spring of 2021.

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Basketball and volleyball were Green’s choices, and they’re still her favorite sports.

One day she hopes to be a professional broadcaster for both sports.

In eighth grade, one of Green’s coaches at Bessie Coleman introduced her to the possibility of playing club volleyball. She liked that idea.

By her freshman year in high school, Green had a choice of competing in both sports or becoming laser-focused on one.

She chose volleyball and never looked back.

2017 Graduate

Photo Courtesy of TCU Athletics

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Hard Work and Patience Propel Benjamin to Success Kamdyn Benjamin followed his dream as a preferred walk-on at the University of Tulsa, an NCAA Division I school, over scholarship offers to smaller schools.

Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) Program soon and still has a sixth year of eligibility – which he plans to use next year.

That’s why one of the highlights of his career was finally earning that long-awaited scholarship.

“My plan after college is to stick around sports – it’s always been something that’s been part of my life,” Benjamin said. “I’d like to go into coaching as a Graduate Assistant. I may use my MBA Degree if the opportunity presents itself.”

“We were in the weight room one day, and the coaches said they wanted to talk to us,” said Benjamin, a Cedar Hill High School Class of 2019 Graduate. “They announced they were putting me on scholarship. The whole team was there to celebrate with me. It was nice to know the hard work in practice didn’t go unnoticed, and they saw me as a guy who could contribute to the team.”

Benjamin has regularly earned Academic AllAmerican Athletic Conference honors at Tulsa, one of the top universities in the region.

He was in sixth grade at West Intermediate and seventh grade at Permenter when the Longhorns won their 2013 and 2014 State Championships, respectively.

By the time he got to high school, Benjamin’s father was his position coach.

Benjamin, the son of Cedar Hill Athletics Director Melanie Benjamin and Cedar Hill Boys Track & Field/Wide Receivers Coach Kevin Benjamin, realized another career milestone on October 19 vs. Rice University.

“Luckily, I enjoyed football because we talked about the game and watched film at home,” Benjamin said. “It’s awesome to have the support of my parents. I really enjoy and love their support."

Now a graduate student in his fifth season at Tulsa, Benjamin caught his first career touchdown pass – a 30-yard reception from quarterback Cardell Williams in the second quarter.

Benjamin competed in Baseball, Track & Field and Powerlifting, but he also made it a point to be involved in a wide variety of activities. He served as Student Council Vice President and as Senior Class Historian.

“It was great to finally get that first touchdown reception, and hopefully, there will be many more to come,” said Benjamin, who finished with three receptions for a team-high 48 yards.

Melanie Benjamin has criss-crossed the country, leaving hours after a CHHS Football Game to head to Chicago, Miami or Seattle to watch her son play.

Benjamin, who graduated in the Top 10 of the Class of 2019, started taking college dual credit courses in high school. He managed to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science in 2021. He’s on track to complete a Longhorn Next Chapter | 10

2019 Graduate

Photo Courtesy of TCU Athletics

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A Journey of Collision Repair and Archery Mastery Rex James, a Cedar Hill High School Class of 2003 Graduate, charted his current path during his years in Cedar Hill ISD. James was enrolled at Permenter Middle School when he began helping out at Straight Line Collision, a business his father, Mike – a 1975 CHHS Graduate – started in 1982.

“I would come up after school to sweep and wash cars,” James said. “By the time I was 13, I started turning wrenches. I took apart a GMC Van and put it back together.”

Today, James and his father co-own Straight Line, which is adjacent to CHHS. When James was a sophomore at CHHS, he became interested in bowhunting, but it never transpired. It was serendipitous that he instead found a love of archery.

“I remember sitting in a deer stand in Fairfield, Texas (92 miles southeast of Cedar Hill), and it was freezing!”

James said. “We were waiting for an animal to come out, and it didn’t happen. I thought to myself ‘there’s an archery tournament coming up in two hours. I can leave here and drive there. I’ll be warm, and it’ll be fun’.”

And James never looked back.

“I jumped in with both feet in the archery world, and it’s been a roller coaster ride ever since,” James said.

Competing in the sport of archery has resulted in lifelong friendships and memories for James.

When he was a junior in high school in 2001-2002, James won the State Championship in Archery.

As a senior, he finished second at State. But since he was 18 years old, he was competing in the ages 18-49 division.

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For many years, James has competed in the amateur division, but he made his professional debut in 2022.

“I really enjoy archery,” James said. “It’s fun to begin with – there’s something about finding your potential.

Archery will give you what you put in, and a lot of it is mental. You have to be in the moment.”

For indoor archery, competitors must try to hit a spot the size of a bottle cap 60 times. James completed a “Perfect Game” earlier this year – achieving that feat 60 out of 60 times.

In outdoor archery, competitors work with targets that range from 20 feet to 80 yards away.

James is grateful for his parents’ support of his archery dreams. Mike and Pat, a 1977 Cedar Hill High School Graduate, met at the Dairy Queen in Cedar Hill (which is now Lisa’s Seafood & Chicken).

James was born in the mid-1980s and in the early 1990s, James was part of the inaugural first-grade class to attend Waterford Oaks Elementary.

Once he got to high school, his parents would travel all over Texas, and then all across the United States, to take their son to tournaments.

James is also grateful for Straight Line, because he loves his full time job. For some of his archery peers, the sport is their only full-time job, which can be challenging to say the least.

“I love my job – auto body work has become extremely complex, so we do a lot of continuing education,” James said. “Our employees are rock stars.”

James begins practicing archery most days from 5-7 a.m. and then heads to Straight Line where he’ll be until 5:30 p.m.

“Archery has become so competitive,” James said.

“Anytime a movie comes out where someone has a bow, the popularity of archery goes way up. It’s becoming mainstream, which is cool. We used to have 150 competitors at our state championship.

Now, it’s 400 competitors.”

2003 Graduate

Submitted Photo

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Krueger Goes From Touchdowns to Transmissions It’s a quiet Tuesday morning in Cedar Hill, but there’s never a dull minute at 301 Hickerson Street.

Customers walk through the doors to purchase motor oil or to have their brakes adjusted, and they know the owner by his first name.

“Thank you, Johnny,” he says.

And he knows theirs, too.

“Appreciate you, Harold,” said Johnny Krueger, a proud Cedar Hill High School Class of 1978 Graduate and owner of Krueger’s Auto Service Center.

Some of the customers may even know about Krueger’s athletic accomplishments 43 years ago and a half-mile away, just across U.S. Highway 67 from his current place of business.

