The Aggie-Miner battle of I-10 started early on Friday, Oct 1. Alumni Association President Bill Connor ’85 ’00 was joined by his wife, Dolores, Shari Jones ’80 ’82, Ermelinda Quintela ’84 ’00, Trey O=Donnell ’97, JW Bowman ’66 and Debbie Widger in a caravan to appear on the Channel 9 morning news, along with the NMSU band and students. We definitely outshone the Miner band - maybe that was why the football team was after us!
Bowman and Quintela organized a great tailgate party for El Paso alumni on Oct. 2. We had Miners joining us - they know where the fun starts! NMSU President Michael Martin was able to stop by the tailgate for a quick hamburger. It was great to see new faces and we hope they will join us again.
Sunday, Oct. 3, was our annual Aggie Round Up at the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico. Bill Cantrell ’67 and Trina Davis ’84 helped organize this event. Other Aggies who came were Joe and JoAnne Jackson, Darien and Dianne Brown, Amy Rankin and Manny and Hayley Encinias.
Albuquerque-area alumni have now had three luncheons featuring NMSU faculty, staff and fellow alums as guest speakers. During the first luncheon, Regent Bob Gallagher updated alumni on new initiatives at NMSU. Additional speakers have included Theresa Acker ’85, senior admissions advisor for NMSU, and James Wetherbe ’71, holder of the Bobby G. Stevenson Chair in Information Technology and executive director of the Institute for Internet Buyer Behavior at Texas Tech University. Albuquerque area alumni networking luncheons are held the first Thursday of every other month and the restaurant location changes based on recommendations. The next luncheon will be held Feb. 3.
 |
| Frances Ramirez-Maestas ’71, and Cathy Fernandez ’83 enjoy the champagne reception before the Wine Makers Dinner in Santa Fe |
Not even a few rain drops could dampen spirits during the June 24 Wine Makers Dinner at the Hotel St. Francis. Cathy Fernandez ’83, deputy director of the Legislative Finance Committee, had the idea for a glorious dinner and wine tasting event. The group of about 30 alums enjoyed a champagne reception and music on the courtyard and then moved indoors to enjoy a menu of specially selected foods paired with wines from all over the world. Southern Wine & Spirits donated the wines for the event and Walter Gallegos, whose son Mike just started his sophomore year at NMSU, was a wonderful educator as he explained each wine and why it was chosen to go with each course. Robert Peterson, major gifts officer at NMSU, made the trip from Las Cruces to deliver university greetings and a summer update on happenings at NMSU.
At the end of the event, the consensus was that “you are going to have to work very hard to top this event!” But Cathy probably already has plenty of ideas in store!
 |
| Stephen Lopez ‘74 & Cordelia Harvey of Santa Fe, Nazareth & Henry Hayes ‘73 of Las Cruces at the Santa Fe Opera Preview Dinner |
Aggie alumni attended the Santa Fe Opera July 10th and were in good company as Duke University had a group of their alumni along that evening. Opera volunteers (sensing that Aggie competitiveness) put each alumni group to the test and challenged us to a fight song sing-off. Who do you think won? Of course we did. Luckily we had Shannon Bradley ’94 and her mother, Eula Fern Thompson ’64 from Las Cruces, here to lead us to this surprise victory. Bill Harty ’89, NMSU’s assistant vice president for advancement, never leaves home without the words to the Aggie Fight Song in his wallet so we did a quick memorization and let our lungs do the rest.
We were pleased to have alumni from Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe and Espanola join us and hope that next year we have an even larger group and the words to the fight song readily available (just in case).
Nestor’s Backyard Barbie is an event many Aggies are still talking about! If you weren’t there, you’ve probably already heard that you missed out on one of the best Aggie parties in the north. Close to 120 guests enjoyed an afternoon poolside while drinking margaritas, vodka coolers, or just about any drink you fancied, and noshing on prime rib and crab and far too many savory items to mention without running to the fridge. Nestor Romero ’86 hosted this event because he hopes to help invigorate the Albuquerque Chapter and would like to see us have events on a regular basis. So if you have any suggestions for events or would like to host an event at your place of business or home, please contact Nestor at rlcromero@aol.com or Brian Colon ’98 at bcolon@aguilarlaw.com.
 |
| Roxanne ’88 & David Humpry ’87, Bruce Nanninga ’81 and his daughter, Monica Martinez, Asst. Dir. Alumni Relations, & Patrick Langevin ’94 at the chile roast in San Diego. |
As promised in the spring, Dave Humphry ’87, president of the San Diego chapter, made a New Mexico green chile roast a reality for Aggies in San Diego. With the help of a great little Northern New Mexican owned and themed restaurant called Luminarias, NMSU and Lobo alumni teamed together on Aug. 29 to get a taste of home. Eight hundred pounds of green chile were shipped in from Hatch and a tiny chile roaster set to roasting. The line was ridiculous - a three hour wait for some folks and we are talking quarts, not burlap sacks full! Monica Martinez thought this was green chile mania, until she came back to Santa Fe to buy her own and wound up in line for - you guessed it - three hours!
 |
| Aggies enjoy a Hay Ride during Fall Fest 2004 sponsored by the Aggies-on-the-Hill. |
In August, the “Aggies-on-the-Hill” hosted a send-off barbecue for students returning to NMSU for the fall semester. Students got more the just a free lunch, they also had the opportunity to meet Michael Martin, NMSU’s new president, who rearranged his busy traveling schedule to attend the event. Students and alums alike were honored to have the president attend and commented on how wonderfully down to earth President Martin is.
In September, the chapter elected officers: Tim Martinez ’82 is president, Ed Vigil ’81 is vice president, Abran Romero ’96 is treasurer and Carla Martinez ’95 is secretary. The latest event in October has proven the best event yet for the chapter. Fall Fest 2004, which was held at the NMSU Sustainable Science Center in Alcalde, brought out more then 100 alums and their families to enjoy the great day and the best that fall has to offer. The event was open to all alumni, not just LANL employees, which is what makes this niche chapter so wonderful. They truly embody the spirit of Aggie pride and unity. Aggies-on-the-Hill are setting some very high standards for other chapters to follow.
|
![[PANORAMA: NMSU Alumni Magazine]](images/gfx_header.gif)
![[CONTENTS]](images/gfx_mnu_contents.gif){kind=small}
![[Home]](images/gfx_mnu_home.gif){kind=small}
![[Features]](images/gfx_mnu_features.gif){kind=small}
![[Departments]](images/gfx_mnu_depts.gif){kind=small}
![[Aggie Panorama]](images/gfx_footer.gif)