THE MAGAZINE FOR TEXAS TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MEMBERS
TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2025
5:30 PM TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY SYSTEM RECEPTION
• 800 Congress
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2025
8:00 AM Opening Assembly of TTAA National Board and Alumni Volunteers
• Legislative Conference Center, room E2.002
10:00 AM Texas Tech University System recognition in the House Chamber
11:00 AM Texas Tech University System recognition in the Senate Chamber
12:00 PM Lunch on your own
1:00 PM Texas Tech University System group photo (site TBD) 1:30 PM Distribution of gifts to legislative offices
• Legislative Conference Center, room E2.002
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY H TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITYH TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER TEXAS TECH HEALTH EL PASOH ANGELO STATE UNIVERSITY MIDWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY
3 •11 ★ 3 •1 2 ★ 2025 • H JOIN US IN AUSTIN! H
A Man Of His Words
Learning the L anguage of Retirement at Carillon Senior Living
Activist Nelson Mandela said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own
cultural reference the head and heart in concert.
Retired assistant professor of applied linguistics at Texas Tech University and current Carillon Senior Living resident,
dedicated to the theory and practice of second language acquisition (SLA). A subfield of linguistics, SLA focuses on how language learners develop communicative competence, which includes understanding cultural references, interpreting the meaning of a message and applying those pesky grammar rules
grew to encompass evaluation of methods of teaching second language learning “Evaluation is not practiced very well in our field,” he says. His work led to the 2012 publication of “An Introduction to Second Language Research Methods: Design and Data.” The title was one of the mostdownloaded from TESL-EJ (Teaching English as a Second Language Electronic Journal) Because many of the downloads of his work were international, the book helped raise the profile of TTU globally
“I had seen Carillon, obviously, over the years. I never paid much attention until a year ago when I decided it was time to figure out my own next chapter.”
Through a Temple University doctoral program, he moved to Japan in 1976, teaching English and braving the mosquitos and an inability to curse (“ They would never tell me how!” he
said), for 23 years. Although his time in Japan was impactful personally and professionally, Texas called him and his wife home. Both took teaching positions at Texas Tech, from which he retired in 2015.
He is enjoying contributing to the community’s resident-run publication, “Chimes.” “I’m doing written a piece on ghosts, an article in which I surveyed 100 people on why they moved to Carillon and I’m working on a piece about addiction.” He added with a laugh, “Sugar is mine.”
When he’s not writing or nursing his sweet tooth,
TTU’s library as one of his favorite places to be but is no stranger to the public library, where he is currently part of a book club focusing on works that have been made into films or TV shows
With tastes ranging from British and American classics to theory and philosophy (currently he
books a year. After many years teaching, he is enjoying being a student of literature. As one of his favorite authors, Jane Austen, said, “A fondness for reading, which, properly directed, must be an education in itself.”
Want to learn more about our community and the fascinating residents who call Carillon home? Give us a call and we’ll show you around: 806. 705.5435.
photo on these two pages by Wyman Meinzer | DRIVING SNOW. on the cover by Jerod Foster | FORMER MASKED RIDER MACKENZIE WHITE ’16, ’18, ON THE RANCH WHERE SHE RESIDES IN FAR WEST TEXAS.
16 INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN
Former Masked Rider Mackenzie White ’16, ’18 left the city for the quiet of Far West Texas.
22 A HEART FOR THE HOMELESS
For Monica Jones Martin, helping people is a driving force.
26 KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES
The long-awaited south end zone is finally complete — here’s a peek at the project.
32 CURTAINS, A FEATHER AND THAT YELLOW DRESS
Raegan McGuire Tocco ’18 left Texas for New York City, where she’s making her mark in the fashion industry.
38 LIGHTER THAN AIR
Barry Ballinger enjoys a banking career along with a high-flying sideline as a hot air balloon pilot.
DEPARTMENTS
THINKING BIG AND BOLD 6 THROUGH THE ARCHES 8 PROPELLING US FORWARD 44 RETROSPECT 46
ASSOCIATION NEWS 50 ALUMNI NEWS 54 AT LAST 72
Curt, I just received my Texas Techsan in the campus mail today. The last couple of issues have been especially excellent and make me proud to be an alum!
Big thanks to you and your staff for the great work!
- CAMERON P. SMITH, MENG, JD, CLP
Assistant Vice President, Research Commercialization
TTU Office of Research and Innovation
Adjunct Faculty, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, TTUHSC Instructor, Honors College, TTU
Curt,
I really enjoyed the latest issue. I particularly enjoyed Zach’s tribute to Dr. Lawless.
Dr. Lawless was special to me. He had the trust and insight to ask me to be the founding director of the Clark Scholars Program and to write the proposal for the first Howard Hughes Programs grant.
As usual, you are doing a great job for our University!!
- JOHN BURNS, PH.D.
Texas Tech Horn Professor and Thornton Distinguished Chair in Beef Cattle Nutrition and Management
Former Provost, Texas Tech University
Former Dean, Davis CASNR
Follow us into the next century
When the doors to campus first opened in 1925, The Toreador was there. Now, nearly 100 years later, The Daily Toreador continues that tradition, keeping Texas Tech students, faculty, staff, alumni and the Lubbock community informed and entertained.
As the university moves into its second century, The Daily Toreador will continue to be there. Visit our website, www.dailytoreador.com, and follow us on all your favorite social media platforms.
@DailyToreador
MAGAZINE STAFF
Publisher, Curt Langford ’90,’97
Editor, Jean Ann Bowman Cantore ’84,’87
Associate Editor, Jennifer Bell Ritz ’94,’95
Intern, Allie Herring ’25
DESIGN Reace Killebrew ’21
Hartsfield Design, Lubbock, Texas
ADVERTISING
Kristina W. Butler ’04,’18, Vice President for Marketing
Texas Techsan is the official publication of the Texas Tech Alumni Association and Texas Tech University. Texas Techsan (USPS #021-676) is published quarterly and mailed to Texas Tech Alumni Association members. Editorial and advertising offices: McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center, 17th & University/P.O. Box 45001, Lubbock, TX 79409-5001. Telephone (806) 742-3641; fax (806) 742-0283; e-mail jean.ann.cantore@ttu.edu. Periodical postage paid at Lubbock,Texas, and additional offices. Send alumni news information to jennifer.ritz@ttu.edu. Send news for Techsan Memorial obituaries to jean.ann.cantore@ttu.edu. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Techsan Magazine, P.O. Box 45001, Lubbock, TX 79409-5001 or by e-mail to ia.bioupdate@ttu.edu.
