PROSPER Magazine | June 2017

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What’s inside

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CONTENTS

10

8

Library News

10

A View from the Top

15

PHS Class of 2017

24

We Are One

26

Town Matters

30

Spotlight - Wayne Bartley

34

PRO We A re

SPE

R

Mag azin

In His Presence

TM

e

ON THE COVER 2017 PHS Senior, Kelsie Bartley THE

June

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Library News

PM STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS

June 2017

Prosper Community Library Story Time on the Road couldn't decide between two options at the end of the summer, so we offered both story times in one week and they were both a lot of fun. May 3rd we learned about flowers at Prosper Lowes. There was such a huge turn out, that rather than plant a flower, each child got to take flowers home. May 4th was a blast as we got to learn about the PISD school buses and get on two different types of buses. Thank you to both Prosper Lowes and PISD Transportation for hosting our story times! Story Times will be offered at the Prosper Community Library during the summer on Thursdays at 11:00 a.m.

VOL V, Issue 10 Voted 2013 New Business of The Year PUBLISHERS Jason & Heather Reynolds Admin@CedarbrookMedia.com EDITORIAL/MARKETING DIRECTOR Heather Reynolds Heather@CedarbrookMedia.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jason Reynolds Jason@CedarbrookMedia.com MANAGING EDITOR Joyce Godwin Joyce@CedarbrookMedia.com EDITORIAL/ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Renee Marler Renee@Cedarbrookmedia.com OFFICE COORDINATOR Melissa Stewart Melissa@CedarbrookMedia.com

Prosper Community Library Summer of Science 2017 Join us this summer as we play and learn about the many ways science is all around us!

Summer Kick- Off Event

Saturday, June 10 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Sign up for the summer reading program, play games, learn about Beanstack, and see drawings of our new library facility.

Children’s Programs

Ages 4-12 years old Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m.

Join us for fun with science!

June 13 – Bubble Magic June 27 – Fire Science July 18 – Engineering August 1 - Space

Fun Friday at Frontier

All ages Join us every Friday at the Frontier Park Pavilion at 10:00 a.m.

July 7 – Water Science!

July 14 – Muscle Science!

July 21 – Make it Work!

July 28 – Art in the Park! (bring a shirt to tie dye)

Summer Grand Finale

Saturday, August 5 from 10:30 – 1:00 p.m.

Kona Ice, face painting, stories, crafts, and last day to pick up prizes!

June 20 – Explosions July 11 – Crystals July 25 – Magnets

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTORS Cedarbrook Media Group, LLC

Story Times

Ages Birth – 6 years old Thursdays at 11:00 a.m.

Join us for stories, songs and dance!

June 15, 22, 29 July 13, 20, 27 August 3

Don’t forget to check out the Prosper Book Trail (behind Rucker Elementary) this summer! Walking has never been so cool!

Watch for our One Book, One Town selection announcement!

Summer Library Hours June 10 – August 5 Monday/Wednesday 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

NEW NEW NEW for 2017…

We want summer to be full of fun reading for all, so reading goals have been adjusted. Sign up for Beanstack and complete reading modules and learning tracks to earn badges, prizes and tickets for prizes.

Beanstack is for ALL ages! Babies, children, teens and adults will enjoy the format, instant rewards, challenges, reviews, and tracking!

700 North Coleman Prosper, TX 75078 (469) 219-2499 http://www.prospertx.gov/residents/library/ https://www.facebook.com/prospercommunitylibrary/ Follow us on Instagram and Pinterest too!

As we continue to grow, we value your input on various articles and subject matter for PROSPER Magazine and The PROSPER Times. If you’d like to be a part of our Editorial Focus Group, please email us at Joyce@CedarbrookMedia.com and we will send you the details!!

