Hello, my name is Benton Scott Jackson, but most people call me “Scott.” I am currently seeking the office of Terry County Judge, and I want those who don’t know me to hear my story and determine for themselves if I am the man they would vote for as their County Judge.
I was born November 23, 1957, in Taylor, Texas, which is in Williamson County located approximately 40 miles east of Austin. My parents were Fred and Dorothy Jackson and I was the fourth of six siblings, three older brothers, and two younger sisters. We lived in Thrall, Texas where my father was a mechanic at the local Chevrolet dealership and my mother worked as a domestic.
During the fall of 1966, my father decided to move the family to West Texas having accepted a job to farm for Robert and Louise Luker in the Union Community. I was in the third grade at the time. As a child of segregation, moving to Union was a life-changing experience. It was then that I discovered that it was not the color of your skin that mattered, but character, integrity and hard work. The friends I developed back then are still dear friends today.
My family not only worked for the Lukers, but also worked on numerous farms in the Union Community. The Millers, the Caswells, the Faughts, the Phillips, the Herrings, the Cornetts, and the Mosses are some of the farms we hoed cotton for and moved pipe for, all good people.
Albert Einstein said, “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.” My father was a no-nonsense man, and he set a high bar when it came to working hard and taking care of your business.
In the fall of 1969, my father announced we were moving to the Johnson Community where he had taken a position farming for Muldrow Farms. The headquarters were located 26.5 miles northwest of Brownfield. I was in the 6th grade at the time, and the move from Union to Brownfield was bittersweet. Anthony J. D’Angelo said, “Don’t fear change, embrace it,” so I did. I was able to graduate from Brownfield High in 1976 and attended West Texas State University in Canyon, Texas where I received my Bachelor’s Degree.
In the fall of 1980, I was hired by Terry County to run the recreation part of the Terry County Juvenile Probation Office. But in the spring of 1981, I was hired to run the Juvenile Probation Department when the current Chief moved to the Dallas area. I worked as the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer/Recreation Director/ Terry County Truant Officer until the spring of 1986 when I decided to step down and go into the private sector.
The economic downturn that occurred in 1986-1988 made it a good time to make the transition back to working for Terry County, and I was rehired to take back over administration of the Juvenile Probation Department in the fall of 1988 where I worked until 2004. The County and City decided to remove the Recreation Department from being a part of the Juvenile Probation Department and make it a standalone department within the Public Works Department and asked if I would become the Director of Parks and Recreation working for the City, a position I accepted and currently hold.
WHY I AM RUNNING FOR THE OFFICE OF TERRY COUNTY JUDGE:
Theodore Roosevelt said, “It is not the critic that counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so, that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Fancy words to say, “Put up or shut up.” I’ve been a public servant in Terry County for 41 years, and I’ve always aspired to run for County Judge, to put what I’ve learned to work for the people of Terry County at the highest level, to do the most good for the most people to the best of my ability.
LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE:
President of Terry County Child Welfare Board (Past)
President of Regional Child Welfare Board (Past)
President of West Texas Chiefs Association (Past)
Served on Board of Directors of Brownfield Emergency Shelter
Board Member of Our Promise Youth Academy (formerly Brownfield Boys & Girls Club)
President of Brownfield Tennis Association
TASO Volleyball Official (14 years)
Served two terms on State Bar Grievance Committee
Member of Sheriff’s Association of Texas
Served as member of South Plains Association of Government (2 terms)
Criminal Justice Advisory Committee
Served on the Board of Directors of South Plains Community Action
RECOGNITIONS:
2003 Recipient of Terry County Citizenship Award presented by Terry County Extension Program Council
2016 Citizen of the Year