Krueger always had an interest in cars and trucks.

He worked in the business, which his father owned.

Krueger’s father passed the torch to him.

Krueger was the starting quarterback for the 1977 Cedar Hill High School Football Team. At first glance, nothing jumps off the page about that season. The Longhorns finished 5-5, after a 1-9 season the previous year.

Both schools played the equivalent of Class 3A Football at the time.

It was 1977, Johnny Cougar was on the radio, and Jimmy Carter was in the White House.

Cedar Hill was 29 years away from winning the first of its three state championships, and Allen was 31 years away from its first state title.

“We ran the Wishbone, and our average defensive lineman weighed 145 pounds,” Krueger said. “We passed the ball, maybe seven times, against Allen.”

The 1977 Longhorns upset Aledo and played a close game against eventual state champion, Wylie.

“We had a bunch of really good players and surprised a lot of good teams,” Krueger said.

Upon closer examination, the 1977 season finale, played on October 7, 1977, in Cedar Hill, is significant.

Krueger, who moved to Cedar Hill at age 6, attended Bray Elementary and Cedar Hill High School. He’s watched enthusiastically as the Longhorn Football Program has become a state, and sometimes, a national powerhouse, facing opponents from as far away as Nevada and Ohio.

Krueger scored a touchdown to lead the Longhorns to a 12-9 victory over Allen.

“I go to a few games, and I still keep up with the Longhorns,” Krueger said.

Cedar Hill and Allen don’t usually play each other anymore. Despite several close games in recent years and decades, the ’77 win was Cedar Hill’s last victory over AHS.

Krueger’s wife, Cheryl, is a fellow CHISD graduate. She also worked for the district.

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1977 Graduate

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Cedar Hill Graduate Starts His Own Construction Company Osie Carroll took a leap of faith when he started his own construction company – JOS Construction -- a couple of years ago.

The 2007 Cedar Hill High School Graduate was inspired by an experience he had nearly two decades earlier.

Back in 2003, Carroll was an eighth grader at Permenter Middle School when Cedar Hill High School promoted a 31-year-old assistant coach named Joey McGuire to head coach.

Being part of that process helped Carroll, 34, understand the recipe for success.

“Coach McGuire is absolutely relentless in his pursuit of success and he had that mindset to build something from the ground up,” Carroll said of McGuire, who is now in his second season as the head coach at Texas Tech.

He also learned a great deal in mathematics, sc, and science classes that prepared him to start his own business. It was that combination of athletics, team building, and academics that allowed Carroll to build to where he is today.

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His best friend is fellow receiver Dezmon Briscoe, who played in the NFL with Tampa Bay and Washington. Carroll and Briscoe would later learn that they’re distant cousins.

After Cedar Hill, Carroll graduated from Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture.

“As a kid, I loved to play with legos,” Carroll said. “I’ve always been fascinated by the way structures are put together.”

He started his career as an estimator and worked his way up to a project manager, and eventually a vice president of a construction company. He now owns a company with 12 employees, but he’s still very “hands on” with the work himself. It’s not uncommon for him to show up at the construction side with a hard hat.

JOS Construction incorporates Carroll’s first name, and the names of his wife and three children. The company works on projects ranging from office buildings, warehouses and schools, from Pre-K to universities.

Carroll and his wife, Sherrelle, first met when they were Highlands Elementary third graders in 1997. Sherrelle graduated from a neighboring district, but they attended PVAMU at the same time.

Carroll, who resides in the Dallas area, currently coaches youth football, instilling many of the lessons he’s learned along the way.

1977 Graduate

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Thompson Makes A Splash With Dolphins Nowadays, it’s not unusual to see a half dozen Cedar Hill Graduates playing wide receiver on national television.

That wasn’t the case in the mid 1990s when Derrius Thompson, a Cedar Hill High School Class of 1995 Graduate, made his college debut at Baylor University in the fall of 1995.

Thompson, 45, was the first Cedar Hill Graduate to make the National Football League. He played four seasons with Washington and three with Miami. He’s also the only pre-Joey McGuire Era Longhorn to make the NFL. Thompson had impressive numbers at Cedar Hill and at Baylor where he caught 78 passes for 1,088 yards and two touchdowns in four seasons.

Those numbers would have been considerably higher had CHHS or Baylor been a pass-oriented offense during that era.

Thompson is now an Athletic Coordinator at Howard Middle School in Mansfield. He’s married with three children.

Thompson moved to Cedar Hill from Oak Cliff in the early 1990s as a CHHS Freshman. He played three years of varsity football, at receiver and defensive back for head coach Gary Comer’s Longhorns. Cedar Hill went to the playoffs in three consecutive seasons from 1992-1994.

One of Thompson’s CHHS teammates was offensive lineman Randall Cummins, who earned All-Big 12 Honors at Kansas State.

When Thompson was a freshman at Baylor in 1995, the Bears went 7-4 under head coach Chuck Reedy yet didn’t qualify for a bowl game in what was the final year of the Southwest Conference.

Once the Bears joined the Big 12 in 1996, the wins were few and far between, but Thompson faced 1997 Heisman Trophy Winner Charles Woodson ( and his

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Michigan teammate, Tom Brady) and 1998 Heisman Trophy Winner Ricky Williams of Texas.

The Bears upset Williams and the UT Longhorns, 23-21, in Waco, in 1997. Thompson caught six passes for a game-high 100 yards, to help offset Williams’ game-high 244 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Baylor also upset then-#20 North Carolina State that season, 33-30.

Thompson earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Baylor University. Although he wasn’t selected in the 1999 NFL Draft, he was able to sign a free agent contract with Washington.

Washington was coached by Norv Turner, who had won Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys while Thompson was still in high school.

Washington made the playoffs in Thompson’s rookie season. He played under four different coaches in the nation’s capital – Turner, interim head coach Terry Robiskie, the late Marty Schottenheimer and Steve Spurrier.

Thompson said one of the most memorable moments of his career came on October 28, 2001 when Schottenheimer told him he’d catch his first NFL touchdown pass. He hauled in a touchdown pass from fellow wide receiver Kevin Lockett.

Washington went on to defeat the New York Giants, 35-21, that day.

He caught a touchdown pass from 1996 Heisman Trophy Winner Danny Wuerffel in a 27-20 loss when Washington lost to the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day 2002 at Texas Stadium.

After the 2002 season, Thompson left Washington for the Miami Dolphins where he played for head coach Dave Wannstedt.

