By Chelsi Jennings
Wood County Monitor
For generations of Mineola students, Glen Dossett was more than an agriculture teacher. He was a mentor, a leader and a teacher who became an influential part of their story.
Dossett was born in Mineola and attended New Hope School before transferring to Mineola High School in the ninth grade. It was there that he met his future wife, Darla. Dossett proudly said he never went on a date with anyone other than Darla.
The two graduated from Mineola High School in 1964. Dossett went on to attend East Texas State University, now East Texas A&M University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1967 and a master’s degree in 1970.
Dossett then began his teaching career as an agriculture teacher with Pittsburg ISD. After three years, however, he decided it was time to come home.
Around that time, his former agriculture teacher, Lester Cole, offered him the opportunity to become the second agriculture teacher at Mineola High School. Dossett accepted, beginning what would become a 47-year career.
Dossett’s favorite agriculture class to teach was leadership. He particularly enjoyed teaching students public speaking and responsibility because he believed these skills would serve them well long after they left his classroom.
During those same years, Darla also began her teaching career. After earning her teaching degree, she joined Mineola ISD in 1974 and continued teaching until 2005.
Together, Glen and Darla Dossett became part of the educational history of Mineola. Their influence stretched across generations, with many families having one of the Dossetts teach a parent and then, years later, teach their children.
“Mr. Dossett is a man capable of making the complicated straightforward and understandable. He sets an example many men try to be, but very few are capable of achieving,” former student Matthew Jennings said.
The Jennings family is one example of that generational connection. Dossett taught Matthew and his older brother, Michael, several years apart, while Darla taught Michael and their father, Chris Jennings, when he was a student.
Dossett’s influence extended beyond his own classroom. He served on the Board of Directors of the Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas from 1974 to 1986. From 1986 to 1998, he served as the Area VI Coordinator for FFA and agriculture teacher activities.
His work with FFA gave him another avenue through which to develop young leaders.
Among his former students are Jackie Rodieck of Mineola Pack, who served as a State FFA Officer; Cody Mize, superintendent of Mineola ISD, who served as an Area President; and, most notably, Bobby Tucker, who became the first National FFA President from Texas.
When Dossett returned to Mineola to teach, Tucker was not involved in FFA or agriculture classes. At the encouragement of Cole, Dossett began encouraging Tucker to join FFA. Cole had recognized qualities in Tucker that he believed could make him a great leader and FFA member.
At the time, Tucker did not fit the traditional image of an FFA student. As Dossett recalled, Tucker was not a farm kid, which was considered an important trait for FFA membership at the time. Tucker had also planned to become a preacher.
Dossett encouraged Tucker to consider what he could accomplish through FFA and the people he could reach through the organization.
“I just always think of him as the best teacher I ever had, and I had some really good ones. But Mr. Dossett stands out among them all,” Bobby Tucker said.
Tucker also said Dossett had a talent for recognizing students’ strengths. In Tucker’s case, Dossett steered him toward public speaking and parliamentary procedure. Tucker initially struggled in speaking competition, placing seventh out of eight contestants his first time. A year later, after learning from that experience, he advanced to the national finals.
Tucker went on to serve as a District President and Area President before attending Texas A&M University. He later ran for National FFA Office and became the first National FFA President from Texas.
He credits Dossett for giving him the confidence to run.
“I never would have run for office if it hadn’t been for his support.” Tucker said.
Tucker also said that Dossett was great at seeing the best in everyone, as well as getting them to look at themselves critically and make changes for the better.
Through FFA, Tucker traveled throughout the United States and internationally, including trips to Japan and Russia.
Dossett still remembers one story from Tucker’s trip to Russia. Wanting Tucker to have something that represented Texas, Dossett and Cole visited Buck Sinclair’s Western-wear shop in Mineola and asked if Sinclair would donate an item for Tucker to take with him.
Sinclair suggested a cowboy hat and asked what quality of hat they wanted.
Dossett laughs when recalling Cole’s response: “Well, what quality hat do you want your name on?”
Sinclair ultimately donated an even nicer hat than the men had originally planned.
Tucker later earned a degree in agriculture and went on to teach at Texas A&M and to be a preacher.
Looking back, Tucker believes the skills and experiences he gained through agricultural education influenced the direction of his life. He also maintained a relationship with Dossett long after leaving school and described him as a major part of his life.
After retiring from teaching in 2017, Dossett’s service to Mineola did not end.
In 2019, he began serving on the Mineola ISD School Board and has since served three terms. He continues to volunteer with the Wood County Junior Livestock Show and serves as a judge for FFA competitive events. He remains chairman of the Mineola Hay Show and has also served as a board member of the Wood County Junior Livestock Show.
His contributions have been recognized throughout the years. In 2022, Dossett was inducted into the Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas Hall of Fame. In 2024, the Mineola Rotary Club named him its Man of the Year.
After five decades in education, Dossett’s connection to Mineola remains strong.
He has been a member of First Baptist Church of Mineola since 1970. He and Darla have been married for 59 years and have three daughters, Kristi, Kerri and Kelli, all of whom graduated from Mineola High School. They also have three granddaughters, Hannah, Jordan and Kennedi. Dossett is also a great-grandfather to Jordan’s daughter, Gracyn.
His legacy was not confined to the classroom. His daughters, who were also involved in FFA, shared a collective statement about their father’s influence:
“When we were younger, we didn’t think about him as being influential. Mom and Dad both taught, therefore they always knew what was going on at school, with our friends, or around town because they were always right there. We kind of overlooked the fact that they were icons in the community. We realized Dad had a reputation as being a firm teacher from other kids in Wood County. The FFA members from Mineola, Winnsboro, Quitman, and Yantis traveled together and students from every school knew they weren’t going to get away with much when he was around.
As we grew up and became adults ourselves, we began to realize the influence that he had on Agriculture education and FFA in Northeast Texas. We are always running across people who have stories to tell about the ways dad influenced them.”
And while his 50 years in the classroom are an important part of his story, his legacy continues through the students he influenced, the community he continues to serve and the generations of Mineola families who still remember him as their teacher.
Perhaps the clearest measure of Glen Dossett’s legacy is found not in the number of years he taught, but in how far his lessons have reached and how many lives they continue to influence.