The magazine headline promoted the “50 Best Places to Live.” If they had done their research well, they would have determined that Abernathy, Texas should have been at the top of their list. Abernathy has everything that makes a community great: your kids can play in the driveway without fear; neighbors actually know their neighbors by name and care about them; school teachers and administrators believe that moral character, honor, decency, and integrity may be the most important things taught in school; good jobs can still be found by those willing to work; some of the best doctors and hospitals in America are 20 minutes away; churches really do believe that they are to be salt and light in a hurting world; and politicians believe that they are accountable to their constituents.

If these are important to you and your family, we welcome you to discover for yourself what makes Abernathy great.

Schools:

The Abernathy Independent School District (http://www.abernathyisd.com), with a long tradition of excellence in academics, athletics and band, has 768 students. For the 2008-2009 school year, as a district, Abernathy ISD received a RECOGNIZED rating by the Texas Education Agency.

Abernathy Middle School, as a campus, received the highest rating possible -EXEMPLARY. In addition to this great honor they received the following additional awards:

• The Elmer Watson Award for best performing Middle School in all of Region 17
• The Title 1 Distinguished Performance Award

Abernathy Middle School received GOLD Acknowledgements in the following areas:

• Attendance
• Commended Performance on Writing TAKS
• Commended performance on Social Studies TAKS
• Comparable Improvement on Math TAKS

Abernathy High School received the rating of Recognized. In addition, Abernathy High School was

• Recognized by the College Board for improvement in ACT scores over the past five years
• Recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best high schools in the nation
• Recognized by Texas Monthly as one of the top high schools in the state in English Language Arts
• Recognized by The National Center for Educational Achievement as a High Performing Campus in Reading
• Received GOLD Acknowledgements in the following areas: Attendance, College Ready Graduates, Texas Success Initiative in English Language Arts, Texas Success Initiative in Mathematics, Comparable Improvements on Math TAKS, and Comparable Improvements in Reading/Language Arts

Jobs:

Not counting jobs in Abernathy at AISD, Gicon Pumps (http://www.gpeltd.com), Hurst Farm Supply (http://www.hurstfs.com), Hi Plains Drilling, Wolf Irrigation (http://www.wolfpumps.com), there are almost 30,000 jobs with the following 15 major employers that are within a 20 minute drive of Abernathy (with the number of employees in parentheses):

• Texas Tech University (9,740)
• Covenant Health System (4,870)
• University Medical Center (2,828)
• AT&T Communication (2,370)
• City of Lubbock (2,289)
• TTU Health Sciences Center (2,257)
• Lubbock County (922)
• Lubbock State School (801)
• Tyco Fire Protection (639)
• U.S. Postal Service (500+)
• American State Bank (374)
• X-Fab Texas (355)
• Lubbock Heart Hospital (338)
• O’Hair Shutters (195)
• Texas AgriLife Research Extension Center at Lubbock (150)

Growth:

While much of the country is languishing, Abernathy and northern Lubbock County are experiencing steady growth. The April 2010 report from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts indicated that Abernathy’s sales tax revenue was up 15.4% over the same month in 2009. Golden Spread Electric Cooperative (http://www.gsec.coop) is building a new electric generation plant costing almost $200 million just north of Abernathy. AISD is in the process of a $16 million expansion and renovation.

The 586-acre Lubbock Business Park, adjacent to I-27 just 14 miles south of Abernathy, has seen unbelievable growth: O’Reilly Auto Parts Distribution Center ($20 million, 225,000 square feet); WesTex Packaging/Standard Bag Manufacturing (61,000 square feet, costing $7 million, and creating 100 jobs); agricultural biotechnology giant Monsanto ($15 million research and development facility, bringing 20 jobs); the Texas Department of Public Safety ($37 million, 66,000-square-foot regional headquarters and forensics lab, bringing 50 new jobs); Standard Sales (112,085 square foot distribution center costing $10 million, and bringing 22 new jobs); Verizon (a 30,000 square foot, data center, costing over $30 million). In addition, Macsa has completed a 40,000 square foot, $4 million corn flour mill plant in the North Rail Port. The new state-of-the-art Lubbock County jail will employ 300 personnel (a 120 person increase from the current detention center).

Transportation:

Preston Smith International Airport (http://www.flylia.com), just 12 miles south of Abernathy, is home to three major airlines. Interstate 27 is a major artery in the Ports to Plains Alliance (portstoplains.com), based in Lubbock. It is a non-profit, non-partisan, community-driven advocacy group led by mayors, councilpersons, economic development officials, business and other opinion leaders from a nine-state, 2300-plus mile economic development corridor between Texas, and Alberta, Canada.

Churches:

There are 13 local churches serving the spiritual needs of the community.