West Austin News, 5511 Parkcrest Drive, Ste 105, Austin, TX (2024)

05/28/2024

My Westside Stories column in West Austin News for June will be about Olga Campos Benz. I wonder how many people in Austin know that she was Miss Fiestas Patrias in Houston and appeared in Seventeen Magazine her senior year in high school. Or that during her on-air news career she covered the Oklahoma City bombing on-site and flew to Guadalajara to report on a gas pipeline explosion that killed more than 200 people. She's also very proud of her mom who earned an honorary PhD at 91 for her work and achievements in public education. I've known Olga a long time, but it was really enjoyable to talk with her and find out more about her life. Here you see her with her twin daughters Corey and Allegra at Fonda San Miguel, and reporting on a refinery fire outside of Houston in the 1990s.

04/04/2024

My April column in West Austin News will be about Mela Sarajane Dailey, who has made an impact on the local arts scene. I doubt if many people in town know her story. From being plucked out of her Jacksonville, Texas middle school to gain a coveted slot in the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts -- to Texas State to UT to Julliard -- to meeting and marrying Peter Bay -- to founding American Artists Project. (Not to mention being a backup singer for T. Boone Pickens' fourth wife.) It's quite a tale.

03/06/2024

My March column in West Austin News will be about Christine Albert, one of Austin's most beloved musicians, who also heads Swan Songs - Austin and is the Chair Emeritus of the Recording Academy®. What a life she's had -- and she's still going strong. Here you see her about to address the 56th Annual GRAMMYs®. Photo courtesy of the Recording Academy®
--Forrest Preece

02/22/2024

My Westside Stories column in West Austin News for February will be about Patrick Landrum, gala designer extraordinaire. He had some terrific stories to tell about his adventures on the social circuit. One time, he even organized a bucket brigade to fill and empty decorative fountains at a luxury class hotel. --Forrest Preece

01/10/2024

"The short version of my story is very simple: I play trombone.
I talk on the telephone. I play softball on Tuesdays."

My Westside Stories column in West Austin News this month will be about Michael Mordecai. He is Austin's highly connected talent booking agent who started his business in 1973 and is now a key operator locally and nationwide. That's besides being a first-call professional trombone player. The stories he tells would make an exciting book covering five decades of Austin's musical and cultural history. -- Forrest Preece

12/10/2023

My column in the December issue of West Austin News will be about adman extraordinaire Michael Blair. He had some great stories to tell about advertising he produced at GSD&M, such as TV spots for the legendary "Don't Mess With Texas" campaign and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Here he is with Willie Nelson during a production session. -- Forrest Preece

10/20/2023

My Westside Stories column in West Austin News for October will be about Missy Harris, The Illustrator of West Austin. This Austin native has a lifetime of fine work to her credit and she is still going strong. Here you see an ad she did for Grace Jones in 1967 and a program she illustrated for the Admirals Club Ball a few years ago. Also, an ad for The Piccadilly Cafeteria that ran in the 1958 Austin High yearbook with a photo of Missy and her husband to be, Steve Harris. She had some good stories to tell -- and many people might not know about the career her father had in the entertainment business. -- Forrest Preece

09/15/2023

My Westside Stories column in West Austin News this month will be about Ruth Seeger, the iconic coach at The Texas School for the Deaf from 1949 until 1986. Not only was she an outstanding coach, but she also competed in track and field events in the USA and internationally.
She was the first woman from the United States to compete in the World Games for the Deaf in Milan, Italy in 1957, running in the 100 and 200 yard dashes and participating in the high jump. She also competed in the mixed doubles tennis competition, earning a bronze medal for the USA.
She was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame by Governor Bill Clements in the late 1980s. After she retired, she began competing in Senior Olympics, where she won more than 300 track and field medals in the late 1990s and early 2000s. During this time, she traveled to senior games in Texas, the National Senior Games, and then some international masters’ competitions. At one time, she held the world record for the javelin for women over 80. She won her last gold medal at the Pittsburgh National Senior Games in 2005. She was later appointed as a commissioner with the Texas Commission for the Deaf.
Ruth was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in the late 1980s and the Texas School for the Deaf named their gym after her. Her son Mark told me many wonderful stories about his mom. Here you see her and her namesake gymnasium. -- Forrest Preece

09/06/2023

My August column in West Austin News was about Allan Williams, the well-known local defense attorney. He told me about some of his interesting cases and what he is doing these days. Here you see him with his wife Rose Betty at a Longhorns baseball game. --Forrest Preece