Ch e ers t o V i no ! Ex p lo re w i ne c o u n tr y in the re g i on that g row s 8 5 % o f Texa s w i ne g ra p e s Wi th t a s t i ngs and t o u rs at p rem i e r w i neri e s i n the a re a , j o i n the t ra i l fo r a tr u e vine - t o- g l a ss ex p erien c e. Wi th excl u si ve d i scou nts to wineri es an d ca n ' t- m iss festi va l s, this d i g ita l pa ss is pe r fect fo r wine l overs l oo k in g to g et a ta ste of the Texas Hi g h Pl a in s AVA.
RED RAIDERS FOREVER
ON&ON, THE CAMPAIGN FOR TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY, officially launched with great fanfare during Homecoming 2024. The campaign represents an eight-year effort to invest in our university’s second century. The public phase, which began at the launch this past fall, marks the midway point of counting. The campaign will run for four more years, culminating in 2028.
Under the leadership of President Lawrence Schovanec, it’s a bold and big-thinking investment that will elevate this university to an even higher level. All giving to the university counts toward On&On, including your ongoing support of the TTAA, as we broaden our base of alumni engagement and support. The total campaign goal is $1.2 billion.
Our annual “Brighten Our Future” year-end appeal in concert with Carol of Lights is underway. The lights that burn brightly on campus and now on the Alumni Center represent steadfast supporters, such as you, lighting our way forever forward.
Texas Tech is elevating its game. But regardless of the final score on gamedays,“Red Raider Forever” is a common post seen on social for those who identify deeply with our university. We appreciate all our members, but as I gratefully sign thank you letters, I’m especially inspired by our longtime, consecutive-year contributors. This loyalty represents the combination of valued experiences as Red Raiders and the On&On commitment to next-generation Techsans.
An inspiring example of a “Red Raider Forever” is George Hedrick ’47, whom I had the privilege of meeting and visiting with at his residence in Fort Worth in November. George was born in 1923, one month before Texas Tech was established. He’s in his 101st year and able to recollect his college experiences at Tech as if they were yesterday. He enrolled in 1940 and graduated in 1947, serving in the United States Army during WWII. He lost many friends in combat and shared how grateful he was when the war ended and that he was able to return stateside free from harm. I’ll forever treasure my visit with him.
Regardless of our age, individual backgrounds, various journeys and diverse opinions, we are aligned as Techsans for the school we love so dearly. The TTAA’s purpose persists to connect, inspire and love our Red Raider Family. It’s what enables us as an association to further support our university, build relationships and foster growth.
T for Matador games in the stadium when it was initially named for former President Clifford Jones and catch a train home as they could to catch up on laundry. It was a different time and existence back then at Tech, but they were still simply students with many similarities – all part of our collective DNA as Red Raiders.
Recently I was reminded of how things change – yet stay the same – as the pendulum continues to swing back and forth. Several weeks ago, however, on Election Day, I was leaving my office after hours when I noticed the big grandfather clock had stopped and needed to be started again. It was as if time stood still on this day that comes and goes around every four years. I wound up the weights, reset the time and gently nudged the pendulum back in motion.
The clock, with our university seal artfully engraved on the pendulum, was a retirement gift for my father from the Graduate School and had been in his house.
Hedrick shares with Langford his memories of attending Texas Tech.
TRAVELING TECHSANS VACATIONS
Jewels of the Rhine — 2025 Spotlight Trip, June 7-14, 2025
Join TTAA President & CEO Curt Langford and his wife, Jill on this amazing European adventure from Basel to the Netherlands down the beautiful Rhine.
Provence — Art, Cuisine and Wine, Sept. 6-14, 2025
The elements of a quintessential Provençal experience — art, cuisine and wine — come together on an unforgettable sojourn through the wine regions of France.
Christmas in London, Dec. 5-11, 2025
Feel the holiday spirit when you experience the Christmas season in London, a world within a city “across the pond.”
Learn about these trips and more at texastechalumni.org/travel.
Traveling Techsans
THROUGH THE ARCHES
PEOPLE
TEXAS TECH ALUMNA SWAIZE LEE ’20, an award-winning former team member, has been tapped as the Texas Tech University Interim Rodeo Coach, while KYLE VANDERLEEST , a graduate of West Texas A&M and a rodeo athlete with seasoned on-ranch experience, takes the position of Interim Men’s Rodeo Coach. Both positions were effective in early October. Both Lee and VanDerLeest are talented hands with years of rodeo experience. The new coaching leadership team will be responsible for leading and managing the daily operations of the rodeo team at the Texas Tech Equestrian Center and will be expected to assist with rodeo technique focused courses or course activities that utilize the facility and its livestock. In addition, they’ll be tasked with continuing recruiting of competitive team members and award rodeo team scholarships, as well as being responsible for helping procure livestock for team practices and for the health and wellbeing of horses and livestock affiliated with the rodeo program. Currently, the Texas Tech Rodeo Team has 119 members, 67% of which are from the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources.
TWO TEXAS TECH JOURNALISM STUDENTS, AYNSLEY LARSEN AND JACOB LUJAN, have landed spots in The New York Times Corps, a prestigious talent-mentoring program for undergraduates. In this program, which spans the length of the students’ undergraduate education, participants are matched with a Times mentor for career guidance. They also attend training sessions and listen to speakers, all intended to lay the foundation for success in journalism. Upon graduation, students will travel to New York to visit The Times and learn from journalists in person. Of the 20 students in the third cohort, Texas Tech is the only university to be represented twice. Both Larsen and Lujan work for the Daily Toreador on campus.
MAHDI MALMALI PH.D., AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has received a $2 million grant as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) investment into increasing the domestic supplies of water and critical minerals. Malmali’s water research team, which includes Chau-Chyun Chen, a Horn Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and Amrika Deonarine, Hadis Matinpour and Yuexiao Shen from the Department of Civil, Environmental, & Construction Engineering, intends to develop a system engineering approach to recover valuable resources from oilfield-produced waters from unconventional oil and gas wells. They will study a cascade treatment approach involving an intensified membrane-based desalination to recover water from produced water. The project is designed to allow the selective recovery of metals and elements of interest through staged precipitation, develop a framework for managing produced water and promote workforce development and community involvement.
VanDerLeest
Malmali
Larsen Lujan
Lee
LEFT: Young guayule being grown in the Plant & Soil Sciences greenhouse. BELOW: Simpson and graduate student Phiala Drake at work in their lab.
