Andy & Alice: An ATPE Love Story
They met in a Courtyard Marriott elevator in 2015 in Austin, Texas—a chance meeting that soon wove their lives together.
If you ask Alice and Andy Erdelt about their backgrounds, they tell you how different their life stories are. Alice describes her mom as more urban, her dad rural. One set of her grandparents met in Minnesota, the other pair in Washington, DC. A self-described “military brat,” Alice’s family finally settled in Killeen. Andy, on the other hand, has spent his life in the Palacios area. His parents met in Wharton, and he was raised near Edna, where his mom and grandmother operated a flower shop on the acreage his grandparents owned. By the time he met Alice, Andy had been working in Palacios for 30 years. Nowadays, they’re both educators and ATPE members and volunteers. Andy teaches at Palacios Junior High, and Alice teaches at Harker Heights High School.
ATPE sat down with Alice and Andy to learn more about their relationship and how they met at an ATPE Summit in a hotel elevator.
Tell us how you met.
Alice: It was four years ago on the ATPE Awards Banquet night during summit. I’m pretty sure that was July—
Andy: July 9.
Alice: He remembers the date really well. For some reason, I make it the 10th. Maybe that’s because that’s the day a friend ran a background check on him. I’m not joking! Somebody from Killeen ATPE said, “Just because he’s a region director doesn’t mean he’s going to be safe.” But I was just sitting on the elevator, and he walked on.
Andy: I was going down to the banquet. I got on the elevator, and we started talking. Then she [a wheelchair user] rolled herself out, and as we got to the street, where the street starts getting rough outside of the hotel, I said, “Can I push you across the street?” So, I pushed her across, and we got to the convention center. I said, “Where are you going to go in because those are all stairs over here?” I pushed her to the elevators and up to the top floor where everybody was waiting to go in for the banquet. I went to my region, and then she went to her region. Later, I went to take a break, and she was sitting in the hallway. We talked again, and then I went back to the table with my group to eat. They start playing music, so I think, “I’m going to take another break,” and she was out there again. So, we got to visit again. Afterward, her group was saying they were going to go to Sixth Street, and I decided I’m going back to the room. She said, “Well, I’m going to go back, too.” I said, “Well, I’ll push you over there.” So, I did, and she said, “Let’s stop and get coffee.” We sat there and got to know each other, and a little while later, a manager came over and said, “I’m going to have to ask you all to leave.” I said, “Why?” He said, “We’re closed. It’s 2 a.m.”
Alice: We didn’t know the time!
Then you had to contend with long-distance as you got to know each other?
Alice: We had a lot of emails, a lot of phone calls.
Andy: I was telling her that I was coming back up for whenever the next board meeting was—that was October?
Alice: It was August. It was right before school started because I went to this Inspire training, and I kept talking to a friend of mine. “I met this guy. He’s really nice.” She got excited. What’s funny is that the night we met, one of my friends said, “Oh, Alice. You’re picking up guys at summit now.” She also hosted our wedding.
How often do you get to see each other?
Andy: Two or three times a month, if not more.
Alice: We try to do at least every other weekend during the school year. But every night I know when I have to go to bed: 9 o’clock, the phone rings, it’s him. I call him when I get off work at 5. He calls me at 9. Then we probably have a couple of weekends a month where we stay at our own places because we need to take care of stuff. When it’s just him and me, I relish every moment. During the summer, we’re almost inseparable because we really do appreciate having that time together.
You mentioned that Andy might retire soon, prompting a move to Harker Heights?
Alice: He’s getting ready to retire, and I can’t move out of where I’m at because my mom was sick, I take care of my parents’ finances, and their house is going to be our house. Andy saw me through my mom dying. He’s as solid as a rock. I couldn’t have asked for better. I couldn’t have found him if I was looking. I put in my God box months before the type of man that I wanted. I wanted somebody that was solid, who was kind, had a sense of humor—because they’re going to have to put up with me. My sister says this is her favorite thing about him—he just laughs when I say crap. I just wanted someone a little bit like my dads [Alice has a father and stepdad], who were a lot calmer because I’m a bit—what would you say—emotional? I wanted somebody solid. I made this little list of what I wanted in a guy, stuck it in my God box, and then God put him on the elevator.
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
Alice: He was cute. It was the way he looked at me and the way he spoke to me. I told my mom, “I met this guy,” and she goes, “Is he attractive?” I said, “Of course. He’s cute. He’s nice. I think he might like me.” It was just this air about him. He’s nice, and he’s calming. But I thought he was cute, if I’m being honest, and he dressed nice.
Andy: Loved the conversation. We just hit it off. I enjoyed talking to her all the time. That first night, I mean, we sat there for two hours or more talking, and we didn’t know what was going on around us.
What’s the story of your proposal?
Andy: It was on July 9 when I gave her the ring, the anniversary of the day we met. We were getting ready to go to Dallas, she was sitting at the table, and I brought a bag in.
