He's in his 29th year of teaching Social Studies, and was a football, basketball and track coach. He won the first Golden Apple Award as Teacher of the Month in Kerrville, presented by the Kerrville Daily Times, and was Daughters of the Republic of Texas Teacher of the Year for 2000-2001. In December 2001 he won the Earnest T. Player Award for Best Actor in a Drama for his role as Hoke the driver in the Playhouse 2000 staging of Driving Miss Daisy. In 2003 he won the Mirabeau B. Lamar Award for excellence in teaching history; and in 2005 won the Region 20 Teacher of the Year award. For his performance as Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird for Playhouse 2000 he won his second Earnest T. Player Award as Supporting Actor in a Drama. He has also starred recently in Big River where his gorgeous voice, coupled with Austin Owen's tenor in the Huck role to Clifton's Jim won critical raves.