RIt was my freshman year….spring semester, just before Spring Break in 1988. There was a snow storm that struck Fayetteville and kept many of us from leaving town. I am from Fort Smith and they had closed Highway 71 South. So I decided to tag along with my friend who lived across the hall from me in Gibson Hall. She was heading down to the Lambda Chi Alpha house to hang out with some other friends who were “stranded on the hill!” We ended up watching TV or a movie with four to five other people – one of whom was a tall, handsome sophomore named Randy! We had never met, but instantly hit it off and ended up talking the whole time. We talked over the break several times, and soon became inseparable once back on campus! Our first “official” date was on April Fool’s Day 1988 and by the end of the semester we were in love!
I knew he was my soul mate – he had become my best friend, too. Randy graduated in December 1989, and chose to stay in NWA, taking a job with Shelter Insurance as a claims adjuster. He asked me to marry him in September of 1990, and we married on June 22, 1991! I finished my degree in December 1991. The past 21+ years have been the best, filled with life’s usual ups & downs, but also with the greatest joys! We welcomed our first son, Andrew, into the world just nine days after the Hogs won the 1994 Championship! We took family pictures on the U of A campus when he was just five days old.
Andrew is now a freshman at the U of A, majoring in journalism & writing for the Traveler. He was born a Razorback through and through — one of the biggest Hog fans I know! (He’s only missed four or five home football games since he was born!) Randy and I also have two more Hog-loving sons – Matthew and Samuel – who are still in high school. We have had tickets in Hog Heaven for more than 10 years and also enjoy Razorback basketball and baseball games. I’m thankful that we live in Springdale, close to the place where we met & fell in love! Randy is an agent for Shelter Insurance now, and his office is just down the street from campus – and it is decked out in Razorback stuff! The U of A will ALWAYS hold a special place in my heart! GO HOGS!!!