A feature highlight citizens of the Houston area.
•Residence: Yukon.
•Birthday: May 8.
•Occupation: Owner, Twirlee Q Barbecue, Houston.
•Family members: Wife Debbie, father Eugene Bieller, of Bloomsdale; mother Marla Stephenson, of Lebanon; sisters Erica Kessler of Houston, Candice Leutzinger of Bloomsdale, and Sarah Knuckles of Texas; daughters, Page (19), Caitlyn (17), Breana (13) and Hope (4); son Garrett (9).
•Favorite food: Seafood. “Especially scampi-style grilled shrimp with butter and garlic, and steamed crab.”
•Favorite ice cream flavor: Butter pecan.
•Favorite cereal: Frosted flakes.
•Favorite soda: Pepsi
•Favorite form of meat: Ribeye steak (medium).
•Least favorite food: Peas. “I don’t care for the texture and I’ve been forced to eat them when I didn’t like them.”
•Best place I ever at at: “The Rosebud” in Chicago. “It may not have had the best food I ever ate, but it really left an impression on me with true, authentic pasta.”
•Two of my favorite activities: “Work and work. But really, I enjoy fishing and hunting a lot, and getting outdoors with the family. Then I would have to say traveling – I don’t get to do a lot of it, but I love it.”
•Number of states I’ve set foot in: 20.
•Place I’d most like to visit: Alaska. “I don’t want to go there in the winter, but I want to go in the summer to enjoy the natural aspect of it because that’s the type of guy I am. The nature part of me wants to go to Alaska and see all that it offers.”
•Favorite kind of music: “I like a wide range of music, but I probably lean more toward country, and I also like popular rock – but not heavy metal.”
•Favorite musical artist: Bob Seger.
•Favorite TV show: “If you ask my family it would probably be the news. But I’m also into reality shows, but not one in particular. ”
•Favorite zoo animal: Alligator.
•Least favorite animal: Snake. “Even though I don’t mind them, I just hate them.”
•Favorite plant: Succulents.
•Favorite sports team: St. Louis Cardinals.
•All-time favorite athlete: Ozzie Smith, shortstop, St. Louis Cardinals. “That’s mainly because of being a kid and seeing him in person and on TV coming out onto the field and doing back flips. There was nothing wrong with him as a player, too, but that has stuck with me all my life.”
•Vehicle I’d love to own: 1970 Chevrolet short-bed four-wheel drive pickup. “I really have a passion for them. I’ve owned them before, which has been a disaster between blowing them up and getting them stolen. I don’t have to have an extravagant Lamborghini or anything like that, and to me that’s a pretty cool truck right there.”
•Favorite board game: Monopoly. “I liked being the car.”
•Favorite school subject: Math. “It came pretty easy to me.”
•Least favorite school subject: English. “All I know how to do is speak hillbilly and it was never easy to me.”
•A big pet peeve: “I don’t like it when people have an ‘I can’t’ attitude and it really bothers me when they come to me and tell me they can’t do something because most of the time they can. I like optimism and motivation and I don’t like pessimism. I’m an inspirational type of guy, and I like to think if there’s a will there’s a way.”
•Someone (other than my parents) who influenced my life: “It’s more than one person –it’s all the motivational speakers who came to school, meetings or whatever who put a can-do attitude in me and inspired me to try to be successful.”
•A surprising fact about me: “I like to keep a garden and do creative landscaping.”
What Houston needs most:
“In my opinion, it’s more opportunities for people to work. Whether it’s industrial or whatever, it’s about bringing jobs to town and then helping to keep more people who were born and raised here to be able to stay here. I believe Houston is a good town and has tons of potential to grow and bring in more work.”
The big-picture outlook for 2016:
“I truly think the economy is going to continue to get better, and keep catching up to where it was in the past when it was thriving. Especially if we can keep low fuel prices – and I don’t think the credit for the current fuel prices should go to any single group in Congress, but it’s more because it’s been handed to us for reasons that are taking place overseas in OPEC or whatever. But I think the economy is going to drive toward those good years we had in the past, and I think 2016 has good days to come, both nationally and locally.”