PROSPER Magazine is wholly owned and published by Cedarbrook Media Group, LLC. PROSPER Magazine is published 12 times a year. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or copied whole or in part without expressed written permission from the publisher, Cedarbrook Media Group, LLC. © 2017. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. The title and all material are protected by international copyright laws and are reserved. Although the greatest of care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this magazine at time of going to press, neither PROSPER Magazine nor Cedarbrook Media Group, LLC can be held liable for omissions, inexactness or errors.

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EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Ray Smith | Dr. Drew Watkins Celso Martinez | Renee Marler| Joyce Godwin Heather Reynolds | Leslie Scott | Todd Kaufmann

PRODUCTION/DESIGN Cedarbrook Media Group, LLC Admin@CedarbrookMedia.com EDITORIAL CONSIDERATIONS Please send editorial considerations to Heather@CedarbrookMedia.com ADVERTISING INFORMATION For our current media guide, contact Advertising at

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or Advertising@CedarbrookMedia.com PROSPER MAGAZINE P.O. BOX 405 Prosper, Texas 75078 972.347.6231 | www.WeAreProsper.com A Cedarbrook Media Group, LLC Publication www.CedarbrookMedia.com

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Soaring Eagle

Easton Murrell:

A View From The Top

By Todd Kaufmann

The baseball season has come to a close for the 2017 Prosper Eagles’ baseball team. Not the way anyone wanted to see it finish, especially for the seniors, but with a 2015 state championship banner hanging from the rafters, at least the graduating class of 2017 can feel like they left a legacy of which they can be proud.

arm that told me he could be a big-time player over his football career. It wasn’t his size that I noticed, it was his arm, the zip on the football and the mechanics in each throw. Those three things told me all I needed to know about his potential and what kind of player Murrell could one day be.

The same can be said for graduating shortstop, and future Arkansas Razorback infielder Easton Murrell. He was part of that state championship team that put together one of the most dominant baseball seasons this area has ever seen.

During that football season my broadcast partner, Bryan Sutcliffe, kept telling me about Murrell’s talents on the baseball field and how much talent this young man really had with a bat in his hands. It wasn’t until the 2015 season, that magical run to the state title, that I got a chance to see Murrell as a baseball player. What I saw told me everything I needed to know about what kind of athlete he was on the diamond.

While he may have walked off the field just a few weeks ago for the last time wondering what might have been, it is looking back that will help him realize the grand impact he has made on Prosper athletics. And not just from the baseball diamond.

Let me take you back a few years and tell you the story of a young quarterback turned state champion, turned future Division-I infielder in one of the country’s top athletic conferences. My first year in the broadcast booth with Prosper Football was a rough 2014 for the Eagles as they finished the year with a 3-7 record.

What I remember from that year was a young sophomore quarterback I watched toss warmup throws on the sideline during certain breaks in our broadcast. There was something in his

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WeAreProsper.com | June 2017

I’ll never forget that first at bat I saw from Murrell. The fifth pitch Murrell saw was a fastball on the outer half and Murrell lined it hard down the left field line for a double. It wasn’t one of those hits where you just throw the bat at the ball and it just happens to find a hole.

No, this was one of those hits where you know the hitter is in total control of where the bat is going and the ball finds the sweet spot.

After not being able to beat Murrell on the outside half of the strike zone, the opposing pitcher decided he was going to try his

luck on the inside half. A few pitches later he might have been wishing he had re-thought that idea. Murrell took an inside fastball and drove it over the right field fence for a home run. One at bat later, he again showed his plate discipline, looping a low pitch into center field; three at bats — three hits.

I remember turning to Sutcliffe and asking him, “How do you pitch to Murrell in this at bat after he doubles off you, launches a home run in the second at bat, and then lining a single in the third at bat?” We wouldn’t have to wait long for the answer to that question. The first pitch in the

fourth at bat hit Murrell and the young short stop took his base. If you can’t beat him, hit him. Or something like that.

