I made a donation to the San Antonio Livestock Show back in January and designated the money go to the Ag Mechanics program. I had kind of forgotten about it. This afternoon I got a brown envelope full of thank you notes from the kids up there telling me about their projects, their plans for the future, and thanking me for the support.

Good on those kids, their parents, and their teachers.

Very nice to hear.

Your handle still freaks me out a little every time I see it.

fido00 said:

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Your handle still freaks me out a little every time I see it.

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I have had it for 20 years, but don't get too close.

fido00 said:

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Your handle still freaks me out a little every time I see it.

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fido00 said:

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Your handle still freaks me out a little every time I see it.

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At least it isn't Newberry.

"Good on those kids, their parents, and their teachers."

Not to bust the bubble, but it's mostly because of the teachers. It's a great thing that they are being taught to do this; that's one of the good things about the ag program.
My daughter is in her first year of it. They would not release the funds to the kids without them first writing thank you's to every contributor they got money from.

I also thank you for your contribution to the program.

Good stuff my Son just did this awhile back for the buyers of his 1st place Class Winner and Third overall in be Breed Division with his Limousin steer. The SA official said buyers were down this past year for Market Steers.

My kids have done this even for the buyers at our Country show which isn't a terminal show. We also send the buyer a nice picture with the buyer at the steer backdrop.

FFA has provided a chance for kids in our small, rural East Texas community to go to college....Great program!

Vega FFA is the bama of ag mechanics. They build incredible projects.

fido00 said:

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Your handle still freaks me out a little every time I see it.

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We worked cattle yesterday and several calves were introduced briefly to them.

What the hell is a Newberry? Don't tell me its similar to a Dikfir.

BurnetAggie99 said:

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Good stuff my Son just did this awhile back for the buyers of his 1st place Class Winner and Third overall in be Breed Division with his Limousin steer. The SA official said buyers were down this past year for Market Steers.

My kids have done this even for the buyers at our Country show which isn't a terminal show. We also send the buyer a nice picture with the buyer at the steer backdrop.

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Umm, we set a new record for Money spent at the Market Steer Sale this year in San Antonio. Some awesome Kids doing great things. My favorite time of year.

The Newberry knife is a tool used to surgically castrate bulls. It is used to slice through the bottom of the scrotum, creating an opening to remove each testis and spermatic cord.

I've been lucky enough to help judge the Ag Mechanics show in San Antonio the last 5-6 years. The projects that schools like Vega and some of the others bring in is unreal.

If you get the chance during the SA show, you need to check out the Ag Mech show and talk with some of these kids. It restores your faith in the next generation.

Rocky Top Aggie said:

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fido00 said:

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Your handle still freaks me out a little every time I see it.

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At least it isn't Newberry.

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Pocketknife with a bottle of alcohol was too verbose yet vague.

Only going by what one of the steer committee guys said at the auction.

Just got another Thank You note from Priddy FFA

My nephew hit me up for money by me getting a random text with a link to donate for his athletic club. When I texted him asking if it was spam, I get no response. Needless to say I did not donate. Not going to spend my hard earned money if they can't at least pick up the phone or send a personal note.

Of the Vega kids and others, glad to see they are putting some effort into it.

Sadly, thank you notes seem to have become more and more rare.

However, my neighbor's oldest son graduated Thursday. We dropped a congratulations card off that evening and the next morning here he came with a hand written thank you note and hand delivered it to our front door.

This is the same kid who 2 years ago carried on a conversation with my then 5 year old without trying to get away from him. He answered the barrage of questions with an honest answer.

He is headed to college on a rodeo scholarship and it is well deserved.

Fast forward a year....

We are getting thank you notes again for our contributions. The future of America is bright.

One letter was very curious. It was actually two letters from two sisters in Hico. One was 12, and the other is a HS sophmore. They built an elaborate cooking trailer with smokers, grills, a hydraulic drop deck, and a bunch of lovely CNC decorations.

Curious that these letters came on the letterhead of their dads fab shop. They won first place in their group.

This years letters with a cover letter from the Ag Teacher. 126 Letters.

The excerpt from the FFA Creed is a nice touch.

Burdizzo; This doesn't completely atone for your criticism of Def Leppard, but it's a start.

Sunday and Sands doing it right

Paging Sunray Ag!

And my dad was from Ackerly. Still have a few relatives in the area.

Not surprised by the Sunray kids. Don Fletcher is a good dude and is really excited for the kids when they get their welding certificates. I sit on a board with him and he was telling us at the last meeting a freshman young lady had just passed her TSI and was crying in the hallway, he saw her and asked what was going on, she told him and they cried together!

Great to see the instructors take such a strong interest in these kids lives! My 14 year old will start in the welding program next year when he begins his freshman year.

I like the handwritten thank you notes best. The computer printed ones with pics of their projects and typed info tell me they didn't do them. Prefer a 10 year old's messy handwriting any day compared to a note from Mom. But anything is better than nothing.

In addition to the stock show we donate to our local school foundation since so much of our tax money goes to the state through recapture (Robin Hood). For that we get a yard sign so we can virtue signal.

This thread was fun to read. My son is restoring a tractor for 4-H, and the number of people that have given him coaching has been great. I really like how folks like those on this board invest in the next generation.