1995 Graduate

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Submitted Photo

Balancing Law Enforcement and Real Estate Success Noel Rendon is sleeping a lot better these days. The Cedar Hill High School Class of 1998 Graduate was balancing his full-time job as a Dallas Police Department Sergeant with his new venture as the owner of Rendon Realty, beginning in 2017.

“The academy was intense, and I ended up being one of the top recruits in the class,” Rendon said.

He would work the overnight shift at DPD from 8 p.m. until 4 p.m., and then head to his Mansfieldbased realty office at 9:30 a.m.

Rendon worked in patrol and then became an auto theft detective and was promoted to Sergeant in the Southwest Division in 2016, the same year he earned a Master’s Degree in Public Service Administration from Texas A&M University.

It left little time for rest as Rendon expanded the company from three agents in 2017 to approximately 200 now.

Rendon, a husband and father of three, was looking for ways to supplement his income early in his law enforcement career. He’d often work extra security jobs at bars or music venues.

In 2022, he made the difficult, yet necessary decision to retire from DPD, after 20 years of service, to focus solely on growing his real estate empire.

Rendon sees a lot of parallels between his work in guiding young law enforcement officers to leading new real estate agents.

“You have to know how to treat people and how people want to be treated,” Rendon said. “You have to give respect to get respect, and you have to be a critical thinker – dealing with different situations and problem-solving.”

Rendon moved to Cedar Hill in the first grade and enrolled at Plummer Elementary. At Cedar Hill High, he focused on academics and played a little bit of baseball.

During college, Rendon worked several part-time loss prevention jobs, which piqued his interest in law enforcement. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Texas at Arlington and was recruited by DPD.

“I miss it every day – it was a good job with good people.”

In 2008, he purchased a home in Mansfield and realized working as a realtor would be preferable to the other side gigs.

Rendon earned his real estate license in 2009 and started planting the seeds of his real estate agency. In the early days, he was selling homes, but today, he prefers managing other agents.

Rendon Realty sells homes all over North Texas, and Rendon said they are planning to expand to Austin, Houston and San Antonio.

Rendon’s wife, Christie, manages the office and his oldest daughter recently joined the business.

“We do a lot for our agents through training, mentoring and guidance,” Rendon said. “We have weekly and monthly meetings, and 1-on-1 training. I had a vision for the company, but I didn’t realize it would get this big.”

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1998 Graduate

Submitted Photo

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Legal Luminary with HGTV Connection He’s done business with Ben and Erin Napier of HGTV’s “Hometown” and played football for Joey McGuire, but Andrew Cardwell doesn’t prefer the spotlight.

Cardwell, a 2001 Cedar Hill High School Graduate, was a standout offensive lineman for the Longhorns when Robert Woods was the head coach.

Cardwell opened his law farm at age 26 and specializes in Property Law and Estate Planning. He met Ben Napier when he was a youth minister in Laurel – a community onethird the size of Cedar Hill – in 2010. Six years later, the Napiers debuted on HGTV. Although Cardwell has never appeared on-air, he’s handled closings for the Napiers.

Cardwell’s journey into the legal profession started in Cedar Hill ISD. The Cardwell Family moved to Cedar Hill from Minnesota in 1990 when it was still a relatively rural community.

He enrolled at Plummer Elementary where Shelly Williamson was his Physical Education Teacher.

After Permenter Middle School, Cardwell competed in football, baseball, powerlifting, and soccer at CHHS.

He took a Criminal Justice class from Britt Snipes, a former police officer who retired in 2020 as a CHHS Teacher.

Cardwell majored in Criminal Justice at Mississippi College, in Clinton, Mississippi, where he played tight end at the NCAA Division III level. During his senior year, the 6foot-2, 220-pound Cardwell played offensive tackle at MC. He believes he was probably the smallest offensive tackle in the entire NCAA. He liked MC enough that he decided to pursue a law degree there, but during law school, he gravitated more toward property law.

After law school, Cardwell moved back to Texas, passing the Texas Bar. He’s certified to practice law in both Texas and Mississippi.

“I’ve lived in Mississippi longer than anywhere else, but I still consider myself a Texan,” said Cardwell, who is the proud father of two sons, ages 11 and 8.

Cardwell, a dedicated fan of the Texas Longhorns, said it was somewhat easier to see UT lose a game when it was McGuire on the other side last September. He’s looking forward to the Longhorns’ move to the Southeastern Conference in 2024, so he can travel to nearby games at Mississippi, Mississippi State, Alabama, Auburn and LSU. Cardwell recently became a Registered Sports Agent and would consider delving deeper into that field “if the opportunity presents itself.”

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1998 Graduate

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Chism Honors Mentor With “The Longhorn Way” Corey Chism was on stage at the Cedar Hill ISD 2023-2024 Convocation on August 10, tasked with announcing the winners of the CHISD Attendance Incentive Awards.

The district presented a total of $37,500 to 20 employees who achieved Perfect Attendance in 2022-2023. Five employees received $3,000, and 15 received $1,500.

When Chism’s name came up on the card he was supposed to announce, he was too bashful to say it. But everyone in the audience knew that Chism had once again received this honor.

When Chism arrived at Cedar Hill High in the summer of 1997, the school was better known for basketball than football. That could be attributed to the success of the late Cedar Hill head boys basketball coach David Milson.

Chism is the first to admit he wasn’t a star in high school. He balanced hoops with a part-time job at Kmart (where the Burlington store is currently located). As a senior in 2000-2001, he was a teammate of Daniel and Jason Horton, who played at Michigan and Missouri, respectively.

“The Hortons put Cedar Hill Athletics on the map,” Chism said.

The Cedar Hill High School head boys basketball coach and 2001 CHHS Graduate was one of five CHISD Employees to receive the $3,000.

Chism didn’t think about it at the time, but he’s so grateful for Milson’s leadership. As a symbol of that gratitude, a photo of high school-era Chism and Milson together adorns his office.

For Chism, 40, there’s nothing extraordinary about coming to work every day.

“Now that I’m older and wiser, words can’t describe the things he poured into me,” Chism said. “Everything he poured into me has worked.”

“I respect hard workers,” Chism said.

“There are millions of people more talented than me, but I don’t want to be outworked.”

Chism graduated from Prairie View A&M University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development. He joined the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and worked in the PVAMU Sports Information Office. Upon graduation, he met his wife, Candace, when the two were first-year teachers at a middle school in Duncanville. Candace is now a counselor at Collegiate Academy & High School in Cedar Hill.