That wasn’t the only game I saw that season and Murrell’s at bats didn’t change much from then on. There was little doubt in my mind that this young player was something special and it wouldn’t take long for a lot of baseball programs to take notice. I mentioned that in 2015 to his dad, Rod Murrell, who has a baseball past of his own spending time in the New York Mets’ minor league system. The senior Murrell smirked and said “He’s got scholarship offers from Texas and Arkansas among a few others.”

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Easton Murrell was already paralleling his father’s baseball career as Rod Murrell also received offers from Texas when he was in high school. I had a feeling Easton would get interest but there was a part of me that was a little surprised at just how big the interest would get and what kind of conferences would be knocking at his door.

When the playoffs rolled around that year, I listened to most of the games on the Sportsgram Network, the radio home of Prosper Baseball.

Every win seemed dominant and every win seemed easier than the one before. I wondered how far this team could go and if they could get to the mountaintop.

“There really wasn’t a hole or that one weak link,” Murrell told me about that state championship team. “The lineup was filled top to bottom with guys that had quality at bats and pitchers who could throw strikes. When everything was working, we couldn’t be stopped.”

Fast forward to the second inning of the state championship game. A very hot June evening in Round Rock, Texas against the Eagles of Georgetown who entered the game with a 27-12 record, ready to give Prosper all they could handle.

With the bases full of Prosper base runners, Murrell stepped to the plate and would put his stamp on this game. Murrell hit a bases clearing triple and the Eagles never looked back, ultimately celebrating a dominant 8-0 win and a first Prosper state championship. It was that state title the then young infielder put his stamp on with a memory his young teammates, as well as the entire town, would never forget.

A young man, closing out his sophomore year, wearing a state championship ring and being one of the biggest reasons for it, is a lot for any athlete to carry. With two years remaining before graduation, and a lot more quarters and innings to play, Murrell had to focus on what was next.

Football.

“Agility and footwork were the main things going from baseball to football and just getting hit,” said Murrell about his transition. “It wasn’t that hard, because I’ve been playing football and baseball my whole life and I was pretty used to that transition.” But a bigger shift was awaiting the state champion when his junior football season arrived and a new head coach made his way to Prosper — Chris Ross.

Right away, things felt different for Murrell, going into his second football season at Prosper. With a new head coach, a new established offense, new coordinators, and a new message, a turnaround seemed right around the corner. “Coach Ross called me the night he got the head coach job and I knew from the start this guy knew a lot about football,” Murrell recalled about Chris Ross being hired by Prosper ISD. By the time the season would end, an Eagles’ team that finished the 2014 campaign with a 3-7 record, finished the 2015 season with a winning record and a first-round playoff match-up with Frisco Lone Star High School at the Dallas Cowboys’ home AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

But there was one big problem. Prosper was limping into the playoffs with numerous injuries including three of their starting running backs, two linebackers, and Murrell himself was trying to play through a back injury that made it almost impossible for him to move around in the pocket let alone trying to throw the football.

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It was a game he won’t soon forget. A game Murrell felt could have gone differently had the team been more than 30 percent healthy when the first quarter began. “It was definitely one of the most painful things I’ve ever felt,” said Murrell when he thinks back to dealing with the injury. “But I think if everyone is healthy we win that game.”

Baseball, in a way, is very similar to football. There are things that could have happened, there are things that should have happened, but the ball doesn’t always bounce the way you want. In the words of former Texas Rangers’ manager Ron Washington, “That’s the way baseball (or football) go.”

After the 2015 football season, Murrell spent his offseason trying to heal from the injury that hampered him most of the year. It was also time to get ready for baseball, something that most would find impossible with an injury like his.

The most surprising decision, however, was a year later when the football season came around. After a disappointing end to the 2016 baseball season, long before anyone thought it would come to an end, especially after coming off a state championship, Murrell made the decision that his football career had come to an end. It was time to focus on baseball, to start getting into a mindset of the future that awaited him. “Not playing football my senior season was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life considering how much I love the game,” said Murrell. “But I just wanted to give myself every opportunity to be the best I could be for the upcoming baseball season.”

