It was the summer of 1989. The original Tim Burton Batman movie was released. Pete Rose was banned from Major League Baseball. The Rolling Stones kicked off their “Steel Wheels” concert. Teenagers were listening to everything from New Kids on the Block to the Beastie Boys to Motley Crue. Some were playing with their brand new, original Nintendo Game Boy. It was a summer full of Sun-In and acid washed….everything.
Here in Quitman, Texas, things were a bit simpler. QHS alumni, Kevin Cameron, spent his time watching friends going down the road on a tractor—one driving and one riding in the front bucket. Cameron was spending his time working out and getting prepared for football under the supervision of Coach Charles Swann. It was the start of the 1989-1990 school year-- his senior year.
Cameron enjoyed all of his years at QHS, and was active in football and student council. He had already taken class with his favorite teacher, Owen Lawrence, a couple years before. On Mr. Lawrence, Cameron said, “he wasn’t necessarily fun like some other teachers, but he made it easy to learn. You could just tell that he had a passion for teaching us kids.”
Cameron’s favorite teacher may have been Mr. Lawrence, but he also spoke at length about Coach Charles Swann. Cameron said that playing football for Swann probably had the biggest impact on his life. Football is where he learned about discipline and hard work. “Work ethic and sacrifice for the team” is what Cameron remembers most. He remembers long days working out in the heat of the summer so that he would be in shape to play in the fall. Cameron spoke about the reward he felt from knowing that he and his teammates had worked hard all year long. The team may have only “won about half our games” but the work ethic that was instilled in him back then has stuck. Cameron believes that the work ethic he learned in school has helped him be a successful businessman today.
Cameron owns his own business—Kevin Cameron CPA, and his office sits directly across from the high school. He acts in an advisory capacity for people who have basic income tax questions and those with more in-depth business tax planning concerns and needs. He can also assist with financial statement preparation and bookkeeping. Cameron says “I enjoy working with local businesses to help them understand their finances through financial statement preparation and bench marking, as well as assisting with tax planning and payroll.” This is one of the ways he feels like he can give back to the community.
Cameron also represents the Quitman community by serving on the Wood County Old Settlers Reunion Board of Directors. Not only does this board plan the annual event; they also raise money for scholarships for QHS seniors. Cameron believes in continuing to give back to this community because he feels he received so much while he was in school. Kevin met his wife Sarah in elementary school, but they never dated until after high school. Kevin and Sarah’s kids, Connor and Caroline, also graduated from QHS, and Sarah taught at QHS for several years. Cameron said he saw the same work ethic that he embraced while at QHS instilled in his kids years later when they participated in band and One Act Play for the Bulldogs.
While he’s long-past the Sun-In, acid-washed era of days gone by, Cameron still counts himself a Bulldog and is proud of all that he learned and was able to carry forward into his career and life today. When asked what it meant to him to be a Bulldog, Cameron quickly answered that for his class, being a Bulldog was “about unity--connecting and forming a family.” He explained that his class “never really broke off into cliques; everyone was friends with everyone.” He spoke fondly of the sense of camaraderie and the pride their group had in the school. He said that when he thought about being a Bulldog, he remembered how he and his classmates wanted “to represent the school well and be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to do that.” Kevin continues to exemplify that Bulldog spirit in everything he does within the community. Thanks for all your hard work and for giving back to Quitman!