To the tune of “Deep in the Heart of Texas”: The list today is coming your way … straight from the state of Texas.

1. First off, everything’s bigger.
2. Second, if it’s not bigger, it’s better.
3. It’s that first sip of Dr Pepper from Whataburger on the drive home from a summer workshop.
4. It’s the sense of civic pride you feel when you’re a reporter for the Leaguetown Press.
5. The Texas Association of Journalism Educators and their executive board fiercely work to provide opportunities and scholarships for Texas journalism students and their advisers. Hosts of the epic Fall Fiesta Convention.
6. We get breakfast tacos when we have Saturday morning work sessions.
7. The Interscholastic League Press Conference: the state’s student press association has been hosting conventions and workshops and facilitating contests for almost a century.
8. Remembering the old days of chaperoning students on Six Flags Night Out during the Gloria Shields All-American Publications Workshop (now Gloria Shields NSPA Media Workshop) in Dallas.
9. The Association of Texas Photography Instructors is the gold standard for photography education and contests, led by the hardest working man in scholastic journalism — Mark Murray. And they’ll even let other states compete.
10. You can win a state championship in journalism. Actually, you can win five, thanks to the University Interscholastic League’s academic contests, which include news writing, feature writing, editorial writing, headline writing and copy editing. Winners receive the same medals and trophies as the state championship football teams — and you know how serious we are about football.
11. Czech Stop or Slovaceks? If you don’t have an answer, then you aren’t from Texas.
12. Texas has more than 300 active JEA members.
13. Chips and queso on the San Antonio Riverwalk after competing in write-offs at Fall Fiesta.
14. A year of doing powerful student journalism culminates at the ILPC Spring Convention at the University of Texas. Learn from the top professional journalists and journalism educators in the state, pick up your IAA medals and hopefully an ILPC Star plaque.
15. Halloween night has nothing on the candy pile each year at the ATPI Summer Workshop for Instructors Only.
16. Instructors sharing late nights of Shiner and queso at the Texas Chili Parlor after a long day of learning at the ILPC Summer Workshop.
17. TAJE honors its top creative educators with its annual Trailblazer Award.
18. Teachers advising fewer than seven years are eligible to win the Pathfinder Award from TAJE.
19. Texas Treasures awarded by TAJE: Bradley Wilson, Jeanne Acton, Cindy Todd, Mary Pulliam, Susan Duncan, Mark Murray, Rhonda Moore, Pat Gathright.
20. Edith Fox King winners: all 296 of them (so far). ILPC honors journalism educators who have served the Texas journalism community for more than a decade. Elder statesmen remember celebrating at Threadgill’s.
21. Max Haddick Texas Journalism Teachers of the Year: Each year, ILPC recognizes the best in the state at the Spring Convention.
22. Two words: Dallas Dollars.
23. Learning from the best photo instructors on the planet during the ATPI Winter Conference at the capitol building.
24. TAJE offers its Best in Texas contest, including “Best of the Best.”
25. Best of Texas Scholastic Photography: Volumes 1-5. Enough said.
26. Riding home from Fall Fiesta after winning the coveted sweepstakes plaque.
27. According to the Texas Press Association, there are 463 paid-circulation newspapers in the state – 75 dailies and 388 weeklies and semi-weeklies.
28. The Radical Write was born here. So was the Godfather of Scholastic Journalism — Bobby Hawthorne.
29. Canned vanilla pudding from Jester Dorm (Bobby’s favorite).
30. The 22 NSPA Pioneers from the Lone Star State.
31. That feeling when they call your staff to the stage at LBJ Auditorium to accept your ILPC Star — and it’s a gold.
32. The number of incredible journalists who have called Texas home. Here are some of them:
33. Molly Ivins
34. Walter Cronkite
35. Dan Rather
36. Scott Pelley
37. Bob Schieffer
38. Blackie Sherrod
39. Tony Plohetski
40. John Moore
41. Skip Hollandsworth
42. Louis DeLuca
43. Dale Hansen
44. Skeeter Hagler
45. 13 different newspapers in Texas have won the Pulitzer Prize. The Dallas Morning News leads with seven.
46. The student-led New Voices Texas movement.
47. When you win a gold medal then win the gold medal to beat all gold medals: a Tops in Texas.
48. The way Jeanne Acton says “Drum roll…”
49. The best yearbook reps in America are in Texas. From every company. Even if they switch companies. We don’t care. Sorry, everyone else. Wait, we’re not sorry. No, we’re not naming them. You know who they are. No further questions at this time.
50. The 867 Chapters of Quill and Scroll in Texas serve their schools and communities.
51. Kathleen McElroy: A journalist, professor at the University of Texas, an inspiration to all of us and a generous servant to scholastic journalism in the state.
52. Bats. IYKYK.
53. Students can shoot photographs on the sidelines with the professional media when they join the UIL State Championship Student Media Crew.