Chism had a 10-year streak of not missing a day of school. It started in 2013 when his son, Corben, now a fifth grade at High Pointe Elementary, was born. Chism attended High Pointe in the early 1990s.

Chism believes he was destined to become a coach.

His late father, Michael Chism Sr., ran track at Hillsdale College in Michigan and coached football and track in Dallas ISD for many years. His mother, Angela Chism, is a member of the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame for her track and field achievements at Prairie View A&M University.

Michael Sr. and Angela met at a track meet.

The Chism Family settled in Cedar Hill where he attended High Pointe but was then part of the first group of scholars to attend Waterford Oaks Elementary when it opened. He still remembers the impact that WOE’s first principal, Holly Teague, and his third-grade teacher, JoLynn Maddox, had on him.

Three years later, Maddox was Chism’s History Teacher at Permenter Middle School.

At age 30, Chism became a head coach for a small school in Dallas. At 32, he was named the head coach at Duncanville and returned home to Cedar Hill four years later at age 36.

Chism has guided the Longhorns to two playoff appearances in four seasons. Last season, Cedar Hill enjoyed its best season since 2015. It’s quite a feat considering Chism inherited a program that had won just six games the previous season.

Chism attributes the rise of the program to something he developed as both an homage to Milson and a blueprint for the future of the CHHS Boys Basketball Program. He calls it “The Longhorn Way” and it emphasizes that average players can achieve extraordinary things when they devote themselves to teamwork and a strong work ethic.

“The Longhorn Way is consistently ‘Doing the Little Things in order for Big Things to Happen’,” Chism said. “It is having the willingness to take our strengths to the level of mastery and our weaknesses will be transformed into strengths. This will be accomplished by doing things that most aren’t willing to do.”

Chism, with 19 years as an educator, said he’ll coach “until I can’t anymore.”

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2001 Graduate

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Cedar Hill High Alumni Inspiring Coaching Journey and Impact on TVCC Women’s Basketball Two Cedar Hill High School Graduates led the most consistently successful junior college women’s basketball program to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Championship Game.

After graduating from UH, Ivy moved to West Texas to became a graduate assistant at Wayland Baptist in Plainview and then to East Texas to coach at Tyler Junior College for five years.

Trinity Valley Community College Women’s Basketball head coach Precious Ivy, a Cedar Hill High School Class of 2006 Graduate, entered the 2023-2024 season as head coach of TVCC, which is located in Athens – 90 miles southeast of Cedar Hill.

She returned to Harris County for her first NCAA Division I assistant coaching job, with head coach Donna Finnie at Houston Christian University (HCU)

Ivy’s success on the court is important to her, but not as crucial as the ultimate outcome – graduating her players year after year.

One of those graduates was fellow CHHS Graduate, Taylor Hutchins, a Cedar Hill High School Class of 2019 Graduate who averaged 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds as a sophomore.

Ivory started for four years of varsity basketball – one for head coach Amy Tennison and three for Andrea Robbins.

“High school was fun – my coaches gave me the opportunity to succeed while I was there,” Ivy said.

“I built lifelong relationships while I was there.”

She went to San Jacinto College (SJC) in Houston, but injuries prevented her furthering her playing career.

Ivy graduated from SJC and enrolled at nearby, University of Houston (UH), but she continued to work as a volunteer coach with SJC.

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After that experience, she had a chance to join the TVCC staff. Halfway through the 2019-2020 season, Ivy was promoted to head coach at age 31.

“We’re known for being in the championship game – of the last 10 years, we’ve been in the championship game eight times and have reached the playoffs in 28 of the past 30 years,” Ivy said.

While leading such a successful program, Ivy doesn’t dwell over the pressure – she embraces it. She faces the challenge of recruiting, head-on.

“You know the pressure, and you do everything you can to keep the program where it is and to elevate it,” Ivy said. “Trinity Valley is the place to be, and it’s a blessing that I’m here.

It’s a place where I can make a difference.”

2006 Graduate

Photo Courtesy of Trinity Valley Community College Athletics

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Cedar Hill Class of 1994 Valedictorian Returned to the District Brian Ward keeps his tuba in the backseat of his car. It shows that the 1994 Cedar Hill High School Valedictorian is never far from the instrument he played for most of his life.

He still plays with the Carroll Wind Symphony, which has grown to an ensemble of 90 members and performed as far away as Chicago.

But while music is undoubtedly Ward’s passion, he’s grateful that a fellow educator helped extend an opportunity into public education – at a time when he didn’t even know if it was a path worth taking. Today, Ward – the District Data Follow and a CHISD employee since 2005 – couldn’t see himself doing anything else professionally.

“I love working with data – that’s my wheelhouse,” Ward said. “It appeals to my right brain.”

Ward, a Cedar Hill citizen, knows exactly when his trajectory toward CHISD teacher, and then administrator, happened.

He had just completed a Master’s Degree in Music Literature and History from the University of Montana and was seriously considering a doctoral program. In between programs, Ward returned to Bray Elementary – where he was a scholar from 1980-1986. His mother, Fran Ward retired from Bray a few years ago. She had worked at Highlands Elementary when that campus opened.

In 2005, Fran was teaching at Bray, whose staff was preparing for standardized testing.

Ward’s job was to substitute for the teachers’ classes while they were out tutoring.

His teaching approach caught the attention of then-Bray Principal Patricia Byrd, who went on to become the 20212022 Cedar Hill ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year.

Byrd had a conversation with Ward about earning his alternative certification. He replied by saying he was considering it.

“I didn’t ask if, I asked when,” Byrd responded.

Byrd was transferred to West Intermediate where she hired Ward to teach fifth-grade math and science. Ward was there from 2005-2010 until he was called into CHISD Administration, working a variety of coordinator roles in nearly every subject area and grade level at one time or another.

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CEDAR HILL ROOTS The Wards moved to the Dallas Fort Worth area from New York, and Ward was born in Carrollton. They moved to Cedar Hill when he was a toddler.

In his eighth grade year of 1989-1990, Ward was part of the first class of eighth graders to attend Permenter Middle School. He had previously attended the old middle school, which is where the current high school baseball and softball fields are located.

Ward is grateful for the diversity and inclusion that modernday Cedar Hill presents.

“I’m thankful for it every day,” Ward said. “We are much more diverse and much more open than ever before. We have a beautiful mix of all kinds of people living together as a community. That’s the kind of community I enjoy.”

When it came time for Ward to deliver his Valedictorian Address to 312 classmates, he emphasized originality.

