Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2009

By Judy Truesdell
Staff Writer
source: The Wylie News

Henry and Roz Garland, 20-year residents of Wylie, decided to sell their house and move to Angel Fire, N.M., fulltime. They didn’t, however, just put their residence on the market and hope the housing market perked up; they struck a deal with a school in town that was bursting at the seams and in need of a new home.

 
Wylie Preparatory Academy, currently located on the First Baptist Church Wylie campus, was looking for a new facility. The church was growing and needed to reclaim some of its classrooms, and WPA was also growing by leaps and bounds. Trent Chambers, a member of the WPA board, said it’s a great arrangement.

“God has blessed us with tremendous growth in the last few years, and we were maxed out at our current facility,” he said. “We had this opportunity, and we seized the moment.”

The property, totaling 16 acres at 4131 Skyview Ct. in Wylie, was not unfamiliar to the WPA and First Baptist personnel. “We’ve had 400 to 500 people out here under the trees enjoying church fellowship,” Roz said. “We hadn’t been seriously trying to sell the house, but we knew we wanted to relocate to Angel Fire.”

She said she doesn’t quite remember how negotiations actually began, but she thinks it started with her husband who e-mailed Scott Reuthinger, chairman of WPA’s board, asking if he would consider purchasing the home. The Garlands offered the school an owner-finance arrangement, sparing them from the struggle of coming up with a large down payment and other costs associated with building an all-new structure.

“They’ve been great to work with!” she said. “We’re so excited to offer the kids this place in the country. There’s a garden, a barn, tennis court, sand volley ball court, and a gazebo.”

Chambers said the house will provide the school the opportunity to continue its expansion and growth. Their total enrollment was approaching 200 students; they already have 10 more than last year “because we now have space,” Chambers said.

He also said they plan to expand their sports programs, and a football stadium and gymnasium are on the drawing board. “That will be years down the road, as funds become available,” he said.

They’re already getting comfortable in the space, however; Roz said the football team has been out practicing in the yard.

Chambers said the expansion of the nine-year-old school provides an opportunity to continue to touch students from all over the area, not just Wylie. “At this time, 35 to 40 percent of our students are from Wylie, but we also have kids from Blue Ridge, Rockwall, Rowlett, Sachse, Mesquite, Plano, Allen … even Van Alstyne.”

Though Roz said she’s looking forward to their new life in Angel Fire, there are many memories tied up in the Skyview property. “It was almost exactly 20 years ago when we bought the house in Wylie,” she said. “We’d seen the house and land two years before, but we couldn’t agree on a price with the seller. He rented the place out for a while, and that didn’t work out, so he called us back and asked if we were still interested. Of course we were!”

Their children, Jenna and Brad, were starting kindergarten and fifth grade respectively at Akin Elementary when they moved to Wylie 20 years ago. Henry served on the Wylie ISD Board of Trustees for eight years, and Roz taught voice and piano lessons at Wylie High School and privately.

Jenna, a Pacesetter officer when she was at WHS, now teaches at Crowley High School. Brad is CEO of the family technology auditing business.
“We weren’t beach people,” Roz said. “We love mountains, cool trees, nice weather when we get to escape.”

They settled on Angel Fire, within 45 minutes of three ski resorts. Their new home was built at an altitude of 9400 feet. “We can see the mountains and the valley and the ski runs from the deck,” she said. “It’s quite a panoramic view.”

For a while they considered hanging onto the house in Wylie, but upkeep of the 16 acres and 100-year-old pecan trees was becoming a burden as they spent more and more of their time in New Mexico. “Our friends Wanda and Melvin Graem adopted us,” Roz said, “and helped us with the property.”

Now, though, the upkeep of the Skyview property falls to Wylie Preparatory Academy; they embrace the challenge. Plans are to move grades seven through 12 some time during the upcoming fall semester, with grades one through six joining their older classmates within the next 12 to 18 months.

“The Garlands were a real blessing to Wylie Preparatory Academy,” Chambers said. “Without their significant backing and benevolence, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

“Thank you, Henry and Roz!”

It’s too late for this fall, but parents wishing to enroll their children for the spring semester should visit the Web site wylieprep.com or
 call 972-442-1388.