Alice: Anniversary gifts. I had to open the gifts in a specific order, and the first bag is a joke book on the history of farting. I looked at it and went, “Wow. Thank you. I can’t believe it.” Then he says, “No, you have to do it a certain way.” He gives me a Cracker Jack box. I thought, “This is going to be so romantic.” Opened it up, I took out this pretty jewelry bag, and then opened that up. It was a plastic diamond ring painted blue with glitter and sparkles. He says, “Now people can stop asking, ‘When are Andy and Alice going to get married?’ Because you have a ring to wear.” I’m thinking how my previous boyfriend had gotten me some gifts that I was like, “Oh my God, this man has no clue who I am.” So, I didn’t want to be mean to Andy because I love him, and I didn’t want to say, “These are the crappiest gifts you’ve ever given me.” But then he took out the last gift and had me open it. He didn’t ask me to marry him. I just looked at the ring and said, “Does this mean what I think it means?” He goes, “Yes. It’s a promise that I want to be with you forever.” That was better than a marriage proposal. I mean, just when he said it’s a promise that I will be with you forever—that was key for me.
Tell us about your wedding. When did you get married?
Alice: December 29, 2018, at a friend’s house. In fact, I posted [on Facebook] that I was engaged right before the 2018 Summit in Dallas, and I showed my ring, of course. And at summit, when we were at the registration counter, my friend said, “Because we were there when you two met, we want to host your wedding.” So, we had it at her house, and I wore a blue dress. It was a very simple wedding. I had a friend of mine officiate. We had just close family and friends, and it was just in the living room by the Christmas tree—because I had to have it by the Christmas tree—and their fireplace.
A lot of ATPE members say that ATPE is like a family. What does it mean to you that you found each other at an ATPE event?
Alice: For me it holds meaning because I think ATPE is better than a dating service! You’ve got stuff in common with people. I remember when I first met Karen Hames, she and I were both at the House of Delegates, and we had an instant connection because we both cared about the same issues. That’s what happens at ATPE: You have that instant connection, and everybody’s nice to each other. I’ve met a lot of people that I’m closer to than I am in my own district. I felt perfectly safe [meeting Andy]. I don’t know what the heck was wrong with my two friends [who ran the background check]. They said, “You stayed up all night with him just about. We still have to check him out!” I said, “But it’s ATPE. He’s on the BOD. He should be safe!” Apparently, he did pass the background check. I noticed there were a lot of people that liked him. Karen was on the Board of Directors with him at the same time, and she was always so happy around him. She really liked him, and I trust her as a judge.
Anything else you want us to know?
Alice: Keep an eye out on the elevators.
Andy: Ride them up and down. Sometimes they’re pretty full, but that night, it was just you.
Alice: I was the only person on the elevator. He was the only person on the elevator. It was—
Andy: Meant to be.
If you ask Alice and Andy Erdelt about their backgrounds, they tell you how different their life stories are. Alice describes her mom as more urban, her dad rural. One set of her grandparents met in Minnesota, the other pair in Washington, DC. A self-described “military brat,” Alice’s family finally settled in Killeen. Andy, on the other hand, has spent his life in the Palacios area. His parents met in Wharton, and he was raised near Edna, where his mom and grandmother operated a flower shop on the acreage his grandparents owned. By the time he met Alice, Andy had been working in Palacios for 30 years. Nowadays, they’re both educators and ATPE members and volunteers. Andy teaches at Palacios Junior High, and Alice teaches at Harker Heights High School.
ATPE sat down with Alice and Andy to learn more about their relationship and how they met at an ATPE Summit in a hotel elevator.
Tell us how you met.
Alice: It was four years ago on the ATPE Awards Banquet night during summit. I’m pretty sure that was July—
Andy: July 9.
Alice: He remembers the date really well. For some reason, I make it the 10th. Maybe that’s because that’s the day a friend ran a background check on him. I’m not joking! Somebody from Killeen ATPE said, “Just because he’s a region director doesn’t mean he’s going to be safe.” But I was just sitting on the elevator, and he walked on.
Andy: I was going down to the banquet. I got on the elevator, and we started talking. Then she [a wheelchair user] rolled herself out, and as we got to the street, where the street starts getting rough outside of the hotel, I said, “Can I push you across the street?” So, I pushed her across, and we got to the convention center. I said, “Where are you going to go in because those are all stairs over here?” I pushed her to the elevators and up to the top floor where everybody was waiting to go in for the banquet. I went to my region, and then she went to her region. Later, I went to take a break, and she was sitting in the hallway. We talked again, and then I went back to the table with my group to eat. They start playing music, so I think, “I’m going to take another break,” and she was out there again. So, we got to visit again. Afterward, her group was saying they were going to go to Sixth Street, and I decided I’m going back to the room. She said, “Well, I’m going to go back, too.” I said, “Well, I’ll push you over there.” So, I did, and she said, “Let’s stop and get coffee.” We sat there and got to know each other, and a little while later, a manager came over and said, “I’m going to have to ask you all to leave.” I said, “Why?” He said, “We’re closed. It’s 2 a.m.”
Alice: We didn’t know the time!
Then you had to contend with long-distance as you got to know each other?
Alice: We had a lot of emails, a lot of phone calls.
Andy: I was telling her that I was coming back up for whenever the next board meeting was—that was October?
