Congratulations to Port O’Connor’s Teacher of the year, Mrs. Jenny O’Neill (standing), and Dedication to Education staff member, Mrs. Carol Rosenboom. Port O’Connor School is blessed to have both of these ladies on campus!

Honored as Teacher of the Year at Port O’Connor Elementary School, Jenny O’Beill has 20 years of service at CCISD. She currently teaches PreK.

Jenny says her favorite thing about teaching is when her students talk about their families and activities, and they get so excited about learning something new. She says she has learned from her students how to be patient, especially since Pre-K students have never been in a classroom setting before. It takes them a while to get accustomed to the rules and behavior expectations, and she enjoys facilitating transition.

Most of all, Mrs. O’Neill hopes her students remember their time in her classroom as having fun while learning.

Dedication of Excellence recipient Carol Rosenboom provides a welcoming and helpful front office experience at Port O’Connor School. Mrs. Rosenboom also handles attendance, enrollment, withdraws, purchasing and records. Most of all, she hopes to provide a caring, supportive presence for her students, and she tries to do anything she can to support her teachers, and make their jobs easier. Carol is being recognized for her dedication to education, and the personal commitment and value she brings to her school and community each and every day.

Pictured in last month’s edition of Dolphin Talk were the honor recipients at Seadrift School.
Seadrift Teacher of the Year. Roxanne Ochoa. Mrs. Ochoa says her favorite part of being a teacher is working with people, getting to know the students, and being there for them when they need her. She says she hopes that her students realize how much they have to offer by just being themselves and doing their best. Mrs. Ochoa attributes her accomplishments to her mother, Debbie Gayle, who was her first teacher, and whom she misses greatly.

Debbie Benetiz was selected as Seadrift Schools Dedication to Education award recipient. Mrs. Benetiz says she enjoys working in education because she gets to work with children and make a positive difference in their lives. She says the children are so full of life and wonderment, that even on a bad day, they can make you smile! Mrs. Benitez describes her school as her family… she loves the small school atmosphere where everyone knows one another.

12th Annual – A Great Success!
Last year it was the challenges of mud; this year it was the wind that posed an obstacle for the participants of the 12th Annual POC Crawfish Fest & Cookoff. Fortunately, the wind didn’t dampen the spirits of the estimated 4,300 attendees who enjoyed the beautiful, breezy day in the park. The event was filled with delicious crawfish and other Cajun dishes, flowing beer, dancing, and various food and craft vendors.

This year, we had a total of 40 cooking teams participate in the competition. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and laughter as the teams battled it out. Team It Ain’t Gonna Suck Itself claimed victory as the Champion Boiled Crawfish, followed by Coastal Oaks Cowboys in 2nd place and Heads or Tails in 3rd place.

The Best Side Dish award was won by Claws Up for their delicious Empanada’s, with Let the Good Times Boil securing 2nd place for their loaded crawfish potato, and team Royal Boilers taking 3rd for their mouth-watering crawfish bisque.

Each year, the Bloody Mary contest challenges participants to showcase their creativity through both the presentation and contents of their Bloody Mary creation. This year, awards were given for the Best Tasting Bloody Mary and Best Bloody Mary Presentation. The top spot for this year’s Best Presentation was claimed by team Let the Good Times Boil, while team Mingus ‘Merica took 1st place for the Best Tasting Bloody Mary. Let the Good Times Boil clinched the title for Best Decorated Booth.

Crawfish Fest
First Place Boiled Crawfish
It Ain’t Gonna Suck Itself

While there are designated judges assigned to evaluate the Crawfish entries, event attendees are also given the chance to choose their preferred entry. The People’s Choice honor for this year was bestowed upon team Heads or Tails. This victorious team also earned a 10% payout, totaling prize money exceeding $3,200.

In addition to the cooking contests, a Crawfish Eating Contest was held, sponsored by POC Rod & Gun. The winners included Colton Anders who secured 1st Place, Jason Randall claiming 2nd Place, and Ryan Lott coming in 3rd.

The Cornhole Tournament, sponsored by Frio Coolers, was a competitive tournament this year, with 22 teams signed up. 1st place was taken by Coon & Monkey (Daniel Garcia & Laney Walther), 2nd place winners were Old Crow (Dillion Michale & Erin), while Team Hancock (Dylan & Tyler Hancock) came in 3rd. Last, but not least, our Horseshoe competition was going strong! Taking 1st place were Doug and Josh, while Bobby and Justin came in second place. Congrats to all contestant winners!

