On Thursday night, an excited crowd of parents, educators, and community members gathered on the third floor of the Historic Hubbard High School for an enjoyable and informative meet and greet event with Hubbard ISD’s new superintendent, Coach Colt Carmichael. The event was sponsored by the Hubbard ISD Education Foundation to introduce Carmichael to the public, as well as share important foundation news.
The elegant hall was decorated in black and gold with Jaguar themed black tables, adorned with lovely plant centerpieces arranged by Hubbard Farm and Ranch. Gold and black balloons framed the stage, with personalized signs made by Brooke Martinez at Sip Sip Away. Guests were treated to self-serve teas and individual rustic bags of tortilla chips, paired with personal-sized dip cups of delicious homemade salsa. Tiny yet irresistible yogurt covered snacks were presented from a tall, crystal centerpiece. Refreshments were provided by Rosa’s Texmex Restaurant and Hubbard High School’s Culinary Arts classes, directed by Ms. Donna Riddle.
The Foundation’s President, Douglas Peacock, began the event with the history of the foundation, and offered three direct calls to action to support our HISD students, and introduce the new superintendent. Peacock stated, “We started this organization about two years ago, and the purpose was to provide resources to our teachers and kids that the school cannot provide for with budgetary allocations. In a poor school district, you don’t have a lot of money and so can’t always get the needs met. The purpose of the foundation is to meet that need.” The foundation allows teachers to apply for educational grants, prioritizing innovation and inspiration in the classroom. The Spring application process for HISD classroom and professional grants is currently open until the deadline of March 18.
Further, Peacock reported, “We have raised over $155,000 in less than two years. We have given out $63,000 in grants so far for the teachers to benefit the students. In fact, we are in a grant application process right now. That’s what the foundation does! We hold monthly events and fundraisers, and we’re always looking for contributions. We don’t care how little or how much, we’re just doing this for the kids, that’s why we’re here.”
The foundation’s fundraisers are quickly becoming some of the most sophisticated and fun things to do in Hubbard. Popular annual events thus far include the Spring golf tournament and a fancy Fall cocktail party. The foundation sponsors teacher appreciation parties and more throughout the year, in addition to awarding grants.
Peacock elaborated, “I’ve got grandkids in high school and junior high and so I’ve been to lots of sporting events and school events in the last few years, and let me tell you about the grit and determination that I see in our kids. I’m going to use our girls basketball varsity team as an example, but the same applies to the football team, the JV, the Junior High teams, track, volleyball, and everything we do, it’s just all these kids. In this team, there are 7 girls who play basketball. Every team we’ve played, their shortest player was taller than our tallest player. That’s just who we played this year. Some teams had 15 girls; some teams had 20 girls. We had 7. In and out, in and out, those girls hustled. I have never seen such grit, determination, and effort; a refusal to lose, and a desire to believe it… but here they come, one by one. They show up. They’re exhausted, they can’t feel their legs, but they continue to compete. I saw this on the football team, girls and boys basketball stadiums, track, UIL competition, and so on. Although we lost a game on the scoreboard, they won a much bigger game. They exhibited real determination and persistence, and that’s the kind of kids we’ve got at this school. Those are characteristics of winners, and that is how champions compete. They don’t give up. They never let us down, and that’s the kind of kids we have here: it’s Hubbard. They show up and they compete, so we need to show up for our kids. Coming from Hubbard is not a stigma, it’s an advantage. If you tell me it’s not, I’ll fight you, and they will too.”
Peacock continued, “You can achieve anything you want in this world with a Hubbard High School diploma. Whether it’s going to college, going to a trade school, or joining the work force. If you come from Hubbard, you’re going to be loved, you’re going to be embraced. You’re going to be enabled and cared for, and you’re going to be well-grounded and balanced when you get out into the world you’re going to be facing. So that’s our job.”
How do we do that? Peacock suggests that first, the number one way to support the kids is to come out and watch them play. The teams are inspiring to watch. Secondly, support the fundraisers. The next event will be the golf tournament on Apr. 25. Peacock stated, “With golf, bingo, auction, and dinner, it’s a major event! Last year this event alone raised over $30,000.” Thirdly, he stresses how imperative it is that the community vote yes to pass the bond in May. The school needs dire work and facility improvements, and it is crucial that this bond passes to be able to get the important upgrades.
“There’s something special about Hubbard, It’s the people here; they show up if you need help. They show up to do things, and to make things happen. That’s the character that we have in this town,” Peacock boasts, and welcomes Coach Carmichael with a pledge, “The people are wonderful here. So, I commit to you from our family: we will love you, we will support you, we will help you, and we will be here for you. We’re so excited that you’re here, that you took this job and brought your family, (and we’re glad you’re athletes!)
Carmichael joins the HISD family along with his wife, Christina, and their three children, Cambree, Colbee, and Cannon, who will be going into freshman year, seventh grade, and third grade, respectively. Carmichael stated, “When I started researching Hubbard, the Education Foundation was one of the things that I saw that really attracted me to this community, because when you have a small town, it’s great to be able to see the community have a way to organize and get behind their kids; and it makes our job so much easier at school whenever we have that community support.” Carmichael begins his first day on the job on Mar. 23.
As the night ended, Interim Superintendent, Keith Boles, closed the event and spoke about the selection process and his time at HISD. Boles explained, “There is not a more important decision that the Board will make than the selection of the superintendent. They had about 20 applicants for the job. They went through each one of these applications, narrowing it down to six. I will tell you, since I retired, I’ve done nine of these interim jobs across the state, and the quality of the applicants that they had in that final six was as good as anywhere I’ve been. When it really came down, they interviewed three on one night and interviewed three the other night, and it was a clear choice who checked all the boxes, and that’s Coach Carmichael. He’s going to do a great job in the district!” Boles has worked as Interim Superintendent for HISD since Jan. 5.
The Hubbard ISD Educational Foundation will be hosting their 2nd Annual Golf Tournament on Saturday, April 25 at the Corsicana Country Club, located at 4100 Country Club Dr. Tee time at 1:00 PM. Bingo at 3:00 PM, Dinner at 6:00 PM with Silent Auction and Live Auction at 7:00 PM. Cost is $500 per team / $125 per player and includes 18 holes of golf with cart, dinner, cash and specialty prizes. Hole sponsorships are available for $100. The foundation also will gratefully accept donations for the live auction, silent auction, bingo, and player prizes. Contributing an item or an experience is a meaningful way to showcase your business while supporting scholarships, classroom innovation, and student success.
For more information, visit the Hubbard ISD Education Foundation facebook page, or call 254-576-2564.