Dan Herod

John Durkee Elementary School, Houston, Tx

Skipped 7th grade and went straight to 8th grade at Grapeland High School, Grapeland, Tx

Have just touched base with Connie Redden Hopper and Ron Windham and John Macejewski after all these years!

Would love to learn about Deborah Frederick, Wayne Simmons, Don Windemeyer, Cecelia Vann, Sue Glenn, Susan Patterson, Carol Linkenfelter, James Tillotto and many other friends and classmates I enjoyed before "moving away" with my family!

Got my Drivers License the day I turned 14 and have been a huge car enthusiast forever. My "baby" is my originally restored "Mustang Sally;" '66 Candy Apple Red Mustang Convertible, 289 V-8 High Performance Motor, 4 Speed Transmission, Black interior with Dual Exhaust Glass Packs!

I was a pretty quiet and shy young guy so it may be surprising that my career has included Radio & Television 7 years...Bank Marketing & Advertising VP 13 years...Local, Regional and National Radio and TV Commercials (Member of Screen Actors Guild) and Sales Trainer, Motivator & published Author. www.BroadShoulders.org

I graduated from Grapeland High School in Grapeland, Tx. My favorite hangout was the Dairy Queen just off the Courthouse Square in Crockett, Tx.

Sister, Sharon Loretta Herod McManigal (passed away at age 57 in 2005), graduated in 1965 from GHS. Sister, Shelia Ann Herod Johnson, graduated in 1967 from GHS. Both Sisters attended Fonville Jr. High in Houston prior to our moving to Grapeland.

When I was 15 I drove my '57 Ford, 3 speed in the floor, dual exhaust glass-packs to Houston from Grapeland and surprised Don Windemeyer, a friend and former classmate at John Durkee Elementary. Ron Windham, another Durkee
Classmate has never known it but I drove to his house to surprise him, too, but no one was home.

"Love is like a tennis match. You'll never win consistently until you learn to serve well!"

Broad Shoulders" Nuggets of Inspiration

President Richard Nixon, President Lyndon Baines Johnson, President Ronald Reagan, President Gerald and Mrs. Ford, President and Mrs. George Bush, President George W. Bush; Governor and Mrs. Dolph Briscoe (On separate occasions I've been fortunate to dance with Susan Ford and Cele Briscoe).

When I was 14-17 years old, I worked for KIVY-AM-FM Radio in Crockett on weekends and Kenny Rogers used to come by regularly. He and his Mom lived in Crockett and he played the Holiday Inn in Nacogdoches. We used to look out the window from the Radio Station Control Room and watch the girls at the city swimming pool in Crockett! After High School I was a DJ and then News Director in Radio & TV for seven years. I've met or interviewed Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Alabama, Tom T. Hall, Reba McEntire, Paul Harvey, Pat Boone, Chuck Norris, and quite a few celebrities I can't think of right now!

Aside from Television News for some time, I Emceed the Rose Parade in Tyler, Tx three years for KLTV-TV. I also served as President of the Texas Rose Festival Rose Parade in 1983.

I was the voice on radio and the "face" on Television for Southside Bank in Tyler for 13 years. I also was a Voice Over-Voice Over Actor for local, regional and nation television commercials and was represented by the Peggy Taylor Talent Agency in Dallas. I was fortunate to earn many Addy Awards and a national Telly Award for best 30 second television commercial a few years ago.

I enjoy classic car shows and cruisin' in my '66 Mustang. I also enjoy playing the guitar -- though I'm self taught and not that great at it. Travel, of course, and played tennis a number of years. I've enjoyed writing quotes, short quips and witticisms for years and finally put together a book or two that was published!

I dearly love my family and those people that have helped make such a huge difference in my life -- special forever friends and an outstanding teacher or two.

Given this list of questions, I've gone on and on about a lot of stuff it seems...most important to me, however, is that each of us have had and continue to travel the "roadmaps of our lives." Everyone is blessed in their own ways -- and I cherish the kinships and friendships I've been able to enjoy along the way.