CATHERINE SIMPSON, PH.D., AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR in Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, joined with three other institutions as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center (ERC). The NSF ERC for Transformation of American Rubber through Domestic Innovation for Supply Security (TARDISS), led by The Ohio State University, has been granted $26 million in federal funding. Simpson, a co-PI on the project, has brought in as collaborators fellow Texas Tech faculty members SUKHBIR SINGH, PH.D ., and HAYDEE LAZA, PH.D. The Texas Tech team will coordinate with faculty members from The Ohio State University, North Carolina State University and the University of California-Merced on the crop engineering and agricultural components of the project. The aim of TARDISS is to bridge engineering, biology and agricultural fields to revolutionize and explore alternative natural rubber production from domestically grown crops. This NSF Engineering Research Center will address several key areas related to sustainable agricultural systems important to West Texas, including agricultural and environmental sustainability, reducing water use and training a diverse next generation of thought leaders. This region has a rich agricultural heritage and stands as one of the few areas in the United States capable of producing guayule, a valuable source of alternative rubber. The Texas Tech research team envisions that this region will become a key production capital for U.S. rubber.
NEWS
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH the University of Texas at San Antonio and Angelo State University, has received a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for the development of a cybersecurity program. The proposed research and workforce development program will address relevant defense problems and include a multi-disciplinary team of Texas Tech researchers, including STEPHEN BAYNE, PH.D., executive director of the Institute for Critical Infrastructure; RANADIP PAL, PH.D., assistant dean of strategic initiatives and a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; ABDUL SERWADDA, PH.D., associate professor in the Department of Computer Science; TOMMY DANG, PH.D., assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science; and ARGENIS BILBAO, PH.D., senior director of the Global Laboratory for Energy Asset Management and Manufacturing. This project will consider aspects of cybersecurity research such as cyber-attack detection, deep fakes detection and strengthening systems with mitigation strategies, among others.
THE NEW ACADEMIC SCIENCES BUILDING (ASB) was declared open for business during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 9, 2024. This three-story, 130,000-square-foot facility, located west of the Chemistry and Science Buildings, includes teaching and laboratory space for five departments within the College of Arts & Sciences: Biological Sciences, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Geosciences, Physics & Astronomy and Psychological Sciences. The building also contains four interdisciplinary research labs: a clean room, human sampling, biosafety level 2 and biosafety level 3. Construction for the project first began in November 2020.
ON OCT. 19, 2024, THE Texas Tech Alumni Association officially dedicated “100 Reflections,” the all-class centennial gift, to Texas Tech University as part of the first Homecoming of the university’s second century. The ceremony was held at 10:30 a.m. at the sculpture site between the Student Union Building and the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library. The centennial gift was the vision of outgoing TTAA National Board member Heath Cheek ‘03, who represented the association on the university’s Centennial Committee. Designed and created by Milwaukee-based artist Randy Walker and consisting of 100 pillars with 100 polished reflective Double Ts to symbolize each of the 100 years of Texas Tech’s history, the new public art piece is an iconic addition to the Texas Tech campus. It is a uniquely Texas Tech place where students and families can take graduation photos for the next 100 years. The installation took nine months to complete at a cost of $300,000 raised solely by donations.
Preliminary funding for the project was generously provided by Founding Families sponsoring personalized granite benches around the perimeter of the project. Additionally, 100 individuals/families sponsored the pillars. Ongoing contributions of any amount toward this “all-class gift” enables additional alumni to contribute in honor of their class year pillar. There are 23 segmented benches representing TTU’s founding year, with only six available at $10,000 each for personalized engraving. All continued contributions will support the Centennial Scholarship Endowment, administered by the TTAA.
To learn more about “100 Reflections,” scan the QR code: www.texastechalumni.org/CentennialSculpture.
SPORTS
THREE FORMER RED RAIDERS HAVE JOINED the ranks of Texas Tech’s Ring of Honor. Linebacker THOMAS HOWARD (1974-76), tight end ANDRE TILLMAN (1971-73), and wide receiver and return specialist WES WELKER (2000-03) returned to the Jones AT&T Stadium on September 14, 2024, to become the ninth, 10th and 11th members of the Ring of Honor, the highest honor for any Red Raider football letterwinner. Their names and numbers were permanently placed on the wall of the West Stadium Building and unveiled during the North Texas game.
A TRIO OF RED RAIDER tennis players earn All-Big 12 honors. Singles-player OLLE WALLIN was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team for singles for the second time in his career, and doubles pair PIOTR PAWLAK and SEBASTIAN ABBOUD claimed an All-Big 12 Second Team honor for doubles, which is the first Big 12 honor for Abboud and the second for Pawlak after winning the Big 12 Position Champion at No. 2 Doubles during the 2023 season.
THE FIRST “BROADWAY BLOCK PARTY,” a celebration of Texas Tech basketball, was held Monday, Oct. 28, with a Flex Court being installed on the historic brick street and a night full of opportunities for fans to interact with players from the women’s and men’s programs.
The Red Raiders and Lady Raiders shut down a section of Broadway Street for the preseason event from 7:30-9 p.m. directly in front of Chimy’s. Festivities featured games for fans, team introductions, skill contests and a fireworks show to close out the night. Competitions between the players included “knockout” and a 3-point contest, while there was also a kids’ slam dunk contest with young fans from the crowd being selected to showcase their skills.
2024-25
MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
2024-25
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
Howard, Welker, Tillman
Wallin
Abboud and Pawlak
2024-25
BASEBALL SCHEDULE
SPORTING FOUR OMAHA APPEARANCES SINCE 2014 and five Super Regional appearances over that span, Texas Tech Baseball checked in at No. 17 in the bi-annual D1Baseball Top 100 programs, the publication announced Oct. 10.
Sandwiched between Big 12 foes TCU (No. 16) and Oklahoma State (No. 19), the Red Raiders Top 20 placing marks the fourth consecutive time that Tech finished inside the Top 20 after finishing at No. 38 in the inaugural Top 100 list that came out in 2015.
D1Baseball releases its Top 100 programs every two years as “an attempt to assess the overall health of each program in the current era.”
TEXAS TECH HEAD BASEBALL COACH TIM TADLOCK announced Friday the promotion of ERIC GUTIERREZ to assistant coach.Captaining the Red Raiders to the first two College World Series appearances in school history as a player,Gutierrez joined Tadlock's staff in 2019 as a volunteer assistant before being promoted to Director of Operations ahead of the 2024 season.
Working primarily with the infielders and first basemen, Gutierrez helped the 2019 Red Raiders to a 46-20 overall record and to the third Big 12 title in four seasons. The 2019 Red Raiders were one of the final four teams standing in the 2019 CWS and earned a No. 4 overall final ranking.
During the 2019 season, Gutierrez helped mentor senior first baseman Cameron Warren into All-America accolades in 2019. Warren led the team in batting (.355), home runs (18), RBI (79), and slugging (.665) while committing just two errors on the year for a .997 fielding percentage. Warren was drafted round in the 2019 MLB Draft.
Over his four-year career at Tech, Gutierrez was one of the best hitters in school history, racking up a .302 batting average behind 264 hits, including 59 doubles, five triples and 36 homers before leaving the collegiate ranks with a .302/.423/.505 line. He also totaled 193 RBI and 173 runs scored, while reaching base 195 times via walk and hit-by-pitch. Gutierrez graduated from Texas Tech in 2018 with his degree in general studies.
