Remarkable Family - Remarkable Kids!

Rob and Jeanne Hermsmeier are very proud and very remarkable parents! They want their kids to aim high in life - no pun intended. Their two oldest kids, Dan and Katie, have just accomplished some remarkable things.

Katie, currently a student at St. Norbert and who will be attending Cor Jesu in the fall, did a science fair project about tooth decay. She wanted to find out if sugar or acid caused most of the decay. She got real teeth from her oral surgeon and placed these in sugar, sweetener, vinegar, diet soda, and distilled water. Her results showed that it is not sugar that causes the decay, but rather acid. This is true because the bacteria eat sugar and discard acid as a waste product. She got a blue ribbon in her school science fair. She then got the privilege to go to the Greater St. Louis Science Fair at Queeny Park. There she received a blue ribbon, a Discovery Award, Monsanto Science Award, and the American Association of University Women Award. She project turned out to be a great success, and she can't wait to do another project later on this year!

Katie's older brother Dan (who finished his orthodontic treatment a couple of years ago at Taeger Orthodontics) is currently a Senior at St. Louis University High.

Dan, who is the co-captain of the SLUH rifle team, earned a silver medal in the .22 small-bore rifle category at the Junior Olympics on April 19 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. With this achievement, which he earned in a remarkable, come-from-behind effort, he became the only Missouri shooter to win a medal in this match in its 20-year history, and he has been appointed to the National Junior Olympic Team.

The match was shot over two days with a .22 rimfire target rifle at 50 meters at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. It consisted of two full-course Olympic three position matches (each 120 shots: 40 prone, 40 standing, 40 kneeling) and a 10 shot Final for the top eight shooters that is shot in the standing position.

In the first match, Dan placed 13th with a score of 1135. He improved his position to 7th with a score of 1151 in the second match and gained a spot in the Finals. After nine shots in the Final, Dan had improved to 4th place. The stunning accuracy of his tenth and final shot earned him the silver medal.

As a member of the National Junior Olympic Team, Dan will be working with Dave Johnson, coach of the U.S. National Olympic Team. This will provide him the opportunity to shoot internationally alongside the U.S. Olympic Team, including the medalists from the Beijing games.

Dan has just recently accepted a full scholarship to the University of Memphis to shoot on the school's rifle team!