“It was not a time to be quoting others,” Ward said. “It was time to use our voices and for us to become the people who are quoted in the future. My speech was short, sweet, and to the point, which was odd for me, because I tend to drag on.”

Ward graduated from Cedar Hill High School with 45 college credit hours, long before the days of Early College Academy or the Collegiate Pathway.

“I didn’t challenge myself against others, I challenged myself,” Ward said. “It wasn’t a matter of getting the highest score. It was a matter of getting the highest score I could get.”

Ward attended DePaul University in Chicago as a freshman but transferred to East Texas State University, which became Texas A&M-Commerce a year later.

“At the time, I wanted to reach music history,” Ward said.

“When it comes to Tuba, I was a good player but not worldclass. There are maybe 25 gigs in the world where you can make a full living out of playing tuba.”

During his time at Commerce, Ward didn’t know he was in the presence of greatness. In the band, he sat next to Tim Buzbee, who’s now a world-class tuba player with the Melbourne Symphony in Melbourne, Australia.

With close to two decades of service to the district, Ward doesn’t ever see himself working anywhere else.

“I would like to finish in Cedar Hill ISD,” Ward said.

1994 Graduate

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Cedar Hill Graduate Showcases Talent on “The Voice” Imagine having John Legend as your music teacher.

That’s the reality that Azan Hyson, a Cedar Hill High School Class of 2013 Graduate, lived as a contestant on NBC’s “The Voice”, Season 24.

She was one of the top 56 contestants.

“He’s absolutely amazing,” Hyson said. “He’s so down to earth and genuine. I was so nervous about meeting him. Seeing how calm and genuine he was really surprised me. He’s so encouraging, and I’m having an amazing time working with him.”

Hyson, who goes by the stage name Azan Hysn, was one of 14 singing contestants on Legend’s team. The other judges this season are Gwen Stefani, Niall Horan, and Reba McEntire, and there are a total of 56 contestants.

The third time was a charm for Hyson, who auditioned for “The Voice” while she was enrolled at Dallas College-Cedar Valley and the University of North Texas.

“It’s heartbreaking when you don’t get the answer you’re looking for,” Hyson said. “I auditioned again and again. This time, I made it through, and now, we are here.”

Obviously, Hyson wanted to advance as far as possible on the show, but regardless, she believes it will positively impact her career.

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“Being a contestant on “The Voice” has given me the outlet and the exposure I’ve felt I’ve always needed,” Hyson said. “I’ve had almost 500,000 views, and I’m reaching for a million, maybe more.”

Hyson has been singing since she was 12 years old. She moved to Cedar Hill as a high school sophomore in 2010.

She found a warm welcome in Longhorn Nation and immediately joined the choir and the Highsteppers.

“I’m so proud of that,” Hyson said. “We had some of the hardest teachers, but they encouraged us to be the best version of ourselves.”

Hyson still lives in the Dallas area and recently attended her 10-year CHHS Class Reunion.

She continued her musical career at Cedar Valley as a member of the Jazz Ensemble.

At UNT, she majored in Biology with minors in Music and Chemistry.

Although she loved biology, Hyson set her sights on making it in the music business.

She wrote her own songs, sang background vocals for fellow artists, and started a YouTube channel. Eventually, Hyson joined a local band, “Common Ground,” and performed at weddings and other special events. Hyson loves dancing as well and performed on B2K’s Millennium Tour.

Hyson describes her music as “wanting to make people feel good” with a relaxing mix of R&B and soul.

2013 Graduate

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A Musical Journey of Passion, Education, and Entrepreneurship Over the course of her 15-year career, Angela Kay (Bloodworth) Collier has entertained and educated thousands of children through acting and directing children’s theatre.

Collier, a 2004 Cedar Hill High School Graduate, said her CHISD teachers played a major role in channeling her love of music and performance into a career where she’s been able to provide the same gift to others.

“Going to Cedar Hill made such an impact on me, specifically my music teachers,” Collier said. “They definitely recognized how important music was to me and took the opportunity to grow that interest.”

Collier, who now teaches voice lessons through AKCollier Studio LLC in North Little Rock, Arkansas, attended Kindergarten through Fifth Grade at Bray Elementary. Collier vividly remembers performing in the 1993 Bray Elementary First Grade Production of “That Goat Has To Go.” “My Kindergarten teacher, Cheryl McKnight, laid the foundation for my education and made me excited about school,” Collier said. “Angie England, my second-grade teacher, is an incredible teacher and continues to make an impact in my life, even as an adult.”

While attending West Intermediate School, Collier began playing in the school band. Her instrument was the Oboe, and she continued playing it through her high school days at CHHS.

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“I always tell my students that band taught me to be a smart musician,” Collier said. “It helped me further understand the entire process, not just my instrument. Melissa Logan and Sherrilyn Archibald-Ewing were instrumental in encouraging me to continue to study music after high school. They helped me to realize that a career in the arts had so many possibilities and opportunities. Mrs. Burton was the teacher who noticed and encouraged my passion for music.”

Collier was a member of Cedar Hill’s choir and show choir, but ironically, she never participated in high school theatre due to a logistics issue.

“The theater production class conflicted with my music theory class,” Collier lamented.

Still, theatre was an important part of Collier’s life from the time her parents took her to see “Damn Yankees” at Fair Park in Dallas when she was a Bray Elementary fourth grader.

Collier credits her non-music extracurriculars with providing skills that she would learn as the owner of her own studio. She was the President of the National Honor Society, the Vice President of the Student Council, and part of the yearbook staff.

“These leadership opportunities allowed me to organize and execute large-scale events (like homecoming),” Collier said. “I developed my communication skills and built administrative skills, all within a collaborative environment and led by knowledgeable teachers and staff.

Collaborative skills are integral to a career in the arts since you so often have to work well with others.”

Collier utilized her music roots from CHISD when she enrolled at Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre in 2008.

2004 Graduate

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Cedar Hill Alum Cultivates Unique Outdoor Education Oasis Cameron Crowe directed, and Matt Damon, starred in a 2011 film, “We Bought A Zoo” – based on a true story.

Sharon Hamala Bense, a 1997 Cedar Hill High School Graduate, took a similar leap of faith in 2014 when she and her business partner purchased a five-acre farm in Bentonville, Arkansas – in the fast-growing northwest corner of the Natural State.

“It was a huge leap of faith – the bank took a risk on us,” Bense said.

The non-profit Clover Community School has been a success thus far, currently serving 15 students between Kindergarten and 12th Grade. It has the capacity to grow to as many as 50 students.