07/20/2023

My review about Dr. Lisa Doggett's autobiographical book "Up the Down Escalator" will appear in the July issue. This book is perfectly named. It takes the reader on a ride of pushing back against a rock that is constantly rolling down a hill—and does it in no-nonsense language. Imagine being a physician running a Central Austin general practice clinic for uninsured people on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder, while managing a household with two young children. Oh – and on top of that, being burdened by the mental and physical strain of your own ever-changing multiple sclerosis condition. (“Find a way to destress your life.” Yeah, right.)
This remarkable book, which has been cited as an excellent view into the underside of the American health care system, will be available on August 15th. You can pre-order on Amazon or other websites. -- Forrest Preece

07/10/2023

My July column in West Austin News will be about Ted Siff, a generous man who has done so much for historic preservation and the environment in Austin. Here you see him with his uber-talented wife, actress Janelle Buchanan. I'll bet that a lot of people don't realize that he signed on as associate publisher of Texas Monthly not long after it started. Under his leadership in that position, the magazine grew its subscriber base from 30,000 readers to 280,000. By the way, Ted and his wife live in a handsomely restored home in the heart of downtown that was built in 1858 by a former governor of Texas. I enjoyed hearing and writing about Ted's stories. --Forrest Preece

06/05/2023

My column in West Austin News this month will be about one of the most talented people I have ever met. Paul Michael Bloodgood was a dancer with Ballet Austin for 16 years and he is now an award-winning film producer and director. He spent much of his childhood traveling with his father’s band, Bloodgood – the first heavy metal Christian rock band. By the time he was 12, he had seen 48 states and Europe.
He is now producing award-winning films and doing acting and stunt work. That includes roles in Robert Rodriguez's Hypnotic and Martin Scoersese's Killers of the Flower Moon, both of which showed at Cannes this year. His ongoing role as a Zombie in Fear The Walking Dead requires some pretty serious makeup, as you can see in the photo I’ve included.
His film Trenches of Rock about his father’s band, was executive produced by Academy Award® winner James Moll (FOO FIGHTERS: BACK AND FORTH). TRENCHES had its world premiere at the Oscar-qualifying Atlanta Film Festival, garnering the attention of 18 festivals worldwide and receiving 14 accolades including multiple “BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY” and “BEST DIRECTOR” awards.
Paul also collaborated with choreographer Stephen Mills on the Lone Star Emmy®-winning haunted dance film, PRELUDES/BEGINNINGS which premiered on Austin PBS to critical acclaim.
His FINDING LIGHT – featuring Ballet Austin – screened its world premiere at the prestigious Miami Jewish Film Festival and is an official selection of 12 film festivals around the globe and recipient of nine accolades, including “BEST DOCUMENTARY” awards in Berlin, Rome and Madrid, “BEST HISTORICAL FILM” at Cannes World Film Festival, and the “AUDIENCE AWARD” at Film Pittsburgh’s JFilm Festival. In addition to Bloodgood’s feature films, he has over a dozen televised commercial credits as director. I think you will enjoy reading about him.
--Forrest Preece

05/17/2023

My Westside Stories column in West Austin News next week will be about Lynn Meredith. She and her husband Tommie were named Austinites of the Year in 2012 -- and the honor is well deserved. They have made a serious impact on the philanthropic scene in our town. Here you see them with their eight grandchildren. -- Forrest Preece

03/08/2023

My West Austin News column for March 23rd will be about that well-known Austin High graduate Verne Lundquist. His spectacular career has placed him among the all-time greats of sportscasting. Early in his career, from 1972-1983, he did the play-by-play for The Cowboys. He has been a key voice for NFL Films; with Scott Hamilton he announced the figure skating championships for the Winter Olympics three times (and was parodied on Saturday Night Live); and he was the lead play-by-play announcer for SEC games on CBS from 2000-2016. He also called many college basketball games, including NCAA Tournaments, and he is still announcing The Masters and the PGA Championship. (Next year is his last for The Masters.) It was such a treat to talk with him for an hour or so and get his opinions on a number of topics. In this photo, he is accepting an Emmy for Lifetime Achievement. -- Forrest Preece

02/14/2023

My February 23rd Westside Stories column in West Austin News will be about Lee Leffingwell, former Mayor of Austin. He reviewed his accomplishments with me -- and by the way, he's a native Austinite. Here you see him with some other veterans at the Korean War Memorial in DC. He is very active in Austin's Honor Flight program and he flew missions in Vietnam. -- Forrest Preece

