My mom, Catherine Mahoney-Myron, was born and raised in California and moved to Utah for college, where she met my dad.  She is an amazingly accomplished woman with a wide range of interests. (I'm just a chip off the old block, eh?) She holds at least one (maybe two?) bachelors degrees, a teaching certificate, and, most recently, a Masters of Architecture. Besides her professional resume, though, she is also a wonderful human being, and because of that, she has always been somewhere between my best friend and my most important role model. Her strength of conviction and character never cease to amaze me, and I am so proud to call her my mother.

My dad, Douglas Myron, grew up in various locations around the Midwest, but graduated from Wayzata High School in Minnesota, where his family still resides. He originally moved out to Utah to be a ski bum, but, with a little prodding from my mom and his own intense drive to be better than the best, he eventually graduated from college at the top of his class with a degree in Electrical Engineering. As an inventor of sorts, the president of multiple companies, and a wine enthusiast, collector, and aficionado, my dad can be a pretty intimidating guy, but anyone who has met him can attest to the fact that he's really just an over-grown kid on the inside. When I was growing up, he teased me about boys and pimples, just like any good little brother would, but he also managed to teach me some of the greatest lessons in life as my dad. (ie. 90% of life is mental-- when will that mantra get OUT of my head?!?!)

My mom, Barbara Karels, grew up in West Central Minnesota (close to the South Dakota border) and has been a woman of many trades (hair dresser, building supervisor, child care taker, etc.) before obtaining an education in nursing.  She currently resides in Paynseville, MN with my youngest brother Jordan Karels.  My mom is best known for her laugh, energetic personality, and her very compassionate and warm heart - which is why she is such a fantastic nurse.