Comments:
I married Tom Hickenbottom, class of 1977, in December of 1986. Tom is my best friend and the love of my life. In March of 1987, my two oldest daughters and I moved to the Republic of Panama to begin our lives as a Military family as Tom was a Seabee in the United States Navy. This just happened to be the same day that Noriega decided to bombard the American Embassy. As you can see, we have survived. In October, 1988, we were transferred to Port Hueneme, CA. We were stationed in California for Three years. Three years later, the year that Tom made Chief Petty Officer, he was hand selected to a Naval Special Warfare Command in Virginia Beach, VA. We have been here ever since. One month after our arrival, I accepted a job with Bank of America as a Data Entry Clerk. I worked my way up from this job to; Payment Processor, Reports Specialist, Lead Operations Specialist, Supervisor of Operations, Compliance Officer, and finally, Department Manager of Operations. After 15 years with Bank of America, and the way the financial industry is, in April of 2006, my department was eliminated and we were given a severance from the company.
The good news is, I was hired by HSBC North America in July 2006 as the Strategy & Support Manager. After two years as the Strategy & Support Manager, I took a position as Manager of the Compliance Department (financial regulations and compliance are in my blood I guess LOL!). After two years in this position, the division was eliminated (finance is a beast when it comes to merging companies together and eliminating multiple divisions within a company).
Unfortunately, finding a new job wasn't as easy this time around. I was off of work for nine months, when thankfully, I was hired by CitiGroup to work within their Compliance Division as a Compliance Officer. I was only with CitiGroup for 18 months when a lady I worked with at HSBC headhunted me to come work for her at a concrete company that her and her husband own.
I currently work for D&M Concrete Construction, Inc., and have been here going on seven years. I love it!
Tom retired from the Navy after 30 years of service as a Master Chief Petty Officer. He is a highly decorated (received several medal/ribbons for those who do not know) Military man. He has been to Afghanistan, Irag, Baghdad, and any other nasty area that you can think of. Tom currently works with the government, as a civilian, at the Naval Special Warfare Development Group command.
Tom and I love to ride the Harley on weekends when the opportunity arises. Just getting out there and seeing the scenery is the most relaxing way to end a rough work week. We ride numerous "Poker Runs" throughout the year to support great causes such as; Breast Cancer Awareness, American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, and Toys 4 Tots just to name a few. Again, this is a true enjoyment for both of us.
All the girls are grown up and out on their own. But don't think we have a quiet house, heck no!! We have our grandchildren and daughters over as much now as we did when they lived with us.
We love to walk the pier, enjoy getting together with our friends, and taking short trips to Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
I hope we get the opportunity to come back to Washington for the reunion. We would also get to visit with family that still lives there.
