Schuyler Armijo, '79, '87, immediate past president of the NMSU Alumni Association Executive Council, guided the association's centennial activities. Armijo is shown with a portrait of the association's first president, Oscar C. Snow, who served as president of the First National Bank of Las Cruces from 1906-1927. The bank is now First Security Bank of Southern New Mexico

The small college just south of Las Cruces had been in existence for a decade without a formal chapter of alumni. At the meeting on May 24, 1898, Alfred M. Holt, Joseph Bennett Jr., Oscar C. Snow, Elgin B. Holt, Albert H. Peterson and Fabian Garcia voted to establish the organization, and in doing so created what would become New Mexico State University's Alumni Association as we know it today.

"Those people had good vision," said Jed Fanning, 83, NMSU Alumni Association Executive Council's newest president. "They would probably be surprised to see what large number the association has grown to."

Today, NMSU has more than 67,000 alumni and about 3,500 active members of the Alumni Association. Those active members - the donors - contribute about $74,000 annually. The contributions are redistributed to Alumni Association programs, activities and awards.

"If you compare us with the Penn States and the Notre Dames, you'll see that we're offering the same programs and providing the same types of scholarships Ð only with a smaller number of students and alumni," said Debbie Widger, '81, '93, alumni relations director. "We're still a service organization, and we're conducting the same programs that the original founders of the association planned."

Those basic Alumni Association programs in 1898, when membership dues were only $1 a year, were to hold a pre-commencement dinner for all graduates, keep a listing of alumni and recruit high school students.

Today's NMSU Alumni Association, with membership dues beginning at $20 a year, still handles those three basic programs and many more.

The immediate past-president of the association's Executive Council, Schuyler Armijo, '79, '87, says the goals of the association are probably the same as they were 100 years ago: to bind alumni and friends to the university for the betterment of both. But now, the avenues for obtaining those goals are expanding.

"The Alumni Association would like to take a more active role in recruiting students, and we would like to be more visible to our current students, before they graduate," Armijo said.

According to Widger, a 15-year veteran of the Alumni Association and director since 1996, today's association has more than 50 chapters in New Mexico and throughout the country. And the number of chapters, alumni and donors continues to grow.

"I have the best job in the world," Widger said. "I get to go out and meet our alumni. Aggies are Aggies. You can go out and strike up a conversation with any of them, and you'll have something in common. Times change and the people are different, but the programs and the university are still the same."

And that common bond, the NMSU experience, is what draws people to the Alumni Association.

"We find that many of our graduates, several years after graduation, decide that they would like to maintain some contact with NMSU," Fanning said. "The Alumni Association is a great way to stay involved."

For Armijo, the joy of being a part of the Alumni Association is knowing that you're part of a growing family that is making a significant contribution to society.

"Our alumni are leaders, they're heading up corporations, they're the best there are in their fields," Armijo said. "I, am extremely proud to say that I'm a member of such an organization."

Dan Trujillo, '92

Serving NMSU with pride

Twenty-seven banners designed in celebration of the NMSU Alumni Association's 100th anniversary decorated University Avenue from May through mid-June. Banner sponsorships supported the association's scholarship fund. Pictured, from left, are Alumni Association leaders Anthony Chaves, '90; Debbie Widger, '81,'93, alumni relations director; Jed Flanning, '83, president of the association's executive council; and Schuyler Armijo, '79, '87, immediate past-president.

The NMSU Alumni Association has come a long way since 1898, when membership dues were $1 and the number of programs offered by the association was three.

Today, the Alumni Association offers various programs, activities and awards for students and alumni of the university. Besides regular alumni membership and records management, the association annually honors outstanding college seniors and high school students, offers scholarships, holds recruiting receptions for potential students and sponsors a parents weekend and Chile Camp. The association also sponsors Homecoming, class reunions, the Alumni Directory and chapter events.

The association hopes to make the Bolo Ball, which was held in May to commemorate the association's 100th anniversary, an annual event. The ball may become part of Homecoming weekend beginning in 1999, according to Debbie Widger, '81, '93, alumni relations director.

New in 1998 for NMSU alumni and students is the ASK Program. ASK, which stands for Alumni Sharing Knowledge, is a database of NMSU alumni who volunteer to offer information and advice about their career fields to NMSU students and new graduates pursuing similar careers.

"The ASK Program is one of those functions that we would like to push," said Schuyler Armijo, immediate past-president of the Alumni Association Executive Council. "It's not so much of a mentor program as it is a friendly Aggie network that will allow NMSU students to ask questions of our alums who are already in their field, or who already live in a certain part of the country."

Alumni interested in participating in the ASK Program can sign up by sending your name, address, phone number, class year and occupation to the NMSU Alumni Office, MSC 3AS, P.O. Box 30001, Las Cruces, N.M. 88003. Or, e-mail the information to dwidger@nmsu.edu.

Dan Trujillo, '92

Alumni Celebrate Western Style

Aggies dressed in their best denim duds, cowboy hats and bolo ties to celebrate the Alumni Association's 100th anniversary at the Bolo Ball on May 29.

Highlights of the evening included a performance by poet Ann Sochat, author of Cowhide and Calico, and two-stepping and waltzing to the music of the Back Stage band. Everyone received a commemorative bolo tie, a bandana and a copy of Sochat's poem, "A Cowboy's Thanks."

Half of each ticket price went to NMSU's Cornerstone Campaign for Excellence, which aims to renovate the campus' old YMCA Building as an Honors Center and supports other NMSU projects.

Bob Asprey, '79	Carl, '64, and Emily Westbrook, '57, '60	Kristin, '91, and Anthony Chaves, '90
First Lady Patty Conroy, Caroline Gustafson, President Emeritus Gerald Thomas	President William B. Conroy and First Lady Patty Conroy	Sandy Abernathy, '68; Lelia Jane Collins, '35; Jean Thomas, first lady emeritus; Betsy Meerscheidt

When he was a student, Kent Porter, '93, helped make this figure of Pistol Pete for a Delta Sigma Pi Homecoming exhibit in the business complex. The next day Pete disappeared, but years later turned up again. Now he resides in the Alumni Office and makes appearances at special events.

Alumni Association Executive Council past presidents gather with current president Jed Flanning, '83, top left. Others, standing from left. are Charles Tharp, '62, Tom Mobley, '61, Tom Macgugan, '61, and seated from left, Barbara Harrison, '84, and J. Henry Gustafson, '40.