It is hard to believe it has been 50 years since I roamed the halls of Borah.  Whether it was serving as Sports Editor for The Senator, performing in Bye Bye Birdie and Kismet with my “artsy” friends as John Eichmann describes us, dancing a Charleston duet with Carolyn Wootton, carpooling to early morning drill team practices, or just hanging out, it was all fun.
I consider myself lucky.  From Idaho Senator Len Jordan who taught me about sticking up for what you believe, even if it isn’t popular - to Senator Frank Church whose intellect challenged me beyond my own expectations - to Samuel J. Simmons, my boss in DC who taught me to look for the good in everyone - I was lucky to have wonderful mentors who gave me the confidence (rightly or wrongly so) to start my own business at the age of 32.
I absolutely love what I do and I have thankfully managed to turn a Sociology degree from the College of Idaho into a successful real estate company with 70+ employees. I currently own and operate 25 apartment communities, the majority of which are affordable independent living communities serving seniors.  It is a fabulous way to couple the excitement of real estate transactions with the personal satisfaction of producing a quality environment for seniors on fixed incomes. (www.dmacompanies.com)
My homesteads have gone from Boise to Caldwell to Virginia Beach to Germany (Frankfurt and Kaiserslautern) to Virginia (Falls Church/McLean) to Dallas and finally to Austin, where I have now lived for 31 years. 
Along the way I married (Mike McIver, Borah class of 1963) probably a bit too young, divorcing when our son, John was 5 years old.  No regrets.  John is probably the best son a mother could have – and he and his wife produced a son, now 16, who is pretty amazing. My business partner (Pat Conroy – no, he is not the author) became my soulmate and we have been together for 35 years now.  He brings three darling granddaughters to the relationship, so I’ve got my ballet partners for life.
Pat’s hobby is cooking and mine is eating Pat’s cooking – and we both enjoy California wines.  We have a vacation house out in California wine country which we frequent as much as possible, especially when temperatures in Austin soar above 100.