Easton missed being out on the football field with his teammates, having to watch another first round exit out of the playoffs, this time at the hands of Frisco Wakeland. But not having to deal with another back injury, or any injury at all, was enough to put a smile on his face.

Baseball is the game he loves. The game that offers him the future to which he has looked forward since before he was in high school. But, before he can take his place among the current Razorback baseball team, there’s one thing that still stands in front of a college career — the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. It’s something Murrell says he doesn’t think a lot about. “I’m just focused on getting myself better and whatever happens [with the draft] happens,” he said.

Arkansas has his signature but the New York Mets, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and a few others may have his interest. While it might only be a little bit, it’s enough to make a young baseball player wonder where he wants to be.

Maybe college will better prepare him for a possible future in the big leagues or maybe the big leagues is too, BIG, to pass up.

At least there’s one person Murrell is close to who can tell him all about the choice of being drafted into the big leagues over a college career. His dad, Rod, did exactly that after being drafted in the ninth round of the 1986 MLB Amateur Draft. “He definitely helps and gives me a better understanding of everything considering he was drafted and has been there before,” Murrell says of his father’s experience. “I really want to be a Razorback and I also want to play this game professionally so I’m really just going with the flow and trying to improve myself for whichever path God leads me down.”

Unfortunately for the elder Murrell, the big leagues never called his name, but hearing him tell the story is to realize there are times he wishes he could have done things differently.

But the story today is his son’s story, and his son’s decision to make. College is calling his name and playing at Arkansas would be a great experience for the young infielder. It’s just a matter of time before we learn whether Murrell will take his talents to Fayetteville or to the minor league system of that team in the Big Apple. One thing is for certain — it’s been a tremendous ride for the senior. “It really didn’t hit me that it was my last high school game until later that night,” Murrell says. “But I look back and realize how much fun I’ve had playing [in Prosper] and I wouldn’t trade the past three years for anything.”

It started with a disappointing 3-7 football season. It ended with a view from the top of the baseball world.

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University of Texas at Dallas

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University of Texas at Dallas

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Texas Tech University

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Tarleton State University

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Texas A&M University

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Norwich University

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Oklahoma State University

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Collin College

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Tarleton State University

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University of Texas

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University of Arkansas

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Texas Tech University

Dylan Davis

Oklahoma State University

Emily Povroznik Collin College

Erik Thoreson

University of Texas

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University of Arkansas

David Syme

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University of Arkansas

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University of Texas at Dallas

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Sam Houston State University

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Texas Christian University

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Texas A&M University

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United States Air Force

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University of Alabama

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Northwestern State University

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University of Oklahoma

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University of Arkansas

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Henderson State University

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Tarleton State University

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Tyler Junior College

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Jordan Mossinger

Abilene Christian Universtiy

Kade Smith

Texas A&M University

Katelyn Garst

University of Arkansas

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Oklahoma State University

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Iowa State University

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Southern Methodist University

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University of Arkansas

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Oklahoma State University

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University of Texas at Arlington

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Oklahoma City University

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Community

PM

WE ARE ONE!

By Joyce Godwin

He always knew retirement would come but couldn’t be sure of the timing. He says it’s all about his family and what they need. This week as outgoing Prosper High School principal Greg Wright removes five years of mementoes from his walls and around his office there are thoughts of special moments.

“I have had a lot of emotional moments since announcing my retirement,” he said. “I will miss these kids.”

Greg Wright is packing up his office and saying goodbye to coworkers, parents and students whom, after five years on the job, are all friends to him.

“I’ve always known I couldn’t control the timing of retirement, because I have always known it would be about my family,” Wright said. This is hard for me personally because I absolutely love Prosper High School and Prosper ISD. This has, by far, been my very favorite place I’ve ever worked.”

Wright says he and wife Lesli have had to put Lesli’s mother in a nursing home and her father has passed away since they have moved to Prosper.

