-= NMSU PANORAMA - Winter 2006 =- Aggie Pride: Furniture Store Owners are Aggies at Heart

Aggie Pride

Furniture Store Owners are Aggies at Heart

By Josephina Burke '05

Ashley Furniture employees are pictured here in the store showroom next to an Aggie-adorned Christmas tree.

NMSU alumni, friends and students pictured are, back row, from left, Keith Gutierrez, Richard Bishop, Wanda Bowman, Annette Ortiz with baby Christian, Paul Bowman, Jan McClure and Bob Bowman. Front row, from left, are Jason Heredia, Rick Rios, Errol Lockett, Tanner Green, Monica Green '96, Josh Zaklan and Kurtis Whealy '05.

Wanda Bowman and her husband, Robert, are among NMSU's most ardent supporters, but they aren't even alumni.

The Bowmans own the Ashley Furniture store in Las Cruces, which is part of the nation's third-largest home furniture store chain. They consider all 54 employees who work at the store their "family," and many of those employees are NMSU alumni or students.

"We make it a point to hire NMSU alumni and students," Wanda Bowman says. "Students who aspire to great things are great employees. We are avid supporters of education."

Of their 54 current employees, 13 are NMSU alumni and 14 are NMSU students. The Bowmans work with the students' schedules and make the work environment an easy place for the students to feel at home.

In their store is a Christmas tree that's up all year long and is decorated with NMSU colors and decorations. It's in the new Aggie lounge - a lounge that has posters of the NMSU sports schedules and some coach memorabilia.

One of the top sellers at the store is Kris Parks, an education major from Farmington. Parks is a member of the Million Dollar Club, which means he has sold $1 million worth of furniture.

Although the Bowmans didn't attend NMSU, they still consider it "their university," and are involved with many of the events NMSU sponsors. They also have donated furniture to the chemical engineering and Stan Fulton buildings.

"NMSU gives so much to the community; we think it has to be a two-way street. The community has to support the university. We need to work hand in hand," Wanda Bowman says.

The Bowmans have one child - Kurtis - who attended NMSU. He graduated in 1990 with a degree in electrical engineering and now works for a company in California called Panasas. Their other son, Paul, graduated from Northern Arizona University and returned to Las Cruces to work at the store. He supports Aggie athletics by purchasing season tickets to the Aggie basketball games.

"Even though I didn't graduate from NMSU I still consider myself an Aggie," he says.

Paul also has started an organization called Furniture in Need that picks up used furniture in good condition and donates it to the Red Cross, La Casa, Hacienda del Sol and Prison Family Services.

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