National Media Exposure

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 22, 2008

Judge Jeanie Houston's re-election campaign will receive national media exposure in the September issue of Stock Car Racing magazine, it was announced today.

Rick Houston, Judge Houston's husband, is a veteran motorsports journalist and is currently working on a series of stories in which he reviews a number of different driving schools. The September issue of SCR, one of the oldest monthly racing magazines in existence, features a story on Rick's experience at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Accompanying the three-page spread are a number of photos taken by Tri-Cities area photographer Angee Lee, and in one, Rick is shown wearing a helmet adorned with the logo of his wife's campaign. The helmet featuring Judge Houston's campaign was also worn on-track at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte in early April.

"I really appreciate the lengths to which Rick will go to support me," Judge Houston said. "There couldn't be any other reason for him going through all these schools, could there?"

Way To Go, Richard!!!

Richard, Rick's son, graduated from McGavock High School in Nashville Sunday, and with a 3.95 GPA, was salutatorian of a class that included 630 students.

After each graduate received his or her diploma, Richard gave the farewell address in front of at least 2,500 people. Richard will attend Vanderbilt University in the fall. He plans to become a high-school English teacher.

Richard has come a long way since the first time I met him. Rick and I took him to the Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville for his fifth birthday, and when they made him stand on a chair to sing to him, he started crying.

His career plans have also undergone a distinct transformation. There was a time when Richard told us that he was going to play baseball for the Atlanta Braves, and then during the offseason, fly the Space Shuttle. Knowing Richard, he very well could have if he had chosen that path.

Richard, we're proud of you. Be good ... and act like somebody.

Yadkin County Relay For Life

In what has become an annual tradition, the cancer survivors of Maplewood Baptist Church in Yadkinville gather for a photo during Yadkin County's Relay for Life celebration. Pictured from left to right are Phillip Graham, Frances Johnson, Robert Shore, Jeanie Houston, Tom Perkins, Wayne Ray, Una Adams and Nancy Scott.




Cancer is the great equalizer. It's a disease that can strike anyone anywhere, and at any time, no matter what you do for a living, who you know or how well you've tried to live your life.

It's humbling to know just how hard it can hit.

I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in June 2006. While the kind I have is one of the most treatable types of the disease on record, "cancer" is still an incredibly scary word. It's the kind of thing that only happens to other people, not me.

But it did.

Believe it or not, however, there is an up side to having cancer. Probably more than anything else that could ever happen to you, cancer lets you know who's truly on your side. My husband, Rick, has been there with me every step of the way, and so have my kids, Adam and Jesse, as well as the rest of my family -- Mom and Dad, my sister, Angie (who was also diagnosed with thyroid cancer) and her children, Denver and Lauren.

In the two years since I was first diagnosed, I have also had countless people tell me that I have been in their prayers. Trust me. That alone has meant the world to me.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all.

It Could Be ... It May Be ... It Is ... A Home Run!!! Holy Cow!!!

There was Babe Ruth. And Mickey Mantle. And Hank Aaron.

All were home run hitters.

Now, add Adam Houston to the list. Adam hit the first home run of his baseball career Friday night, in his first trip to the plate. He would later add a double in West Yadkin's win.

After Adam's momentous blast, it was hard to tell who was the most excited -- Daddy Rick, Momma Jeanie or Nanny Jean.

Brother Jesse was also pumped. He received $5 from Nanny after the game as well, despite the fact that he was on the playground at the time of Adam's hit, flirting with a couple of fifth-grade girls.