Gutierrez
Keep an eye out in every 2025 issue of the Texas Techsan magazine to learn about its history through the years
An Overview
he year 1950 was a time of many firsts. Charles Schulz’s beloved cartoon beagle “Snoopy” was born. Whataburger served its first customer, and the nation’s first credit card, Diners Club Card, appeared. • The Texas Tech Ex-Students Association had its own first — the premiere of the Texas Techsan magazine in February 1950. The periodical’s name was taken from the moniker “Techsan,” which is what people most loyal to Texas Tech called themselves. • The 24-page black-and-white magazine was published eight times per year. It featured alumni news, campus news, association news and sports. A subscription cost $3. • Students staffed the periodical in the early years — in 1950, Byrdean Roberson ’50 was editor; Bob Rutland was managing editor; and H.A. Tuck ’51 handled sports. • Wayne James, a 1957 journalism graduate of Texas Tech, was hired as field secretary that same year. His duties included editing the Texas Techsan. James was promoted to assistant executive secretary in 1958 and later to executive director. • In 1959, the magazine became more vibrant with the addition of a second color – Texas Tech red on some of the covers. Another change was the hiring of a full-time editor, Mary Alice Cretsinger, a brand-new journalism graduate, in 1960. • As the association continued to grow in membership and chapters, so did the magazine. The Texas Techsan had 40 pages and sported a full-color cover by the mid-1960s.
Covers Through the Years
1950
1959 1950 - 1968 19501968
Vol. 1, No. 1, February 1950
The first issue of the Texas Techsan debuts.
1951
Vol. 2, No. 1, February 1951
A second color –Texas Tech Red – adds interest to the cover.
1968
Vol. 19, No. 5, September 1968
As the association grows, so does the magazine, now 40 pages.
Vol. 9, No. 10, April 1959
The Texas Techsan cover glows in full color.
Important People of the Magazine
FEBRUARY 1950 – SEPTEMBER 1950
EDITOR:
BYRDEAN ROBERSON
OCTOBER 1950 - SEPTEMBER 1951:
MANAGING EDITOR: ROSE (POSY) PIPER
OCTOBER 1951 - DECEMBER 1951
MANAGING EDITOR: O'WANAH P. SHELTON
FEBRUARY 1952 – JUNE 1952
MANAGING EDITOR: ALLEN “TACK” HAMMER
JUNE 1952 – SEPTEMBER 1952
MANAGING EDITORS: JERRY AND MARY HALL
OCTOBER 1952 – AUGUST 1953
MANAGING EDITOR: PAULA FIX
SEPTEMBER 1953 – JUNE 1954
MANAGING EDITOR: O.G. NIEMAN
AUGUST 1954 – AUGUST 1955
MANAGING EDITOR: SHIRLEY HAMMER
SEPTEMBER 1955 – AUGUST 1957
MANAGING EDITOR: NANCY KAISNER
SEPTEMBER 1957 – JUNE 1958
MANAGING EDITOR: JANET MOORE
AUGUST 1958 – SEPTEMBER 1958
MANAGING EDITOR: CAROLYN CALVERT
OCTOBER 1958 - JUNE 1959
MANAGING EDITOR: CAROL THOMPSON
AUGUST 1958 – JUNE 1960
MANAGING EDITOR: CAROLYN MIMMS
AUGUST 1960 – APRIL 1961
MANAGING EDITOR: MARY ALICE CRETSINGER
JUNE 1961 - AUGUST 1961
EDITOR: WAYNE JAMES
SEPTEMBER 1961 NO EDITOR LISTED
OCTOBER 1961 – JUNE 1962
EDITOR: RALPH L SELLMEYER
AUGUST 1962 – SEPTEMBER 1963
EDITOR: WAYNE JAMES
OCTOBER 1963
EDITOR: RALPH SELLMEYER
NOVEMBER 1963 – DECEMBER 1968
WAYNE JAMES
During its 75 years, the Texas Techsan has undergone numerous redesigns, which always include a new masthead. During its first 18 years, the magazine had two different mastheads.
A milestone for the Texas Techsan magazine was a full-color cover for the first time in 1959. The rest of the magazine remained black-and-white, except for an occasional spot color.
5,015
16,918
71,747
149,101
Closing Thoughts
From the years of 19501968, the first 18 years of the Texas Techsan, Texas Tech was growing and changing, and the magazine changed along with it. In 1959 the first color issue of the Texas Techsan was published. Looking through the early issues, the masthead of the magazine was placed in different locations on almost every cover, instead of only in the upper left corner. In 1962 the masthead was redesigned and made to look more modern.
by Jennifer Ritz
photos by Jerod Foster
As the 53rd Masked Rider, Mackenzie White ’16, ’18, had to become accustomed to enormous crowds. In addition to the wildly raucous Texas Tech football games, there were countless parades, rodeos, and a variety of events and everywhere they traveled, fans were lined up to meet and get photos with the horse-and-rider duo.
The year a Masked Rider serves is hectic and often chaotic. The rider balances being a college student with making more than 350 appearances that take him or her more than 20,000 miles a year — in addition to that load, the care of the horse falls on the shoulders of the Masked Rider.
When her life at Texas Tech is compared to her life today, it’s night and day.
White traded in city life for life on a remote ranch in Far West Texas, where the brightest lights are the stars overhead.
White and Badger sit in the doorway of an old adobe home in Marfa that White and her boyfriend Luke Meador are renovating.
“I actually had a dorm picked out at UT and everything,” she recalls. “I was pretty set on that because I thought that might be a good fit academically. And then Texas Tech invited me to go to a recruiting event in Austin and I thought, ‘What the heck? I’ll go.’”
At the event, White met an alumna named Joan Strawn ’91 who convinced her to give Texas Tech a look. Strawn put her in touch with Sam Jackson, Ph.D., associate chair and associate professor in the Department of Animal & Food Sciences in the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources. Jackson also oversees the selection of the Masked Rider and care of the horse.
with horses at a young age. Following in her mom’s footsteps, she became an accomplished equestrian while still a little girl.
“My mom had horses when I was born, and she always rode in play days and barrel races…” White says. “I grew up around it always, and I don’t remember learning to ride or anything like that because I just always did…I had a pony, of course, when I was little. And then I got my first real horse when I was, I think, seven and started showing. My parents took me to my first world show at age eight.
“We all went to the shows, and we all slept in our living-quarters trailer together… It was definitely a family affair until the boys (White’s two younger brothers) got a little older and then they weren’t so into it, but we went almost every weekend somewhere and did the show thing. It was big time.”
White has always been driven, not just in her equestrian pursuits, but in academic pursuits as well. When it came time to look at college, she looked just down the road at the University of Texas-Austin.
