Ricky DeRennaux

About me:

• Teacher / Inventor
• Inventor of HT RACERS – a Remote Control kit to build paper RC cars, planes, boats etc.
• Director of Tech-Now program at 31 Oklahoma Middle & High Schools
• President and CEO of Tech-Now,Inc. Oklahoma

I was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and moved around a lot growing up because my father was in the military. Growing up around airplanes is what sparked my love for planes and I started building things at a very young age. I would sell worms and blackberries to earn the money for materials and then build all sorts of boats and gliders...

I started my first band at 12 years old when my love of music really took off. Later, I was part of a band called, "Cross Connection" that performed all over and even recorded an album! The band is no longer, but I still love music and play the electric guitar and drums in my spare time.

After meeting Sherri, my wife, I decided to become a teacher and started using my computer generated paper airplane and truck models to motivate students. I found that they were more engaged in learning when they could really see a positive result to their efforts. So, I just kept designing planes, trucks and cars to use as learning tools in school.

My career in education has taken me all over--I've gotten to write curriculum, I've become president of Tech-Now and I really feel like the work I've done is preparing my students to meet the challenges of life and inspiring them to pursue post-secondary education. It works both ways--their enthusiasm has inspired me to keep creating activities that captivate their interest. It's so rewarding to see that my work can make a difference in the lives of students.

I am very close with my wonderful family--Sherri, my wife and my two sons, Barry and Christian.

..

.. -