“Turn left when you get to the crooked tree on the wrong side of the ditch.” Those are the famous words of Koby Box (we love you, Koby!). Welcome to East Texas. They may have some crazy ways of giving directions in Area IX, but we had a blast hanging out with some of the most laid-back people in the whole world.
We started off in Liberty, and we got to enjoy some of Mrs. Box’s AMAZING fajitas. Talk about some good food. After talking to the middle school and high school students in Liberty, we made our way on down to Dayton. They told us that they are playing football against my hometown of Brenham this weekend. That should be an intense game! Good luck to both teams! Before we knew it, we were at Barbers Hill. We gave a presentation on the largest salt dome in the entire world- how awesome is that?! It was so neat to see how their program works and all of the neat things that they are able to learn there.
That night, we headed on down to Anahuac to visit with Mr. Nick Dow (a past Texas FFA state officer) and his students. Unfortunately, to Jeremiah’s disappointment, we were unable to see any alligators. We did, however, meet some really hilarious kids. I can distinctly remember one freshman, Tyler Underwood, coming into the room eating smoked Alaskan fish, proclaiming his love for Kipper Snacks and Spam. That is certainly the first time that I’ve seen that happen! In Hull-Daisetta, we were introduced to some students with real potential to go places in life. They were an awesome group of members, and we really enjoyed talking to all of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some Texas FFA Chorus soloist to come out of that school. Their ag teacher was even nice enough to buy us lunch; thanks Mr. French! After our lunch, we made our way over to West Hardin. Strange as it sounds, we found that West Hardin is actually east of Hardin High School. I still don’t fully understand that one! We did have a pretty interesting conversation with their chapter officers after the presentation, though.
The Marek’s were nice enough to host us that evening in Lumberton. We got a nice little taste of east Texas rain that night, and Jeremiah, I’m sorry about your shoes. However, I am still convinced that it is in NO WAY my fault that your shoes got wet! : ) After our stay in Lumberton, we headed on over to Nederland. The kids were so enthusiastic; I loved it! That was probably one of the best presentations we have given. Also, thanks for the Subway sandwiches, Mr. Butler! That totally made our day! Then, we visited with a bunch of schools in Deweyville; you guys are the bomb! We enjoyed visiting with all of you.
Later that night, we had the opportunity to stay with the VanDevenders in Buna. Their twin boys, Case and Jordan, were absolutely adorable! We played football, made tee pees, and swung on the swings. They even drew me a reindeer with a Santa hat and cut it out for me! Of course, Mr. VanDevender did embarrass Case at dinner. Apparently Case got in the truck and said, “Dad, Alli is so nice, and she really is beautiful!” When Mr. VanDevender told us that, Case just smiled and said, “Dad, I told you not say anything!” Gotta love seven-year-olds!
The students at Buna High School were just as fun. The guys definitely got a kick out of “John Deere”, as they call him. He has to be one of the nicest people that I have ever met. Before long, we were in Kirbyville, home of Mr. Jim Prewitt and a TON of National FFA Chorus members. We even met Kenzie, the only girl from Texas to perform for National FFA Talent at this year’s National FFA Convention. What an honor! Our last presentation of the day was in Newton. Now they were a great group of students! Good luck to all of you guys in the big football game this weekend!
It wasn’t long before we were at the casa de Kaleb, washing clothes and eating pizza. Kaleb gave us the grand tour of the only Indian reservation in the state of Texas before taking a trip to the Livingston Walmart- good times, for sure. By the time we left Woodville the next morning, snow was falling on our windshield. It made for an enjoyable snowball fight and a cute snowman at the State LDE contests in Huntsville. Congratulations to all of the state participants! You make Texas FFA very proud!
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