“Dr. Jackson then found me at the San Antonio Stock Show,” she says.“I placed pretty high in the horse judging, and he came and talked to me about being on the judging team (at Texas Tech). So then fast forward, I guess that was in the spring, and he invited me to come out and be on the field at a football game. So, my parents drove me up there and once I was on the field at the football game, I mean, I was all in because I got to stand with Bradley Skinner, who was the Masked Rider at that time.”
With a new dream in hand, to become the Masked Rider, White enrolled at Texas Tech and headed to Lubbock. She joined the Texas Tech Equestrian Team and immersed herself in her studies. Prior to becoming the 53rd Masked Rider in 2014-2015, she also served as a field safety assistant her first year at Texas Tech, then her second year she was an assistant to the 52nd Masked Rider (Corey Waggoner). She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural and applied economics in the Davis College.
White was a member of the Texas Tech Equestrian Team and served three years with the Masked Rider program — one year as a member of the field safety team, one year as an assistant to the Masked Rider and a third year as the Masked Rider.
ever-expanding Texas Hill Country, traveling for horse shows and then later serving as Masked Rider, it’s obvious White was able to achieve great things even in the midst of demanding and stressful environments.
However, she always enjoyed the quieter side of life, in particular activities that took her outdoors and away from the fast-paced rhythm of urban life. When she finished at Texas Tech, she dabbled in real estate in Lubbock, then moved back home, where she headed up tourism and marketing efforts for the Marble Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau. She stepped out of that role and joined her father in a real estate appraisal business.
It was when she began dating Luke Meader that her life went in a different direction, specifically, west. Meader, who has a commercial pilot’s license, was living in Lago Vista, near Austin, and finishing out a hangar home located on Rusty Allen Airport. White
White and her father have a real estate appraisal business and she also started High Desert Hand Tied Flies & Goods.
assisted him with the building of the home and he sold it not long after its completion. Meader spent a lot of time in Marfa, Texas, the town closest to his family’s ranch, where he oversees the day-to-day as well as runs a cow-calf operation.
For a while White and Meader did the long-distance thing, with Meader frequently flying into Marble Falls to visit and pick up White. The couple would go on excursions in Meader’s plane, wherever struck their fancy. White began spending more time in Marfa and less in Marble Falls.
“I wanted to be out here (in Far West Texas) and I knew what I was getting into,” she says, referring to life in a remote area.“I started by living here part-time at first and then jumping in all the way. At the time (I first began going to Marfa), Luke and I were both mostly living in the Hill Country. He had his project (building the home in Austin) and then he’d come out here for work. So, we would go to H-E-B and load up on groceries and pack the plane full of a couple of ice chests and a bag of clothes and come out. I knew groceries were limited out here…and it’s really not a problem because we travel so much that we get our groceries elsewhere now. We hanger the plane in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and so we get most of our groceries there, and then we get some supplemental stuff out here.”
White says the grocery thing was a minor adjustment and that their diet is mainly carnivore and they consume the cattle they raise and venison and other game they harvest.
“We’ve always got a freezer full of whatever kind of game. So, we’re pretty much living off the land. And that’s how I like to be anyway.”
White and Meador often fly to their destinations, sometimes even to the grocery store, as it is faster than driving the many miles of caliche road to town.
White made the move permanent in 2021. Meader recently purchased a property in Marfa that has two structures. One is a home that serves as their “town house.” They plan to rent it out once they complete renovations on the other structure, an old adobe home. Owning a house in town makes life easier, as the ranch headquarters is a long drive from town, roughly 30 miles of paved road, then another 45 minutes on caliche.
I wanted to be out here (in Far West Texas) and I knew what I was getting into. I started by living here part-time at first and then jumping in all the way.
The couple travels often, flying to Ruidoso a lot to camp and fish. From New Mexico they travel in pursuit of the outdoors, whether it’s back to West Texas or to the mountains of Colorado and Montana or the Texas Gulf Coast. If she’s not traveling, she’s off-grid in Far West Texas. This remote living has allowed White to focus on something she loves: fishing.
“Well, my family was a horse family, but we were also a fishing family,” White says. “I have pictures of us as little kids out fishing with my dad, and I really started enjoying fishing in college. I started fly fishing more than just a spin rod. I just found it more fun, more interactive. I caught the biggest bass I’ve ever caught with my brother at this golf course pond on a fly rod. And it was just great memories, and we had a big time doing it.”
She started her own fly company, High Desert Hand Tied Flies & Goods.
“A couple of years ago, we, Luke and I, were out fishing in Red River and we bought some flies that just immediately fell apart and just were not great,” she says. “And I thought, ‘Well, I could do better than that.’ I started tying flies because — my grandmother taught me to embroider when I was little — it’s kind of crafty. I immediately enjoyed it and started learning more and more on YouTube and online and from books. I did a small run at Christmas and sold
some flies and did all right. And then I had another little boom at Father’s Day. And so, I’ve just been trying to slowly build up the business since then and offer more things and figure out what really works and what flies really are productive for fishermen.”
Between her travels, ranch life, her career as a real estate appraiser and now an entrepreneur, her life is full to bursting. It doesn’t resemble at all her former city life. There’s no shopping in boutiques or giant grocery stores, there’s no dining out at posh restaurants or hitting Target or Starbucks.
And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
White sits at her workbench crafting flies for her fly fishing company.
A Heart FOR THEHomeless
By JEAN ANN CANTORE
Photos by TRACE THOMAS
Compassion IS A
GIFT.
People who possess it show concern for others without an agenda — they don’t expect anything in return. They care sincerely about people.
Monica Jones Martin is the perfect example of a compassionate person. As executive director of Family Promise Lubbock, Inc., Martin uses her empathy and social work skills to improve lives.
Family Promise Lubbock, Inc., hosts an annual “fall bash” for program families, both current and past.
Founded in 1986 in New Jersey, Family Promise is a nationwide nonprofit organization committed to preventing and ending family homelessness. The Lubbock affiliate was established in 1998. This ministry is a network of communities that serves nearly 250,000 people annually.
“When we think of homelessness, we don’t think of families with children,” Martin says.“Many families have been given a hard hand in life. Maybe they were in the
“We end up falling in love with every family,” Martin says.
wrong place at the wrong time, culminating in losing money.
“With families, it’s a different ballgame. Every child should have his or her own adequate sleep space. Lubbock Independent School District aids in identifying homeless children — there are about 1,038 homeless children in the district. These families technically may not be without shelter — they may move from place to place, sleeping at relatives’ or friends’ homes — couch surfing. They just don’t have the means to have their own space.”
