Hello...I'm Kathryn, a girl
in Texas. Here's my story
of how I became an Adkinette.
It begins in July 1996 when
I walked into my bedroom
and saw this cool guy on TV
singing " There's A Girl In
Texas." I had been hearing
it on the radio and loved
it.....especially since I
was a girl in Texas. I
quickly took a seat and
watched the rest of the
program. During the
interview I found out that
Trace Adkins was from
Sarepta, Louisiana. I was
blown away because I grew up
in that area. The next day
I went out and bought
Dreamin' Out Loud. It was
in my CD player a few weeks
later when I got a phone
call that no one wants to
get. My youngest son was in
a bad accident. He was hit
in the face with a fast
ball thrown by his big
brother while out playing
baseball. His brother had
to drive him to the ER. As
I rushed in heavy traffic to
meet them there, Dreamin'
Out Loud was the CD in my
player. As each song
played, I felt a sense of
relief having someone
from back home riding with
me to keep me grounded that
horrible day. Those songs
helped me get through many
days to follow as I made
that trek to the hospital to
see my son. After a while
in the hospital and surgery
to wire his jaws together,
he came home to mend. This
mama said a lot of prayers
and doted out a lot of
tender-loving-care to him
for a long time. Slowly,
with more surgery to come,
he began to heal and
eventually put his life
back together. Later, when
I heard that Trace had also
had a bad accident as a
young man and injury to his
face, did it come full
circle. The man singing
those songs to me on my
trips back and forth to
the hospital each day had
been there and done that and
much more. It was a strange
thing. The Internet was the
craze, so I bought my first
computer and on September
20, 1996 I clicked onto
America Online for the first
time. Being a big Country
music fan, I quickly found
my way to the message boards
and started promoting Trace
Adkins. I had experience in
promotions from working at
Stan's Record Store/Paula
Records in Louisiana years
earlier, so it was a natural
thing to do. As time went
by and our America Online
posts multiplied, we
TracerBuds began to bond.
Eventually we became so full
of ourselves that we decided
to get our own name and we
voted on The Adkinettes.
And the rest is Adkinette
history. Next, is an email
that I sent on Oct. 27,
1996 to one of Trace's band
member's sister that sums up
those early days pretty
well. When Trace Adkins was
becoming the buzz in
Nashville:
"Well,
I'm real proud of Trace and
I've liked him since the
first appearance on Prime
Time Country. Especially,
since he told where he was
from!!!! But, before that I
liked his style--the tall,
cool, shy type. I'm a sucka
for that type!! He just had
that appeal that got my
attention. So did Alan
Jackson, and look at him
now!! I've joined his fan
club, but, I haven't
received my stuff yet. I
know they are organizing it
and getting it all together
as quickly as possible. I'm
really keeping close tabs on
Trace. They played "There's
A Girl In Texas" a lot and
now "Every Light In The
House Is On" is played a lot
on all the country stations
here in Houston. He's
really getting popular. I
can't wait to see him in
concert. Do you have tour
info? I know he'll be in
Dallas soon. Do you know
about Houston or
Shreveport? I guess you're
thrilled that your brother
is in Trace's band. Has he
been with him a long time?
Keep in touch with any scoop
about the homeboys and about
yourself. OK? "
That's a taste of the
early days. I found
that promoting Trace
and posting with other Trace
Adkins fans helped to
divert my attention to
something fun while going
through the terrible ordeal
with my son that lasted a
couple of years. I love my
Adkinette Buds!! Go
Trace....and thanks for
making those rides with me
and singing those songs when
I needed them the most.
...Kathryn
Kathryn & Trace - Fan
Fair 1997
