Saying Goodbye

The last day of my internship was Thursday, June 30^th.  I began the day by meeting with Nocona City Attorney Tracey Jennings, who also happens to be the city attorney for Saint Jo, Forrestburg, and Bowie.  I passed along to her a binder full of all of the projects I had been working on over the course of my internship for her to review. 

On the way back to Nocona from Bowie, we stopped in to say goodbye to Montague County Judge Sappington.  He gave me a letter thanking me for my service to the city of Nocona and to Montague County. 

For lunch, we were invited to the Montague Boot Company’s annual employee cookout.  It was like a family reunion centered on boots.  I was welcomed as both a guest and a friend.  I proudly displayed my own pair of boots, and had the opportunity to meet Larry Mahan, after whom my boots were named!  Larry Mahan was a World All-Around Rodeo Champion for five consecutive years, and won a sixth time.  He lives near Forrestburg with his wife and apparently visits the boot factory periodically.  I also got to talk to the city manager, who had been promoted through the ranks of the public works department. 

That afternoon when we arrived back at the NEDC office, Nocona’s Mayor Robert Fenoglio was there.  He presented me with the key to the city:  a 2-foot long leather key.  Embossing on the key read “Presented to Hillary Luckett for services to Nocona.”  The finger hole for the key was in the shape of the state of Texas. 

My last order of business was to meet with neighboring Saint Jo’s mayor.  He wanted to discuss the possibility of using the ballot language I prepared to implement the tax limitation.  That really brought my internship experience full-circle.  Not only did I help Nocona through my projects, but I hopefully will assist a neighboring community and all of Montague County.  The fact that I was the go-to person for some issues in the community made me realize the value of educated individuals in rural communities.