DCA Awards Scholarship; Plans New Events

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT –  Downtown Crockett Association (DCA) meet Thursday, Aug. 8 to give updates on their many ongoing projects and to present a scholarship to a local student, using funds raised during their recent Camp Street Blues Jam Event. 

DCA is a 501c3 non-profit organization promoting not only the downtown area, but growth and tourism in the city and beyond. The group meets the second Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the county annex building. The meetings are open to all and membership is not confined to downtown businesses. A recent story in The Messenger reported in error the dues were $100 a month, when membership is only $100 per year. 

DCA President Connie Strban opened the meeting, before turning the proceedings over to Vice President Susan Knox who welcomed that night’s guest of honor, telling how she first met the remarkable and hard-working young man. 

“This is one of those fun things that we get to do and we have one of the recipients of our scholarship from the Camp Street Blues Jam,” Knox said. “I met this young man when he did what we in sales we call a ‘cold call’. He walked in the door of our store to sell me something for the FFA. I know you guys get the same thing I do: text messages or online messages. This young man walked in the door, stuck out his hand and said, ‘I’m Marcus Moore’. Well, I was a believer just from that and then he applied for the scholarship. He was a unanimous choice of the committee.”

Knox introduced Moore, who thanked the group for the support and received applause and hugs from the group before posing for a group picture. Moore was accompanied by his mother Dana Moore, Crockett High School Band Director, who had come to celebrate with her son before heading out to an event at the school.

Moore is set to go on to Texas A&M, where he plans to study animal science and just might be one of the young minds to create a revolution in that industry. Moore is already the owner of his own company in Lovelady, M42 Cattle Company. 

“I am going to study animal science, focusing on the science portion and my career aspiration is to someday become an embryologist,” Moore explained. 

He has been able to visit many universities and explained how this science of the future allows the mixing in a petrie dish of elements from both bull and heifer to be inserted into another cow, allowing a superior breeder to be “installed” into even a lower-grade cow, so we will produce superior offspring. 

“Thank you so much for this opportunity. I’m truly thankful and of course it’s only by God’s grace,” Moore concluded. 

The group then went on to discuss their downtown bench and trash can renovation program, where they are funding the first eight benches to be renovated, with the first batch already sandblasted and ready for painting. DCA members had made a survey of the benches downtown, noting many had been moved over the years, leaving some blocks with too many, some with too few and some benches moved off the Crockett square altoghether. The new plan sees a better distribution of the benches, spaced out so they can be better accessed. 

Many of the benches contain plaques, from people who originally donated them or in memoriam of a loved one and these plaques will all be saved, maintained and re-attached, once the painting work has been completed. While residents or businesses can still sponsor an entirely new bench, complete with personalized plaque, DCA needs help to cover the cost of re-doing the current benches and giving them a new life. For less than $200, you can help cover the costs of the makeovers, with a total of 34 benches and 17 trash receptacles to be redone. 

The group went on to discuss the now traditional Christmas lights in the square, sponsored by DCA, noting they were still working with county and city officials on some of the details, from getting sturdier lights which could discretely stay up all year, to getting enough electrical power downtown to facilitate the project. 

One aspect the members were pleased with was sticking to local businesses and resources to complete the project, including students from Crockett High School, who were helping with the project.

The group will also begin meetings next week to support next year’s blues festival, hoping to add to this year’s success and opening the festival up to include a greater part of the city and community. One plan on the table is to look to re-route some of the festival to avoid closing Goliad, which would negate having to ask the state for permission, since this is technically a state road. 

For more information about DCA, their activities, or how to join or donate, please contact Strban, Knox, or Treasurer Wade Thomas to find out more. 

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]