About
LearnedI‘m a Kansas City native by birth, and yes the obvious question is, “Kansas City, Kansas or Kansas City, Mo”? The answer would be Kansas. As a matter of fact about a mile from the Missouri border. The first 18 years of my life were spent in Kansas City with one extra year thrown in for good measure in Lawrence, KS attending Kansas University. I made my move from the state of Kansas to the great state of Colorado in 1980 when I transferred from KU after my freshman year to a little school in Colorado, Western State College (WSC) in the little town of Gunnison.
I spent 3 years at WSC learning among other things the sport of skiing. It is not a sport that is difficult to “learn” but it is a sport that requires time and patience to become good at. That can be said about many things in life. My greatest challenge with skiing was not the skiing itself but more the nuances involved i.e. how to protect the wine skin in case of a fall or where was the most strategic location to stash a jug of wine for easy accessibility. Those were some learned and memorable years. I graduated in 1979 with a degree in business (marketing). The sleepy town of Gunnison is no longer sleepy. It now boasts a Mcdonalds and a Walmart. They have truly hit the big time.
Post graduation found me home for a brief period before moving to Seattle,Wa for my first real world job. It didn’t last long, about a year, but I owe my cousin gratitude and thanks for taking me under his wing and employing me in his very successful aeronautical engineering firm.
I moved back to Houston from Seattle in 1980 and worked briefly in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industry in a sales related position. It didn’t last long as the bottom fell out of the oil and gas industry in the early 80’s.
I have been involved with Charlotte’s Saddlery since leaving the oil and gas industry and have never looked back. Charlotte’s Saddley opened in 1977 and was started by my mother, Charlotte. There are two locations, Houston, Tx and Tomball, Tx as well as a very successful online business. Charlotte passed away in 1995. My twin brother and I continue to carry on the tradition she taught us.