01/04/2023

My Westside Stories column in this month's issue of West Austin News will be about Juliette Madere, an 18-year-old student at Anderson High who is enrolled in their rigorous International Baccalaureate program. After reading Doug Tallamy’s book Nature’s Best Hope, she realized that she could do her part to help the world’s environment by taking action in her neighborhood. The theory stated in the book is that if enough people install the right kinds of native plants instead of water-guzzling grass, and make wildlife refuges in their private spaces, eventually change will happen. Along with her mom and dad, her siblings, and others from the neighborhood, she is installing appropriate plants in the median triangle bounded by Elton Lane, Woodmont, and Forest Trail. She has received buy-in from the City of Austin and the West Austin Neighborhood Group on this project. By the way, Juliette is a multi-talented person--she has participated at the national level in sport and bouldering climbing competitions, is a brilliant artist and designer, and has studied music. I really enjoyed talking with her. (Honestly, she has the gravitas and communication skills to match any corporate executive I know.) In the first photo here, she has on a plaid shirt and is kneeling by her mom. Her brother, sister, and dad are behind her. The second photo shows her in competition climbing. (Group photo by Karen Kocher) -- Forrest Preece

12/13/2022

My column in the December 15th issue of West Austin News will be about Jim Green, the currently reigning King Brio for The Knights of the Symphony. He had quite a successful career as an executive in the production management side of industry and now he is applying his financial planning skills to local non-profits. In this photo, he is posing with his wife Jo at the 2019 Austin Opera Ball. Jo had her own remarkable career teaching foreign languages at local schools. For her efforts, she was named Teacher of the Year at Johnston High, Austin High, and Westlake High School. --Forrest Preece

11/05/2022

My November 17 Westside Stories column in West Austin News will be about Kathy Valentine, member of The Go-Go's, the legendary all-female rock and roll band. Here you see Kathy, at the microphone, with the rest of The Go-Go’s, accepting their award for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. They were the first all-female band to obtain that recognition. Kathy is an Austin native who grew up living in several neighborhoods around town with her single mom. And if you haven't read her autobiography "All I Ever Wanted," I highly recommend that you buy a copy. I devoured mine in two nights. She is a brilliant author as well as being a first-rate songwriter and musician. I enjoyed talking with Kathy about her life and hearing her stories. -- Forrest Preece

10/20/2022

My November 3rd Westside Stories column in West Austin News will be about Alissa Ziemianski, who has devoted herself to a life of nonprofit service. These days, she serves as Community Engagement Manager for the Central Texas Food Bank. At the first of her career she had some adventures with AmeriCorps, including being bumped up to a supervisory position in Houston during the aftermath of Katrina in 2005. She was in a leadership role at a food co-op in Chico, California in 2018 when a devastating forest fire wiped out a neighboring town and their store was one of the primary food suppliers for stranded, hungry people. Alissa also loves soccer and has leadership roles in the local community revolving around that sport.
Here you see Alissa accepting the prestigious Comcast NBCUniversal Leadership Award that recognizes outstanding City Year/AmeriCorps alumni who are continuing their commitment to strengthening community, inspiring, mobilizing, and empowering others. This awards ceremony took place at Boston University on July 15, 2019. The other photo is of Alissa on Willie Nelson's Luck Ranch when they were shooting a promo spot for the Food Bank. --Forrest Preece

10/10/2022

My Westside Stories column for October 20 with will be about Ron Mullen, mayor of Austin from 1983-85, one of the hottest boom eras our town has ever seen. We had a good talk about his accomplishments and how his life has gone after public service. Not many people know that when Ron began his career, he was a San Antonio police officer on the 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift, and spending his days as a student at Southwest Texas State. He is shown here with his wife, Lynnda Carter Mullen. --Forrest Preece

10/01/2022

My Westside Stories column in West Austin News for October 6th will be about Matt Swinney, who has done a lot for the fashion industry in Texas -- including making it more inclusive. He also trades baseball cards! He's a visionary, for sure.

