I am excited and honored to be running for one of the CISD School Board Trustee positions. I would like to share some information about myself for those of you who would like to know more about me.

•I’ve been married to my husband Craig, for 11+ years and together, we have 3 beautiful children: Conner-10, Creed-7 and Courtney “Coco”-6.

•Our children currently attend school at Canadian Elementary and Baker Elementary.

•Craig and I moved to Canadian in the spring of 2017. One of the biggest “deal breakers” for me was whether or not Canadian had a good school system. I quickly learned that, in my opinion, we have the best there is in the Panhandle.

•I am a 6th-generation agriculturalist, and was blessed to have grown up with the opportunity to help my family on our cattle, sheep and goat ranch outside Roswell, NM. My parents and both of my younger siblings are still operating their own ranches to this day.

•I was very involved in 4-H and FFA growing up. I showed sheep, breeding heifers and steers. I judged on many teams and competed on teams including: land, parliamentary procedure, wool, pasture and range, and speech.

•I played soccer for 7 years, from the ages of 7 to 14.

•After graduating high school, I attended New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education.

•After graduation from NMSU, I moved home to Roswell, where I worked as a Noxious Weed Coordinator for the Chaves County Soil and Water Conservation District. (Yes, I tracked and sprayed weeds for a job… and loved it, because I was able to be out and about enjoying and caring for the land)

•I knew I needed to learn more about running an agricultural business, because of our families’ operations, so I moved to Fort Worth, where I attended the TCU Ranch Management Program. This is where I met my husband, Craig.

•After graduation from TCU-RM, I moved to the Texas Panhandle and worked for Rabo Agrifinance, in Amarillo, until I finally landed my dream job at Travis Elementary School in Pampa, where I taught 2nd grade and Kindergarten.

•Due to some health issues and finding out that I was pregnant with our first-born, I quit teaching and decided to be a substitute teacher and have the opportunity to help Craig on our ranch.

•Craig and I moved to Canadian in April of 2017. We immediately fell in love with the community. We were welcomed with open arms and have made this town our home!

•I’ve subbed the last few years at all the campuses here in Canadian and have enjoyed meeting our teachers and school staff, as well as forming relationships with the students I’ve had the opportunity to work with.

•Craig and I have our own cow-calf operation outside of Pampa. I’m the main secretary and bookkeeper.

•I believe in the importance of pride in where you come from. I am extremely proud of our community here in Canadian. The community is beautiful in so many ways. I love that you can drive down the streets and see people you know, or don’t know, and wave at them and know they will wave back at you. I love that we push our students to do and be their best, whether it’s on the field/court or in the classroom. I love that we support a safe and up to date classroom environment. I love that we have committed board members who want only the best for our students. I also love that our community can come together and help one another out. I’ve seen firsthand what this community is capable of and I want to be able to help hold us all up, especially when it comes to our schools and education.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

I would love to have your support and votes as I run for a position on the CISD School Board.

JESSICA COWDEN
cowden.jessica@gmail.com