Hard Work and Plan B Does Pay Off
Have you ever felt like you were working hard, but it just wasn't hard enough? Did you feel like you could have done things different? What about when you work on something and things go wrong? Then you have to go with plan B. Most of the time that's not a good thing. What about when all of that work pays off in a big way? Stockdale FFA member Jessica Puente knows all about what it's like to put in the hard work, have things go wrong, and then push forward with plan B and be successful.
In 2013 Jessica Puente started off the stock show season by not only winning Grand Champion Market Lamb, at the Wilson County Stock Show, but also winning Reserve Grand Champion Lamb. Jessica Puente and her family work hard every day to make sure the lambs are progressing how they need to be. Sometimes things don't go as they are planned. You see, Jessica raises lambs for all the major shows and has been successful with making the sale and getting some of her investment back. I remember asking Jessica how the lambs were doing and she was worried about the Houston lamb because it had been sick and lost 30 lbs. She said they got it well, but the medicines had the lambs stomach all torn up and it wasn't eating well or gaining the weight back. During the San Antonio Stock show, after placing 6th place and making the sale, I asked Jessica again about the lamb and she said they were taking the Austin lamb to Houston and not going to Austin. The next weeks to follow at school I would ask Jessica, how is that Grand Champion Houston Lamb doing? She would laugh and smile and say, "I don't know Mr. Heimann, it's not as good as the one that was sick." Little did Jessica or I know that what we had been joking about was about to come true. You see, things don't always work out the way you want them, the way you plan them, or the way you think they should go. I was on my way to Houston with a load of pigs for the stock show when Jessica Puente called my cell phone crying. I could not even understand what she was saying the first couple of times. I had Matthew Krueger and Dakota Kotara with me and we had just passed a bad wreck on IH-10. The only thing I could think about when she called crying was please don't let that have been the Puentes. After a couple of times asking her what she said I finally heard these words, " I just won the Lamb Show!"
So just because things don't turn out to be what you want them to be, never give up! Jessica Puente is a prime example of hard work and dedication. She and her parents work really hard at raising the best lambs possible, even the Plan B lamb that won the 2013 Houston Livestock Show! Although Jessica didn't show her lamb under Stockdale FFA, she is a member and participates in lots of speaking contest through the FFA. Wilson County 4-H has the pleasure of saying they had the Grand Champion Lamb in Houston in 2013. As Stockdale FFA Advisor, I have the pleasure of saying I have Jessica Puente in my chapter, and I wouldn't trade her for the world! Everyone is so proud of you Jessica, you deserve it! Oh, did I mention Jessica is a world record holder now too? She holds the world record for the most money for a lamb at $220,000.
FFA Advisor, Josh Heimann