“My mother’s health is deteriorating quite a bit and I just couldn’t keep up the pace of being a high school principal, living up here and getting back to Tyler.” He said the going back and forth has been wearing on them and he was feeling like he was neglecting his family. “I’ve been eligible to retire for years, but this is what’s best for my family.”

The job for Wright has not been just about the high school campus. “It’s also the school district and the community,” Wright says. “I have loved the community. I’ve loved the staff, the students, the parents and I’ve always known that God redirected my professional path and put me here. It’s been a true, true blessing and an honor to serve the students and the staff and the community of Prosper.”

When Wright came to Prosper, he had been superintendent at Hallsville Independent School District, just east of Longview, where he was named the Region 7 Superintendent of the Year for 2010. He became Hallsville's superintendent in 2003 after working in Tyler-Chapel Hill and Hawkins as a high school principal, and at Tyler ISD as an assistant high school principal.

Now he retires from Prosper with 32 years in education and 22 as a school administrator. In his welcome statement to new students on the school’s website, Wright states “I believe the school is the community and the community is the school! At Prosper High School, we want to be ‘Champions’ in academics, extra-curricular activities, behavior, and social media! It is a great honor to be a part of PISD and PHS with a ‘Standard of Excellence’ second to none. This has been my FAVORITE school district in my educational career.”

Teachers, students and parents have been singing Wright’s praises for the time he’s been in Prosper. He has stressed achievement and the students have bought into it. “I’ve always told the kids I want them to be champions

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in everything they do; in the classroom, with extra-curricular activities, with their behavior and with their social media,” Wright said. Anyone who’s attended a Prosper pep rally can see that the students believe in what he’s doing.

In the first year Wright was a high school principal, he began developing his special programs and they have evolved over the years, he says. Those senior privileges, end-of-school activities, over-the-top pep rallies, Prosper Rumble and more have been field tested over time. Wright says these systems have helped him. The bottom line is it brings excellence to challenge the students every day.

Sateera Rumph

Texas Tech University

Samantha Willett

Stephen F. Austin State University

Wright says in his retirement, he hopes to be an independent consultant to help teach other principals how to run a school with the success he has had. “I’m going to mentor high school principals,” he said. “I want to teach others all the great creative stuff, the way I run a school. I want to teach high school principals, that’s my goal and I want to give back what I’ve learned.”

Wright says his time in Prosper has been special and near and dear to his heart. The support he’s had from the school board and Superintendent Drew Watkins and Assistant Superintendent Mike Goddard, who recently moved to the Red Oak School District, has been unbelievable. “I feel really fortunate to have worked with that type of support system,” he said.

As he looks back over five years, Wright can name several things for which he holds a good amount of pride. “No. 1 may be the banner from ‘Newsweek Magazine’ in which we were recognized as one of the top high schools in the nation,” Wright said. “Only a handful of schools get that.” Then he went down a list of things that have been important to him.

Among them was the UIL academic competition. “We are kind of now starting to have a dynasty in that,” Wright said.

“I’m also proud of the original Prosper Rumble and the 2.0 and the famous Black-Out pep rally.

Sydney Boaz

Texas Tech University

Taylor Moore

University of North Texas

Sydnu Moss

Auburn University

Thomas Jordan

Dwight Look College of Engineering

This year we had our big USA pep rally. All 2,517 students had an American flag and we had a reception for the 140 guests who were first responders and veterans and current military.”

Wright said he’s also really proud that the students get behind the graduate profile to serve others and give back to the community. “Last year we raised $40,000 for the American Cancer Society in our Relay for Life Campaign and received a plaque at our pink-out pep rally this year,” he said. “They told us we, by far, raised more money than any school in the state of Texas.”

Trendan Starkes Collin College

Tristan Jones

Texas A&M University

Wright says the timing of his retirement is hard because he’s always felt like Prosper would be his last stop. “I love Prosper so much, I didn’t want to work in another school system,” he said. I have enjoyed every single day.

