Meet Your New Neighbors

Bob and Tracy Anderson moved to Tehachapi last November from Lancaster where Bob operated a martial arts studio. He and Tracy had a plan to move to the natural setting of the mountains and open a combined fitness, self-defense and firearms training facility in Tehachapi. The result is Force 5 Training Center located in Old Town that opened its doors last month.

Bob was born in the bay area and grew up in Fairfield. He was adopted, a fact he did not learn until he was grown and went to get a copy of his birth certificate. By a twist of luck, he was able to track down his birth family. He found his grandmother who informed him that he was of Native American descent and that he had a twin brother and sisters. His adopted father was in the military and he has an adopted brother who now lives in Placerville.

Bob first became interested in martial arts at the age of 11. He said that to take the classes that were $15 each, he would collect glass bottles on the street and turn them in for cash. He joined the army out of high school and served in Vietnam for six years. That was just the beginning of a fascinating life that would make a great movie script.

After Vietnam, Bob moved to Ferndale, Washington where he lived for 25 years and raised a family of seven children. He continued his practice of the martial arts and obtained black belts in judo, jiu-jitsu, karate, kempo and Chinese kung fu. He was an honor graduate of Executive Security International, the highest rated bodyguard academy in the United States and has worked with them since 1984. He has been a bodyguard in the U.S., Canada and Europe and has protected stars like Harrison Ford and Placido Domingo. Over the years he has shared his expertise with the F.B.I., the Secret Service and Special Forces groups. He said that he once worked security for the Johnson & Johnson family escorting their $500 million art collection through Europe. The trip included political intrigue involving the KGB and the Irish Republican Army, reminiscent of a James Bond adventure.

He is a certified firearms instructor for the Washington State Criminal Justice Commission. He still gets calls to do security work in Los Angeles for red carpet events through an organization called "360".

He was headhunted eight years ago by a martial arts group called TapOut to run a martial arts program in Lancaster, so south he came. It was in Lancaster that he met Tracy. Her then six-year-old daughter was one of his students. At the end of class, she gave him a bag. It contained a collection of coins and she told him that she wanted to invest in his next studio.

Tracy was born and raised in Quartz Hill. She has two sisters who live in Nevada and Florida and she has always been into fitness. She had four girls at the time she met Bob. They married and are now the parents of four-year-old Rider. Tracy still teaches fitness. She said that when school is out, they will have seven kids for the summer. Their combined 12 children range in age from 4 to 46.

In any spare time they have, Bob and Tracy like to ride their motorcycles, go wine tasting and camping. Welcome to Tehachapi Bob, Tracy and the entire Force 5 family.

Skye Fowler moved to Tehachapi in February fulfilling a long time dream to leave her native Bakersfield behind. Her grandparents live in Tehachapi and the Land of Four Seasons had been calling her for years. She loves the cooler weather and cleaner air. Skye added that Tehachapi has always been a happy place for her.

Skye was hired as the new manager of the extended daycare program at Tompkins Elementary School. She says that she has a lot of ideas for the program that she has been developing and hopes to start them in the fall once she has everything running smoothly. Working with kids has always been her passion and until recently, she had been working as a daycare aide in Bakersfield.

Skye said she loves to read and write. Her three cats keep her company. She said that Shortie, Chester and Smokey are all pretty independent. Chester has even learned how to "pop" the screen door just right to get it to open.

When Skye is not working for the School District, she works as one of Tehachapi's three Uber drivers. She said that she really enjoys it and it relaxes her.

Welcome Skye. You are going to be a great addition to Tehachapi.

If you have moved to the Greater Tehachapi Area within the last six months and would like to know more about your new community, call (661) 822-8188. We will be happy to make an appointment for a hostess to come by and give you lots of helpful information, some valuable coupons, gifts and much more. Many families and individuals who come to the area are pleasantly surprised with the amount of knowledge they gather about their new home. Publishing your welcome article is completely voluntary and is not a requirement of being welcomed.