Family Promise currently utilizes a 3,000-square-foot home in Lubbock, Promise House, that offers community-style living for four families. There is one large bedroom for each family along with a common area for meals and spending time together. The agency also owns a duplex and is the recipient of a brand new mobile home donated by Clayton Homes in 2022.
The organization’s website accepts applications from families in need of immediate shelter or assistance Martin says they
received 335 applications in 2023, and this fall, they had 227.
“We don’t just offer shelter,” Martin is quick to mention.“Each family has milestones that they must work on and must meet. For example, some need to find jobs and work on their finances, while others need to find childcare.
Martin looks forward to being part of the organization’s bright future.
“Every family comes to us at a different level. Some have nothing, some already have jobs and some don’t even have personal documents. We try to be as flexible as possible with what will set up a family for success. Others may want to work on getting a GED. The maximum stay is six months, but many families are ready to live on their own after three.
“We end up falling in love with every family.”
Martin’s academic background has prepared her well for her current position. A 2020 graduate of Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies, she is pursuing an MBA through Liberty University. Her job experience has both strengthened her abilities as a social worker and honed her business and management skills.
Beginning in college, she spent three-and-a-half years working at Highland Baptist Church in Lubbock, first as a student ministry intern for almost two years. She moved into a position as interim student pastor for almost a year and then part-time connections minister.
EMPATHY with STRENGTH, KINDNESS with DETERMINATION and LOVE are ATTRIBUTES of a PURE and HONEST HEART.
Martin first encountered Family Promise of Lubbock, Inc., when she worked as the family services coordinator full-time for six months in 2020, the middle of the COVID-19 epidemic. She went to work as a case worker for St. Francis Ministries in Lubbock.
In 2022, she returned to Family Promise, something she had hoped to do. For two years, she served as program director.
Martin then served as interim director for a few months, and finally, was named executive director in June 2024.
“My journey with Monica started around four years ago when the board was searching for a new executive director,” says Gary House, vice president of the board of Family Promise Lubbock, Inc. “Monica’s resume was stellar, her references were impeccable and her interview captured everyone on the search team. She was not chosen at that time because of her lack of experience; however, each of us wanted her on our team in some capacity.
“I recall one of her references commented, ‘This girl will be incredible in five years,’
“As fate would have it, we were in a search once again just three short years later. Monica was now on staff and had been absorbing and learning and maturing at a remarkable pace. There was no question in our minds this time. Monica was without question the one to lead us into the future. Her skills of organization, managing people, understanding financial tools and their uses as well as her negotiating skills were quickly put to test, and in every situation she demonstrated ease and poise at successful problem solving.
“Bur perhaps the greatest impression Monica has made on me and this organization is her heart, her transparency and her humility. One can learn business skills. One can mature by honing the methods of problem solving. Empathy with strength, kindness with determination and love are attributes of a pure and honest heart. Above all else, these define Monica most completely, most honestly and are the foremost reason I am so proud to have her at the helm of Family Promise.”
Martin says she is grateful to the Family Promise board for entrusting her with such a rich ministry.
“From the beginning of my time with Family Promise, it centered me,” Martin says. “Although my first time working there was short, I fell in love with the ministry. I learned about a whole new area of need in Lubbock.”
Martin’s own experiences growing up stirred her to desire to help families. A rough childhood further enhanced her compassion for others.
“I did not have a healthy home growing up,” she says. “We often were one step away from homelessness. My family lived in homes provided by my father’s employer — my father was a farm hand. We were always worried where we would go if Dad lost his job.
“I was the oldest of four, so I learned early to take charge and to be a leader.”
Originally from Kansas, Martin was a sixth-grader when her family moved to Earth, Texas, where she spent her teenage years. High school in West Texas was a lifesaver for her.
“I had a unique opportunity in school,” she says. “I became involved in the FCCLA program – Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. That experience equipped me with social skills, professionalism and event planning. I’m grateful to God to have put me in that place.”
Her background instilled in Martin the importance of learning practical job skills and life skills. She became an advocate for the young people she helps to join groups such FCCLA, where they can develop their own skills.
In addition to providing a roof over their heads and encouragement, Family Promise makes sure their families have a sense of normalcy and of belonging.
“Every Monday evening, we have a special meal for the current families and invite our past families to join us,” she says.“For Easter, Mother’s Day, summer, fall and Christmas, we throw parties for current and past families.
“Although we partner with 27 local churches to provide services, we are ‘faith-based, not faith first.’ We are nondenominational and work with families of many religions. In addition, families have the opportunity to join an offsite Bible study and attend church services for families and children. It is strictly voluntary.”
While the executive director loves the families she serves, she also has her own family. She and her husband, Jared Martin, whom she met in college while both were in the ministry at Highland Baptist Church, are delighted to be part of the Lubbock community.
“We fell in love – God opened the door for us to serve in Lubbock,” she says. “This is where our home is. We have family here, and we love the community.”
Also a graduate of Texas Tech University, Jared has a bachelor’s degree in electronic communications. His roots go deep here — he is a native West Texan whose parents also live in Lubbock.
“Jared works for the Lubbock Emergency Communications District, overseeing the 911 systems,” she says. “He makes sure all the equipment the dispatchers use is working. He loves his job.”
The two are active members of Redeemer Church, where they belong to several worship groups. They also enjoy attending their nephews’ soccer games. Monica’s younger brother and sister still are in school, and the couple likes to be present for them as well, encouraging them in their marching band competitions.
The Martins’ nurturing natures soon will be put to a very personal use. They are thrilled to be expecting a baby in April. Monica sees it as one more way they are establishing their place in the community.
“Monica Martin has been such an asset to our ministry at Family Promise,” says Breanne Minefee, president of the board.
“She is compassionate and kind but also incredibly knowledgeable about everything from family services to grants to the policies and procedures required to run this organization.
“Monica has an unmatched passion for the parents and children who are with us while trying to rebuild their lives. She has a unique ability to create and impart a vision for the future of Family Promise while also running the day-to-day operations with ease. I believe she will be one of the best leaders we’ve had in the 26 years this mission has been in existence. Our board and staff are grateful for her leadership, her humility, hard work and commitment to Family Promise of Lubbock.”
Martin is excited about her position. She sees herself with a long tenure at Family Promise because there is so much growth taking place. She is proud of her team; the opportunities they have to help more and more families encourage her.
Children are a special focus of Family Promise Lubbock, Inc.
“Our board of directors is reinvigorated and invested,” she says.“I think we could propel the organization to a place it’s never been. I would love being able to say I’m a team player who had a hand in it.”
KEEPING WITH
BY Allie Herring
PHOTOS BY John Weast
The renovation of the south end zone completes the enclosure of the stadium, making The Jones even louder & more intimidating out on the field.
