QCHS Alumni Spotlight: Eric

Breon '96

BY RAY FOX '66

It is with pleasure that the QCHS Spotlight Articles return to their original topic of featuring former Alumni. Many people must have read last month’s article about the Alumni Association Fund Raiser in March because it has already sold out. This month’s article is about Eric Breon, a 1996 graduate from QCHS. After graduation, Eric attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) where he graduated with a degree in Psychology. His life since then has been spent in the western part of the U.S. While in High School, Eric participated in cross country, track, band, choir. He was an excellent student and noted that he especially enjoyed Mr. Sidney Blake’s Honors Chemistry Class. He mentioned that Mr. Blake was a great teacher who had very high expectations for his students, which led them to really understanding the material. Eric’s fondest memories from High School are cross country and backpacking with friends during breaks from school.

When Eric graduated from RPI he decided to head out west. His first job was in Boise, Idaho where he was a rafting guide and worked as an Associate at Highway 12 Ventures. He was with this company from May, 2001 to August, 2003. He has been very versatile and has held many positions since. From August, 2003 until February, 2006, he was a Business Analyst for Capitol One. He moved to Beaverton, Oregon where he was a Manager, Strategist, Analyst for General Finance Solutions from February, 2006 until June, 2008. He then became President of Oregon Green Solutions in Portland, Oregon from June, 2008 until December, 2009. This company provided significant energy savings for its’ clients. More recently, Eric has been Co-Founder and CEO of Vacasa from November, 2009-February, 2020, which is now a publicly traded company (Nasdaq, VCSA). This company has seen phenomenal growth and now manages vacation rentals in thirty-four states and sixteen other countries including Belize and Costa Rica. He has been awarded the OEN Entrepreneurial Achievement Award and the INC Magazine

9th Fastest Growing Company Award.

In retirement, Eric is working on policy interests related to an improved toolset for managing inflation. His goal is to help develop better ways of addressing problems that result in ways that do not create so much hardship for people.

Eric is the son of Robert and Alice Breon, who still reside in Trumbauersville. He has three brothers all of whom are QCHS graduates. Mark graduated in 1999, Scott graduated in 2002, and Keith graduated in 2006. Like his brothers, Eric was very involved in The Boy Scouts of America and became an Eagle Scout. Eric currently lives in White Salmon, Washington with his wife, Alia and their three children; Rhys (12), Rowen (10), and Max (7). Alia is the Medical Director of the Emergency Department at their local hospital. Like Eric, the family enjoys participating in outdoor activities. These activities include kiteboarding, skiing, mountain biking, trail running, rafting, and kayaking. He also enjoys traveling with most recent trips to France and Thailand. The family particularly enjoys their time spent at their cabin on Mt. Hood. They also travel frequently to Mexico, mainly for kiteboarding.

The Quakertown Community Alumni Association encourages alumni to participate in the Association activities. Its mission includes fundraising to provide scholarship opportunities each year for graduating seniors. Please check out our Facebook Pages “Quakertown High School Alumni Association” and the Alumni pages of the QCSD.org website for more information. We are a 501C3 organization and always welcome any contributions toward our scholarship endeavors. If you are interested in donating, please email Qchsalumniboard@gmail.com. Send comments and ideas for future articles to Ray Fox at rdefox@msn.com.

The Alumni board is a group of dedicated people who strive to support the students and alumni as much as we can. You could say that we “bleed blue” but more importantly, that we embody the Quakertown motto: “Enter To Learn; Leave To Serve.”

Troy Kirkwood Named February UBCTS Student of the Month

Troy Kirkwood is a fourth-year Graphic Communications student and a senior at Pennridge High School.

He is a First Honors student and received the Outstanding Student award for Levels I, II & and III in his program. He will be inducted into the National Technical Honor Society this year.

Troy is a valuable member of the Graphic Communication program and our school. His excellent work ethic has made him an exceptional leader in the classroom.

Troy is called upon to do many live print, design, and photography jobs.

Outside school, Troy works five to six days a week in the Food and Nutrition Department at Doylestown Hospital. He is responsible for placing and delivering orders for patients in the hospital while paying particular attention to each patient's special dietary requirements. After graduation, Troy plans to enter the workforce for a Graphic Communication career.