Born to Hollis and Ruth Howell and raised in Western Pennsylvania, Byron was (and still is) the youngest of five children. Byron graduated from Northcentral University with a PhD in Business and a specialization in Management of Engineering and Technology. His dissertation topic was Assessing the Relationship Between Ethical Project Management and IT Project Success. He also has a BA in Math from Harding College (now Harding University), an MS in Applied Math from the University of Arkansas, and an MBA from Houston Baptist University. Just before finishing college, he married Jeanette Riddell, demonstrating that he has exceptionally good taste.

Jeanette grew up in Florence, Alabama, the oldest of three daughters to Parker and Dorothy (Dot) Riddell. (Byron could not resist Jeanette's Southern accent.) She graduated with an AA from Freed-Hardeman College, a BA from Harding College, and also an AA from Southwest Tennessee Community College with several degree concentrations in software development covering Visual Basic, Visual C++, C, C++, Java, Web Development and who knows what else... She is employed as a Programmer under contract with the US Postal Service.

Byron has been a professional mushroom picker, house painter, certified public school math & biology teacher, Ford Product Engineer, Program Manager, and Software Developer. He has also managed Software Development, Technical Support, Operations, and IT for a scientific software company in Houston, Texas. He is now a PMI certified Consulting Project Technical Manager for Oracle living in Germantown, Tennessee near Memphis. Byron has also worked as an adjunct instructor for Harding University, teaching in the MBA program.

Their coming together may have been "North meets South," but Byron and Jeanette did not have completely different backgrounds. They were both fortunate to have been raised in loving, Christian homes. Across the United States they have been blessed by the friendship and support of many Christian friends. Through the years, Byron has had opportunities to serve as a gospel preacher, youth minister, Bible school teacher, song leader, bus ministry director, Bible school director, puppet team coach, VBS director, deacon, and the president of the board of trustees of a Christian school. Jeanette has supported Byron in many ways (often behind the scenes), and has taught Bible classes at VBS, in classrooms, and on church buses. They are presently members of the Germantown Church of Christ, where Byron serves as an elder and teaches the Sunday morning Cornerstone Bible class.

Byron and Jeanette now live on the border between Collierville and Germantown, TN, and have been married since May of 1974. If you wonder whether or not they have anything worthwhile to show for it, read on...

They have three terrific sons -- Alan, Andrew, and Aaron. Alan earned his BA from Harding University and M.Div. from Harding Graduate School of Religion and his wife, Rachel, is a registered nurse. They were married in May of 2000. They have three sweet girls, Abby, Ellie, and Katie Joy. Alan and Rachel are serving as missionaries in Mozambique, Africa. Andrew also graduated from Harding University with degrees in Bible and Business and serves as Youth Minister for the Regency Church of Christ in Mobile, Alabama. Andrew and Krystle were married in May of 2007 and have a son named Ethan. Aaron graduated from Harding University with a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Math. In May of 2008, he married the former Erin Gray and they are living in Atlanta, GA. Erin is a CPA with an MBA and Aaron is working on his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. They have a son named Emory. The three sons have always been very active in church works, developing their singing and public speaking abilities and encouraging others. Their desire to become godly men has been focused on following worthy goals: loving unselfishly, living responsibly, and leading courageously.