From staff reports
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, March 17, 2004
The good times will roll, and the royalty will reign as the first King and Queen Complex are crowned at the Mardi Gras Magic Ball on Friday.
The Colley Senior Complex Gala, which begins at 7 p.m. Friday at the Troy State University Stadium Club, will introduce the dukes and duchesses of six krewes, all of whom will be competing for the title of King and Queen Colley Complex.
The coronation will highlight the gala, which combines a silent auction and Mardi Gras fun in a fund-raiser of the senior complex in Troy.
Each of the six krewes participating raised more than $1,000 for the complex, earning the right to for their dukes and duchesses to join the royal pageant. The first King and Queen Colley Complex will be chosen from among this court and will be crowned during the gala.
The krewes, and their royalty, include the Bohemians, represented by Duke Dr. Richard Schloemer and Duchess Nadine Schloemer; "Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler,"&uot; represented by
Duke Dr. Alan Young and Duchess Tammy Young; the Order of Joyeux, represented by Duke Dr. Jim Colley and Duchess Lummie Colley; the Mystic Order of the Bunco, represented by Duke Dr. Mickey DiChiara and Duchess Cheryl DiChiara; the Movie Gallery "Play On" Krewe, represented by Duke Roy Drinkard and Duchess Ethel Malugen; and the Mystic Order of Les Imprimieres, represented by Duke Earl Ellis and Duchess Kristy Ellis Drinkwater.
Dr. Richard Schloemer, Duke of the Bohemians, has been a general surgeon for 30 years. He earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan and completed surgical training at the Boston Naval hospital, where he served attaining the rank of Lcdr USN. He also completed a vascular residency in Seattle before practicing in Kalamazoo, Mich., for 17 years. He moved to the warmth of Alabama in 1990.
He and his wife, Nadine, married 10 years ago and together they have three children and three grandchildren. Joey, Nadine's son, lives near Columbus, Ohio, with his wife Candy and daughter Tori. He will complete his training as a physician assistant in May. Karen, Dr. Schloemer's daughter, lives near San Francisco with her husband, Michael, and daughters Natalie and Rachael. Paul, his son, lives in Seattle working with the Audubon Society.
Nadine Schloemer, Duchess of the Bohemians, has lived in the Troy area all her life. She is a certified public accountant having trained at Troy State University and at Auburn University.
In 1999, Dr. and Mrs. Schloemer began the process of retraining and developing what has become Light Years Away Cosmetic Surgery and Day Spa. Over the past five years and after training at centers across the United States they, as a team, have brought to this area expertise in cosmetic enhancement modalities and procedures, specializing in breast, liposuction and facial procedures.
The Schloemers enjoy pottery, photography and refurbishing items found at antiques and house sales. They also enjoy entertaining at their &uot;barn.&uot;
Dr. Alan Young, Duke of "Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler," moved to Troy in June 1999 to begin an internal medicine practice with Dr. Peter M.
DiChiara. Dr. Young is active in community activities and enjoys the outdoors, including hunting, fishing and being with friends.
He and his wife,Tammy, welcomed their first child, Ally Mackenzie, on Feb. 12, 2002. Ally Mackenzie attends First United Methodist Church daycare and enjoys playing with her toys and reading books.
Tammy B. Young, Duchess of "Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler," is married to Dr. Alan Young. She is a registered nurse and works with Dr. Richard Schloemer at Light Years Away Cosmetic Surgery and Day Spa. Tammy is active in community activities and started the first exercise program at the Colley Senior complex and has been active in other areas. And, of course, she is the proud mother of Ally Mackenzie.
Dr. Jim Colley, Duke of the Order of Joyeaux, is a graduate of
Troy High School, the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical School. He completed his residency at the University of Toronto and served two years as an Army surgeon at Lyster Hospital at Fort Rucker. His medical career included work as a general surgeon in Asheville, N.C., and emergency room work in Tuscaloosa.
He returned to Troy in 1979, practicing medicine for 10 years, and he has since retired. He is married to the former Patsy Haughton and they are the parents of two daughters.
Dr. Colley is an avid hunter and fisherman who loves outdoors activities. He is active in his church, First Methodist, and is an active reader.
Annette Folmar "Lummie" Colley, is a native of Troy and can proudly boast that she has lived in only two houses during that magnificent lifetime.
She graduated from Troy High School and attended Troy State University. She was married for 18 years to the late Dr. James O. &uot;Tip&uot; Colley Jr. She is the mother of five children and is active in the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Troy Charity League and her church, First Baptist.
She loves roses and all animals (especially horses) and enjoys people, especially her children and grandchildren.
Roy Henry Drinkard, Duke of the Movie Gallery "Play On" Krewe, is affectionately known throughout Troy as "Uncle Roy." A resident of Cullman, he is an active supporter of Troy State University and its Foundation.
