THE HISTORY OF
Bob Heinonen's
HEROES OF HISTORY
In April of 2001, Bob Heinonen made his first marketing calls to announce the existence of Texas Heroes (which has since become Heroes Of History). Here are some highlights since then:
2001 · Bob Heinonen organized a group of professional historians/ actors…the first of its type in Texas and one of the few in the U.S.
· In the first year, Texas Heroes completed 276 performances at 80 retirement communities, 73 schools and 8 historical, civic and social organizations
· Elizabeth Seibert performed as Mary Austin Holley and Bob Heinonen performed as Stephen F. Austin at the Stephen F. Austin Symposium sponsored by the Star of the Republic Museum
2002 · Texas Heroes were the featured performers at the Texas Independence Day celebration at Washington-on-the-Brazos in 2002 and immediately booked for 2003
· Texas Heroes booked by a retirement community to perform every month for the next year
· www.TexasHeroes.net became a recognized web-site
· Elizabeth Seibert, Helen Garrison and Bob Heinonen attended the Texas State Historical Associations’s Annual Conference in Corpus Christi, Texas
· Bob Heinonen interviewed live on Texas Cable News (TXCN)
· Texas Heroes booked by a school to provide one character every month for nine months during the 2002-2003 school year
· The Dallas Morning News prints an article about a performance by Linda Sanders and Bob Heinonen at Brinker Elementary School in Plano, Texas
· In it’s first calendar year, Texas Heroes performed 359 times at schools, retirement communities, libraries and historical sites
2003 · Jack Edmondson performed for the first annual Texas Independence Day celebration at the National Center for American Western Art in Kerrville, Texas
· Texas Heroes were the featured performers to standing-room-only crowds at the Texas Independence Day celebration at Washington-on-the-Brazos in the Star of the Republic Museum.
· Bob Heinonen's picture, portraying William Barret Travis, appears on the front page of Brenham's The Banner-Press
· Texas Heroes begins to recognize Premier Retirement Communities on its website
· Bob Heinonen attends the Texas State Historical Association’s Summer Institute in Galveston, Texas
· Texas Heroes begins FAXing monthly newsletter called FYI for Activity Directors and Marketing Directors
· Bob Heinonen attends Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Artists Conference in Austin, Texas
· Texas Heroes begins e-mailing monthly newsletter called FYI for Teachers
· Bob Heinonen performed as Stephen F. Austin at the 64th Annual Junior Historian Annual Meeting and History Fair sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association
· In it’s second calendar year, Texas Heroes performed 352 times at schools, retirement communities, libraries and historical sites
2004 · Bob Heinonen begins issuing Road Reports via e-mail to those who request them
· Texas Heroes were the featured performers to standing-room-only crowds at the Texas Independence Day celebration at Washington-on-the-Brazos in the Star of the Republic Museum.
· Elizabeth Seibert and Bob Heinonen attended the Texas State Historical Association’s Annual Conference in El Paso, Texas
· Bob Heinonen attends the 3rd Annual San Jacinto Symposium.
· Bob Heinonen attends the Texas State Historical Association’s Summer Institute in Austin, Texas.
· Bob Heinonen attends the Texas State Historical Association’s History Awareness Workshop in Corpus Christi, Texas.
· Texas Tales, Trails and Eateries is added to the website as a service of Texas Heroes
· Texas Heroes were the featured performers to standing-room-only crowds at the Texas Independence Day celebration at Washington-on-the-Brazos in the Star of the Republic Museum.
· Elizabeth Seibert, Helen Garrison and Bob Heinonen attended the Texas State Historical Association’s Annual Conference in Austin.
· Bob Heinonen premiers A Cowboy's Christmas between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
· In it’s third calendar year, Texas Heroes performed 365 times at schools, retirement communities, libraries, historical sites, etc.
2005 · Bob Heinonen attended and was a panelist at the Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Artists Conference in Austin, Texas.
· Elizabeth Seibert, Helen Garrison and Bob Heinonen attend the Texas State Historical Association's West Texas Tour.
· Bob Heinonen performs as Stephen F. Austin at the Bryan-Perry Annual Family Reunion at Peach Point. The Bryan's and Perry's are the descendents of Stephen F. Austin's sister, Emily, and Peach Point is where Stephen was originally buried.
· Bob Heinonen does two presentations at the Texas Council for the Social Studies in Dallas, Texas. Texas Heroes has its first promotional booth at a conference and introduces its new school brochure.
· Texas Heroes enters the Distance Learning environment with first videoconferenced performance by Bob Heinonen from Blanco High School.
· Helen Garrison and Bob Heinonen attended the Texas State Historical Association’s Annual Conference in Austin.
· Bob Heinonen attended the Texas Distance Learning Association's Annual Conference in Fort Worth.
· Texas Heroes signs an agreement with the Dallas Historical Society to provide historic characters to its clients.
· Bob Heinonen adds John Neely Bryan, the founder of Dallas, as his eighth historic personae.
· Bob Heinonen adds Robert S. Neighbors, Indian Agent for the Republic of Texas and for the U. S. government, as his ninth historic personae.
