Hello Fannin County! 

Some of you may remember me from when I worked with Randy Moore in the summer of 2007.  I’m writing first and foremost to thank all of you for the support and encouragement you’ve given me.   I was raised in Bonham, and it was a pleasure and an honor to have my first duty assignment as an intern for the NRCS in Fannin County.  I had the opportunity to branch out my educational experience by working in Cooper the following summer; however, my time in Fannin County will always be my favorite assignment.  So thank all of you for making me welcome and working with me through my awkward training period (which admittedly is nowhere near over).   

 I would also like to give you an update as to where I am now.  Well, I’ve finally graduated from Texas A&M with my BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences in one of the largest classes our department has ever graduated:  64 students!  I thought I knew everyone in my department until we were all standing in line and suddenly there were strangers around me.  Of the more than five thousand students that graduated from my ceremony alone (only one of the five that were held), and of all the 2009 graduates less than 20% graduated with full-time employment.  Times are hard, which is why I am extremely grateful for the opportunity that was offered to me by the NRCS

I have taken full time appointment with the NRCS now, and am assigned to the office in Mason.  In case you don’t know where that is (I didn’t know either, until I googled it), its a couple hours west of Austin in the middle of the Texas Hill Country.  It is a beautiful area, but I see myself getting lost on the endless twist and turns of the roads out here.  It will be a valuable learning experience to be able to work in an ecoregion I’ve never worked or studied in before, and hopefully I’ll have lots of fun doing so!  If I’m lucky, someday I may manage to work my way back to the Fannin County area to bring my knowledge and experience home.

So here’s one last big thank you to everyone, to Mr. Moore for getting me interested in conservation to begin with, and for teaching me as I began my journey with the NRCS.  Thank you to Mary Jane, and Steve Deckard, and all the office workers that made me feel at home and put up with me as I stumbled my way through my first summer.  Thank you to Carroll Jones and all the SWCD board members for your support and encouragement.  And especially, thank you to everyone I met and worked with in the field, you are all wonderful! 

Sincerely, Carol Brinlee