About the owners

Karen was born in Ontario, Canada, and spent her early years there before her family gradually made their way south to settle in Florida. While attending college in Haines City, Florida, she met her husband, Roger. Life as a Navy family took them to Washington and California, and later, Roger’s career as a PGA Golf Pro brought them back to Florida—where they raised their children and Karen built a remarkable teaching career.

Over the course of nearly 40 years in education, Karen has taught every grade level and brought dedication, compassion, and energy to each classroom. Now, she’s bringing that same passion to Altus High School, where she will be teaching Algebra 2.

Karen is also the proud mom of two educators—her son Roger Ray, who teaches in Florida, and her daughter Kara, co-founder of Swim Altus. She loves spending time with her grandkids and visiting her sisters and parents back in Florida whenever she can.

Kara was born and raised in sunny Florida, with a few stops in Washington and California. She met her husband in Jacksonville, and their journey eventually brought them to Dallas, Texas, where Kara worked in the corporate world.

They married in 2014 and started their family in 2016. After years of traveling between Dallas and Altus to visit family, they officially made the move in 2023 when an opportunity opened up close to Kara’s father, a golf pro in Valdosta, GA.

Now settled in Altus, Kara is an educator taking a year off to spend time with their newest addition—a surprise baby born in 2025. She’s a wife, mom, two-time surrogate, and a lover of hot air balloons, books, and all things personal growth. 

Her passion for teaching and her belief in swimming as a life skill are what inspired her to co-found Swim Altus.