![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lucy-greenberg.jpg\")
\n
![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/justin-rex.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Raised as a kid on the caprock, School of Veterinary Medicine student Tommy Butler
\n rose to action when natural disasters threatened the land and the people he loved.<\/p>\n
\t\tCREATORS<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
The smell hit him before anything else.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tommy Butler grew up with that smell \u2013 smoke riding in on the West Texas wind. His
\n body stiffened before his mind knew what was happening. Even after experiencing some
\n close calls during his childhood, the scent melted away any logical thought process
\n he had as an adult.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nothing prepared him for his drive into Miami and Canadian mere weeks after the worst
\n wildfire recorded in state history, scorching more than 1 million acres, killing two
\n people and destroying hundreds of homes, farms and ranches.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything was ashen as far as the eye could see.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tommy knew this land. He knew where the cedar posts should be standing sentinel along
\n the fence lines \u2013 the same posts that aged hands had driven into clay soil long before
\n Tommy was even born.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The posts remaining were burned from the ground up, the post caps dancing in the wind
\n between wire that had deteriorated from rust to coal black.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Burned](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/butler-6504.jpg\")
Burned cedar post<\/p>\n
\u201cDriving in that open country and seeing all black; that feeling is just not real,\u201d
\n Tommy says, struggling to name the emotions of that moment. \u201cFire doesn\u2019t care who
\n you are or what you\u2019ve got \u2013 it\u2019s the great equalizer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But on that day in March 2024, Tommy refused to get lost in emotion. He kept driving.
\n He had deliveries to make.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was leading the way for semi-trucks full of round bales of hay. He\u2019d taken dozens
\n of phone calls between classes, instructing others toward relief efforts. He transported
\n hundreds of diapers and clothing items for families who were displaced by the flames.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he continued driving his Ford pickup truck down US 60, a different feeling took
\n shape. It wasn\u2019t overt hope. It was something harder than hope.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something you\u2019d only recognize growing up in West Texas. \u00a0<\/p>\n
No Stranger to Risk<\/p>\n
Tommy felt a silent nudge to enroll at Texas Tech University<\/a>\u2019s School of Veterinary Medicine<\/a> in Amarillo, he just couldn\u2019t quite put his finger on why. With acceptances to both \u201cWhen you\u2019re one of the first going through a program, there are pros and cons,\u201d he But Tommy was no stranger to risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n From growing up 30 miles from the nearest town of Perryton, Tommy crafted his motto He enrolled in the second class at the School of Veterinary Medicine, and will graduate For those close to Tommy, his decision to study veterinarian medicine with a focus When Buzz died of colic, Tommy was devastated.\u00a0<\/p>\n While he still cared for dozens of horses, Tommy turned his attention to showing pigs Tommy had a talent for showing pigs and traveled across the state through high school. When he went home for the summers, he landed a job at the Hansford County Veterinary Tommy wouldn\u2019t go as far to say that Buzz\u2019s passing was the moment he decided to become \u201cMy earliest memory is working with my dad on a nearby ranch,\u201d Tommy says. \u201cWhen you But the realities of equine care access in remote counties was a need Tommy saw early, So, when Texas Tech opened its new School of Veterinary Medicine in 2021 with an emphasis \u201cProspective students often have to apply a few times to even get admitted to one He remembers getting the call from Associate Dean Britt Conklin<\/a>, hearing he\u2019d been accepted.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI fell to my knees in gratitude; I just had a sense of peace about this place,\u201d Tommy Tommy recalls walking into the enormous building, the golden sunrise illuminating \u201cThat first day felt surreal,\u201d he remembers. \u201cAll my life I knew I wanted to be a Not long into his studies, Tommy already felt God revealed why he was there.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of his younger sisters began having major health issues and was admitted to\u00a0<\/p>\n BSA Heart Hospital in Amarillo. Being near her helped Tommy feel connected to family. Summer 2023<\/p>\n On the evening of June 15, 2023, Tommy was up at school working on a research project. \u201cIt\u2019d been a nice sunny day with low winds,\u201d Tommy recalls. \u201cSo, when I began getting They were asking him about a major storm cell moving into his hometown.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, saw something about Perryton tornadoes and just wanted to check and make sure \u201cYour family all good?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWow this is crazy. I saw a video that looks like the town got hit pretty bad.\u201d<\/p>\n One of Tommy\u2019s friends attached a video with a caption that read: \u201cThis is the scene Tommy began calling his parents to make sure they were all right. The tornados had \u201cMy mom said three people were missing in Perryton, and the damage was unthinkable,\u201d Tommy paced the floor in Amarillo that night feeling helpless. He personally knew He tossed and turned that night, lying in bed fighting the urge to drive out.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI knew I didn\u2019t want to get in the way; I needed to stay in my lane,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n The following morning, he was at the School of Veterinary Medicine by 7 o\u2019clock, waiting Dean Guy Loneragan<\/a> pulled into the parking lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTommy is from Perryton, and his own community was hurting,\u201d Loneragan recalls. \u201cI Loneragan says the first year of vet school is exceptionally challenging. The curriculum \u201cFor Tommy to not only do so well with the curriculum, but to do so much for the Panhandle, Tommy gathered donations to help those impacted by the storm by creating a flyer to \u201cI\u2019m doing this,\u201d he told Loneragan. \u201cWould you like to help?