Bragging Rights

From a grandmother who knows nothing, nada, zip about sports, but who understands passion, excitement, and committment, and who recognizes that Snyder can boast of something other than oil and wind.

In all of my years of living in other states and cities, it as been part of my life story to talk of Snyder. It has not been unusual for me to find interested listeners ...everyone wants stories of the wild west, the colorful characters, and I could always find strangers in California, Louisiana, New Mexico who wanted "one more story about the man who had a beef with the town and wouldn't come past the City Limits".

But now I would like to revisit my past and tell another kind of story about Snyder.I would love to brag bigtime about something Snyder is doing so right. So right that it could be a model for all the silliness we hear about in other parts of the country. What we see with ill-spent money, with lost values among the youth, with wild marketing plans that promise much and cannot deliver.

Here's what I would do. I would wait until someone asked me THE question: "where do you come from?", and then I would say, " from Snyder, Texas, a little town in far West Texas that has the best kept secret for revitalizing, renewing, recharging the malaise that prevades. I come from a town which has The Answer ." And then, I would start bragging....

Snyder is a town with a Junior College. Nothing new there, lots of little towns across the country have a Junior College. This Junior College , Western Texas College by name, has a thoughtful, intelligent Board. Nothing new here. Then, this hardworking, conscientuous Board hired a president who thinks outside of the box. That's a step up from the usual; lots of Junior Colleges hire presidents who want to do good things but may not be humble enough to accept advice. This particular Junior College president, Mike Dreith by name, listened to recommendations, he studied the conference. He worked hard to make a choice that would benefit everyone. So he set the stage for something that Snyder can truly brag about.

So, Coach Jason Sutter comes on the scene. Probably lots of fans have seen Jason during a basketball game. They enjoy his enthusiasm. They can enjoy the game, played by the tallest boys they have ever seen, doing what a good team does....play as a team. But if only everyone in Snyder knew Jason's story, his recruiting methods and his coaching style, we could brag about our town wherever we go....to Granbury, to Las Vegas, to New York, and even on cruises.

There is much more to tell about Jason, Western Texas College and the leadership of that institution, but that's another blog. This one is to go on record - Snyder has something to brag about.....

For Your Information

and this blog is dedicated for your information.....Starting today, you will be seeing postings from me, and others who have something to say about "what we can do in Snyder to_______" (you finish the sentence.
Let's have some input on how we can get some things done, who really cares what happens to Snyder, and what we want to happen in our town.
Feel free to respond, ask questions, answer questions, and generally just jump right in to make Snyder truly the best little town in West Texas.....