Baylor Proud

In May 2004, Tim Culver (BBA’ 84) received news that his wife, Sara (BS ‘84, MS ‘85), had suffered a stroke. With three children still at home and the oldest child heading off to serve in Iraq, Tim was devastated. After 10 days in ICU, he was told his wife would never walk, talk, or interact with people again.

Sara spent three months doing in-patient rehab before the recommendation came that she needed to be moved to a nursing home, because she would need 24-7 care the rest of her life. Tim, however, was still seeing improvements, and thus refused the recommendation. He fought his insurance company to get Sara into a special center that treats traumatic brain injuries; three months later, she went home and walked up the stairs without assistance. Today, she drives, takes care of her children and has returned to work.

That, of course, is the short version of their story; one could write many, many more words about what such a battle meant to the Culvers, not to mention the ocean of tears shared by the entire family over the past five years. Tim, now a doctoral student at Baylor in addition to his full-time job at AT&T, has captured the entire tale in the book Sara’s Story, released earlier this fall. An inspiring chronicle, and best of all, one with a happy ending for the Culvers!

Sic ’em, Culver family!

I had the privilege last week of attending the Baylor Business Network of Austin’s monthly luncheon, at which Drayton McLane, BBA ‘58, chairman of the Houston Astros and McLane Group, LP, was the featured speaker. McLane spoke to a group of about 100 Bears about the importance of integrity in leadership. That he took time from his busy work schedule (and in the midst of hiring a new manager for the Astros) speaks to the importance he sees in such Baylor Network gatherings.

In the coming months, the BBN Austin luncheon will feature speakers such as 2008 national Entrepreneurship Teacher of the Year Dr. Bill Petty, business school dean Terry Maness, Jim Arnold (BBA ‘76) of Arnold Oil, and Texas State Rep. Valinda Bolton (BA ‘81). And that’s just the Austin group; similar groups meet regularly in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, with a new group in the works in New York City.

And all that is just the business aspect of the Baylor Network; there’s also the Baylor Sports Network, gathering fans for rallies and watch parties across country; the Baylor Women’s Network, promoting fellowship and raising scholarships for current students; the Young Grads’ Network, for those who graduated in the past 10 years; the Global Network, connecting Bears all over the world; and the Baylor Parents League, helping improve the Baylor experience for moms and dads of students.

In all, the Network held over 500 events across more than 100 cities in 25 states last year. (At right is just a sampling of the Network’s events this month; click on it for more.) Are you connected? Visit baylor.edu/network for more information.

Sic ’em, Baylor alumni!

We mentioned screenwriter Derek Haas (Invincible, 2 Fast 2 Furious, 3:10 to Yuma and Wanted) a couple of weeks ago among the many successful Baylor alums you might see back this weekend at Homecoming. As it turns out, Haas will indeed be back, as he is doing a book signing for his soon-to-be-released novel Columbus this afternoon at the Baylor Bookstore.

Haas (BA ‘91, MA ‘95) is best known for his work with fellow Baylor alum Michael Brandt on the movies mentioned above, but he has also established a second career as a novelist. His first book, The Silver Bear, was released last summer; Columbus continues the series about an assassin dealing with the life he has chosen. A third novel has already been commissioned and is slated to follow in 2010.

Of course, Haas and Brandt still have plenty of movie work to do as well. Their big-screen adaptation of The A-Team is filming right now, and both The Courier (starring Adrien Brody) and Wanted 2 (returning both Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy) are in pre-production.

Sic ’em, Derek!