Superintendent Watkins said, “Mr. Wright's enthusiasm will certainly be missed. He is undoubtedly one of the best culture builders in the high school world. I sincerely appreciate his time in Prosper ISD.” “The thing I will miss the most is the connection with the kids,” Wright said. Chances are really strong that the kids will miss him as well.

Zachary Hamilton

Zachary Elmer

University of Kansas

June 2017 | WeAreProsper.com

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Town Matters

PM

T wn Matters

By Mayor Ray Smith

Prosper is growing and growing at a rate that even astonishes those of us who not only knew it was coming, but had actually been in on the planning of it!

Many of us who participated in countless planning sessions, meetings, town halls, informal gatherings and coffee shop chats now feel a little overwhelmed at the speed with which we are growing, expanding, building and turning what were once agricultural fields not long ago into beautiful homes and neighborhoods as well as thriving businesses.

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What’s perhaps most apparent is the swelling increase in our population. Every day, new people move into Prosper, bringing with them not only their families, but also their own style of community activism. Many of these new neighbors are accustomed to taking an active role in their neighborhood, community and municipality.

SHELLEY HERMAN REALTOR

®

We welcome that with open arms. Those of us who serve on the Council started out by being active in our neighborhood’s homeowner associations, the PTO at our kids’ schools, coaching neighborhood sports teams, being active in scouting, leading at church or embracing some other locally-based activity.

T hen, some of us served on boards, commissions or committees at the Town level. We may have served as members of a Charter Review or Capital Improvement Bond committee or as a member of one of the more permanent boards or commissions. As members of these boards and commissions, we advised the Council on policy development and administration of services.

Of course, not everyone who serves on these boards or commissions moves on to be elected to the Council, but many of us got our start there, and each of us sees the value of that kind of volunteering experience.

Several years ago, we modified the way we solicit and select volunteers for boards and commissions, and right now is a good time for anyone thinking about serving to begin looking at that possibility. Appointments are made in September and begin in October.

To be considered, individuals who are registered voters, fill out an application form and express their willingness to attend regularly scheduled meetings. Certain eligibility requirements apply, including having been residents of the Town or its Extraterritorial Jurisdiction for at least one year at the time of application.

Some applicants undergo a brief interview with the Town Council and everyone is invited to a meet and greet reception.

The Town currently has five permanent boards and commissions, and committees are named as the need arises. There are plenty of opportunities for residents to become part of the community in a way that can make a lasting difference. It’s a tremendous way for residents, new or not, to get involved.

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PM

Spotlight

Wayne Bartley

By Leslie Scott

Wayne Bartley is capable. At first this may appear too simple or an understatement of a word, but upon thought, he just might be one of the most capable people you may meet in Prosper. Capable by definition is having the ability necessary to achieve a specific thing. Its synonyms include accomplished, talented, and gifted. Wayne is humble and yet confident, giving and also a successful businessman, serious but also humorous and friendly, and he is in fact accomplished and gifted.

A nine year resident of Prosper, Wayne has lived in Texas his entire life. “I grew up in a little town called Hewitt, Texas, went off to college at Howard Payne University, got a master’s degree from Hardin-Simmons University,

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and was a worship pastor for 20 years.” It wasn’t until 2014 that he decided to go into real estate, and in a very short time has become successful at it. When asked about the draw to real estate and how that career change happened, Wayne explained: “My wife and I had flipped a couple of houses, so we’d always been interested in it, but never on the business side. It’s just something that we wanted to pursue.” And so they did, and he’s determined that RE/MAX Performance Group be the best.

Wayne met his wife Amy at college and they will be married for 23 years this coming August. They have an 18 year old daughter graduating from Prosper High School this year. When asked about daughter Kelsey leaving to attend college at Oklahoma State he said, “she is our one and only, so her leaving will be different. She’s ready, and I think we are.” As far as empty nest plans he stated, “We will probably just work. We are workers. We will probably travel a little more, and I’m sure we will go up there to Oklahoma State to see her.”

