The champagne was chilled, the chile hot

Widger	Alumni on the Go
	by Debbie Widger, '81, '93
	Alumni Relations Director
	NMSU Alumni Association
	MSC 3AS, P.O. Box 30001
	Las Cruces, NM 88003
	(505) 646-3616
	dwidger@nmsu.edu

 

San Diego Chapter
Our thanks to Jerry, ’49, and Joyce Shaw for a wonderful afternoon champagne garden party on June 3 to charter the San Diego Alumni Chapter.

A crowd of about 80 included New Mexico State President and Mrs. Jay Gogue; Regent Antonia Roybal; Joe, ’59, and Priscilla Creed; Jay, ’70, ’79, ’84, and Lya, ’79, ’83, ’90, Jordan; business college Dean Danny Arnold; Steve, ’82, and Jeanine, ’82, Castillo and our new provost, Dr. Bill Flores.

Alumni Association President Anna Mejia Chieffo, ’91, and Executive Council member Ermelinda Quintela, ’86, ’89, ’94, made the trip. San Diego Chapter President is David Humphry, ’87, and vice president is Sal Magallanez, ’84.

Yemen Grads
Twelve May and summer graduates from Yemen were honored at a reception hosted by the Alumni Association June 14. The new alumni were headed back home to teach.

Chile Connoisseurs
Gerald Thomas, New Mexico State president emeritus; Leon Wagley, ’47, Warren Noland, ’58, ’63, and Jim Connelley (our ever-ready fireman) were on hand to induct Ronnie Simmons, a national FFA vice president, and Dr. Gogue into the International Connoisseurs
of Green and Red Chile during the New Mexico FFA Convention June 5. To be inducted you must be willing to try mild, medium (hot) and extra hot salsa. Lupe Robles makes the best and the hottest.

4-H Conference
The Alumni Association made sure 600 New Mexico 4-Hers didn’t go thirsty during registration for the state conference on campus July 9-12. Each student was given a souvenir cup from the association.

El Paso Baseball
On July 15, El Paso and Dona Ana County Aggies watched the El Paso Diablos take on the Midland Rockhounds. Our thanks to El Paso Chapter President J.W. Bowman and Executive Board President-Elect Ermelinda Quintela for assistance with organizing the event.

Homecoming
The theme for Homecoming 2001, Oct. 11-13, is “NMSU Salutes the Space Age.”

The classes of 1941, 1951 and 1961 will all have a special event. There is still time to make plans to attend.

The Conquistadores have their annual reunion dinner planned and will also reveal the 2001 Conquistador of the Year Award recipient. Nina Telles Banegas is planning another great evening.

Membership
By now you should have received an invitation to join or renew membership in the Alumni Association. If you have returned your form, thank you. A form also appears on page 11 of this issue of Aggie Panorama.

We have added a new membership level, the Aggie Millionaire Club. The thought behind this level is how many Aggies does it take to raise $1 million? Or, don’t we all want to be a millionaire? If 10,000 of us donate $100 each to New Mexico State, we will have $1 million for scholarships and programs. This idea came from Tom Lindsay, ’71, and Bruce Firkins,’56, of Deming, N.M.

Another way to help your alma mater is to sponsor a new graduate for $5. This enables a new graduate to join the association free for a year.

We ended the year with 9 percent of our alumni paying dues. Thank you! We need your help in getting other Aggies to participate, too. We added a new benefit this year: National Car Rental is giving all association members a complementary $50 membership in its Emerald Club.

Alumni Events
Sept. 15 — Aggie football tailgate, Albuquerque
Sept. 22 — Dona Ana County Aggie Roundup, Calhoun Arena, Las Cruces
Sept. 22 — Aggie football tailgate, Kansas
Sept. 29 — Beans, Burritos and Beer, Washington, D.C.
Oct. 6 — Aggie football tailgate, Tulsa, Okla.
Oct. 11-13 — Homecoming 2001, Las Cruces
Nov. 3 — Parents Weekend, Las Cruces
Nov. 17 — Aggie football tailgate, University of Louisiana-Monroe
Dec. 15 — Commencement luncheon, Las Cruces
December — Dona Ana County Alumni Appreciation, Las Cruces

Ronnie Simmons, left, FFA national vice president, Western Region, and New Mexico State University President Jay Gogue are inducted into the International Connoisseurs of Green and Red Chile June 5. Photo by Vladimir Chalooupka, Las Cruces SunNews	New Mexico State Provost Bill Flores, left, enjoys the hospitality of Jerry Shaw, ’49, and Joyce Shaw at a party at the couple’s home to celebrate the chartering of the San Diego Alumni Chapter. Photo by Joe Creed, '59, '86
Yemen graduates, front row, from left, are Nagi Al-Shaibany, Waheeb Al-Sharaabi and Adnan Al-Mutawkkil. Middle row, from left, are Khaled Al-Kuhali, Ghassan Dahman and Jamil Al-Nouman. In back, from left, are Saleh Al-Wahaishi, Essam Ahmed, Gamila Obadi, Najeeb Manee’a, Abdulmalik Al-Gahmi and Saleh Al-Hazbi. Photo by Gamila Obadi, '01	The San Diego Alumni Chapter is chartered June 3. From left are Sal Magallanez, ’84, chapter vice presi-dent; David Humphry, ’87, chapter president; Debbie Widger, ’81, ’93, alumni relations director; and Anna Mejia Chieffo, ’91, Alumni Association president. Photo by Ermelinda Quintela, '86, '89, '94

Alumni Association chapters, presidents

Albuquerque – Greg Holt, ’00
Alamogordo – Doris Lynch, ’81
Atlanta, Ga. – Marie Stoy-Velazquez, ’92
Artesia, N.M. – Johnny Knorr, ’73
Bay Area, Calif. – Jack Burleson, ’44
Bean Valley, N.M. – Bertha Maxon, ’65
Carlsbad, N.M. – Mike Antiporda, ’90, ’91, ’94
Colorado Springs, Colo. – Julie Hall, ’83
Denver, Colo. – Bill Thompson, ’69
Dallas, Texas – Geoff Zanetti, ’88
Dona Ana County, N.M. – Archie Beckett, ’51
El Paso, Texas – J.W. Bowman, ’66
Fort Worth, Texas – Ernest Wagley, ’87
Houston, Texas – Joe Ledvina, ’70
Hobbs, N.M. – Guy Kessner, ’88
Los Angeles, Calif. – Marshall Scott, ’62, ’64
Las Vegas, N.M. – Hilario Rubio, ’99
Lubbock, Texas – Lestie Glover, ’86
New Orleans, La. – Kelly Neville, ’99
Northeastern N.M. – Bill Cantrell, ’67
Phoenix, Ariz. – Anthony Chavez, ’90, ’01
Roswell, N.M. – Karen Rogers, ’88
San Diego, Calif. – David Humphry, ’87
Santa Fe, N.M. – Louise Cavatta, ’89, ’91
Spokane, Wash. – Phil Peterson, ’72
Washington, D.C. – Kent McIntosh, ’41