The music at this year’s event was performed by the six-piece band from Corpus Christi, Splendiferous, along with DJ Loco Motion, Mike Overton, Jr. We extend our gratitude to Scott Brown for arranging the music and sound production of the show, making it truly fantastic.

We are delighted to share that this year, we managed to sell an impressive 3000 lbs of Crawfish Plates! A big thank you to the talented team at Crawfish Croux for joining us in POC and preparing the delicious crawfish dishes. Additionally, a special shout out goes to Glen & Sherry Kusak from Farm Pac Kitchens for generously providing us with their refrigerated keg trailers for the beer stations, along with the trailer used for the Main Stage.

A special thank you to all that showed up on Sunday morning to help us clean up the park… it was VERY MUCH appreciated! All it took was a simple post, and the village came together to help. The park was left in an immaculate condition! A Special thank you to Saltgrass Boatworks for the use of their UTV in picking up the trash throughout the festival! An enheartened thank you to all our Judges, Volunteers and Sponsors. As this is the Chamber’s major fundraiser for the year, we are dependent on all of you. Without your help and support, this event would not be possible. It takes many months of dedicated work to make sure it runs smoothly. Again, thank you so much. Make sure to mark your calendar for next year, April 26th…. Always the last Saturday in April! Please go to and like our POC Chamber of Commerce Facebook and the POC Crawfish Fest and Cook-Off Facebook pages to see all the pics from this awesome day and updates for next year!

Until then, Laissez les bons temps rouler!

MANY THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS AND VOLUNTEERS!

May 8th was a special day for the City of Seadrift and its mayor! Retiring after 16 years of service, Seadrift Mayor Elmer DeForest received a flag from Mark Longoria (pictured above) who represented our US Representative Michael Cloud. The flag had been flown over our US Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Joined with Mark Longoria were well-wishers from the community, city employees, and state and county officials. The retirement party was hosted by the ladies at Seadrift’s City Hall. Elmer DeForest is wished the best in his retirement.

Thank you, Elmer! -Photo by Kenneth Reese

Clint and Corky

Never Ending Island Maintenance

Greetings from the island everyone! I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying life and this Spring weather. The temps are slowly rising each day it seems like, indicating that Summer will soon be upon us. I just certainly hope that the brutal scorching hot temperatures and lack of rainfall that we had last summer, do not carry over into this years summer season. I honestly believe that last year was the hottest and driest summer that I had experienced on the island.

This is the first Spring in quite a few years that I didn’t take the time and put forth the effort to have a garden. I just have so many maintenance repairs that are beginning to pile up and need my attention. It’s amazing how quickly this harsh salt water environment, including the weather, humidity and corrosion takes a toll on everything out here. It really is a full time job just with maintenance to keep a place up and running and livable.

Growing tomatoes from seed has always been my favorite gardening passion, and invokes a sense of accomplishment when you are able to successfully grow a delicious homegrown vine ripened tomato from a tiny seed. For those that enjoy eating tomatoes, there’s not much better than a fresh grown tomato right from the garden, having watched it from the time the seed sprouted to the final stage of enjoying it at the kitchen table.

Mother’s Day will have come and gone at the time of this reading, and I truly hope that all of the wonderful moms enjoyed their special day. This world is absolutely a better place because of all of the dedicated and loving mothers out there that raise their kids in a loving and respectful manner. I miss my mom every single day, but I know that she is watching over me, just as all of the heavenly moms are doing with their kids. Thank you to all of the devoted moms out there, we are eternal grateful for all that you do.

I’m going to close this article by saying that this will be my last monthly writing of Island Life for awhile, while I take care of some matters and tackle all of the island cabin maintenance issues that need to be addressed. Everyone take care and have a wonderful day. God bless.

Dennis Walker

Dennis Walker is a grandson of a Seadrift legend. Back in the day people knew the name Louie Walker. In my home growing up Louie Walker was a household name!

Louie Walker was a Seadrift legend… a farmer, alligator hunter, hunting guide, plant worker, boat ramp owner. It is estimated that Louie’s family came to the Seadrift area perhaps in 1902. Louie ended up owning a couple of hundred acres of land outside of Seadrift in the Long Mott area. People would come from miles around to buy the produce from his farm.

