9.11.01 Survivor
When the first plane hit on 9/11, Billy was on the 85th floor of One World Trade Center working as a commodity options trader for SMW Trading Company. Despite twice thinking he would die that day, he made it out of the building, helping others along the way. His survival story has been retold numerous times in books, magazines, on radio and TV, and online. In addition, Billy has spoken about his 9/11 experience to numerous gatherings, including church groups, student bodies, rotary clubs, and other private and public groups.
Billy is a native Houstonian and a graduate of Rice University. He began his career as a financial advisor in Houston in 1996. In 2000, Billy and his wife Tobey moved to New York City where he became a Coffee options trader on the New York Board of Trade. After the birth of their first child in 2003, Tobey and Billy returned home to Houston, and Billy went to work for his father in the oil and gas business. He has since moved on to pursue other endeavors, including the redevelopment of the old Palace Lanes on Bellaire Boulevard.
In his spare time, Billy coaches his daughter’s soccer and softball teams, serves on the Owls Fan Experience Committee at Rice University, and is the Harris County coordinator for the organization named CoCoRaHS (pronounced KO-ko-rozz), a grassroots volunteer network of weather observers that provides weather data for natural resource, education, and research applications. You can find him tweeting about the weather regularly.
Billy and Tobey live in West University Place where they are raising three children – Isabella, Luke, and Lexie.