· The Hill Country Sun included an article Texas time traveler Bob Heinonen in it's December, 2005, issue.
· For the second year, Bob Heinonen presented A Cowboy's Christmas between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
· In it’s fourth year, Texas Heroes performed 300 times at schools, retirement communities, libraries, historical sites and corporate events.
2006 · Texas Heroes provides historic characters to Dallas Historical Society clients for the second school year.
· Bob Heinonen presented The Days of Charles Goodnight at the Texas Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference in Galveston, Texas. Texas Heroes had its promotional booth at the conference and introduced its new postcards to be handed out to students. On the back of the postcards are instructions on how students can e-mail questions to the character and get a personal response.
· Helen Garrison and Bob Heinonen attended the Texas State Historical Association’s Annual Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.
· Elizabeth Seibert and Bob Heinonen perform for their forteenth year as featured performers at the Washington-on-the-Brazos Texas Independence Day Celebration
· Bob Heinonen performed at lunch as William Barret Travis at the first annual Texas History Conference organized by Bill Shuttlesworth at the Education Service Center in Region VI in Huntsville.
· For the third year, Bob Heinonen presented A Cowboy's Christmas between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
· In it’s fifth year, Texas Heroes performed 279 times at schools, retirement communities, libraries, historical sites and corporate events.
2007 · Texas Heroes provides historic characters to Dallas Historical Society clients for the third school year.
· Bob Heinonen performed as Stephen F. Austin at Washington-on-the-Brazos for participants in the Texas State Historical Association's Heritage Tour.
· Bob Heinonen performs as Stephen F. Austin for the first time at the annual Stephen F. Austin Birthday Party at the Stephen F. Austin statue in Angleton.
· Bob Heinonen performed as William Barret Travis for school students visiting the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at College Station.
· Elizabeth Seibert and Bob Heinonen perform for their fifteenth year as featured performers at the Washington-on-the-Brazos Texas Independence Day Celebration.
· Bob Heinonen presented the morning keynote session as Stephen F. Austin at the second annual Texas History Conference organized by Bill Shuttlesworth at the Education Service Center in Region VI in Huntsville.
· For the fourth year, Bob Heinonen presented A Cowboy's Christmas between Thanksgiving and Christmas from Amarillo to Beaumont.
· In it’s sixth year, Texas Heroes performed 277 times at schools, retirement communities, libraries, historical sites and corporate events.
2008 · Texas Heroes provides historic characters to Dallas Historical Society clients for the fourth school year.
· Bob Heinonen talks with guests at The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas.
· Bob Heinonen is video taped reading Travis's letter of February 24, 1836, at The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin to be used in their distance learning program.
· Bob Heinonen performs as Stephen F. Austin for the second year at the annual Stephen F. Austin Birthday Party at the Stephen F. Austin statue in Angleton.
· Elizabeth Seibert and Bob Heinonen perform for their sixteenth year as featured performers at the Washington-on-the-Brazos Texas Independence Day Celebration. Bob is "keynote" speaker at main program on Sunday. Jack Edmondson performs as Sam Houston on Sunday afternoon at Independence Hall.
· For the fifth year, Bob Heinonen presented A Cowboy's Christmas between Thanksgiving and Christmas from Amarillo to Beaumont.
· In it’s seventh year, Texas Heroes performed 283 times at schools, retirement communities, libraries, historical sites and corporate events.
2009 · Texas Heroes provides historic characters to Dallas Historical Society clients for the fifth school year.
· Bob Heinonen performs as Stephen F. Austin for the third time at the annual Stephen F. Austin Birthday Party at the Stephen F. Austin statue in Angleton, Texas.
· Elizabeth Seibert and Bob Heinonen perform for their seventeenth year as featured performers at the Washington-on-the-Brazos Texas Independence Day Celebration. Jack Edmondson becomes a part of this annual tradition.
· Bob Heinonen debuts Patrick Henry, his first truly American hero.
· Texas Heroes becomes Heroes Of History as it expands into American history.
· Bob Heinonen is made an Honorary Member of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sons Of The Republic Of Texas.
· Jack Edmondson debuts John Wayne, a modern American hero.
· For the sixth year, Bob Heinonen presented A Cowboy's Christmas between Thanksgiving and Christmas from Fort Worth to Beaumont.
· In it’s eighth year, Texas Heroes performed 236 times at schools, retirement communities, libraries, historical sites and corporate events.
2010 · Elizabeth Seibert and Bob Heinonen perform for their eighteenth year as featured performers at the Washington-on-the-Brazos Texas Independence Day Celebration while Jack Edmondson joins them for his third year.
· Bob Heinonen performed three times at the largest historical museum in Texas: the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon. Bob performed live for local students, via video-conferencing for ten schools, and then for adults during an evening program.
· Jack Edmondson inducted as a Honorary Member of the Sons Of The Republic Of Texas at the SRT Annual Convention in Tyler.
· Bob Heinonen attends the Sons Of The Republic Of Texas Annual Convention in Tyler.
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