Bense has worked in Special Education in public schools in Texas, New York and Arkansas during her career, but neither she nor her business partner had any farming experience.

They learned by doing, and students learn by taking care of the animals and working in the garden. The students sell the plants that they grow, to the community.

The high school scholars are responsible for taking the animals to their veterinary appointments and for buying food and gardening supplies. They also feed the animals and clean the barn.

“We’re getting a lot of people from Austin and California moving to this area, and they’re interested in ‘outside the box’ education,” Bense said. “We are giving these kids job skills and life skills. We have an extensive garden lesson plan that is run year-round. So much of our math is real world, such as measuring the fence or figuring out the perimeter.”

The students sell their plants to the community.

Like many schools and companies, Bense admits that the COVID-19 Pandemic threw Clover for a curveball.

They were able to overcome it.

“We are 100 percent outdoors – the buildings are all garage-style buildings,” Bense said. “We had 20 kids that year, and we managed to keep COVID out.

Bense’s interest in Special Education started when she was a Cedar Hill High School student in the mid-1990s.

She was part of an Elementary Rotation and worked with SPED students at Plummer Elementary – a school she attended in the late 1980s.

Bense, the daughter of a retired teacher who still lives in Cedar Hill, was among the first group of students to attend the newly minted Permenter Middle School in the early 1990s and lived in Cedar Hill when Joe Pool Lake was being built.

She was the Class Treasurer at CHHS and a member of Future Health Professionals.

Graduating in the top 25 percent of the Class of 1997, Bense attended The University of Texas At Austin, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in 2001.

Bense began her teaching career in Johnson City, a Hill Country community west of Austin. She then moved to New York City to teach for three years before returning to Eanes ISD, also west of Austin.

Bense and her husband, Zsolt, moved to Northwest Arkansas because of his job as an elite gymnastics coach. She initially taught in Rogers, Arkansas before opening the Clover Community School.

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1997 Graduate

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Cedar Hill High Grad, 81, Continues to Build a Legacy Longtime Cedar Hill citizen Joe Pitt is 81 years old and still working as a Structural Engineer.

Pitt, a 1960 Cedar Hill High School Graduate, lives in a home that was once a repurposed barn that his father, Milton, built in the 1940s, on North Cedar Hill Road.

The dawn of Pitt’s education started less than three miles from his home, at what is now the retired Bray Elementary School. It was those early lessons from the likes of Floy Bray and Rosa Belle Plummer in the late 1940s that culminated in Pitt earning an Architectural Engineering degree from The University of Texas at Austin.

“Ms. Bray was motherly and nice – kind of like a second mother,” said Pitt, who organizes the Cedar Hill ISD Reunions at Bray’s Gymnasium.

He was among the first scholars to attend Bray in the late 1940s, and he attended the “CeleBrayte” Ceremony as the district honored the retirement of the historic campus.

Pitt has viewed Bray through the eyes of a scholar, a graduate, and a trustee. He served on the Cedar Hill ISD Board of Trustees from 1974-1986, through five Superintendents.

The district dedicated the building as Bray Elementary in 1972.

Pitt is one of four siblings who graduated from Cedar Hill ISD. He was born in Dallas and spent his very early years in Grand Prairie where his father worked at a defense plant during World War II. “We moved to Cedar Hill and had five acres, plus an old barn that was turned into a house,” Pitt said. “We added on to the barn. The third level is where the bedroom was, and now, that’s my office.”

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“UT had a reputation for engineering that was pretty good,” Pitt said.

Pitt’s father owned and operated a construction company, and he served as CHISD’s Board President; he was on the Board from 1958-1962, presenting Pitt his diploma in 1960.

“I started working for my dad’s construction company when I was 12 years old,” Pitt said.

After graduating from UT, Pitt moved back to Cedar Hill as he began his engineering career in Dallas. He began working for Nagler Engineering in the 1960s.

Pitt was, for most of his career, a partial owner of the firm. He and his partners sold it. Pitt is now the Vice President of that company, which is now called Click Engineering.

“My mother, Christine, was very active in the community, and people were asking me to run for the Board,” Pitt said. “We wanted to make sure our teachers’ salaries were as much – or more – than surrounding areas. We also made sure that class sizes were smaller. We had a really progressive attitude toward education.”

Pitt said his mother served as his unofficial campaign manager.

Pitt served on the board during the administration of Superintendents Dr. Paul Brooks, Charles Hawkins, Dr. Bill Kennedy, W.S. Permenter, and Dr. Joe Neely.

It was interesting since Pitt was a scholar when Brooks was Superintendent and when Permenter was the high school agriculture teacher. All of Pitt’s children graduated from CHHS.

1960 Graduate

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Cedar Hill High's Centenarian Touchdown Record Holder When Raymond Dennis set the record for most touchdowns in a Cedar Hill High Football Game in the fall of 1940, with seven, the United States had yet to World War II, Bing Crosby's "Only Forever" was one of the top songs and Cedar Hill had fewer than 500 citizens.

The world has changed dramatically over the past 83 years, but Dennis’ seven-touchdown performance against Alvarado in the fall of 1942 has withstood more than decades and three State Championships.

At 100 years old, the Cedar Hill High School Class of 1942 Graduate still holds the record.

Last spring, Dennis – who now lives in the West Texas city of Levelland – was back in Cedar Hill to be inducted into the Longhorn Legacy Hall of Honor Class of 2023, along with retired Executive Director of Athletics Gina Farmer, former team manager Larami Cathey, multi-sport stars Clifton Felts and Karen King and football standout Marcus Herford, who won an Orange Bowl at the University of Kansas.

Farmer had the pleasure of introducing Dennis to the audience.

“It’s a great honor,” Dennis said. “I wasn’t expecting anything like that of course. They called me and asked me if I’d come down.”

Dennis and his 72-year-old son, Ray, flew down from Lubbock to attend the ceremony.

Dennis’ adult children were on hand to watch him accept the honor, including a son and grandson who traveled from Idaho to be there. Dennis had five children (one passed away), 21 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

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When he played football for Cedar Hill, one of his classmates was Class President Martin Clark, who went on to start Clark Insurance Agency (which is now Clark Patton Insurance Agency). Clark, like Dennis, played halfback for the Longhorns in the early 1940s.

As soon as he graduated from Cedar Hill, Dennis enlisted in the Army Air Force and left the military with the rank of Sergeant.

Dennis experienced his share of tragedy in his life.

