2014 Inductees

 

 

Brad Hunstable Former Student	Rachel Matheny Former Student	Nancy Alana Former Staff	Boys and Girls Club of Hood County Community Member

 

A 1997 graduate of GHS, Brad Hunstable learned the art of technology at an early age – creating a large dial-up bulletin board system when he was just 11. After his high school graduation, he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and, in 2001, received a degree in engineering management.

 

Hunstable served five years in the U.S. Army, serving in various capacities for the army and the Department of Defense. Through his military service, he earned a Master of Business Administration from the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University in 2005. Following his departure from the army, Hunstable worked the Ross Perot-owned Hillwood Development, a real estate company developing master-planned communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

 

In 2006, Hunstable joined two others in co-founding Ustream as a way for deployed military service members to communicate with families back home. The trio had worked together previously on an Internet-based photo sharing website, but the project was ended when Hunstable and another were deployed to active duty in 2003. However, serving overseas and being away from loved ones prompted the new idea that led to Ustream.

 

Today, Ustream is the largest privately-owned video website in the world. Since its founding, the company has established itself as a socially fueled communications platform for businesses, non-profit organizations, and individuals to easily reach an infinite audience and share experiences in real time. Hunstable serves as chief executive officer of the San Francisco-based corporation.

 

“Our son has been an inspiration to all of us,” his parents, Fred and Candy Hunstable, said. “His drive to succeed at West Point and then starting his company has never failed to impress us. We felt this recognition would in some small way honor his dedication and commitment to ‘God and Country.’”

 

His mother is the GHS attendance clerk. Younger siblings Ashlee and Nathan also graduated from Granbury.

 

 

Rachel Matheny graduated from GHS in 2006 and attended Baylor University, earning a degree in anthropology and archeology with magnum cum laude honors. She later attended Oxford University in England and wrote a thesis on maritime transportation of metal cargoes during the Roman time period.

 

In 20112, she completed her Master of Philosophy in classical archeology. Matheny is currently attending Texas A&M University, where she is a doctoral student in the nautical archeology department and serving as a graduate teaching assistant.

 

For the past two summers, Matheny has worked in Turkey at the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archeology helping to catalog artifacts from the Uluburun Shipwreck, which is the oldest fully excavated shipwreck dating back to about 1300 B.C. Additionally, she has assisted on excavations at a large Paleo-Indian site near Austin and at an ongoing Etruscan project in the Tuscany region of Italy.

 

Outside of her academic career, Rachel has volunteered with many charitable organizations including My Brother’s Keeper, a homeless shelter in Waco.

 

She is the daughter of Corey and Ruth Matheny, and her mother teaches first grade at Acton Elementary School. Two brothers, Ryan and Jacob, also graduated from GHS.

 

 

Nancy Alana only took a short break after her retirement as principal of Nettie Baccus Elementary School in 2008. After a year, she decided to run for the GISD school board to continue serving the children of the community.

 

The retired educator began her career teaching at Farwell in 1976. After moving to Hood County in 1979, she taught at Granbury Intermediate School, Acton Elementary School, and Oak Woods School before serving as an administrative assistant to former superintendent Dr. Gwyn Boyter. She left Granbury for three years to become a principal in Comanche. Upon her return in 1999, she was named the leader at Baccus.

 

As a principal, Alana received the Instructional Leadership Award from Tarleton State University in 2005. She was later nominated for the National Distinguished Principal Award by the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association. Alana also was honored with the Medal of Heroism by the Sons of the American Revolution in 1997.

 

“Growing up as the child of an educator, I always heard ‘I had your mom as my fourth grade teacher’ and I took it as just that - she was just their teacher,” said Alana’s son, John. “As an adult, I hear the comments of how she was their role model, how they knew that she loved them, the influences she had with memorable moments that changed her students for a lifetime.”

 

Alana is currently in her second term as a school trustee. Since her retirement, she also has written two children’s books and regularly speaks to students in Granbury and other communities.

 

Her husband, Don, is a retired GHS social studies teacher and coach. Both of their sons, Kelly and John, graduated from GHS.

 

 

Great futures start with the Boys and Girls Club of Hood County, where Granbury schoolchildren go to after-school programs at both Decker Gym and the Rancho Brazos community center. Founded in 2002, the clubs also offer youth sports leagues and summer camps.

 

“Boys& Girls Clubs are a safe place to learn and grow – all while having fun,” commented executive director Jeff Bates. “It is the place where great futures are started every day.”

 

Programs and services promote and enhance the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging, and influence.

 

Club leaders engage young people in activities with adults, peers, and family members that enable them to reach their full potential. Based on the interests and needs of the boys and girls they serve, clubs offer diverse program activities in five areas: character and leadership development, education and career development, health and life skills, the arts, and sports and fitness.

 

“I truly believe that the Boys & Girls Club of Hood County helps every student to succeed in their academic life, learn sportsmanship, and how to be a friend,” stated operations director Sarah Harvey. “This organization helps GISD with both the schools’ and the organization’s mission of engaging youth to be responsible, caring, and educated individuals of the community.”