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Like many local residents, Dallas native Bill Thomas retired to the Hill Country to take it easy. That’s not exactly how things turned out, however—not by a long shot—and Schreiner can take a lot of the credit for that. “I came to the Hill Country to sit on my porch in my rocking chair and totally retire,” he said, “but it didn’t work out quite that way.” Thomas has been the volunteer coach of the very successful Schreiner Shooting Sports Society, student competitive trap and skeet shooters, since the group started in 2005. However, he and his wife Blythe started their relationship with Schreiner through the classroom. “One of our neighbors, Roseanne Keller, told us she was going to teach at Schreiner as an adjunct,” he said. “So we took her class in the history of Christianity as senior auditors.” Thomas has also audited classes with Dr. Cole Starr, associate professor of religion and philosophy, and Dr. Ron Hatchett, the since-retired director of global studies at Schreiner. 16 Summer 2012 SCENE Bill Thomas Sure as Shootin’! By LOuISe KOhL Leahy “It only took me about 50 years to learn the best way to go to college,” Thomas said, referring to Schreiner’s senior audit program. “This way, you can go to class when you want to, you don’t have to take the test or write the paper and you still get a world-class education.” Thomas’s family moved to University Park when it was a suburb of Dallas and lived in “the next to the last house in the city.” He remembers fields where North Park is now in which boys could shoot squirrels and rabbits with shotguns and .22s. “I know how to shoot rifles, too,” Thomas said. “The Army gives you instruction in that.” His father’s sport was golf and in high school Thomas was on the golf team. He said he was a “mediocre golfer” and wasn’t all that taken with the sport. And then came a day at the Texas State Fair and a spot in a clay target competition. “My first competitive score was 57 out of 100, which is awful,” he said. “But I had found my niche. I really enjoyed it and it takes a lot less time than golf.” While Thomas was with the Dallas Gun Club in the
mid-1990s, representatives from the United States Helice Association approached the club about holding a trial there to select competitive shooters for the U.S. national team. (Helice is a form of target shooting for shotguns similar to live pigeon shooting that uses mechanically thrown plastic targets.) “I competed with them just in the spirit of good sportsmanship,” Thomas said, “and I ended up in fourth place. The third-place guy was unable to go, so I ended up on the team that went to Italy in 1994 to compete for the world championship.” The U.S. team won in a shootoff with the Italians who had dominated the sport up until then. “We were the first non-Italian team to win in 10 or 15 years,” Thomas said. “They had us on podiums for the medal ceremony just like in the Olympics. To this day I get chills up my spine when I see the American flag being raised.” Thomas went on to participate and compete in 27 World Skeet Championships and won a class medal virtually every year he competed. It wasn’t easy to get Thomas to talk much about himself. His favorite topic of conversation is really the team he coaches and the sports shooters in whom he takes so much pride. He has every reason to be proud. That team has brought more than 40 medals, along with national and state titles, back to Schreiner since it started competing in 2007. One former member, Caitlin Barney Weinheimer, from Ingram, Texas, came achingly close to making the U.S. Olympic team for the 2012 London Olympics. Weinheimer also won Schreiner’s first national championship since it became a university, in women’s international trap. “The kids are the ones doing all the work and I’m having all the fun,” he said. “I’m dealing with topnotch young go-getters, self-starters and achievers who are good students and fun to be around. I’m just the porter and chauffeur for the shooting team.” Photo: Left to right Mike anderson, Brooks eustace, Drucilla Meier, Tom Pappas, coach Thomas, neal hodges, Logan Brinkley, James heikkenen and anthony Gaddy. billthomas www.schreiner.edu Summer 2012 17
Page 1 and 2: MAGAZINE OF SCHREINER UNIVERSITY SU
Page 3 and 4: SUMMER 2012 f e a T u r e S 9 Facul
Page 5 and 6: Best CaSe Scenario Hoon Hall, home
Page 7 and 8: Volunteer Spotlight Growing up on C
Page 9 and 10: faculty awards Dr. Charlie McCormic
Page 11 and 12: “When forces of intolerance emerg
Page 13 and 14: 3 4 Photos: 1. Teresa alejandro ’
Page 15: “‘Killing Lincoln’ by Bill O
Page 19 and 20: against larger schools,” he said.
Page 21 and 22: Women’s Golf The team finished th
Page 23 and 24: took place at Brigham and Women’s
Page 25 and 26: formerstudents www.schreiner.edu Su
Page 27 and 28: Schreiner’s newest alumni Class o
Page 29 and 30: uilding high-end homes in the Park
Page 31 and 32: Abram Bueché ’10 and Allison (Fl
Page 33 and 34: e-news Want to keep up with Schrein
Page 35 and 36: Paint Wars SU students take part in

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