Ag Commissioner speaks at Old Fashioned BBQ

Juan A. Navejar Jr.

Legal immigrations is needed for a better tomorrow is the message Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples delivered during the Annual Lucien Flournoy Old Fashioned Barbecue sponsored by the Alice Chamber of Commerce.   
“We have farmers along the border who are having trouble with illegals going through their property which is not good for our economy,” Staples said. “South Texas is the busiest pathway for illegal activity in America. Landowners are suffering. It’s about the will to win and taking a stand. We want legal immigration not illegal immigration.”
More than 350 Jim Wells County residents attended the Old Fashioned Barbecue which was originally started by the Alice Chamber of Commerce and the Master Planners. After Lucien Flournoy pasted away the event went on a seven-year hiatus and was brought back three years ago under the Alice Chamber of Commerce.
“We are blessed to have a great committee made up of Chamber members,” Chamber Executive Director Juan Navejar said. “Under the chairmanship of Kevin Downes and committee members Paul Rycroft and Sue Murdoch, the committee has flourished over the last couple of years. We are very thankful also to Justice of the Peace Karen Knolle for assisting us this year.”
Commissioner Staples was re-elected to serve a second four-year term as the Agriculture Commissioner and believes the free enterprise system and individual responsibility are the keys to prosperity for Texas.
From his earliest days of public service as a member of the Palestine city council through his tenures in the Texas House of Representatives and later the Texas Senate, Commissioner Staples has championed such critical issues as protection of private property owners' rights, workers' compensation reform, school finance reform and improving the education of Texas' leaders of tomorrow, just to name a few.
As leader of the Texas Department of Agriculture, Commissioner Staples is diligent in his efforts to support private sector job creation and economic development across the Lone Star State; improve consumer protection from the grocery store to the gas pump; lead true eminent domain reform in Texas; and play an enormous role in continuing to improve the healthy lifestyles of young Texans.
He is also focused on the promotion of agricultural products and businesses using the GO TEXAN marketing program, and has expanded trade opportunities for Texas producers. Commissioner Staples has accomplished these priorities with a philosophy that puts family and taxpayer interests first while also focusing on efficiency. 
Commissioner Staples was born in Anderson County where he was active in high school FFA and was elected state FFA vice president. He attended Texas A&M University where he graduated with honors with a degree in agricultural economics.
Commissioner Staples began serving in public office in 1989 when he was elected to the Palestine city council. In 1995 he was elected state representative and served three terms in the Texas House before being elected state senator in 2000 where he served two terms. His public service continues today as Agriculture Commissioner. Following his first election in 2006, he was re-elected to a second term in 2010.
Commissioner Staples and his wife, Janet, have four grown children.
“Texas has led the nation in the past decade in job growth. Much like you Chamber members present, it’s about job creation. If Texas is going to be successful it’s going to take some planning,” Staples said. 
The Chamber event was thanks its sponsors that made it possible: Alice Chevrolet, Alice Jim Wells County Economic Development Corporation, Alice24-7.com Scott Bearing Company, Brite Star, City of Alice, Mike Cochran, Servando Garza Jr., DeLaune Drilling, Del Cielo Home Care, EnDyn, FESCO, Flournoy Productions, First Community Bank, First State Bank of San Diego, Forum Energy Tech, Frontier Services, Garcia & Carvajal-Garcia LLP,  State Rep. J.M. Lozano, Kleberg Bank, , Roddy Gonzalez, Paul Rycroft, Macareno Sign and Graphics of Alice, Page Waterwell, Prosperity Bank, South Texas Family Medical Texas Champion Bank and Wells Fargo Bank.