competition

It's pretty hard to compete with an Eagle Scout on a project But when three senior Eagle Scouts combine their talents to set their scopes on an Ag Mechanics project, you know the outcome will not be ordinary but extraordinary Cody Welch, Justin Duerr and Chris Coco partnered together for the Howe FFA project and finished first at Loy Lake with their 24-foot trailer that they assembled

Howe's FFA program has a long rich history in winning awards with animals at Loy Lake, but this is the first time Howe has ever finished first in Ag Mechanics Not only did they finish first at Loy Lake, they are taking it to the Houston Livestock Show where they've been told by judges that it should place very well at the big show

As Howe resident Janice Akins said, "An animal can only be shaped, but they created and made that trailer We know both have values - both the animal and the mechanics, but in reality the non-animal projects have more real life application potential than the animals do " Akins is referring to the skillsets of welding and blueprint design Most of the continued on Page #12

She looked at her freshman year on varsity as one of being crucial for her development

"That year was the most exciting for me because that team was fun to play with I thought each and every one of my teammates could have had the (MVP) award " said Harvey. "I didn't even know they gave awards at that time But I thought Morgan Bailey would have got it so I didn't expect it at all That year I wasn't expected to be a leader, not that I don't love that role, but I got put in different positions and they (seniors) were telling me what to do I got to learn from them because they were all great players I carried a lot of what they taught me in the years later"

Sometimes having success so early can put pressure on an athlete to make sure and repeat their performances But Harvey says she thrives on that environment

"I kind of like pressure " said Harvey "I think it makes me better It just pushed me harder to try and get it again and then hopefully more."

In 2015, Harvey was named to the All-State team and hopes for another spot this year

Her basketball life began in Howe at the age of four in the Howe Youth Basketball Little Dribblers Organization Her first coaches were Michelle Carney and her mom Even at four, she was one of the taller players But it wasn't until after seventh grade basketball that she really began to feel a her future all

"I started playing select basketball so that I could potentially go to the next level " said Harvey "I played softball for awhile and actually had to quit because it conflicted with summer basketball. I really just wanted to try it out for a year and see how it went I was really hesitant at playing select ball at first because I was scared that I might not like it "

But that never happened She continued to play select basketball throughout her high school career and never burned out due to, she says, because her parents never forced her to play

"After every game or tournament, my parents would tell me that if I didn't want to play that I didn't have to " said Harvey "They never pushed me to play and it was always my decision and that helped "

There are no regrets of leaving aside her softball or volleyball playing days She is a one-sport gym rat and only wants to play basketball

"I'm not against people that play other sports obviously, but because I love basketball so much, I don't want anything to do with other sports " said Harvey "I enjoyed volleyball, but I didn't love it

As mentioned before, Harvey is only one of six Harvey kids Her older brother Brice Jr, herself and sophomore brother Ty now can help out the parents by driving the younger kids to different events Those younger siblings are Ally, Emma and Tate, all of which are also athletes Ty was the sixth man on varsity basketball team this season and the next Harvey in line is Ally, who is also an impressive basketball player in her own right But some might feel a little sorry for the younger Harvey girl who continued on Page #8 howeenterprise.com

Monday, March 14, 2016