A look into the HISTORIC south end zone expansion of The JONES AT&T STADIUM
THE JONES IT'S
one of the first cool, crisp days of the season, and Red Raider fans lined up along the outside bar of the new field-level club in the south end zone can feel the first bite of fall in the West Texas wind. Fans keep their eyes locked on the field, because at any moment, running back Tahj Brooks could be hurtling toward them, carrying the momentum of a Red Raider touchdown as he runs past the line of spectators, high-fiving them as he goes.
Earlier, these same fans got to watch the entire football team run through the middle of the club, which connects to the home locker room, as they first entered the field through the south end zone goal posts.
The atmosphere at The Jones AT&T Stadium has always been electric on gamedays, but fans are now able to experience a new level of Red Raider energy on football Saturdays, thanks to the historic south end zone renovation.
Construction first began on this $242 million dollar project — the largest investment into Texas Tech athletics in school history — in December 2022. The renovation includes the new Dustin R. Womble Football Center, which is integrated into the south end zone facility via a connector bridge, making the Texas Tech football program home to one of the largest contiguous football facilities in the country.
Above the field-level club, which fans can purchase access to as an add-on to their ticket, is loge box seating. The second floor, at street level, is a concourse made distinctive by its high colonnade archways, in keeping with the Spanish Renaissance architectural style of the Texas Tech campus. This area is followed by a third floor of coaches’ offices and a fourth floor of premium personal suites.
An Elevated Gameday Experience
The expansion has plenty for both players and fans to admire, from the 300,000 added square feet for player development and fan amenities to the 17 new premium suites.
Andrea Tirey, senior director of development for athletics at Texas Tech University, says that the new premium suites continue the stadium’s tradition of curating elevated experiences in gameday viewing.
“We really have put a lot of effort in making sure that all of the suites are really nice and high end,” Tirey says. “Our donors really crave that premium feeling.”
From the floor-to-ceiling windows to the chandeliers, the new south end zone suites certainly offer a premium football-watching experience in the stadium. What really sets these new suites apart, Tirey says, is the feeling of being in the thick of the action, courtesy of the indoor-outdoor seating options.
“You’re really in the bowl — it feels like you’re really outside, at the game,” Tirey says. “We wanted to make sure we were offering something different, that we didn’t currently have in the stadium.”
In addition to the premium suites, fans have the options of outdoor loge boxes complete with TVs and stocked coolers, as well as two party decks that can each accommodate up to 50 Red Raider fans. These party decks, Tirey says, have been popular with both families and corporate partners. With all these seating options, the social aspect has been crucial.
“Red Raiders just really like to be together,” Tirey says.“So we’ve created an opportunity for all these people to celebrate and be at these games together.”
Football players touch the Double T saddle, above, for good luck before they go out onto the field. The sculpture is dedicated by the Saddle Tramps to Double T, a previous Masked Rider horse.
Red Raider fans get as close to the action as possible along the outdoor bar of the new Gary Petersen Field Club in the south end zone of The Jones.
WE’VE
CREATED AN OPPORTUNITY
FOR ALL THESE PEOPLE TO CELEBRATE AND BE AT THESE GAMES TOGETHER.
Nine-Digit Support
Of the $242 million budget for the renovation, $115 million was raised from fundraising efforts — a particularly impressive number considering that the 36-month timeline of the project was completed 15 months ahead of schedule.
Tirey says the fundraising for this project shows the power of the Red Raider alumni base and the Texas Tech community.
“Our donors really stepped up for this campaign,” Tirey says.
The donations made by alumni,community members, businesses, and organizations, Tirey says, have enabled the football programs to give student athletes the tools they need to be successful while also creating an environment for fans that builds community.
“Having alums support and give back — it really is our lifeblood,” Tirey says.
The renovation of the south end zone and the construction of the new connecting football center were the final projects in the Campaign for Fearless Champions, a $500 million campaign focused on enhancing Tech athletics facilities, across all programs. All in all, 30 athletic facilities were impacted by the campaign.
Name Dropping
The field-level club where players make their dramatic first entrance and fans lean over the outdoor bar for a chance to high five running backs and wide receivers is named the Gary Petersen Field Club, in honor of one
of the major donors to this project. Petersen is a former TTAA National Board Member.
However, this isn’t the only place in the stadium where Red Raiders will notice some new names — many donors to this historic renovation have been immortalized in the halls, fields, and concourses of The Jones.
The field of The Jones AT&T Stadium has been renamed the Cody Campbell Field to recognize the former Red Raider football player (and current regent) for his $25 million donation to the project. Similarly, the new football center which connects to the south end zone is named the Dustin R. Womble Football Center to honor a $20 million dollar gift, and the concourse of the south end zone, where premium concessions are housed, has been named after John and Tracy Sellers, who donated $10 million. Many other entrances, offices, and lobbies have been named after generous donors, as well as the two belltowers on the south end zone.
Gifts such as these to athletics, Tirey says, foster a sense of community.
“It strengthens these ties between our alumni and our stakeholders with the athletics department,” Tirey says.“When donors give — you’re creating these opportunities for donors to leave a lasting impact.”
LOGE BOXES IN SOUTH END ZONE
17 NEW PREMIUM SUITES PARTY DECKS STORIES
450 PEOPLE CAPACITY OF FIELD CLUB
SOUTH END ZONE FACILITY IS
300,000 SQ FT
21 MONTHS TO COMPLETE SOUTH END ZONE $242 MILLION PROJECT
$115 MILLION FUNDRAISED
CAPACITY OF THE JONES
60,229
4 MAJOR CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES INVOLVED: 46 2 4
Guidon Real Estate Project Solutions project manager
Populus architect
Lee Lewis Construction and Manhattan Construction contractors
Brockette Davis Drake, Inc. structural engineering
IT'S THE FINAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.
Return to The Jones
Ryan Donahue can remember what it felt like to stand on the field of The Jones AT&T Stadium as a player. Now, more than 20 years later, he can also tell you what it feels like to stand there as a structural engineer, overseeing the renovation of its south end zone.
Before his engineering career in Dallas with Brockette Davis Drake Inc., Donahue was a linebacker on the Red Raider football team from 1993-1996, under then-head coach Spike Dykes.
Donahue says watching how the football stadium has evolved since his time as a player has been exciting to watch, especially as someone with experiences with which to compare the new facilities.
“If you see the old neon Texas Tech script letters in the pictures — that was my era,” Donahue says. “None of what I’m going to call the beautification that really makes the stadium feel more architecturally significant had occurred.”
As he watched the improvements to The Jones over the past two decades, he says he always thought it was something he would want to be a part of. Donahue admitted that renovating The Jones — with the expectations of thousands of Red Raider fans riding on its completion — was nerve-wracking at times, but the main emotion he felt while working on the project was excitement.