He is a native of Falkville and a graduate of Gupton-Jones College of Mortuary Science in Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Drinkard served in the U.S. Marine Corps and built a successful career with Drinkard Funeral Homes Co., where he owned and managed 16 funeral homes in north Alabama before selling the company to Liberty National Life Insurance.
He later became a partner in Drinkard Pontiac-GMC and owner of Drinkard Chevrolet Company, where his worked earned him recognition as "Mr. Alabama Automobile Dealer" in 1967 and Small Business Man of the Year for Alabama.
He has served as director and officer in WilDrinkMor Inc and president of Drinkard Development Inc. He is a past chairman of the Industrial Development Board of Cullman and chairman of the Cullman Planning Commission. He has served as a director on the George C. Wallace Community College Foundation and is a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church.
Ethel Malugen, Duchess of the Movie Gallery "Play On" Krewe, is a native of Bonne Terre, Mo., where she lived until moving to Dothan to be closer to her son, Joe Malugen. She is the mother of a daughter, Clardy, and a son, Joe, and the proud grandmother of four grandchildren.
Mrs. Malugen loves gardening, the ocean, being with people and attending parties. She walks daily, enjoys antiquing and traveling and is a Troy State University fan.
She volunteers on the Colley Complex Gala committee.
Dr. Mickey DiChiara, Duke of the Mystic Order of the Bunco, is a native of Bessemer and a graduate of University of Alabama School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of South Alabama in Mobile and opened his practice, Pike Internal Medicine, in Troy in 1985. He is a fellow in the American College of Physicians.
An FFA certified (flight) physician, he is also a certified medical review officer. He is the Troy State University physician, a medical director at Troy Health and Rehab and is on staff at Troy Regional Medical Center.
He is active in St. Martin Catholic Church and is avid golfer and hunter. He enjoys going to the beach with his family and snow skiing with family and friends.
He is married to Cheryl Dichiara and they are the parents of Neal DiChiara, Marilee DiChiara Hussey and son-in-law Bobby, and son Michael DiChiara.
Cheryl Dichiara, Duchess of the Mystic Order of the Bunco, is a native of Troy and received her B.S. degree in nursing from Troy State University.
She is a registered nurse and has worked in critical care nursing, neonatal intensive care nursing and office nursing. She now serves as office manager for Pike Internal Medicine.
She currently serves as chairman of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce and serves on the board of directors for the American Heart Association and as co-chairman of the Colley Senior Complex Gala. She is active in the 49'ers Study Club, St. Martin Catholic Church and the "mystic" bunco group, which includes Juliette Adams, Pam Hughes, Priscilla Garrott, Karen Herring, Anne Gates, Jo Rape, Peggy Taylor, Vicki Browder, Kathy Campbell, Freida Davis, Jennifer Ventress and Mindy Avant.
Earl Ellis, Duke of The Mystic Order of Les Imprimieres, is affectionately known to his krewe as "The Duke of Earl."
A Pike County native, Mr. Ellis is the son of the late Emory Ellis and Donnie Curtis Ellis. He attended Troy State University and had a successful retail career before starting his real estate career 26 years ago. He began his own business, Landmark Realty, in 1985 and is now broker and an owner of that company.
An active member of the Rotary Club, Mr. Ellis is active in the Downtown Development Committee of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce (serving last year as a chairman); a past-president and active member of the Pike County Board of Realtors, which he helped form; a member of the Alabama Realtors Association and the National Realtors Association; and is a past-chairman and an active member of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce.
He is an advocate of downtown development and enjoys helping discarded and unwanted properties find new life through renovations and revitalizations.
He is on the advisory board of Goodwill and serves as an Elder in his church, First Presbyterian.
In his spare time, Mr. Ellis enjoys being with his family, going to the beach and to the mountains, and traveling.
He is married to the former Martha Davis of Luverne and they are the parents of three children, Emory Ellis, Dana Ellis McQuitty and Kristy Ellis Drinkwater, and nine grandchildren.
Kristy Ellis Drinkwater, the Duchess of the
Mystic Order of Les Imprimieres, will reign over the krewe with her father.
The daughter of Earl and Martha Ellis, Mrs. Drinkwater recently returned to her hometown of Troy from Nashville, Tenn., with her husband, Adam Drinkwater, who is sales associate at Landmark Realty.
She attended Auburn University and studied abroad in London, earning a degree in graphic design with a minor in art history. She serves as creative director for The Messenger and Troy Publications Inc.
She serves on the Troy Arts Council; the Troy Fest organizational committee; and the Colley Senior Complex Gala committee. She is an active member of First Presbyterian Church.
In her spare time, she enjoys going to the beach; freelance design work; cooking; entertaining; decorating; and being with family, which inspired her and Adam to move back "home" to Troy.