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He got the unwavering support of leadership at the School of Veterinary Medicine as Tommy had reached out to a student there who he\u2019d known in high school. The two made \u201cWhat are you doing about money?\u201d his friend asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know; we\u2019ll figure it out later,\u201d he responded.<\/p>\n Money was the least of his worries.\u00a0<\/p>\n After a few days, they\u2019d filled four pick-up trucks with hundreds of articles of clothing, He also discovered his missing family friend had died in the tornado.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat was heartbreaking,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Flat Land, Deep Roots\u00a0<\/p>\n Tommy grew up understanding something most Americans don\u2019t have to consider.\u00a0<\/p>\n The high plains receives less than 20 inches of rain each year \u2013 less than the Mojave From the Comanches to the cattle barons of the 1800s, everyone who has ever built Tommy explains what the resilience produces.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Texas economy can be summed up in three C\u2019s,\u201d he says. \u201cCattle, crop and crude The population centers of Texas \u2013 the triangle from Dallas, Houston and San Antonio The feedlots within 30 minutes of Amarillo alone account for the heart of America\u2019s Most Americans only encounter the Panhandle at the dinner table, in the price of their The following spring, it demanded more attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n Spring 2024\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy nose is very sensitive to smoke; I\u2019ve always been hyperaware of wildfires because On an evening in March, Associate Dean Britt Conklin had taken Tommy and another vet \u201cThe doors kept blowing open from extreme wind, and that\u2019s when I smelled it,\u201d Tommy Soon, the others began smelling smoke and Conklin ended the talk. They got into their As they arrived at the gas station, the parking lot was thick with idling engines Tommy gazed at the panic-stricken faces of families in their cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n He looked over at Conklin and told him, \u201cI\u2019m going to do it again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOK, if anyone has an issue, you tell \u2018em I approved it,\u201d Conklin responded.\u00a0<\/p>\n As soon as Tommy got back to his house, he dug out the flyer he\u2019d made during the \u201cBeing a new school, we didn\u2019t have standard operating procedures (SOP) in place for The next day he had dozens of people ready to help, but the fires were still raging, It would be three weeks before Tommy was able to get back into the north panhandle. \u201cIt was a heart wrenching drive,\u201d he says somberly.\u00a0<\/p>\n To this day, Tommy has never felt what he did was heroic.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy role was nothing special, I just coordinated,\u201d he explains. \u201cCommunication can The people who Tommy served don\u2019t see it that way, though.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perryton Mayor Kerry Symons still recalls the relief Tommy offered in the aftermath \u201cThe Tornado of June 15, 2023, is a day we will never forget,\u201d Symons says. \u201cPerryton \u201cThat is a big job for anyone, but thanks to Tommy and Texas Tech\u2019s efforts, many Symons knew Tommy as a child and was not surprised to see him leap into action as \u201cHis love for this community is what brought him to Perryton to do what he could when
\n Iowa State and Kansas State University, Tommy knew enrolling at a brand-new vet school
\n like Texas Tech was more of a gamble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n says. \u201cYou\u2019re the guinea pigs, which can provide a lot of special opportunities, but
\n it\u2019s also a complete unknown.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n early in life \u2013 whenever it gets hard, keep going. Well-established programs were
\n the right fit for some. Tommy decided to pioneer something new.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n this May.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n on equine care, was no shock. Tommy was on horses before he was walking. One of his
\n first horses, Buzz, was his best friend as a child and the horse he learned how to
\n halter train.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n in third grade. No other horse could quite fill the hole Buzz left.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n When he started college at Tarleton State University, he wasn\u2019t just a student \u2013 he
\n took 18 hours a semester, while working three jobs, along with involvement in the
\n pre-vet association.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n Hospital in Spearman, where he focused on equine care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n a large animal veterinarian. He\u2019s pretty sure it would have happened regardless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n live as rurally as we did, large animals are just part of the landscape like the vibrant
\n caprock sunrises and sunsets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n and he wanted to do something about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n on large animal care in rural communities, Tommy was drawn like a bee to bloom.<\/p>\n
\n program,\u201d Tommy says, \u201cso I was shocked when I was accepted to three.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n says.<\/p>\n
\n the archways, and the excitement from the staff and faculty waiting inside on his
\n first day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n veterinarian and that was the day it became a reality. Reflecting back on that first
\n day, I had no clue how much vet school would change who I am.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
\n It was a pleasant day in Amarillo, an unusual week of cooler weather.<\/p>\n
\n texts from friends asking if I was OK, I was confused.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n your family is OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n in Perryton, Texas, where a tornado ripped through the town within the last hour.
