Long before Donald Trump won the election, he released a list of names of potential Supreme Court nominees.
There are 21 people on that list, and one is from North Texas.
"He's Donny," said former Forney Mayor Darren Rozell. "I know he's Justice Don Willett, but he's Donny here."
Willett is a Texas Supreme Court Justice who could become President-elect Donald Trump's pick to join the U.S. Supreme Court.
"Was it a surprise? Well sure," Rozell added. "Small town Forney, Texas. A guy that we ran around with here, a guy I roomed with at Baylor."
Rozell remembers his high school buddy as a natural leader.
"Donny is not going to try to force his beliefs on our country," he said. "He's gonna look at the Constitution. He's gonna look at all sides. That's not a political speech or a campaign speech. that's just the Donny I know."
That Donny is 1984 Forney High School graduate, who was later inducted into the district's Hall of Honor.
He didn't want to be interviewed for this story, but released a statement:
"The only robe I thought I'd ever wear was in church choir. Raised in a double-wide trailer by a widowed mom without a high school diploma, someone who waited tables at the local truck stop."
"I've got to think there were a lot of people who went to that truck stop to eat dinner. It might not have been the best dinner in town, but they might have went to give a little extra tip to help her out because they knew she was trying to raise some good kids," Rozell said.
"He hung out at our house," said former classmate Dana Curry. "We always said when we we're in high school 'you're going to do something great. You're going to be something great.'"
His friends saw the potential decades ago.
The question now, is will Trump promote those values, too?
