Pub. 54 2013-2014 Issue 4

34 W hen Katherine “Kate” Braziel isn’t attending school at St. Theresa’s Catholic School in Austin, you can bet that she is practicing or competing in one of the three sports she enjoys playing during the year. Like the seven family generations before her, Kate is making her mark in Austin schools. During the fall and winter, Kate plays volleyball and basketball for the St. Theresa Tigers. In both the past two years, she has been selected to play on the top 5th-6th grade girls’ teams in both sports. And this past basketball season, she helped lead her team as the starting point guard to a win- ning record, including winning the Con- solation bracket at the annual Austin Inter Parochial League (AIPL) end of season basketball tournament. Her proud Dad, TADA executive, Rob Braziel, looked on from his spot on the bench as one of the co-coaches of the team. In the stands were her biggest fans, grandparents John and Kay Braziel, who never miss a game in any sport when Kate is on the field or court. The spring and summer are reserved for kickball. Kate participates in the North- west Austin (NWA) Kickball league. Last year, Kate was named to the NWAAll-Star Team for the Junior Division after complet- ing the regular season. Playing third base for the NWAAll-Stars, Kate and her team competed with other teams all across the state for the right to be crowned the State Champion. The event was held on NWA’s home fields the first weekend in July after the team spent the month of June working out and practicing twice a day. During the four day double elimination tournament, Kate’s NWA team finished third in the state, falling just short of the state crown. Kate graduated to the Senior Division at NWA this year where she helped lead her team to a record of 18-1, winning both the regular season championship and end of season tournament.  Kate Braziel’s father, Rob, works with policy makers to represent the interests of TADAmembers andTexas consumers. Highly regarded throughout the country for his leadership on behalf of the industry, Rob this year celebrates his eighth anniversary as TADA’s CEO of Legislative Affairs. Kate Braziel All Star Athlete, Eighth Generation Austinite