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Tomball’s new marketing director Mike Baxter has made a splash in his first year, guiding the city to eight top awards at the recent Texas Festivals and Events Association’s (TFEA) annual conference.

Tomball joined the group upon Baxter’s arrival.

“There were 375 entrants in several categories and we entered eight of them,” Baxter said. ‘We won seven of them.”

Baxter said the city entered in categories for events with a budget of $75,000 or less and took home the top spot in Best New Event for the Rails & Tails Mudbug Festival, Best New Mascot for Rusty Rails, Best Social Media for the city’s Facebook page, Best Event T-shirt for Rails & Tails, Best Promotional Poster for Rails & Tails, Best Event Hat for Bugs, Brew and Barbeque and Best Event Button also for Rails & Tails.

“We accomplished so much in this first year,” Baxter said. “For a first timer to come and do this is remarkable.”

Baxter, whose previous background was in entertainment and amusement parks, said he took the approach to treat marketing Tomball like he was starting up a new amusement park.

“From the grassroots marketing to the mascot, it’s all something that an amusement park would do and obviously that approach has paid off,” he said. “There is so much buzz about Tomball now. It’s not just that town you drive through on the way to the Renassaince Festival.”

Baxter said that buzz is what will make tourism a valuable entity to the city.

“People now know that there’s so much more here than they thought,” he said. “We have special events, we have festivals, we have concerts, we have live music, there are so many good restaurants in town and more on the way --- this is just the right time for the right place.”

“It’s been a fun year,” he said. “It’s all coming together now.”

Two teams of Magnolia ISD students, one from Magnolia West High School and one from Magnolia Junior High, received a top "Best of Show" prize for their projects at the district's annual science fair, Jan. 12.
Magnolia West High students Samantha Gerthe and Dakota Stormer won for their entry: Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome: Simple! Magnolia Junior High students Aubrey Frank and Brynn Reynolds won for their project: Feasibility of Pneumatic and Hydraulic Lenses. 
More than 100 projects were entered in the district science fair, and several entries are going to the next level – which means exhibiting their projects in the Science and Engineering Fair in Houston Feb. 28 through Mar. 1 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Projects are divided into junior high, ninth grade and senior high divisions. It is an honor that 13 high school entries will be represented by Magnolia students at the Houston fair.
Gregory Corradino, the science department chair and campus science fair coordinator at Magnolia High School, explained that most of the MISD students exhibiting in the Houston show are pre-advanced placement (AP) students.
Their projects took months of research, data collection and analysis, and covered several science disciplines. They included experiments on the energy density of different types of fuels, a behavioral study about the accuracy of eyewitness identification, the preference of ants to different types of sugar, effective techniques for oil absorption and an experiment on the effects of music on bacteria growth.
"These students worked hard on their projects and had to maintain their grades as well. The large number of students going to the next level represents the commitment of both the students and their teachers in promoting the highest standards of science education," said Corradino. "This demonstrates to the community why Magnolia ISD is dedicated to being the best district in the State of Texas."
Dakota Stormer, senior high school Best of Show winner, agreed the science fair is hard work, but rewarding.
"Samantha and I worked on our project two hours a day for more than a year," he said. "We showed how a simple colored overlay used for people diagnosed with the visual perception problem Irlen Syndrome can help reduce the harmful effects of fluorescent lighting on the eyes for a high percentage of non-diagnosed students."
Stormer said the project also turned into a benefit for several students.
"The overlay also increased their focus, reading comfort and reading proficiency," he said. "We tested 72 fifth graders, who were all enthusiastic subjects and interested in our results. This took time and dedication on our part, but this research could actually be useful in the future. We not only enjoyed doing it, but the project could help us stand out among other college applicants for acceptance into school. It was a great way to learn how to work on something constructive with real relevance."

The 2012 Magnolia West football Mustangs finished the season with their third playoff appearance in a row, finishing 6-5, after fighting through a season filled with injuries to several key players.
The Mustangs season motto was "Rise Up."  Little did they know that the young men would learn what that motto really meant early in the season. By the second game, they had already lost three starters to season ending knee injuries.  At this point, the team found a way to push through adversity to have a winning season. 
Magnolia West lost two close district ball games to Montgomery and Huntsville. These two losses made it all come down to the final regular season game against Waller.  Once again, the Mustangs did what it took to make the playoffs and beat the Waller Bulldogs 41-17.
 The following players were named to the 18-4A all-district team:
18-4A Defensive Most Valuable Player: Xavier Jones
First Team: Junior defensive end Tyler Massey; senior cornerback Zeke Bronson; junior safety Brady Bynum; senior offensive lineman Cody Skrivanek and sophomore fullback Tyler Ray.
Second Team: senior defensive tackle Cody Skrivanek; junior inside linebacker Luke Knowles; junior outside linebacker Austin Carroll, senior tight end Trevor Buckley and senior center Austin Ray.
Honorable Mention: junior defensive tackle Jacob Bennett; junior cornerback Deontre Allen; senior offensive lineman Todd Slater; junior offensive lineman Seth Blendermann and junior wide receiver Justin Smith.