Titans of Taylor

Richard Blazer 1969

Richard is a farmer and has been an excavator for 45 years. He first started farming in his junior year of high school. At the age of 16 he bought his first tractor; he even drove his tractor to school. By his senior year of high school he was farming 400 acres. As a high school student at Taylor, Richard was an active member of the history club. After graduating Richard became enthusiastically involved as a member in the community. For 25 years has been an active member of the Chapel Hill Christin Church. For five years he has reached out to the youth in the community and even acted as a youth leader for the 7^th and 8^th grade high school boys.  Recently, Richard has served as a member of the Board of Directors for several associations, including the Indiana Onsite Wastewater Professional Associate (IOWPA), Indiana Environmental Health Association (IEHA), the Home Builders of Howard County, and the Indiana Home Builder Association.  As a member of the IOWPA, Richard served as President for two years. Apart of the IEHA he helped the Wastewater Committee to develop new septic rules that have been implemented throughout the state of Indiana. He has also served on the board of Indiana Governor’s septic task force. Richard is also a talented speaker and has spoken at several IOWPA and IEHA annual conferences.


David Lasbury, M.D. 1985

David is a staff anesthesiologist working at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. He has an extensive and impressive educational background. As an undergraduate, David studied at Indiana University, IUPUI, and Cambridge University of England. David received his Medical Degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. David has not only worked as an Emergency Room Physician, Research Extern, and Medical Associate, he has held positions as an Associate Clinical Professor and as an Instructor of Rheumatology Core Curriculum of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine. He has also served as a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is a Professional Member of the American Society of Anesthesiology, a Charter Member of the Society of Hospital Medicine, and a member of the American Medical Athletic Association. He has acted as a team member of “Operation Walk” doing hip and knee replacements for disabled individuals in Nicaragua and Guatemala.  David is a loyal family member and spends every day exploring the wonders of the world. As a father of three he loves to spend time with his family outdoors by hiking, fishing, and teaching his children about nature. With recent travels including an African Safari and summiting the glaciers of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, David is enthusiastic about travel and adventure. David is a lover of food and enjoys trying different cuisine. David remains to be a high performing athlete. He has completed several marathons including two Ironman Triathlons. His most recent Ironman was completed on July 27, 2014. He continues to enjoy multiple sports including cycling, golf, racquetball, and tennis.


Kirk Amos 1987

Kirk has served his country as part of the U.S Army. After years of distinguished service Kirk retired in 2013 as a Sergeant First Class for the U.S. Army. Upon graduating high school, Kirk enlisted in the United States Army as a private in 1987. Quickly, Kirk was recognized for achieving the maximum score on the mid cycle testing of basic skills and was awarded the Military Occupational Specialty 11C (Indirect Fire Specialist/Mortar Man). Upon successful completion of Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training he was assigned to Eco Company 3^rd Battalion 7^th Infantry at Fort Stewart, GA. Kirk was then promoted to Private First class on January 1^st 1988. Through his time in the army Kirk has served bravely for his country through many deployments including time in Panama, Korea, Africa, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Upon leaving active duty Kirk returned to Indiana to be a Drill Sergeant in the Army Reserves. He has been recognized with several awards and recognitions including the Bronze Star Metal, Two Meritorious Service Medals, Four Army Commendation Medals, Five Army Achievement Medals, Seven Army Good Conduct Medals, Two National Defense Service Medals, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. While part of the military Kirk was able to help improve the lives of others throughout the world. During his time in Africa, as part of a Civil Affairs team, he visited orphanages to line up contractors to help improve living situations. Kirk was awarded a Certification of Appreciation for his good will when he visited schools in Africa with donations of toys and clothes to pass out to the children. Kirk also helped a remote village in Africa with veterinary and agriculture aid. He was so beloved by the people of the village that they showered with him with gifts and whatever he would need in order to start a life in Africa. He promptly told them that his current wife, Melissa, would probably not like that idea-which they accepted with great laughs. Kirk continued to improve the world through his work in the Middle East as well. In Afghanistan he helped assess schools to gain monetary aid from government agencies to improve and rebuild schools after terrorist attacks. Through his work in the U.S and overseas Kirk has brought hope and mentorship to many people. 

Tony Gabriel  1972'

Tony coached Basketball for 14 years at Taylor. Tony passed away in December of 2007. Tony was a tremendous athlete but more importantly a great man. Tony was a great teacher and mentored and created lasting relationship with the kids he coached. Young people were very important to him; Tony established two scholarships of $5000.00 to be awarded to two Taylor student athletes each year. Tony would always remind everyone it was a “Great day to be Alive” You see GDTBA on t-shirts and on the High School gym floor! Tony exemplified what we at Taylor are trying to get across to our students! Tony played basketball and baseball at Polk Community College in Florida and Sterling College in Kansas. He received state titles in Racquetball in 1982, 1988, 1991 and also won 4 state double championships. He also won the Open Midwest Regional twice. Tony was inducted into the state associations’ Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also inducted into the Howard County Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.


