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| The
Hampton Family |
Married:
01/17/81 John Richard Hampton & Donna Lynn Boatwright |
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Rick
Hampton
When I was born, my sisters wanted to name me Davey Crockett. Fortunately
for me, my mother did not agree. I was named John after my father and
Richard after one of his friends.
The trumpet has been a big part of my life. I began in the third grade.
Well, actually, I started on the cornet. I remember that everyone had
to line up and tell the director, Charles I. Bradley, what instrument
we wanted to play. My sisters had told me that I ought to play the drums,
but as I waited in line, the boy in front of me said that he wanted to
play the drums. The director responded "There are already too many
drummers. What other instrument would you like to play?" What a dissappoinment.
When my turn came all I could say was "I don't care." He looked
at me and said, "OK, how about the cornet?" I went home that
afternoon, got out the encyclopedia and looked up cornet so that
I could see what instrument I was to play.
For quite a while, I had to endure the neighbors requests to please keep
our new elephant off of their lawns. At least they were sure that it must
have been an elephant that they had heard coming from our house.
I began playing in The East Atlanta Elementary Band. As I mentioned before,
Charles I. Bradley was the conductor. Several years ago, shortly before
his death, I had the opportunity of seeing Mr. Bradley again. He played
in our orchestra at First Baptist Atlanta in a special Christmas program.
In grammar school, my parents paid for me to have private lessons from
W. F. Walker. I still have my Arban's book where he was paid $10.00 after
the fourth lesson. Mr. Walker was a fine elderly gentleman who's claim
to fame was that when he was in high school, John Phillip Sousa was a
guest conductor at one of their concerts.
I went to East Atlanta High School in the eighth grade. I wanted to play
football, but after one week of practice and jamming my thumb, I decided
that being in the band was more fun. We moved during that year and I looked
forward to going to a new school, Southwest Dekalb. It was well known
that the band there was exceptional and that the jazz band would be going
to Europe during the following summer.
I did get to make that trip to Europe. We toured 7 countries, visiting
21 cities in 22 days. Our visit to Switzerland was the most memorable.
We performed in Lucerne at a casino on the patio overlooking the lake.
It must have been some sort of holiday because I can remember the fireworks
and the reflection across the lake. This was in 1970 and I can still remember
my visit to the Hamilton watch factory and meeting Mr. Harry Ruttiman
(although not sure of the spelling). Here I was in a foreign country and
I had run out of money. Mr. Ruttiman asked if I saw anything that he could
help me with, but I explained that I had run out of money and I was expecting
$50 from my parents via American Express. He first called the American
Express office to see if the money had arrived. It hadn't and he said
"I'll loan you the money." I replied, "I don't know for
sure that it will arrive before our group will be leaving for another
city." "That's ok" he said, "Just send me the money
when you get back to the States." Uncertain about whether there was
a catch or not, I said "But, I'm not sure if I want to buy a watch
here. I haven't really looked." Mr. Ruttiman responded "You
don't have to buy a watch from me. I'll still loan you the money."
In amazement of his kindness, I decided to accept his offer, and I did
buy a watch, spending $38 of the $50. When I got home, I sent him the
money, and he followed with a nice card in return. I still have that watch
today. The face of it shows it's age, but it still runs.
One of my first paying jobs was working for Sears for one month as Winnie
The Pooh. A friend of mine got me the job and we worked together. I wore
the suit for 30 minutes and we got a 30 minute break. Then he wore the
suit for 30 minutes and we got a 30 minute break. The one that was out
of the costume carried a tape player with the theme song of Winnie the
Pooh and did all of the talking. We also took Poloroid pictures of children
with Winnie. I still have a picture in my scrapbook. However, I'm now
more of a Tigger Fan. Here are some fun animations of Tigger.
| In this
photo, I am the red faced trumpet player. (upper left in the photo)
This was taken at First Redeemer Church in Cumming, GA where I played
in the orchestra for a couple of years. |
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I love to play golf, but I haven't had much time to enjoy the game in
the last several years. As my network marketing business grows, I will
have more time to play golf. Michael, my son, received golf clubs for
Christmas in 1997 and I had intended on spending some quality time together
with him during the summer. I had also set a goal to sell my company,
Southampton Filter Corporation sometime during the first six months of
the year. After being in the air filtration business for over twenty years,
I am finally out. Unfortunately, it took all year to get there. We missed
the summer of '98, but we will try again for 1999.
