Meet Your New Neighbors

New-resident welcome to Krystal Watkins and welcome-home to her husband, David. David was raised in Tehachapi and graduated from Tehachapi High School before leaving to pursue his career in the wind industry. He and Krystal moved from Amarillo, Texas into their Tehachapi home in the middle of January; welcomed by a colder-than-normal Tehachapi winter. David said that they had visited only three or four times since leaving the area.

David is the new regional director for World Wind & Solar Services here in Tehachapi. He has 15 years of experience in the wind industry having started while living here. He is the second generation to work in the Tehachapi wind industry. His dad worked on some of the original wind farms in the 1980s. His parents are still here and his sister teaches at Tehachapi High School. David said that he is not alone in coming back to Tehachapi, at least six of his friends have also returned.

Krystal grew up in Rancho Cordova, just outside Sacramento. She said her entire family is still living there: parents, brother, aunts, uncles. She met David when she was working in the accounting department of EnXco when they worked on what she calls the "wind wall" in Palm Springs. She said at first she didn't want to date him but he eventually "broke her down."

Long story short, they were married and David and Krystal ended up in Texas. At first they were in Lubbock where David worked with EnXco and Krystal worked for the government doing nonprofit accounting. In 2012, EnXco became EDF Renewable Energy and they moved to Amarillo where they bought a seven and a half acre farm and raised goats and chickens. David built the chicken coops and at one time they had 90 hens. Needless to say, they sold the eggs. Krystal said she did a lot of volunteer work in Amarillo and decided to go back to school to earn her master's degree in accountancy at DeVry Keller Graduate School. She expects to pass her CPA exam next year.

Krystal and David have two young daughters, Aubrey who is 6 years old and Brenna who is 4. The whole family likes to spend their together time hiking, camping, cooking and taking road trips; however, most times without the family pups Joey and Lucy who have to stay behind.

Welcome to Tehachapi Watkins Family.

Zach Robbins moved to Tehachapi during the first week in March from Little Rock, Ark. Although he missed February's hard freeze, he found it a bit colder than Arkansas. He had been in Tehachapi a little over a week when we met. He had not yet begun his new job as structural engineer at The Spaceship Company. He said he had been drawn to Tehachapi because of the mountains and the idea of having four seasons.

Zach grew up in Pensacola, Fla. Both of his parents were in the military; his dad was in the Navy and his mom was a Marine. He said his sister is also planning to be a Marine. Zach said he had always been interested in engineering as a kid and majored in mechanical engineering at Mississippi State University.

A friend he met on the job in Little Rock had recently been hired by the Spaceship Company and recommended that Zach apply as well. He interviewed and was hired. Zach said his friend currently lives in Colorado and commutes at least once a month to Mojave and now has a place to stay in Tehachapi when he's working in the area. Zach also shares his home with a 3-year-old cat named Pepper. He said he got her when she was only one month old and she spends her time at home watching birds and knocking stuff over.

One of Zach's favorite things to do is go scuba diving, something he won't get to do very much in Tehachapi but he also likes to hike and that he will have no trouble doing. He is working towards earning his private pilot's license. He said as soon as he settles in, he will be looking for a flight instructor. He has soloed and passed his written exam so he's well on his way.

Welcome to Tehachapi Zach. We wish you many great flights.

Correction: My apologies to Michael Banton who served our country in the Marines. In the last issue of The Loop I mistakenly said he had been in the Air Force.

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.