Doris Betuel
Meet Dawn Oaks, fused glass member and glass artist. Dawn joined the Fused Glass Club in 2022 and her positive spirit and desire to learn has been a wonderful addition to the club. She has helped in the beginner class instruction and presented at our follow-up classes. In 2024, she was recognized for her knowledge and skills and became a studio monitor to help and provide guidance to members.
Dawn’s journey to Robson Ranch started in Chicago where she was born and raised. She and her then husband moved to Las Vegas in 1981. Their son Danny was born a few years later. Her first marriage did not work out, but allowed her to eventually marry the love of her life, Randy Oaks, in 1997. At that time, Randy was a Las Vegas metro police captain.
Dawn had a very successful IT career in Las Vegas and eventually started a computer training business in 1988. She received a small women’s business loan and built her own training facility with four classrooms that had 12 computers in each for hands-on training. After 10 years in this business, Financier Michael Milken bought the business, and a few years later, she sold the building as well. Dawn then worked for a division of Deloitte & Touche in their IT division while attending court reporting college in the evenings. After finishing this court reporting training, she spent 10 interesting years as a freelance court reporter.
During this time, Randy retired from LV Metro Police Department and accepted a position as Chief of Police in Prescott, Ariz. Dawn commuted between Las Vegas and Prescott the last four years of her court reporting career and retired in 2014. After Dawn and Randy had both retired, they developed a serious addiction to pickleball. While traveling to new locales, including Palm Creek for several major pickleball tournaments, they eventually decided to build a home in Robson Ranch where they have wintered since 2018.
Her passion for exercising led to her becoming an instructor for kickboxing and Body Pump classes as a part-time hobby in both Las Vegas and Prescott. She is also a certified scuba diver and certified pickleball referee. In addition to her fused glass expertise, she is also an avid line dancer and a great pickleball player. To round out her spare time, she loves to hang out with friends, exercise, play cards, and travel. Fun facts: Dawn and Randy were the big winners of $40,950 on Wheel of Fortune’s Valentines couples’ week in Las Vegas in 2002 (episode 3630, Feb. 15), and Dawn was also the winner of the 2023 Robson Ranch Dancing with the Stars show (ask to see her Mirror Ball Trophy).
If you would like to join Dawn in fusing glass, please email Doris Betuel at dorisbetuel@gmail.com for further information or to sign up for a beginner’s class.