311 Fan Spotlight – 2/6/17 – Stephanie Hoover!

Hello again excitable nation! Another week which means another fan spotlight. It’s time to meet the lovely Stephanie Hoover!

Stephanie’s husband, and fellow fan spotlight, is the reason that she is a huge 311 fan. Derek was infatuated with them and he was always talking about what a huge fan he was. Derek convinced Stephanie that they should go to 311 Day and she said boy she was in for a big surprise. That’s when she really became a huge fan. “Not because he forced it on me but because I love the positive energy that they send out.”

For show count, she stopped counting at some point but believes it’s somewhere around 30 or so. Her first show was 311 Day 2004, which also happens to still be her favorite. “They went for 6 hours, no opening band and the stage show was crazy. The ladies spinning fire and the stilt characters. Then the acrobats. Omg it was so much fun. I had never seen anything like that before. One band starts the show and that same band closes the show. That is so unheard of. I was so tired though dancing in the seats and singing the songs that I did know at that time. Oh and i cant forget watching Derek in the line before the show. We were waiting in line to get floor tickets. They found a cooler that was full of Mad Dog 20/20 and Jack Daniels. He ended up mixing it together and they drank it, him and like 10 other guys. Not sure if they were trying to out do each other or not, but we ended up going back to our hotel room drunk as a cooter brown that night.”

Song that means the most to her is “My Heart Sings.” She had the lyrics put on Derek’s groom cake for their wedding. “He was almost in tears.” One of her favorite quotes is simply “Come original” but she also says she is usually quoting the band every day.

Born in Houston, Texas, Stephanie says she’s pretty sure that it was the minute her mother left the hospital that they moved to Farmington, New Mexico. She has two sisters and a brother, all older than her, so she’s the baby of the family! She lived in New Mexico for 8 years and then they moved to Dallas, Texas where her dad attended Criswell Bible College. “Yes…that makes me a preachers kid.” She went to high school at W.W. Samuell and graduated in 1985. “Yeah I know I am an old effer…LOL. But I still love 311!”

After high school Stephanie went to the Metroplex School for Beauty and became a cosmetologist for about 10 years or so. She then moved to Mesquite, Texas, where she had her two beautiful daughters Rebecca, now 27, and Jordon, now 23. It was later that she met her “handsome and adorable husband” Derek. They moved to Arlington, Texas and have been together for 15 years. As far as how she funds her 311 habits, well simply put she works her ass off! “I work for a Medical Real Estate Company in Uptown Dallas. I advised them once I was hired on that I would never quit this job. They would literally have to fire me or lay me off to get rid of me.” 

Stephanie is pretty crafty, she’s remodeled bathrooms, painted rooms in their home, and framed many 311 posters. “I also Crochet a lot…. A LOT…. I think sometimes Derek gets mad at my addiction to crochet. There are so many things that I want to make it is unbelievable…There just is not enough time for me to make them all. The saying that I should be quoting right now is “This earth has not swallowed me yet!!!!!” WHat that means is that until I am Beyond the Gray Sky, I will be crocheting.” Stephanie has even made stuff for people in the 311 community now that people know she can sew. She also has an Etsy store that she just started and is in the process of starting products. “Whats that you say?… What is the name of the store on Etsy?….. SuperSassyStylez. Yes please go check it out. It is still under construction but you can see my handmade products on there.”

Other bands Stephanie loves are Styx, Scorpions, and pretty much most 80’s. “Yes I am old school. That’s when I was just getting into music a lot.” Guilty pleasure? Singing karaoke! “I was really shy at first and used to have this fear that no one would like my singing. I had to be drunk before I would sing, but now you don’t even have to give me a drink and I will sing. I guess what they say is true…practice makes perfect.” Stephanie also has a secret talent – baking cakes!  “I have not done any in a while but i have attached the cake that I made for Derek for his Grooms cake for our wedding as well as the brides cake. Yes I made both for my own wedding….. I saved about 1500 bucks making my own cakes.” And in case you haven’t figured out from the photos, Stephanie’s favorite color is purple. “I am a huge TCU fan!”

If Stephanie could talk to 311 right now, she said she’d probably ask them a question about their family or say “OMG it’s about time I finally got to actually meet y’all. I would probably be really stupid and they would look at me like I was an idiot. Lmao.”

Now her message to the 311 fan community:

“Well most important….Derek Hoover I love you with all my heart and thank God everyday for you. Next…no matter what is going on in your life there is always someone that is in worse shape than you are. Respect yourself and others around you and you will have earned the respect back. This world is krewl and there are krewl people in it. In the words of Bambi’s mom, “If you can’t say nothing nice …. SHHHHHH say nothing!  Don’t sweat the petty stuff and don’t pet the sweaty stuff. Keep looking up because that’s where it all is…  There is always a hug to be given or received.   So this is me in a nutshell. Stay positive and love your life. Dueces!”

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That’s the tale of Stephanie Hoover! Thank you to her for sharing and thank you to all for reading week after week. I love sharing your love for 311. You are all amazing people and make me proud to be a part of this community. Until we meet again, keep being awesome.

Much love – The Runt