Several of Louie’s sons went into the military. One of his sons (Dennis’s father William) was an Air Force fighter pilot. William was one of the first 100 pilots to break the sound barrier. He was a member of the “Mach Buster” club. All his sons went into the military as well. Dennis was one of them. He enlisted in the Air Force and was a weather observer. Commenting about his military service Dennis said, “It taught me discipline. It gave me opportunities to learn.” Dennis’s other brothers served in different capacities as well. One was a captain of a military sub. Another went into the Marines. The third brother was in the Air Force. He spent his entire military career of twenty years in Germany and upon retirement he still lives there!

Dennis’s own daughter, Kelly, was a combat photographer assigned to Special Forces units. One of her duty tours was in Afghanistan where she was injured and is medically retired.

As Memorial Day is just around the corner let us remember all those who served in the military.

Retired Major Paul Gonzales

After serving 25 years in the military my wife Glenda (Chatham) and I retired in Seadrift. My wife is the daughter of Robert Chatham and the late Margaret Chatham. I have two children, Chris, Alisha, and one grandson Layne. I am the son of the former Air Force Tech Sargeant Edward Gonzales and the former Cecilia (Cil) Saenz of Port O’Connor. I have one brother, Tim, who also lives in Port O’Connor. I come from a long line of men and women who served this country.

In 1987 I enlisted in the Coast Guard and obtained the rank of E-5. In 1991 I transferred to the Army National Guard, attended Officer Candidate School in Salina, Kansas, and was commissioned as 2LT. I am a graduate of the Ordinance Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Combined Arms Services and Staff School, and the Advanced Operations Warfighter School. I was assigned the Commanding Officer of the 714th Security Forces and deployed to Mosul, Iraq in 2006-2007. My company’s assignment was to provide security for convoys transporting fuel from Turkey to Bagdad. When I returned from Iraq, I was assigned the task of creating curriculum for service members with PTSD. Other assignments included my being given the title of Operations and Training Officer for Weapons of Mass Destruction Team, Budget Officer, Executive Officer for a maintenance battalion, and Aide to the Adjutant General to the State of Kansas.

I enjoy living in the small town of Seadrift, the city by the bay. It is a sleepy town that has a small-town atmosphere. There’s no traffic lights or city traffic. The people are always friendly and always wave when you are driving around town. It’s seeing kids riding their bikes or playing on the baseball field that gives this town much charm.

Remember our veterans by taking the time to reach out your hand and thanking them for serving this great nation to protect our freedoms and way of life.

Reginald A. Johnson

The Seadrift Postmaster has stories to tell how his family played a part in black history, specifically as black cowboys. Reginald A. Johnson is proud of his family’s history. You would be, too!

Did you know that after the Civil War there were a number of blacks that traveled west and found themselves in a trailhead outfit or working on a ranch as was the case in Reginald’s family.

Reginald’s great grandfather Paul Lott worked on the O’Connor Ranch moving cattle and doing ranch work. His great grandmother Barbara Novella Lott worked and lived on the Welder Ranch where she cooked and raised children. Reginald’s grandfather Nathaniel Youngblood grew up on the Welder Ranch. Reginald’s mother’s family worked on the Welder, O’Connor, and McFadden ranches. His daddy’s family were farmers in Gonzales County.

Reginald was born and raised in Victoria. His mother was a schoolteacher. His dad worked at what used to be Union Carbide. Reginald says he grew up fishing with his grandfather in the San Antonio Bay. He loved playing sports and is a VHS graduate.

Reginald served in the Army infantry from 1989 to 1992. He served with the 3rd AD Battalion and was a tank-gunner in a mechanized unit. He ended up being stationed in Germany. Concerning military service Reginald had this to say, “I believe that every young lady and every young man should serve at least two years their country for the discipline and for the structure.”

After the military, he moved to Austin and worked at DELL Computers for 8 years. While in Austin he met and ended up marrying Carlette. They have been married for 26 years and have two daughters, Caelen and Jaelah.

In Lake Charles, Louisiana Reginald started working for the Postal Service. He worked there for 26 years.

In 2005 Hurricane Rita demolished their home in Louisiana. The family moved to Victoria where Reginald moved up in the Postal Service to the position of supervisor. He has worked in Austin, Rockport, and currently in Seadrift where he serves as postmaster.

Reginald shared his thoughts about his current job. He said, “I enjoy my job. I enjoy customer service. I enjoy this community. Everybody has treated me well. I’m all about building relationships, not tearing them down. Communication is key.”

We salute Reginald and others like him that have served our country. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their service!