Sweetwater High dedicates CTE building to former teachers

SWEETWATER, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Throughout the years, many have been influenced by the instruction of Eddie Puckett and Kenneth Dudensing, two former Sweetwater High School teachers whose stern but fair demeanor set an example for thousands. Recently, these two instructors were recognized for their dedication to education, as Sweetwater’s new Career & Technical Education building is named after them.

Throughout decades of service to the school, the two instructors for the AG Department educated thousands and influenced countless more. One of those former students is Kirk Maberry, who brought the idea to the Sweetwater School Board to name the new CTE building after these two instructors who hold a cherished place within the community.

“They were tough, but I think every student that they had really would come back today and say that was a pivotal point in their life and what turned them into the people they are today. If you think about the ripple effect of someone’s life and how that continues to move out and further, there are grandkids of students they’ve had who are involved in agriculture, have a great life because of what Mr. Dudensing and Puckett did for their grandparents,” Maberry explained.

The CTE building for Sweetwater High was part of a $49,000,000 bond for the school to expand curriculum and opportunities for students, as well as a new competition gym for the Athletic Department. Sweetwater High School Principal Scott Cottenoir elaborated on all of these new programs.

“We have Cosmetology, Culinary Arts, AG Mech, AG Animal, AG Plant, Law Enforcement and Construction Sciences. We want to make sure that these kids have every opportunity, if they choose not to go to a typical four-year college. We want to give them that opportunity to be able to go walk right into the workforce and be able to make a good living wage,” Cottenoir shared.

Ladawn Puckett-Daniel is the daughter of Eddie Puckett, and while standing alongside her mother and wife to Mr. Puckett, Ira Lea Puckett, she recounted a heartfelt moment with her father when passing by the new building.

“The other day we drove by and I stopped and I said, ‘Dad, look!’ He said, ‘That’s my name.’ And I said, ‘It sure is.’ I said that the building is named after you and Kenneth. He said, ‘That’s so nice.’ I get phone calls all the time about what they have done for them, and they owe their life to them. And it does mean the world to all of us,” Puckett-Daniel shared.

While some final touches are still in the works for Sweetwater’s CTE building, which carries the names of these influential men, students are already actively utilizing the building for instruction with these new programs.