Rodeo team kicks off season in Carthage, TX

Members of the Southwest Texas Junior College rodeo team includes (front row, left to right) Kathrine Whitaker, Rozlyn Reeves, (second row) Chance Lopez, Joe Reeves, Dalton Brown, Wyatt Duncan, (third row) Courtney Myers, Crystal Wetz, Shelbi Haynes, Suade Furr, (back) Cameron Loveday, Kody Tredway, Cody Hines, Dextar Udall, Luis Santos III and Sterling Furr.

The Southwest Texas Junior College rodeo team will kick-off the 2014-2015 rodeo season by competing at the first Southern region rodeo in Carthage, TX hosted by Panola College on Sept. 26-27.



SWTJC will host the second National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) rodeo of the season on Oct. 2-4 at the Uvalde County Fair Plex Rodeo Arena. Evening performances will start at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.



Over 350 collegiate athletes, representing some 15 colleges and universities in the Southern Region are expected to compete in Uvalde. Nationally renowned rodeo stock contractor Terry Walls will once again provide stock for this year's event.



Palomino Fest draws record crowd in Uvalde

Organizers say upwards of 20,000 people attended the 2014 Palomino Fest Labor Day Weekend Celebration held Aug. 28 – Aug 31 at the Uvalde County Fairplex.

"Our final number stands at approximately 20,000, which is an increase for last year's attendance," festival coordinator Wade Carpenter said. "This was our 18th annual event and it keeps getting bigger every year."

Carpenter expressed his gratitude to all the volunteers who helped with this year's festival. "Our volunteers are a major reason for the success we have had through out the years," Carpenter said. "I especially want to thank all the volunteers from SWTJC who put in long, hot hours at this year's event."

History professors retire after a combined 96 years of service

Barbara Blair                   Harry Lawrence, Jr.

Southwest Texas Junior College says goodbye to professors of history, Harry Lawrence, Jr. and Barbara Blair, who retired this summer.

Lawrence retired in May, ending a 53-year career at SWTJC, while Blair continued through the summer, giving SWTJC 43 years of service.

Blair, a Carrizo Springs native, earned her Associates of Arts from SWTJC in 1967 and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in history from Southwest Texas State University.

She began her career at SWTJC in 1970, and in 1976 she became the advisor of Eta Beta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, where she remained until her retirement.

“That’s what I’ve enjoyed so much, working with the honor students at SWTJC,” Blair said. “It has never been boring, it has always been a challenge.”

Blair has been highly involved with Phi Theta Kappa for over 30 years, winning numerous awards, but none more distinguished than the Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Service to the Texas Region, which she was awarded earlier this year.