The Friend Family

Laura and Luther Friend are pictured here with their youngest daughter, Katherine.  This is the first family photo the Friends have taken in over 7 years, since the death of their 12 year old daughter, Sarah, in July 2004. The Friends could not imagine taking a family photo with one of their family members missing. The Friends know that Sarah would want them to continue in life, be happy, have hope and live. One day, they will all be reunited with their 12 year old daughter in heaven.

Laura Friend is the program coordinator for Project ADAM Texas (Automated Defibrillators in Adam’s memory) at Cook Children’s Medical Center, an initiative aimed towards education and implementation of school AED cardiac emergency programs in the state of Texas. 

Since Sarah’s death, the Friends have made enormous strides to prevent sudden cardiac death in adolescents and young adults.  They created a Texas nonprofit, The Sarah Friend Heart Foundation, which has donated 62 life-saving defibrillators (AEDs) in Texas and trained hundreds of youth and adults in CPR/AED usage.  Laura went on to help form and spearhead a national nonprofit organization called Parent Heart Watch that now has over 300 advocates in the U.S. and seven countries.  Laura Friend was a Fort Worth Business Press 2012 Health Care Hero.  Luther is a Grocery Manager for Albertsons LLC and Katherine will start her senior year at Birdville High School in August.

The Cowden Family

Featured here are Lane and Christina Cowden with their two eager and energetic ranch hands, Wynn (4) and Paden (2), at their ranch in Parker County.  Lane is a commercial real estate investor and broker. He is President of Summit Realty, specializing in commercial real estate and property management.  Lane grew up in Fort Worth where he began investing in real estate right out of high school and began his brokerage career while in college.  Christina grew up in Dallas and currently creates and delivers leadership development for Intuit.  She just celebrated her 10 year anniversary with the company and has enjoyed many challenging roles throughout her tenure.  The couple met at TCU fifteen years ago where Lane earned his degree in finance and Christina graduated Cum Laude with a degree in marketing.  They have been married for nine years and are active members of Christ Chapel Bible Church. 

The Spooner Family

Justin and Angela Spooner are featured here with their three children Katherine (Kate), John, and Luke. Justin grew up in Bedford and Angela moved to Texas as fast as she could! Justin is the Executive Director of The Stayton at Museum Way, Fort Worth’s newest upscale senior living community. The Stayton, located in the heart of the cultural district, opened in 2011 and features maintenance-free Independent Living with the security of Life-Care.  The Stayton also has direct admission Assisted Living, Memory Support and Nursing Services on-site.  Justin is a graduate of Trinity University and earned his graduate degree at TCU’s Neely Executive MBA program.  Justin also volunteers to help TCU attract new talent to the Neeley Executive MBA program.  Angela is CEO of the Spooner household and an attorney and Trust Officer for Wells Fargo Bank. Angela graduated from the University of North Texas and went on to earn her law degree from Texas Wesleyan School of Law.  The Spooners live in Keller where they attend Milestone Church. They enjoy raising their children and training for half-marathons.

The Richter Family

Breinn & Jake Richter are pictured here with their two sons, Baron and Bronco. Breinn & Jake are both graduates of Texas A&M University, and Breinn also received her MBA from the Neeley School of Business at TCU. Jake is a financial advisor with Edward Jones Investments in downtown Fort Worth serving business owners, executives, and their families in the Fort Worth area. Jake serves on the boards of Junior Achievement of the Chisholm Trail, MHMR Visions, Samaritan House, and the Tarrant Ag Scholarship Corporation. He is also active with the Kiwanis Club of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, and enjoys serving on the Greeting Committee and more recently the Calf Scramble Committee for the Southwestern Exposition & Livestock Show. Breinn will start work towards her doctorate degree this fall at Texas A&M University. The Richter Family resides in the historic Fairmount neighborhood of Fort Worth.

The Milrany Family

  Pictured here is Mark and Cindy in their neighborhood park with their boys Morgan(15) & Matthew(13).

  Cindy is the CFO/CAO of Freese & Nichols Inc. and Mark has had a long career in insurance. They have lived in Fort Worth their whole lives and are very involved in the community. Both Mark and Cindy are on the March of Dimes board. Cindy is also on the Fort Worth Chamber board as well as being the past chair of the YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth board.  Mark also serves on the Colonial Tournament Committee.

  The boys are currently going to Paschal and McLean. Morgan is about to start driving so watch out everybody!  Matthew’s favorite past times are playing baseball and basketball.

The Sorokolit Family

Chris and Kelly Sorokolit are pictured with their four sons Rob, Daniel, John-Michael and William.

Chris is an orthodontic specialist who has been in practice for 23 years in Fort Worth. In addition to treating patients in the office, he serves on the Cleft Palate team at Cook Children’s Hospital. Chris is a past president of the Fort Worth District Dental Society and remains an active member of the organization. He has been voted by his peers as a Top Dentist in Fort Worth Magazine every year. He has won multiple clinic awards and has lectured on orthodontic treatment at local and national meetings.

Kelly manages Chris’ orthodontic practice and is preparing to oversee the construction of a new office for Chris.

All four of the boys graduated from Trinity Valley School and are currently attending university. Rob is in law school while his three younger brothers are micro-biology majors.

The Austin Family

Jim and Gloria Austin are pictured here with their children and grandchildren at the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum.   Founded in 2001 by Jim and Gloria,   the museum is located at 3400 Mount Vernon Avenue in the Meadowbrook area of Fort Worth. The couple combines their personal interest in preserving an important slice of American History and their passion and belief in community service, by providing a forum for educating a nation about the positive contributions and accomplishments of people of African American, Native American, Hispanic, Asian and European ancestry to the settling of the western United States.  Gloria serves as the museum's executive director.  Jim is a commercial real estate broker and president of their real estate company, Austin Company Commercial Real Estate also located in Fort Worth.  Jim has been involved in the commercial real estate industry for over thirty years, and served as a Texas Real Estate Commissioner for eight years.