Wayne is involved in several organizations in Prosper. Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cornerstone, Wayne’s role is raising money, creating awareness, and spreading awareness of it and its purpose. Wayne said, “the Cornerstone staff does the day to day and I help out as much as I can in other ways.” Wayne is also the Vice President of the Prosper Chamber of Commerce Board. Additionally, he is involved with Serve Prosper and is hoping to plan an event this fall. Serve Prosper is not under or associated with another charitable entity, but is simply a set day when those willing to help, will come together to work on a project to better our Prosper community. He encourages citizens to follow Serve Prosper on Facebook for upcoming information to learn how they can get involved and help. An event that Wayne feels passionate about, he says, “We can accomplish so much in just a couple of hours.”

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When asked what he does to relax or his favorite weekend activity, he said with a smile, “Being at the lake – lake life with my girls – nothing better than that!” Although obvious that Wayne has real estate career goals, when asked something he’s always wanted to try and where he sees himself in 10 years, he hesitated for a bit to answer both. Scuba diving was his ultimate answer for something to try, and as far as 10 years, “we will still be here in Prosper, be involved in helping people in our community, and involved in real estate. I don’t see a ton of change. I don’t consider anything I do work or drudgery.”

There was no hesitation, however, when asked to give one piece of advice for daughter Kelsey, Wayne said, “Love Jesus and love people and everything else will take care of itself.”

Wayne thinks of the metroplex as the Promised Land, but Prosper and its residents are also the ones reaping the rewards of Wayne Bartley being in that Promised Land.

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PM

Town Matters Trust Without Borders

In our church we occasionally sing a popular worship song recorded by Hillsong United entitled, Oceans. The song is about trusting God as He leads us to step out into the unknown, despite the fear that surrounds us. The bridge of the song is a courageous prayer that goes like this:

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders Let me walk upon the waters Wherever You would call me Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander And my faith will be made stronger In the presence of my Saviour One day as our congregation was singing this song, this question began to resonate in my heart, “Where are the borders of your trust?”

I immediately wanted to respond, “My trust has no borders, I’ll follow you anywhere, God.” But as soon as I completed that thought, I began to realize where some of my borders were.

So where are the borders of your trust? In other words, at what point does trusting God stop and something else take over? For many of us a common border is the unexpected circumstances that show up in our lives, and at some point trusting God stops and worry takes over. When this happens we are no different than the Apostle Peter who stepped out of the boat and walked on water toward Jesus. The moment he took his eyes off Jesus and placed his attention on the circumstances of wind and waves, he began to sink. But scripture encourages us to keep our eyes on Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2) We may encounter a border of trust when we’re stepping out into the fearful unknown. For example, you know God is leading you to do something you’ve never done before and you want to have courageous faith and step out. But you encounter a border when trusting God stops and fear takes over. Maybe its the fear of the unknown that keeps you from taking the first step, or perhaps the fear of failure that causes you to step backward. I think one of the biggest hindrances to following God into the unknown is that we are so used to being able to calculate the return on investment with our ventures. And when the numbers don’t add up, we don’t take the risk.

But consider Jesus’ disciples whom He used to the start the church in the first century. They were exactly where God wanted them to be, doing what had never been done before. Yet most of them lost everything and were eventually killed for their faith. What if God is asking you to start something that you may not see the return on investment in your lifetime? Are you willing to trust Him into the unknown?

Or you may encounter a border of trust when God doesn’t make sense, so trusting God stops and logical arguments take over.

But all throughout scripture God defies our human logic with statements like, “give and you will receive,” or “the greatest among you must be a servant.”

God even said, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) Even when God doesn’t make sense, He asks us to trust Him. So let me encourage you to go to God in prayer and ask Him, “Where are the borders of my trust in you?” When He shows you, have the courage to trust Him beyond those borders, and watch your faith grow!

-Jim Lugar – Life Journey Church

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