Alice: It was August. It was right before school started because I went to this Inspire training, and I kept talking to a friend of mine. “I met this guy. He’s really nice.” She got excited. What’s funny is that the night we met, one of my friends said, “Oh, Alice. You’re picking up guys at summit now.” She also hosted our wedding.
How often do you get to see each other?
Andy: Two or three times a month, if not more.
Alice: We try to do at least every other weekend during the school year. But every night I know when I have to go to bed: 9 o’clock, the phone rings, it’s him. I call him when I get off work at 5. He calls me at 9. Then we probably have a couple of weekends a month where we stay at our own places because we need to take care of stuff. When it’s just him and me, I relish every moment. During the summer, we’re almost inseparable because we really do appreciate having that time together.
You mentioned that Andy might retire soon, prompting a move to Harker Heights?
Alice: He’s getting ready to retire, and I can’t move out of where I’m at because my mom was sick, I take care of my parents’ finances, and their house is going to be our house. Andy saw me through my mom dying. He’s as solid as a rock. I couldn’t have asked for better. I couldn’t have found him if I was looking. I put in my God box months before the type of man that I wanted. I wanted somebody that was solid, who was kind, had a sense of humor—because they’re going to have to put up with me. My sister says this is her favorite thing about him—he just laughs when I say crap. I just wanted someone a little bit like my dads [Alice has a father and stepdad], who were a lot calmer because I’m a bit—what would you say—emotional? I wanted somebody solid. I made this little list of what I wanted in a guy, stuck it in my God box, and then God put him on the elevator.
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
Alice: He was cute. It was the way he looked at me and the way he spoke to me. I told my mom, “I met this guy,” and she goes, “Is he attractive?” I said, “Of course. He’s cute. He’s nice. I think he might like me.” It was just this air about him. He’s nice, and he’s calming. But I thought he was cute, if I’m being honest, and he dressed nice.
Andy: Loved the conversation. We just hit it off. I enjoyed talking to her all the time. That first night, I mean, we sat there for two hours or more talking, and we didn’t know what was going on around us.
What’s the story of your proposal?
Andy: It was on July 9 when I gave her the ring, the anniversary of the day we met. We were getting ready to go to Dallas, she was sitting at the table, and I brought a bag in.
Alice: Anniversary gifts. I had to open the gifts in a specific order, and the first bag is a joke book on the history of farting. I looked at it and went, “Wow. Thank you. I can’t believe it.” Then he says, “No, you have to do it a certain way.” He gives me a Cracker Jack box. I thought, “This is going to be so romantic.” Opened it up, I took out this pretty jewelry bag, and then opened that up. It was a plastic diamond ring painted blue with glitter and sparkles. He says, “Now people can stop asking, ‘When are Andy and Alice going to get married?’ Because you have a ring to wear.” I’m thinking how my previous boyfriend had gotten me some gifts that I was like, “Oh my God, this man has no clue who I am.” So, I didn’t want to be mean to Andy because I love him, and I didn’t want to say, “These are the crappiest gifts you’ve ever given me.” But then he took out the last gift and had me open it. He didn’t ask me to marry him. I just looked at the ring and said, “Does this mean what I think it means?” He goes, “Yes. It’s a promise that I want to be with you forever.” That was better than a marriage proposal. I mean, just when he said it’s a promise that I will be with you forever—that was key for me.
Tell us about your wedding. When did you get married?
Alice: December 29, 2018, at a friend’s house. In fact, I posted [on Facebook] that I was engaged right before the 2018 Summit in Dallas, and I showed my ring, of course. And at summit, when we were at the registration counter, my friend said, “Because we were there when you two met, we want to host your wedding.” So, we had it at her house, and I wore a blue dress. It was a very simple wedding. I had a friend of mine officiate. We had just close family and friends, and it was just in the living room by the Christmas tree—because I had to have it by the Christmas tree—and their fireplace.
A lot of ATPE members say that ATPE is like a family. What does it mean to you that you found each other at an ATPE event?
Alice: For me it holds meaning because I think ATPE is better than a dating service! You’ve got stuff in common with people. I remember when I first met Karen Hames, she and I were both at the House of Delegates, and we had an instant connection because we both cared about the same issues. That’s what happens at ATPE: You have that instant connection, and everybody’s nice to each other. I’ve met a lot of people that I’m closer to than I am in my own district. I felt perfectly safe [meeting Andy]. I don’t know what the heck was wrong with my two friends [who ran the background check]. They said, “You stayed up all night with him just about. We still have to check him out!” I said, “But it’s ATPE. He’s on the BOD. He should be safe!” Apparently, he did pass the background check. I noticed there were a lot of people that liked him. Karen was on the Board of Directors with him at the same time, and she was always so happy around him. She really liked him, and I trust her as a judge.
Anything else you want us to know?
Alice: Keep an eye out on the elevators.
Andy: Ride them up and down. Sometimes they’re pretty full, but that night, it was just you.
Alice: I was the only person on the elevator. He was the only person on the elevator. It was—
Andy: Meant to be.
Author: Interview by Sarah Gray