Dana (Bondon) Anderson

I have been reading bios and I figured it was about time I wrote mine.  Many thanks to all of you who have worked so hard on the reunion committee.  The web site really has been a lot of fun.

Time flies when you are having fun and I must say I feel blessed for living a charmed life. 

I left Los Alamos and never looked back to return.  I did follow Liz Behrens to ASU.  I fell in love with the 120degree heat and all the excitement of being in a big city.  Unfortunately, I lost touch with Liz as time went on as she transferred out. I very much enjoyed my college years and I graduated in December 1992 with Bachelors in Business Management.  Target Stores hired me right out of college and I was excited to start making some good cash as an Executive Team Leader.  I was able to buy my first car, buy my first home in Tempe, and had a lot of play money for the first time in my life!  However, after 6 ½ years the retail scene wore on my nerves and I decided it was time to get out.  I was having a great time and dating a successful guy from Silicon Valley and my goal was to sell my house and move out and join him.  But not all things go as planned (everything happens for a reason)!

I ended up staying in Tempe and started working in the Staffing Industry.  Human Resources was always a love of mine.  I side-stepped companies and went to work for a friend of mine who opened her own Staffing business and low and behold we were at a Diamondbacks game and that’s where I met my current husband!

Doug & I started dating even though he was out of my 20minute/20 mile dating radius (he lived on the far north side of the city).  He seemed like quite a catch and was quite “normal” in comparison to the guys he was hanging out with at the baseball game (I’ll let him tell you that story!). We dated a year and then were engaged for a year and finally tied the knot in April 2002.  I sold my house in Tempe and moved into his home in Cave Creek.  I left the staffing job (too long of a commute) and started working at a local Private Country Club.  What started as part-time work actually bloomed into a full-time position as the Activities Director.  It was a great job with a lot of perks, close to home, and what a great Membership!  After 4 ½ years, a co-worker approached me with a job offer I couldn’t refuse.  One of her friends was searching for an Executive Assistant and so I interviewed and got the job.  I have been with Modular Technology now for 2 ½ years. I have a wonderful job, great boss, and a flexible schedule.

Doug has a graphics arts/color seperation business in the Scottsdale Airpark.  We have no kids - just 3 dogs.  We spend a lot of time playing.  We like to travel a lot, hit sporting events (Diamondbacks, Cardinals (yah–we know they suck)), hike with the dogs, work out at the gym and hang with our friends/neighbors.  We have a beautiful home in Cave Creek (reminds me a lot of Pajarito Acres) so if you are ever out our way we have plenty of room!

It was sad to see the remnants of the fire when we were back in 2002 when my dad retired from the Lab.  That incident will forever have an impact on those beautiful mountains.  We helped my folks move to AZ as they have settled up in Prescott, AZ.  Never thought I would cry but I did when I watched that moving van drive down that driveway  - it truly was a great area to grow up in and I like to think all of us can appreciate how special that town is.  I will forever miss walking out our back door to hike the canyons behind Pajarito Acres, Red Dot trail, Bandelier – all of it.   I must confess though, I have a daily reminder hanging in our pool table room (see pic – my brother stole it YEARS ago from the Pajarito Road stoplight!)

I am looking forward to our road trip out there in July - it will be exciting to catch up with everyone!

A gracious hug and BIG Thank You to Mindy, Tana, and Wendy for getting this website up and running and all the time and effort they have put into making it so fantastic. 

Take Care Everyone!