As the daughter of a Naval Aviator (WWII and Korea) and the mother of 2 sons who currently serve (one being a Green Beret), Chris brings a unique understanding and perspective of the SOF community to the Board of Directors at OHF.
Relocating every 2-3 years with her family worldwide as her father advanced in the ranks with the Navy, gave Chris an opportunity to experience an ever-changing view of many cultures and environments of the many trials and issues a military gamily faces while serving their country. Perhaps it naturally followed that she ended up pursuing a 26-year career as a Delta Flight Attendant upon graduation from the University of Alabama (with a BS in Business Management) to continue the wanderlust so early started in childhood. International flights were her passion, spending most of those years routinely on the European or South American routes. Wanting to spend the remaining time with her sons before they both left to pursue their own paths in the world, she retired to spend more time at home.
Although officially retiring at 49 with Delta, that by no means meant stopping. She crossed the ocean to work with the Chinese government through the Berkeley organization, Half the Sky, and traveled across China to help build Child Care Centers. The mission included the rehab of dark and sterile orphanages, bringing goods such as computers, toys and educational items and funding the hiring of nannies and teachers to care for the children. With the cooperation of the Chinese government (who, at first, gave only minimal approval of Western assistance) HTS proved successful in proving that through a reimagining of how babies are nurtured from the beginning, attachment and adaptation with their eventual adoptive families increase the success of healthy bonds.
With her church, she was also fortunate to get the opportunity to participate in mission work in Guatemala, building several times. From there, she and her husband felt the call to move to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to rebuild homes with Habitat for Humanity in Tuscaloosa, Alabama that was decimated by a tornado in 2011. Her husband Carl went on to be elected to the Board of Directors and designed a new type of Habitat home that mimicked seaside cottages in the Panhandle of Florida to change the face of what was formally institutional in appearance. Being inspired by the creativity of the 50 homes completed, Coach Nick and Terry Saban of the University of Alabama committed to building one home each year for every National Championship won.
After completing their stint in Tuscaloosa, they then moved to North Florida and built custom wedding venue houses in Pensacola Beach. After a time, they then felt the call to move up to North Alabama to assist a friend who had been running a children’s home for kids from 6-18 who, by no fault of their own, found themselves without a stable family setting. There, they again used their construction experience to build 5 individual 5600 sq ft homes for the boys’ side of the Big Oak Ranch for Children. They also brought 50 of their Black Angus cows to establish a cattle program, both to feed the children and establish a therapeutic program to heal brokenness. They have also worked with the Presbyterian Home for Children in Talladega, AL as Resource Parents and went on to apply for and become the official foster parents for one of the boys when he “aged out” of the system at 18.
Chris also supported and flew with Honor Flight Rochester (New York) and Honor Flight Tallahassee, flying Veterans from WWII, Korea and Vietnam to see their Memorial in Washington, DC. Both she and Carl have had the privilege to serve as Guardians to those Veterans who traveled without a family member. As a couple, they have also built a small cottage at Lakeshore Rehabilitation Hospital in Birmingham, AL, as part of a larger build program for family members to join their wounded or injured service member during recovery. They also have supported a number of Humane Societies as they have relocated from city to city and helped a local food bank rehab their building with improved facility infrastructure to better serve the community with their Meals on Wheels program.
Along the way, Chris obtained her private pilot’s license and scuba certification and attempts to convince herself that she is a competitive runner.
