A&M-Commerce Alum Wins Prestigious Garden Club Award

Mandi and Matt Byrd

Texas A&M University-Commerce alum Matt Byrd was recently named a winner of the Hull Award from the Garden Club of America. The award is given annually to the top environmental educators in the nation. Established in 1992, the award also comes with a $1,000 prize. Byrd, who graduated from A&M-Commerce in 2005 with a degree in Agricultural Science and Technology, currently serves as an agriculture teacher at Hawkins ISD in Hawkins, Texas. Byrd's students have made headlines in recent years, with Hawkins FFA students winning a prestigious blue ribbon at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2021, and the Hawkins “honey team” appearing on the national stage with a segment on NBC's “Today Show” which was broadcast live from the Hawkins High School gym in 2019.