His mother passed away when he was 17 months old and his only sibling, a younger brother and fellow Cedar Hill Graduate, William Earl Dennis, was killed in action in World War II. Upon returning from World War II, Dennis relocated to his wife’s hometown of Levelland, located 32 miles west of Lubbock.

He farmed chicken, cotton, cows, and pigs and became very popular among his fellow Levellanders. He was elected County Clerk of Hockley County (where Levelland is the County Seat) and served in that office for more than 30 years. Upon retirement, he served another decade as Levelland’s Mayor.

Tragedy struck again in 1976 when Dennis' wife of 33 years passed away from Leukemia. He remarried in the late 1970s and shares a strong Christian Faith with his wife, who just turned 90 years old recently.

Dennis is grateful for his time in Cedar Hill and knows that his time in the classroom, and on the athletic fields, impacted his life for many decades.

1942 Graduate

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Downs Discovered Love of STEM in Cedar Hill ISD On her path to law school, Yasmine Downs experienced a serendipitous moment.

While studying for the LSAT, Downs – a Cedar Hill High School Class of 2011 Graduate – began substitute teaching in her former district.

“I realized that I liked teaching more, so I decided to study for my teacher certification, rather than the LSAT,” said Downs, who teaches Fourth Grade at High Pointe Elementary – the same campus she attended as a scholar in the early 2000s.

Last spring, Downs taught at the nowretired Bray Elementary and was one of 11 finalists for Cedar Hill ISD STEM Teacher of the Year. Downs’ interest in STEM started when she was a Computer Aide at High Pointe. Downs has thoroughly enjoyed working at HPE - the district’s elementary Fine Arts campus. High Pointe Elementary Assistant Principal Mary Robinson and many of the HPE scholars were formerly at Bray.

“I learned about Robotics and Coding,” Downs said. “STEM is all about not giving up and encouraging each other. I want to engage and prepare my scholars for their potential future careers. I’m a Longhorn For Life.”

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Downs played volleyball at CHHS and graduated in the Top 10 percent of her class, earning a full academic scholarship to Alabama State University, a Historically Black College & University (HBCU) located in Montgomery. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice at ASU.

“I was shocked at first when I received the nomination, but then I reflected over everything I’ve done at STEM over the years at Bray and High Pointe,” Downs said.

2011 Graduate

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Cedar Hill High Graduate Is Now A Recreational Leader for the City JT Nanney, a Cedar Hill High School Class of 2002 Graduate, grew up on the grounds of Mount Lebanon Camp and Conference Center where his father, Ronney Nanney, is still the Assistant Director at the largest Baptist Camp in Texas.

Nanney didn’t know his path would lead him back to Cedar Hill, but he’s really glad that things happened that way.

“It’s been amazing to see the way the community has changed over the years,” Nanney said. “The increase in diversity has been a good thing for the community, and I am proud to raise my family here.”

After graduating from A&M in 2007, Nanney worked at Mount Lebanon in numerous roles over 14+ years. His final role was Student Staff Director.

Nanney started his Cedar Hill ISD days as a Kindergarten Scholar at Bray in 1989. He had an opportunity to see Bray through the lens of a scholar, and then as a parent, when his two daughters attended the school.

Nanney was involved in the JROTC and soccer teams at CHHS and originally planned on joining the military upon graduation from Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets.

Nanney met his wife, Marcy, while working at Mount Lebanon. She’s from Dallas originally but she became very involved in Cedar Hill, specifically at Bray where she was the Secretary of the PTA.

He changed his mind early in his time as an Aggie and chose to work in the recreation field.

The Nanneys were sad to see Bray retire from service, but they know it was special to have their children attend the campus over the past few years.

Last year, Nanney accepted a position as Aquatics and Athletics Recreation Coordinator.

He plays a major role in overseeing the new Lagoon Aquatics Facility (which opened on Memorial Day Weekend) and also works directly with youth athletic associations and the adult Special Olympics Program.

“I’ve really liked it – it’s been incredibly busy – the last month or two,” Nanney said. “We’ve had to get everything off the ground for this pool. The culture is very much focused on trying to serve the citizens. It’s really refreshing to be able to see it from the inside.”

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“In the end, we feel really blessed to have had that opportunity,” Nanney said. “To share that with our kids, to walk the kids to school daily, and to pray with them before school daily was special.”

2002 Graduate

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A Century of Cedar Hill Graduates in the Clark-Patton Family The Clark-Patton Family of Cedar Hill is proud of its three generations of Cedar Hill High School Graduates.

In actuality, there’s one Dogie (Martin Clark – Class of 1942) and three Longhorns (Linda Clark Patton – Class of 1962), Jennifer Patton (Class of 1989) and Jay Patton (Class of 1992). Linda and Jay are current Cedar Hill citizens and Jennifer lives in Houston where she works in Pharmaceutical Sales.

“Our life is here in Cedar Hill – where else would we go?” Linda said.

The family’s roots extend to the beginning of the 20th Century in Cedar Hill, and Jay is the current owner of Clark Patton Insurance Company, founded in 1954 and the oldest business in Cedar Hill.

Clark, the company’s founder, passed away in 1996.

Clark started the company in 1954 on US Highway 67, with his wife, Marietta Clark, working as the company’s first secretary.

Since 2005, they’ve been in their fourth location, on Straus Road in Cedar Hill.

“I still have some of my grandfather’s clients,” Jay said. “We have customers who have been with us since the beginning. They’re in their 90s now. Former Cedar Hill ISD Superintendent/Cedar Hill Mayor W.S. Permenter was a customer. We help and protect the community to make sure people are properly covered and insured.”

Clark, the son of tenant farmers near the Cedar Hill / Midlothian border, graduated in a class of 10 at Cedar Hill High. He was the Class President in 1941-42 – a position his oldest daughter, Linda, would hold two decades later.

The year after he graduated high school, Clark was drafted into World War II. Linda was born three weeks before D-Day in the spring of 1944, but the family did not know where in the European Theatre that Clark was located.

It turns out he wasn’t in D-Day, but he was later in the Battle of the Bulge that winter. The family received a letter saying Clark was alive and recovering in a British hospital. The doctors had to remove one of his lungs and shrapnel from his legs.

After a lengthy recovery, Clark was presented with two Purple Hearts. He returned home on a train weighing approximately 100 pounds and wouldn’t be able to do a physical type of job. That’s what led him into the insurance business.

