Stackhouse promotes healthy eating, setting goals at local school.
By: Brian Feldt





See pictures from the event!



Alexis Godina came to school with a pretty legitimate tardy excuse after arriving more than an hour late, Friday morning.

Alexis, a 9-year-old fourth grader and the winner of the Dairy MAX and Dannon “Take Jerry Stackhouse to School,” contest, pulled up to Thelma Jones Elementary with more than the usual sack lunch and book bag – she came bearing the 6-foot-6-inch Mavs guard/forward Stackhouse in an entourage of limousines.

“Because of her essay I am here today. So here we are, Ms. Alexis won the competition,” Stackhouse said. “She is a sweet young lady and she wrote a great essay about eating healthy snacks after school and how much she loves the Mavericks. This is her special day. She is the big lady on campus today.”

Alexis, who lives a few miles from the Arlington elementary school, won the contest by submitting her poem in which she discussed how she gets her 3-A-Day of Dairy on game days and why she loves the Mavs.

Alexis’ winning essay:

I begin my day eating a bowl of mild and cereal.
At school for lunch, I cross my fingers for cheese pizza and I wash my down with chocolate milk.
After dinner, I drink a strawberry-banana Danimals yogurt.
Then my family and I sit in front of the T.V. shouting and cheering our favorite Mavs team, especially when they beat the Spurs.

Stackhouse recited the poem in front of an assembly of more than 700 Thelma Jones students, most of them adorning Mavs gear, and highlighted the last line by saying, “Now that’s a winning poem if I have ever heard one.”

Stackhouse was greeted with surprise and wonderment entering the auditorium before he spoke to the young crowd about healthy eating and frequent exercise.

Since losing two of his sisters to diabetes, Stackhouse has said he has had a passion for informing children on a healthy living style.

“Health is very important to me, obviously with my story,” Stackhouse said. “I think with the relationship with Dairy MAX and Dannon and all these companies we have is on the same page with trying to get the message out. When you get home from school don’t grab the pop-sickles or the potato chips but some cheese or yogurt or the healthy snacks. Obviously Alexis got the message with her essay.”

Stackhouse spoke of how hard Alexis worked on her poem and translated it to each student and how they could do anything they wanted so long as they worked hard and stayed focused on their goals. Principal Karl Bethel said the students could take a number from Stackhouse’s book.

“We all see the great things Jerry does on the court and all the great things he did at North Carolina, but it’s what he does as a person that really defines him,” Bethel said during the assembly. “You all have the same ability that Jerry Stackhouse has. You just have to keep working hard.”

After Stackhouse’s speech to the students, Bethel opened the auditorium up for a small Q&A session. It wasn’t long before a student asked Stackhouse to sing a song after she had seen him sing the National Anthem on TV before one of the Mavs games.

Stackhouse obliged as he performed a short rendition of “Yes, Jesus Love Me,” something that could have sparked into his head after his drive to school with Alexis earlier that morning.

Alexis said on top of talking about healthy eating habits and their shared love for milk, the two also spoke of another connection – faith.

“We talked about the milk we drink and how his dad and my dad’s dad were both preachers.”

Stackhouse said he could relate to Alexis’ father and was a supporter of the family’s faith.

“We talked about having some strong faith,” Stackhouse said. “She entered the contest and it was almost like wining the lottery with her winning. But with her winning, I think is solidified their faith in God and I am a firm believer in that.”

After the student assembly, Stackhouse and Alexis roamed the halls together before entering into her classroom, where Stackhouse signed autographs for her entire class.

Stackhouse left the classroom, as Alexis took high-fives from her classmates, saying Alexis and her family were not so different from Stackhouse and his own.

“Our parents were the same in that they taught us to work hard and be the best we can be,” Stackhouse said. “Hopefully from what Alexis was able to do, other kids can strive on that message.”