\n Extensive damage and fatalities are reported.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n missed them by a few miles, but they\u2019d lost power. They drove to a neighboring town
\n in the opposite direction for food and gas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n Tommy recalls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n one of the missing people. He sat on his couch watching photos hit social media \u2013
\n each a barely recognizable image unwilling to fit into his memory of the town.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n for whichever administrator showed up first.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n didn\u2019t want him to rush into harm\u2019s way, but assess the needs. The speed and scale
\n at which Tommy did that was surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n is hard, and many students hit a wall halfway through.<\/p>\n
\n shows extraordinary grit,\u201d Loneragan says.<\/p>\n
\n hang up around the school, and he took them to the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center
\n campus too. Drop points were set up for donations. Tommy collected everything from
\n bottled water to baby clothes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n well as Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Amarillo<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n relief efforts a joint venture.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Tommy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/butler-11007.jpg\")
Tommy loading a truck of relief supply.<\/p>\n
\n nonperishable food and emergency equipment, and headed to Perryton. As Tommy walked
\n the familiar streets, he observed the wreckage from behind yellow fire line tape,
\n keeping him a safe distance from unstable debris.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n Desert in wet years \u2013 and the people who build their lives here don\u2019t get their water
\n from rainfall like most of the world does. Beneath the clay soil sits the Ogallala
\n Aquifer, one of the largest underground freshwater reserves on earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n a life on this land has to match its resilience at every turn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n oil.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n that hold roughly 75% of the state\u2019s people \u2013 are sustained by what comes out of a
\n region many will never visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n beef industry. The cotton fields that stretch across the plains clothe the country.
\n The oil beneath the Permian Basin powers it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n ribeye or in the thread count of their cotton shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n of where I grew up,\u201d Tommy says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n student to talk to the Rodeo Team at Clarendon College. Tommy sat with the other students
\n as Conklin spoke in the lecture hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n recalls. \u201cMy body immediately began to tense up. I had a completely visceral reaction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Tommy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/butler-4829.jpg\")
Tommy Butler<\/p>\n
\n professor\u2019s truck and drove to gas up and get back to Amarillo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n from dozens of cars. The people of Pampa were being evacuated, and the only way out
\n was through Clarendon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n tornado and updated the details. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\n something like this,\u201d Tommy says. \u201cI got to be the SOP. I learned what to do, who
\n to talk to and what\u2019s required.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n so there was little they could do. In the meantime, he reached out to people he knew
\n in the towns affected, located points of contact for each community, and kept the
\n school\u2019s leadership looped in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n And that\u2019s when he found himself driving from Miami to Canadian on US 60 to help a
\n local veterinarian treat cattle and horses. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\n become unclear during crises, and I just wanted to take that burden off others. I
\n couldn\u2019t have done anything if not for the people around me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n of town\u2019s biggest tragedy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n lost 400 homes that day. I cannot imagine how many animals were running loose, in
\n shock, trying to find their owners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n where mended back to health and reunited with their families.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n an adult.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n people were in need,\u201d he reflects. \u201cTommy is an exceptional young man and will make
\n one heck of a veterinarian.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Tommy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/butler-4977.jpg\")
Tommy working with the horses at Texas Tech. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Raised as a kid on the caprock, School of Veterinary Medicine student Tommy Butler rose to action when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3976,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-264915","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-texas","9":"tag-texas-headlines","10":"tag-texas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}