In the 1970s, Clark welcomed son-in-law, Greg Patton, into the business. Greg grew up in Terrell, but as the saying goes, got to Cedar Hill as fast as he could. He was a Cedar Hill City Council Member for nine years and in 2021, was presented with the

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City’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also on the Planning & Zoning Commission, a volunteer Cedar Hill Firefighter and the chair of the Joe Pool Lake Planning Committee.

Linda and Greg Patton have been married for 57 years and have two children and four grandchildren. They met during an Audio/Visual Class at East Texas State University (now, Texas A&M Commerce).

Linda, who was one of 28 graduates in the CHHS Class of 1962, earned a degree in Education and taught in Duncanville, Grand Prairie, and Terrell before moving to Cedar Hill in 1972. She is a member of the Texas State Teachers Association and a National PTA Life Membership and later worked for many years at ClarkPatton Insurance.

Linda ran (and was elected) to the Cedar Hill ISD Board of Trustees in 1990. She would go on to serve twice more over the next 13 years. She said the sheer amount of time and committee associated with being a Trustee is amazing, and something people don’t understand until they’ve done it.

Linda was on the Board when several campuses opened, including Lake Ridge and Waterford Oaks Elementary Schools.

Linda was later a long-term substitute teacher in Cedar Hill ISD at various elementary and intermediate campuses as well as a founder (and the first director) of the Cedar Hill ISD Education Foundation (CHEF) two decades ago.

She’s currently on the Board of the Cedar Hill Museum, which is in a temporary location but will have 2,000 square feet inside the new Cedar Hill Library when it opens.

Jay was an avid cyclist in high school who earned the title of Junior State Champion in 1992 – the year he graduated with approximately 110 scholars at CHHS. He went to Southwest Texas State University (now, Texas State University) in San Marcos, to study Finance and be part of the Bobcats’ Cycling Team. He once rode approximately 130 miles in a single day.

During (and after) college, Jay had no plans to become the third-generation owner of Clark-Patton Insurance. He went to work for Fidelity in Dallas, in various roles.

It was the personal connection and small-town feel of Cedar Hill that drew him home to a job that he plans on holding for the rest of his professional life.

He works in an office that has the original typewriter that his grandfather purchased second-hand in 1954 and is less than a mile away from the company’s original location.

Jay is a former Cedar Hill Chamber of Commerce Board Member and a current member of the Planning & Zoning Commission. “It’s the best place for me to make the biggest difference,” Jay said.

Clark-Patton Family

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Cedar Hill High School Graduate Becomes Published Author Keidra McGriff, an attorney and Cedar Hill High School Class of 2006 Graduate, is now a published author.

Last winter, McGriff published “Adventures With Papa” – a story about the memories that her 9year-old son shared with her father.

“If there’s something you’re seeking that you can’t find, go create it,” McGriff said. “I had a conversation with my son after my father passed away, and I thought ‘why not turn that whole conversation into a book?’ – not just for him, but for other kids. My son loves the book. He asked me recently if I’m famous yet.”

McGriff may not be famous, but she’s had an opportunity to share the book in the Dallas area.

Last summer, she signed copies of the book during an event at the African American Museum in Dallas.

McGriff said it’s important for her sons – ages 9 and 5 – to “find characters who look like them, that they can relate to.”

McGriff plans to write some more books, including one about her sons and basketball – their favorite sport. McGriff also wants to write a book about tall girls. She is 5-foot-10 inches – the same height she was growing up.

She had opportunities to play college basketball but chose to focus solely on academics. McGriff chose Prairie View A&M University and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science.

After that, she headed an hour southeast into Houston where she enrolled at Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law. At the beginning of her legal career, McGriff practiced a few different types of legal services.

“I made a list of what I wanted from my next job, so it would be more fulfilling,” McGriff said.

She found a career with Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas – where she’s worked for the past four years. The non-profit provides free legal services to individuals, whose income is below the federal poverty line.

McGriff works in the housing, consumer and public benefits portion of the agency.

“It’s definitely fulfilling,” McGriff said. “Everyone needs legal services at one point or another.

Not everyone can afford it. Just because you can’t afford it, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get it.”

McGriff grew up in Cedar Hill but attended Dallas ISD schools through eighth grade because her mother taught there.

She enrolled at Cedar Hill High School as a freshman in 2002-2003 and played three years of varsity basketball for the Lady Longhorns.

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2006 Graduate Submitted Photo

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A Tale of Tenacity in the Banking World When working as a part-time bank teller more than two decades ago, Texas Trust Credit Union Vice President of Retail Services Krystal Hamilton knew the sky was the limit in her banking career.

A 1999 Cedar Hill High School Graduate, Hamilton originally planned to become a radiologist. Those plans changed when she accepted an entry level position at a Bank of America location in Duncanville; although, she filled in at the Bank of America location in Cedar Hill – located less than a mile from CHHS. “I was a young, single mother, and I wanted to work banker’s hours,” Hamilton said. “I learned quickly that the banking profession came naturally to me.”

Hamilton’s banking journey led her to become Lead Teller at the Bank of America Branch, followed by Assistant Manager positions at Chase and Wachovia banks.

“I learned that you have to be able to do every position in the bank,” Hamilton said. “I worked overtime, worked on my days off and did everything necessary to advance in my career.”

Although Hamilton learned a lot working for large banks, she loves the relationships and personal attention of TTCU, which is based in Arlington with 23 locations throughout the area.

Hamilton manages about half of the TTCU locations, including the one in Cedar Hill.

“I love Cedar Hill – this is my hometown and my spot,” Hamilton said.

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She joined TTCU 12 years ago and was a Branch Manager at locations in Arlington, Grand Prairie, and Mansfield, before becoming an Assistant Vice President.

She said the experience managing branches helps her to this day. She’s able to visit her branches and fill in as needed, for any need that the branch manager may have.

“I like to be out there with my employees,” said Hamilton, who earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Western Governors University and an Associate’s Degree from Dallas College – Mountain View.

Last year, Hamilton visited a CHISD elementary campus to read to scholars during Black History Month and earlier this month, she represented TTCU at Cedar Hill High’s “Reality Fair.”

Hamilton was born in Wichita Falls and moved to Cedar Hill in 1986, before Kindergarten. She was part of the first Kindergarten Class at Highlands Elementary; her mother and stepfather still live near the school.

Hamilton attended Permenter Middle and CHHS – where she was a member of the Cheerleading Squad.

She encourages scholars to learn more about the banking industry.

“There are so many opportunities in banking,” Hamilton said. “from IT, security, mortgages, accounting and more. It wasn’t originally my dream, but it’s been an amazing experience.”

1999 Graduate

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