In 1999, I went to work at Nortel Networks, working under the direction
of my best friend. After a year, we decided to make the move to Cumming
GA in order to be close to work. A half year later, Nortel took a nose
dive, and we were all released. I must say that they were extremely generous,
in that I had worked there for only a short time but received an additional
four months pay.
In 2001, our group (that Nortel released) got together and formed a new
company, GeoResults, Inc. We grew steadily although
the economy was tough on the telecom industry.
Well, 2002 did not see any improvement in the telecom business. So, in
January 2003, I began a new career selling Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and
Subaru with Troncalli
in Cumming. That lasted for 18 months. I enjoyed working at Troncalli,
but I was thrilled to say goodbye in the summer of 2004 and move to the
lake at Hartwell, GA. Living on the lake is wonderful. My parents just
moved down the street from us, and we love spending quality time with
them.
In 2005, I had an offer to work again for GeoResults and took it. This
time, however, I don't go to an office. I just work at home and transfer
each project online as they are completed.
I am also currently building a home-based business with Isagenix as an Independent Associate.
It all has to do with cleansing your body... eliminating the toxins...
and a lot of good things can happen when you do. The products are unbelievable.
...more to come
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Donna Hampton
Donna was born in Hampton - Newport News, VA but lived in Chattanooga,
TN for several years. They moved to Atlanta, where she attended Chamblee
High School.
Donna and I met in the sanctuary of The First Baptist Church of Atlanta.
It was a Saturday morning in early December as I had just gotten out from
a mens prayer breakfast. I knew that my twin nephews were upstairs rehearsing
for the childrens' Christmas musical, so I went to see if they were finished.
I came into the sanctuary from the front so as to be looking at the stage
(it was a stage for this day). As I came down the aisle, I noticed the
orchestra director's wife, Eileen, sitting about halfway down to the front.
A few weeks before, George & Eileen Rawlin, Geary Newman - a trumpet
player, and I went to eat after orchestra rehearsal at Schiffifers Restaurant
on Peachtree. Geary and I were both single and we were asking Eileen to
find us dates. We told her what we thought the perfect woman would be
like, and she said that Miss America was a little out of our league.
I sat down on the pew behind her, leaned forward and asked "Well,
how's the search going?" I didn't really think that she was going
to find someone for me. And then, I noticed a girl on the stage working
with the children. Actually there were several attractive young ladies
on the stage, but one seemed to stand out over the others. "Who is
she?" I asked as I directed her attention towards Donna. "Oh,
do you think she's cute?" Eileen replied. "Yeah, who is she?"
I asked again. "That's Donna Boatwright. She's so lonely. You'd be
perfect for each other."
Well, to make a long story - short, Eileen introduced us. A few days
before Christmas, I went to Belieze for ten days and I had a long ten
days to think. A few days after I returned, I asked Donna to be my wife.
Without hesitation, she said "Yes". Almost one year later we
were married.
Donna worked as a K3 teacher at Cumberland Christian Academy for 5 years.
When we moved to Cumming GA, she decided to retire, at least for a while.
Then, she found a job in retail sales at the Dress Barn and did really
well. Most days she would have the highest sales. Of course, when we got
the chance to move to Hartwell, she had no problem saying goodbye to her
job.
...more to come
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 Mike Hampton
Michael was a miracle baby. Donna and I had wanted to have a child for
a long time, but for some reason, she wasn't able to get pregnant. After
three surgerys and a year after the last one, Donna was pregnant. The
pregnancy was not an easy one, however. There were several occasions when
we thought that we had lost our child. On more than one occassion we were
awakened to a situation that made our hearts sink and our knees hit the
floor. Near the end of term, Donna was forced to take a leave of absence
from her job as the doctor put her on bed rest.
After waiting for so long, it was finally time for our first child to
be born. During the doctor visits, we had decided that we didn't want
to know whether we were going to have a girl or a boy. We wanted to be
surprised. I had prayed for a son but like most people, I really just
wanted a healthy baby. We had agreed on Michael for a boy's name, but
Donna wanted to name him John Michael, after me. I wanted to name him
after my best friend since kindergarten, Thomas Edward Shields (Ted).