Doug David 1975

Jeff Fisher 1975

Jeff has taught at Taylor Community Schools for 20 years. He has also coached for 20 years which included 4 sectionals and 1 regional. He was voted by his peers and received the 2009 Certified Employee of the Year for Taylor Community Schools. Jeff was awarded the 2004 Golden Apple Award for teacher excellence. He has contributed so much of his heart and soul to Taylor. Throughout his career at Taylor, he has shown his integrity, professionalism, and compassion with staff, students and athletes. His commitment and dedication is evident in all he does.






Kim Moore 1984

Kim is a Special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations. She works with White Collar Criminal Matters, Auto and Cargo Theft Matters, Narcotics Trafficking Matters, International and Domestic Terrorism Matters, Bank Robbery Matters and completed undercover assignments. Kim is the FIT Coordinator for the Memphis office and administers the Physical Fitness Test to all Special Agent applicants to determine if they qualify to go onto Quantico, VA for training. Kim received the Outstanding Service Award from the United States Department of Justice and Letter of Commendation from the FBI. She has also served as a Relief Supervisor for 18 years. She has worked the majority of her career in Memphis, Tennessee and also served temporary duties in Washington D.C. and Quantico, VA.





Anita Wooldridge 1995

Anita co-authored the book "8 Days in Darkness" with Angela Roegner to help other sexual abuse victims. She endured eight days of captivity by a convicted rapist and lived to tell her story and help others. She spoke at the FBI academy in Quantico, FBI Citizens Academy in Indianapolis, Kokomo Police Department Citizens Academy, Ball State, Butler and numerous Church groups and clubs. She is a member of the Howard County Community Corrections Advisory Board. Anita is an EMT-B volunteer with the Taylor Fire Department and is enrolled at Ivy Tech working on her degree in Phlebotomy. Anita would like to serve our community and help others with their medical needs upon her graduation.

Beth A. Brooke 1977

Beth is a global vice chair of public policy, sustainability and stakeholder engagement at Ernst & Young and is a member of the firm’s global management group and its Americas executive board. She has public policy responsibility for the firm’s operations in 140 countries. She has been named to the Forbes Magazine “100 Most Powerful Women” list three years in a row. She has also worked in the U.S. Department of the Treasury and was national director of tax advisory services in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Purdue University, where she played basketball. She is a public accountant and a fellow in the Life Management Institute. She serves on the boards of the Committee for Economic development, the Atlantic Council of the United States, the Partnership for Public Services, Technoserve, the national Women’s Law Center and the White house Project, among other leadership positions. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Sam McDaniel 2000

Sam is an EOD Technician in the United States Marine Corp. he is a staff sergeant and stationed in Jacksonville, NC. His deployments include Korea 2002, Operation Iraqi Freedom I 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom II 2004/2005, Operation Freedom V 2006, Operation Enduring Freedom 2008 (Afghanistan), and Operation Enduring Freedom 2009 (Afghanistan). He has received many Combat awards including, Navy/Marines corps commendation medal with V for valor, Combat Action Ribbon X2, Good Conduct Medal, Afghanistan Campaign medal with star, Iraqi Campaign Medal with 3 stars, Navy Unit Commendation, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Award, Presidential Unit Citation, and Sea Service Deployment ribbon with 3 stars, Nato Medal (Afghanistan). Sam and his team dismantle the improvised devices set out by the Taliban and other terrorist groups both in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been instrumental in saving countless Military lives by his services.

Doug Tate    1985

Doug is Howard County Superior Court 3 judge. He graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 1989with a degree in history, and graduated from the Indiana University Law School in Indianapolis in 1992. He was a partner with the Davis, Murell and Tate law firm and was the deputy prosecuting attorney assigned to the Howard County Drug Force. He was elected judge of Howard Superior Court 3 in 2002 and re-elected in 2008. He was Howard County Republican Party chairman from 1998 – 2002. He is also a member of the Howard County Community Corrections Advisory Board and the Family YMCA board of directors. He is a past member of the board of directors and executive committee of the United Way of Howard County, the Grissom Air force Reserve Base Community Council and the Howard County American Cancer Society board of directors.

John D. Whitaker    1994

John is co-founder and chief scientist of Modumetal Inc. in Seattle, WA. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from University of Washington. At Modumetal Inc., he is responsible for internal research and development and long-term technology strategy. He is leading development efforts for high-temperature materials for use in advanced propulsion and power generation systems. His hope is that Modumetal will replace steel, and enable incredibly safe yet fuel-efficient automobiles.  He also served as Technical director, project manager and project engineer for Isotron Corp. His graduate research at U.W. resulted in a desktop printer capable of producing high resolution metal micropatterns using electrodeposition. The process was titled “Electrochemical Printing”, garnered several awards at professional conferences, and is presently patent-pending as well as several other patents. John is also Associate Affiliate Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington.