"The gauges all work!”
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry came into Boerne Tuesday to sing the praises of the Boerne ISD’s vocational education program, specifically its welding shop, run by instructor Dornan Vick.
What Perry did not know was Vick’s welding students finished a restoration of his father’s 1992 Chevrolet pickup, presented to him following a brief ceremony.
Perry, a vocational education student himself in his high school years, left the keys to the truck with Vick’s class in March 2023. Work began in November 2023 and finished last week.
“I was busted in a beautiful way,” Perry laughed, after spending about 5 minutes inspecting, touching and then starting the truck. “I had no idea this is what I was going to be looking at when I got it back.”
Emotions got the best of Perry, the longest serving governor in Texas history, when he walked to the back and reached out a finger — touching the signature of his late father, welded into the framework of the bed.
“I was hoping I wasn’t going to have to give a speech, because I couldn’t,” Perry said, taking a moment to compose himself.
“I was thinking about my dad. He would be the most ecstatic person here, to see this,” he said. “I don’t think it even looked that good when he bought it new. And the gauges all work!’
See Sunday’s Boerne Star for more on Perry’s visit and interaction with Champion’s welding teacher and students.
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