Troy Aikman Gives Back To Hometown Before Highway To Henryetta Festival

A new, major music festival is about to kick off in Henryetta this weekend, thanks to hometown hero Troy Aikman.

On Friday, Aikman stepped back into his high school gym to give kids the gift of learning, by helping give away hundreds of laptops.

The hundreds of laptops went to families in need in Henryetta. With Troy Aikman in town, the excitement is growing.

Lines of cars, stacks of laptops and a lot of smiles; At Henryetta high school, a hometown hero stopped by to help hand out a few laptops.

A lot of people wore their Dallas Cowboys blue to meet him.

“Rayge has been looking for to it for a week now," said Tamra Snelson.

Seven-year-old Rayge was a lucky kiddo chosen to get a laptop and meet his favorite player.

His mom said it’ll mean a lot to help with all of his schoolwork.

"It’s great to be back," Aikman said. "There is an excitement in town. You can feel it down main street and up here.”

Troy Aikman, a Hall of Famer and Henryetta High School graduate, is bringing a new festival called “Highway to Henryetta” to town on Saturday.

Lots of big names will be there, including Blake Shelton.

Aikman wants to help with education and athletics for the school district and hopes to bring an economic boom to the small town.

Aikman's goal was to promote his hometown, and the laptops are being given to local families in partnership with AT&T and Compudopt.

It'll help college students like Courtney Rogers.

“I’m going to use it for homework, let my kids do their homework," Rogers said.

“I don’t think it’s too much to say it’ll change people's lives to have the tools they need to be online," said Steve Hahn, the President of AT&T Oklahoma.

Aikman said he knows the pandemic has been hard on kids learning virtually, especially in rural towns.

"There’s a lot of good that’s happening this weekend with the festival, but this is a big part of it," Aikman said.

Highway to Henryetta kicks off Saturday, June 11.

Aikman said if it’s a success, he would love to see it continue.