Douglas Thomas:  

Life Douglas G. Thomas: Officer in professional orgs., church, Republican Party. Retired Quality Specialist, moved from position as a Contracts Specialist and Electronic Commerce Manager. Active in community and BSA. Listed 1998 Edition of Whos Who In The West, then Who's Who in the Nation, currently Who's Who in Professional Management and asked to be on the Board of Advisors in 2002, 2003, 2004. Retired Marine Communications Manager. School My education included four grammar schools, and one high school - El Camino. My biggest crush? Actually, it was a girl in my class at the dependents' school at the Fontenet Army Depot in France. Her name was Georgeanna Wheeler, and another couple of guys, Julian and Sidney Pusey, were my friends. I had it bad! I'd frequently get on my bike and pedal over to her house to be with her. Next crush? The daughter of the owner of the peach farm where I worked in the summer while in high school. I was crazy about her! Inspirational teachers? So many - Mr. Thayer and Mrs. Thomas in grade school, Mrs. Williams, my teacher at Fontenet in France who taught me so much about English, Major (now Colonel) Tom Armstrong in high school, and many others at El Camino - Mr. Hunter, the Principal; Mrs. Goff, the Vice Principal; Mr. McFarland who saw potential that I did not realize; Mr. Watkins, a Custodian; Mr. Copeland in Auto Shop; Mrs. Hendricks, U. S. History; Mr. Leonetti, French; Mr. Pardee, Math; Mr. Sowers, Math; Mrs. Williams, Library; Mr. Winters, Wood Shop; Mr. Moser, Student Activity Director; Mr. Nesseth, Vice Principal of Boys; Mrs. Taylor in Attendance; Mr. Gillespie; Mr. Furneaux; Mr. Grimes; Mr. Goepfert; Mr. McCord; Mrs. Penney; Mr. Schultz. Most, if not all, of those named were in my life over the four years I was a student. Each had a part to play in my becoming the man I am today. Happiest and craziest school memories? That is easy - the time we MPs were directing traffic at a dance, and someone snapped a photo of us sitting on a car all covered with streamers of some type. That moment, and others associated with the Cadet Corps, are the happiest in my years at EC. College My college experience covers a number of institutions: The first American River JC, on the old Grant High School campus, where I studied electronics in 1958 and we listened to the Soviet Sputnik beeping its way around the Earth - after one semester I joined the Marine Corps. The favorite song of the time was Wake Up, Little Suzie. 1962-1965 found me at Glendale College studying Business Administration and earning an AA Degree. Later, about 1972, was studying Sociology at Northern Virginia Community College (3 semesters) and those studies led to my being assigned to Human Relations Instructor School and then assignment as a Discussion Leader. We were having lots of problems in those days with generational and ethnic differences, and my classes were an outgrowth of the Navy's People Program. I was a popular leader, and people would wait till I was assigned another group to participate. Quite an honor, and the real beginnings of my interest in employee recognition, performance counselling and training management. After retirement from the Marine Corps, moved to Albuquerque and went to night classe...Expand for more