As you can see, I got the final vote.
Michael likes basketball. I always thought that he would make a better
football player, but what can I say? He likes basketball. This year (1997)
his team came in third and in the tournament at the end of the season,
they won it all!
Michael now prefers Mike. At 13 years old (1998), he is taller than his
mother and proud of it. In fact, he is almost as tall as me.
Christmas (1999) Mike got a bass guitar. He promised to stick with it.
For his birthday in April, Mike got an electric guitar. He still plays
his base, but he says that he wants to play all instruments. At some point,
he would like a set of drums. Maybe we can put that off for a year or
two. I must admit that he is doing great on both the guitar and bass.
When Mike became 16, he got a job as a DJ for a local skating rink. He
even did his senior project on being a DJ. He went to Star 94 and the
FISH 104.7 in Atlanta for his research. When he started college at Toccoa
Falls, he was offered a spot as a DJ on the college radio station.
In 2004, Michael was chosen to be a part of the Praise Team at Toccoa
Falls College. He plays bass guitar very well and I am glad that he is
using his talent to serve the Lord. After two years at Toccoa, he dropped
out for a semester, but he still played there on Sunday evenings at Connections.
In Jan 2006, Michael enrolled at Saint Leo University near Tampa. His
still wants to try and make it in music, but he will try first to complete
his college education. A degree in business will always come in handy.
For the summer of 2006, Mike toured with Chasing Rose, which is the same
Toccoa Falls group with a new name. You could previously see and hear
them at http://www.chasingrose.com, however, the site is no longer up
since they disbanded.
After only a year at St. Leo, his grades have made a tremendous improvement.
We don't see much of Michael these days, but we look forward to spending
some time together at Spring Break.
...more to come
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Katherine Marie Hampton
When Michael was only six months old, the doctor informed us that if
we wanted more children, we had better go ahead and have them. We weren't
financially ready, but if it were going to be now or never, it would have
to be now. Two months later, Donna was pregnant again. This pregnancy
wasn't much easier than the first, but at least we were more prepared.
When the time came for deciding on names, we had changed our mind completely
from our earlier choices. Before Michael was born, we had chosen Laura
Ashley as a girl's name, not knowing that there was a line of stores opening
with that name. We had since decided on Katherine. We still, however could
not decide on whether she should be Kathryn, Catherine or Katherine. While
we were in the labor room, a movie was on the TV, and it was starring
Katherine Hepburn.(at least I was almost certain that she spelled her
name that way) Anyway, we were going to call her Katie, so Katherine Marie
is what we chose.
Katie was a cheerleader. She was cheering when Michael played little
league football. She cheered for Cumberland Christian Academy, and then
she cheered at South Forsyth High School. She thought that she would be
cheering in college, however, after taking a year off from cheering, she
liked having the free time better.
Katie's wit sometimes gets her into big trouble with her mom. She just
can't resist the sarcasm. In "Fiddler on the Roof", I relate
to the main character speaking about his daughter as he says "Her
wit she gets from me, her tongue, she gets from her mother."
Katie originally planned to be an orthodontist. She started college in
the fall of 2004, but quickly decided that two science classes per semester
was just too much. In August of 2005, she went back to school and had
to declare a major, so she chose education.
I've been told that most college students will change their major 6 times.
So, after Education, she went to Sports Medicine for at least a semester.
I think that it is changing again to something similar, but she still
has two more changes before I need to keep up with it.
Towards the end of 2006, Katie fell in love and has decided to get married.
She will be marrying Jordan Hedges in June 2007. Jordan is a fine Christian
young man and will be commissioned in the Marines. He will become a third
generation fighter pilot. Donna and I are very happy with Katie's choice.
...more to come
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First Baptist Church of Hartwell
We attend First Baptist Church in Hartwell. I play the trumpet with the
hopes of one day having a full orchestra there. My wife Donna sings in
the choir. If you are in the Hartwell area or will be here on a Sunday,
please come and visit. Just head downtown on Highway 77 from I-85, and
the church is downtown on the left. (Downtown is only a couple of blocks
long, so you can't miss it.)
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Last Update for this Page 03/07/2007 |
Atlanta