54. Students at Fall Fiesta use their social media prowess to Wiñata a Piñata.
55. The 12 programs on NSPA’s Pacemaker 100 list that hail from the Lone Star State.
56. Dynamic duo David Knight and Scott Winter. They aren’t from here, but we claim them anyway.
57. Trekking to Amy’s Ice Cream when any event is held in Austin.
58. The Headliners Foundation of Texas: providing funding for speakers and educational opportunities with the best professional journalists from across the state.
59. Scripps Howard Fund Emerging Journalists Program at UNT, developed by Dorothy Bland.
60. Our JEA National H.L. Hall Yearbook Advisers of the Year: Charla Harris, Lori Oglesbee, Cindy Todd.
61. Our National High School Journalism Teachers of the Year: John Cutsinger, Jack Harkrider, Randy Stano, Dow Tate (sorry Kansas), Ray Westbrook
62. Our JEA National Broadcast Advisers of the Year: Alyssa Boehringer, Brian Kennedy
63. A Buc-ee’s stop on the way to a convention where students come back with anything from pajama pants to jerky to a box of bandages with beavers on them.
64. Competing or attending a convention or workshop on the UT Austin campus? That means Kerbey Queso and pancakes at the Kerbey Lane Café.
65. Competing in the statewide Centex UIL meet from the comfort of your own classroom.
66. The only national convention local committee to put together a “BIG” State Fair midway for the Dallas convention in 2017.
67. Two Texas stories have received the Brasler Prize in NSPA’s Story of the Year contest — Scott Palmer from Westlake in 1996 and Mark Green from McKinney in 2005.
68. Leaguetown High School’s shifting enrollment.
69. The time Mark Cuban came to speak at Gloria Shields and donated $25,000 to the national convention local committee.
70. Walking a mile in 110 degree heat uphill both ways across a college campus during a summer workshop.
71. If the paper is yellow, lead with the future event.
72. Clicking “submit” on IAA entries at 11:59 p.m. on the night of the deadline.
73. The long expedition across downtown San Antonio to compete in the Fall Fiesta Scavenger Hunt with your school’s team.
74. The 15 JEA Medals of Merit from the Lone Star State.
75. When they call your name while presenting the Bill Taylor Memorial Scholarship for the Texas Journalist of the Year, the Bobby Hawthorne Scholarship, the Dewitt C. Reddick Memorial Scholarship, the Julia Jeffress Memorial Scholarship or the Jim Davidson Memorial Scholarship from TAJE.
76. With a circulation of 34.6 million, Texas Monthly has offered “Stories for All Y’all” since 1973. Any other magazines out there have a taco editor or a barbecue editor? Didn’t think so.
77. When Jeanne Acton and the ILPC Summer Workshop made fanny packs cool again.
78. When you need someone with a pickup truck to carry home your staff’s haul from the auction at Gloria Shields.
79. We have the Texas Tribune — a non-profit, non-partisan site focused on promoting civic engagement through public policy, government and statewide political journalism.
80. The Texas Press Association sponsors The Lone Star contest for journalistic writing for students who have their work published in their local newspapers.
81. Seven student journalists from Texas have been named JEA National Journalist of the Year.
82. Seeing that sun set over Lake Travis during a staff dinner at the Oasis the night before ILPC Spring Convention begins.
83. 15 publications in the NSPA Hall of Fame.
84. Home to Mary Pulliam, recognized as a Linda S. Puntney Teacher Inspiration Award winner.
85. The students who make NSPA Honor Roll (198 last year).
86. We taught the country “Two Stepping Through Texas” for the 2002 convention.
87. It used to take us 45 minutes to write six headlines, but now we can do it in 30.
88. 19 JEA Rising Stars have been from Texas.
89. Our yearbooks have spreads about rodeos.
90. The sound of Dow Tate singing “Day-O” into the microphone on the last day of Gloria Shields.
91. Texas provides sub plans to every journalism teacher in the country with its UIL prompts. You’re welcome, America.
92. The 51 CSPA Gold Keys earned by Texas journalism educators. The first came in 1934.
93. ATPI honors the top 10 photographers in the state when they announce their yearly Imagemaker list.
94. “Some Like it Hot” — that was a good thing when the national convention was in San Antonio in 2012.
95. Students receive points for every local, state and national contest to become eligible for UIL’s All-State Journalism Staff.
96. The incomparable Sherri Taylor.
97. The five legendary Carl Towley Award Winners from Texas: Dewitt C. Reddick, Max Haddick, Bradley Wilson, Bobby Hawthorne and Mark Murray.
98. One last shoutout for chips and queso.
99. The determination and persistence of Texas journalism advisers. During pandemics, weeklong power outages, a changing political landscape and a daunting lack of funding, they lead their students to produce quality journalism every day.
100. We wish y’all at JEA congratulations on 100 years of excellence. That’s a birthday as big as Texas.