DENISE FORTNER

"Life's been good to me so far." - Joe Walsh, 1978

I went to Mills in 10th grade (1986-87) and then transferred to Central. Before that I went to Fuller Jr. High and Wakefield elementary.

I got my BA from UALR and completed about half the classes for my MBA. One day I will get around to finishing it.

I earned a couple of technical certifications and worked for about 12 years in large corporations doing disaster recovery planning (how to stay in business if the computers crash or Hurricane Katrina wipes out your branch office, etc.). Last year I opened my own company, and the organization that certifies people in disaster recovery planning globally hired my company to run their recertification program internationally. My license plate is DZASTR.

I never wrote the novel I always wanted to write in high school, but last year signed a contract to write a technical manual on disaster recovery planning. At the rate I've been writing, it should take about 10 years to finish.

I was divorced in 2002. I never could've imagined in high school I'd be a parent one day, but I love it. My son takes taekwondo classes and I started about 3 years ago taking classes too. I'm a black belt now and currently state champ in my division (women 1st degree black belts in their 30s) and I'm ranked in the top 10 nationally in weapons. In 1989, I would have never believed I'd be into sports at 38, let alone competing. But it is a lot of fun. I just recently started occasionally helping teach the kids' taekwondo classes.

I haven't heard from anybody in the class of 89 in many years, so I am curious about how everyone is doing. I did run into Lance Brown when I bought my car in 2005, and I ran into Bobby Moody at a Chuck E Cheese when we were both out with our kids. But I am so glad my son is too old to want to go Chuck E Cheese, I hate that place.


On Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018470&id=1468641331#/home.php?ref=home

Favorite memories: Neal McElroy, Jason Taylor and Bryan Rettig's heavy metal band Twitch; hanging out at Southwest City Mall and the UA4 theater and Cinema 150 (saw the first 3 Star Wars and Indian Jones movies there). You know you are getting old when your memories include a list of places that no longer exist! I think the last I heard the mall is a police station and the UA4 is a furniture store? Wakefield elementary burned down year ago and was rebuilt completely different.

The times they are a changin'.