Association nears goal of chartering 50 chapters

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

 

My grandmother used to tell me when I got older time would go by much faster. This year is flying by, and we are accomplishing our goals thanks to you, our alumni, and the alumni staff, especially Mack Haley ’66. Mack has been on the road as much as I have.

When we go to print, 41 of the 50 chapters will be chartered. A number of activities have gone on both with newly chartered chapters and those already in existence.

 

San Jose, Calif.
	From left, Flinda and Charles Prevost, ’44, and Mina and Jack Hirten Jr., ’50, at the Acapulco restaurant.

Jack Burleson, ’44, once again organized a great afternoon at the Acapulco restaurant. We wanted to spend it in Acapulco, Mexico, but since we couldn’t, the next best thing was the restaurant with all the right atmosphere.

Aggies of all ages came out for the fun. Ermelinda Quintana, ’86, ’88, ’94, president elect of the Alumni Association, was visiting friends and joined us. Gladys DeNecochea, our new vice president for student services and dean of students, who had not yet moved to New Mexico, was able to be with us. Jill Belcher, major gifts officer for the College of Business Administration and Economics, was also in California visiting alumni.

Other Aggies who came out were Dana, ’74, ’76, ’97, and Betsy, ’76, Christensen; Jim Kerwin, ’55; Ralph, ’50, and Beatrice Tamm; Michael Leeper, ’88; and Chao Wang, ’97.

Colorado Springs Chapter

The Colorado Springs Chapter got together in March for a St. Patrick’s lunch. The Aggie group enjoyed corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, hamburgers and fries. Several stayed to enjoy Irish folk songs.

Hispano Alumni Chapter

We chartered the Hispano Alumni Chapter April 26. This wonderful group is part of the Alumni Association but wanted to be able to recognize accomplishments of Hispano students. Eight were honored April 26 as Outstanding Hispano Students of the Year.

J. Paul Taylor, ’42, ’63, was recognized as the Outstanding Hispano Alumnus of the Year. Keynote speaker was Clara Apodaca, ’55. Laura Gutierrez Spencer, ’85, and Christina Chavez Kelley, ’75, were instrumental in making this dinner a success.

San Antonio Chapter

San Antonio area Aggies met on May 4 for a Cinco de Mayo celebration one day early. We had a good time on a boat trip along the San Antonio Riverwalk followed by dinner at the Rio Rio Cantina. The San Antonio Chapter of the Aggie Alumni Association was officially chartered with Rick Roberts, ’82, ’92, taking the reins as president and Louis Garza-Vale, ’86, serving as vice president. This great group of Aggies already are talking about future gatherings in San Antonio.

Sun Belt Tournament

Lots of Aggies made the trip to New Orleans to watch both Aggie basketball teams vie for the championship. We didn’t win, but everyone who went is a champion. Steve Boudreau,’81, was our master of ceremonies at the welcome party for alumni and friends. NMSU President and Mrs. Gogue, Coach Henson, Brian Faison, Joe Creed and Karen Fey helped with the event. Kelly Neville-Heck, ’99, chapter president, and her family attended. The Pride Band made an appearance along with the Aggie cheerleaders.

60 Years of Rodeo Giles Lee, ’42, thought it would be fun to have a reunion of the 1942 rodeo team and invite other former rodeo team members. Two hundred people came March 30 to celebrate NMSU’s accomplishments in the history of collegiate rodeo, not only at State, but throughout the country.

Five of the original team members were here for the festivities: Giles Lee, F.C. Stover, Smokey Nunn, Owen “Bud” Prather and Pat Patterson.

Hats off to the Giles family and New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Frank DuBois, ’73, ’87, for their work on this event. The proceeds go to the DuBois Rodeo Scholarships, and I understand Frank has recruited more talented kids for next year.

New Mexico State University's rodeo team in 1942 included, standing from left, Owen “Bud” Prather, Giles Lee, Lee Rush, Elray Fort and Smokey Nunn, and seated from left, Bob White, Bob Malcom, Pat Patterson and Bill Maxwell.	Members of the 1942 rodeo team, standing from left, Giles Lee, F.C. Stover, Smokey Nunn, Owen “Bud” Prather, and Pat Patterson, and rodeo scholarship sponsor Frank A. DuBois, ’73, ’87, seated, at the rodeo reunion.

Aggies vs. Sun Devils

Anthony, ’89, and Kris, ’93, Chavez, initiated a pregame party for the NMSU/ASU baseball game April 30. About 30 Aggies met for hotdogs at the Native New Yorker in Mesa, Ariz. We then headed over to HoHokum Park, where we watched nine innings of baseball in fantastic weather. The game did not end as we wished, but we were there to cheer the team on. The Aggies did beat ASU the last time they played there in March.

Homecoming 2002 In the last issue of Aggie Panorama, we had you mark your calendar for Homecoming, but since then we have changed the date to Oct. 10-12.

Reunions are being planned for the classes of 1942, 1952 and 1962, the Conquistadores, 100 Years of ROTC and Phi Pi’s 30th. We will gladly put other reunions on the list.

New spark is being added to the parade so watch your mail and be sure to mark the new dates in your planner. I will have a supply of pencils with erasers for all who attend “Homecoming 2002 – Decades of Tradition.”

American Indian Senior Award

The Alumni Association is pleased to announce our Outstanding American Indian Senior Award recipient, Sheila R. Nez. Sheila received an associate’s degree from NMSU-Grants and transferred to the main campus to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business. This is not totally out of the ordinary, except Sheila and her husband Johnson have four children. In support of her decision to continue her education, Johnson and two children stayed in Grants and Sheila brought two with her.

Sheila did more than attend school; she is a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society, NMSU Society of Human Resource Management, Gamma Beta Phi, Phi Theta Kappa, Thoreau Elementary School Improvement Planning Team and NMSU Native American Business Association. She did all of this and maintained a 3.6 grade-point average.

Alumni Appreciation

Mary Ellen Triviz, left, and Josie Pena, former assistants to New Mexico State University presidents, at the alumni appreciation event.

Our annual thank you to local active alumni was held Valentine’s Day, before the Aggies vs. Little Rock Trojans game. About 100 Aggies came out for a pregame reception. It was a great party and a great game.

Coming Events

At press time, we were planning these events: June 8, Philadelphia Chapter event; July 25, Pioneer Day; Aug. 10-11, Colorado Chapter events; and away game activities for California-Berkeley Sept. 7; Georgia (Athens) Sept. 28 and North Texas (Denton) Nov. 16. Other events will be posted to our Web site as plans materialize.

 

Over the years, New Mexico State University has lost contact with some of the graduates who will be honored at Homecoming 2002. If you know where any of these classmates are, please contact the Alumni Association at (866) 678-2586 or e-mail alumni@nmsu.edu.
Class of 1942 Missing Classmates
Dorthy Karr Bonnie Ruth Roach Carter Royce Lester Eaves Edgar C. Engler Alfredo Borunda Enriquez Margaret Balink Finkhousen Charlie Harper Mina Woods Johnston Bill Lancaster	Florence Lorraine Massey Dorothy Karr McKinney John Frederick Miller Emma Hampton Minta Larry Prince Ruth Carnes Russell Horace Dale Smith Elizabeth Wilcox Tulk Mary Boyd Wood Tom Norris Zalaha