09/18/2022

My Westside Stories column in the September 22 issue of West Austin News will be about Anne Rapp and her documentary, Horton Foote: The Road to Home. Horton was a screenwriter, playwright for both Broadway and television dramas, book author, and an actor. This brilliant man from Wharton, Texas won two Oscars, a Pulitzer, an Obie, an Emmy, and a raft of other awards. He died at 94 in 2009. Anne took a lot of footage of him in his later days, talking about his career, and showing her around his hometown. The screenplays for Tender Mercies, Trip to Bountiful, and To Kill a Mockingbird are some of his most recognizable titles, but he had a body of work that spanned 70 years – and he had two plays in the works when he died. I always enjoy talking with Anne – and Linda and I loved this movie. Here is a photo of Horton and Anne in Wharton. -- Forrest Preece

09/05/2022

My Westside Stories column in West Austin News this week will be about Ed Clements who has had quite a career in broadcasting. We also dipped into some stories about his exploits in his hometown Brownwood and in Midland. Remember Baby Jessica? Ed was the point person for the rest of the news outlets around the world reporting on that story. Here you see him with Verne Lundquist and Scotty Sayers broadcasting The Fifteenth Club on KLBJ-am. The other photo is Ed with his family -- Ferris, Betsy, and Ben. He shared some great stories. -- Forrest Preece

08/04/2022

My Westside Stories column in the August 11 issue of West Austin News will be about Joel Block, an Austin all-star voice talent and producer and a friend of mine for at least -- how many years -- 50 -- is that right -- Joel, you wanna check me on that? Anyway, we had a great time talking about the modern history of Austin radio and his background. I wonder how many people know that the term "disk jockey" was invented by Walter Winchell to describe Joel's father Martin, during his heyday on WNEW's "The Make Believe Ballroom" in New York City. (That concept of spinning records was Martin's idea.) It was great to catch up with Joel and trade a few tales. Here you see him in a production session for the program Earth & Sky that ran nationwide from 1991 to 2013.

06/07/2022

My Westside Stories column in West Austin News this week will contain memories of Lynn Pugh Remadna, one of the brightest personalities this town has ever known. RIP, Lynn. You are missed.--Forrest Preece

02/14/2022

My Westside Stories column in the Feb. 24th issue of West Austin News will be about Matt Curtis, who is one of the most civically involved people in town. Banking on his experience being a top aide to two Austin mayors and a host of other activities, he founded the Smart Policy Group in 2017, which has made some innovative ideas reality. Example -- launching eVTOL, or Air Taxis, with Florida cities. These flying cars will be delivering people to destinations in a couple of years, and will soon be in cities around the country. Here you see Matt accepting the Austinite of the Year Award in 2012, with Mayor Will Wynn and Crystal Cotti. -- Forrest Preece

02/03/2022

My Westside Stories column in West Austin News for February 10th will be about the last baseball game Jim Raup pitched for the University of Texas in May 1967. Without a doubt, it is one of the most dramatic athletic contests I have ever read about. The local daily called it “one of the most magnificent pitching performances in recent years by a Longhorn.” After Jim told me the story, I have replayed the last part in my mind a lot of times. Nuff said. -- Forrest Preece

01/18/2022

My Westside Stories column for the January 27th issue of West Austin News will be about Jim Raup. A three-sport letterman at Austin High and a solid pitcher for UT, he had a goal of getting a master’s and a PhD in history and becoming a college professor. That career path got sidetracked when, after doing a stellar job coaching the UT junior varsity baseball team, coach Cliff Gustafson talked him into coaching high school baseball. Before he turned 25, he had taken the Brenham High Cubs to a third-place finish in the state and then his team won the state championship the next year.

After returning to Austin and coaching at McCallum, at 30, he decided to enroll at the Texas Tech Law School, where he finished first in his class. Then he joined a prestigious Austin law firm and made partner. He had some amazing stories to tell.

(In the baseball shot here, his Brenham players have lifted him on their shoulders after winning state. The reason he was holding a catcher's mitt is that the valuable glove was about to get trampled and he had grabbed it off the ground.)

-- Forrest Preece

01/02/2022

My first Westside Stories column for 2022, in the January 13 issue of West Austin News, will be about sharon maidenberg, the executive director of The Contemporary, our town's museum with locations on Lake Austin and in the heart of downtown. I enjoyed hearing about her and her vision for this artistic institution. -- Forrest Preece

12/06/2021

My Westside Stories column in the Dec. 16th issue of West Austin News will celebrate my 20th anniversary of writing for the paper. I’ll reflect about the journey and give a rundown of people I covered in a random year. By the way, I have written 710 columns in the two decades. Here are photos of some of my subjects. -- Forrest Preece

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