Even with all the excitement, Donahue says there was a level of nostalgia in returning to the stadium for the project, especially during the demolition stage. Certain features, like the old home room locker room, which hadn’t changed much since his time on the team, were harder to let go of than others. However, his favorite part of the renovation was preserving the iconic Double T scoreboard.
Donahue says that, especially as a Lubbock native, he understands how important the Texas Tech campus — and The Jones — is to the greater Lubbock community.
“With the renovation of the south end zone,” Donahue says,“it’s the final piece of the puzzle. It completes the picture, architecturally.”
The 17 new premium suites offer an elevated game day experience for socializing, networking, and, of course, watching Red Raider football.
The importance of The Jones goes beyond aesthetics, however. Donahue says that the stadium brings families together on game days and “provides a great backdrop” for activities before games. Moreover, he says the renovation breathes new life into the football program, for spectators and players alike.
“If the new end zone helps the community fill the stadium, and it’s someplace they want to be,” Donahue says,“I think that, by nature, invigorates the football team as a whole.”
NOTABLE DONORS
Cody & Tara Campbell $25 MILLION
Dustin & Leisha Womble $20 MILLION
Gary R. Petersen $10 MILLION
John and Tracy Sellers $10 MILLION
Mike Wallace $10 MILLION
John Billingsley $5 MILLION
Patrick Mahomes II $5 MILLION
TEX AS TECH ALUMNI,
E V E RY COCK TAI
by
The story of a bright young lady in New York City.
jennifer ritz
photos by meradyth vestal
She hustles
to get her day rolling, slipping on her shoes, grabbing her bag and coffee, she rushes out the door. The air outside is bracingly cold, but she welcomes the sting as it hits her cheeks. She looks forward to the daily half-hour walk to her office.
The streets have started to come to life, delivery trucks rumble by and businesses unlock and open doors. The sidewalks are bustling with others who are also headed to work, and she maneuvers through the people, long red hair bouncing in the early morning sun, feet keeping a brisk pace.
This is New York, after all, the city that never sleeps, and for a young woman from Texas, she effortlessly fits right in.
curtains
Some of us just know from a young age what we’re going to be when we grow up. Take Raegan McGuire Tocco ’18, for example. While still a young girl, she plucked some curtains off the windows of her family’s home and proceeded to try her hand at fashion design.
“Back in the day, my mom (Debbie McGuire) had someone put these really heavy gaudy curtains draped on all of the windows in the house,” Raegan recalls.
“And I remember my mom mentioned once that she didn’t really like them anymore...that was all I needed to hear and then I think the next day, I said, ‘Okay, well, I’m taking them all down.’”
Raegan, who was in junior high at the time, proceeded to cut up the curtains to sew dresses. She notes that the results were less than perfect.
“We still have a bunch of pictures of these godawful dresses,” she says, laughing at the memory. “It was such bad fabric, but it was so funny.”
Raegan held onto her dream of pursuing a career in apparel design and when it came time to select a college, that goal played a major role in her selecting Texas Tech.
“I was talking to my parents about what I wanted to do…I knew I wasn’t ready to leave the state yet,” she says. “I really love football so much, and I knew I wanted that kind of big college experience. I applied to three schools in Texas known for their apparel design majors.”
Her mom planned to set up tours at all three schools. Her dad (Texas Tech Head Football Coach Joey McGuire) — who had always been a Tech fan, even though he didn’t attend — suggested Raegan attend a football game at Texas Tech.
“And so, I went to a football game at Texas Tech and I remember I didn’t even want to tour the other schools,” she says. “I did end up touring the other two, but I just knew from that one experience that that’s where I wanted to go.”
When it came time to find an internship, Raegan says she initially felt she should pursue something with Nike or Under Armour. She notes that although most of her designs were very feminine, she initially leaned toward athletic design.
“I don’t know if it was because my dad is in sports or what that thought was, but those are the only places I applied at first. And then my dad said, ‘That’s so crazy, you don’t even like designing that kind of stuff.’ Then I thought, ‘I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll like New York. I just don’t think that feels like me and I really can’t think of where else I would go.’”
She says her dad challenged her to apply to 10 New York companies that day and then wait to see what happened.
“I applied to a bunch of brands and they were all super aligned with my aesthetic and I got really excited after doing that,” she says. “And then the next day my dad said, ‘Okay, let’s do 10 more.’ That push that he was giving me opened the door for me.”
She ended up landing her No. 1 choice for an internship with Milly in New York City.
PHOTO BY JOANNA NOWAK
leaving lubbock & that taylor swift dress
Raegan traded wide open spaces for a big city skyline. She loved her three-month long internship and noted that Texas Tech had prepared her well, better than many of the interns she worked with from other universities. She was thrilled when Milly offered her a full-time job following graduation.
She noted that since moving to New York her style has evolved. In 2019 she accepted a new job with AMUR apparel brand, where she continues to expand her knowledge of design and move up the ladder.
“For about the last year-and-a-half, I’ve been head of the brand,” Raegan says. “One of my big things is making more ready-towear pieces, which is more like day-to-day styles. They’re definitely still more on the dressier end, but I’ve been bringing more of daywear into our brand.”
Fall of 2024, she debuted her first AMUR collection with her new team. AMUR is an acronym for “a mindful use of resources,” a nod toward the brand’s goal of creating lasting fashion, in both look and quality.
“I’m really into sustainability when it comes to fashion,” she explains “I don’t support fast fashion…I believe in either investing in good quality pieces or renting good quality pieces because I just find that it’s over saturating the market. It’s not good for the environment, and also people aren’t able to value what they have because it’s so quickly deteriorating.
“Before I started with AMUR, I didn’t know a lot about sustainability, and then I had the luxury of working under someone who helped put the brand together,” she says. “It was really interesting to learn from someone who really believes in it so deeply.”
AMUR uses 100% sustainable fabrics, meaning they source either natural fibers or recycled fibers. One of AMUR’s hallmarks is a pleated fabric used in their dresses. The fabric is created from recycled water bottles and produced by a mill in Turkey.
PHOTO BY JOANNA NOWAK
Raegan and the Taylor Swift dress. She has also dressed Kelsea Ballerini, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Sophia Bush, Jessica Alba, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Roberts, to name a few. Her design was also on the cover of Vogue Mexico with Taylor Hill wearing a dress designed by Raegan.
“Turkey utilizes very sustainable practices,” she notes, “and all of our mills and factories are vetted for sustainability and that they’re ethical. Even when we’re making our garments, we think about the zippers, the longevity, we think of all of the details on our designs. When we look at, for example, elastic. That’s not going to last very long. We really do try to have that long lifespan with our clothing.”
a loose feather
Raegan loves New York for lots of reasons. The city itself, her burgeoning career in fashion and, most of all, it’s where she met the love of her life, New York native Joe Tocco. Their “how they met” story is sweet and funny.
It seems Raegan was sadly contemplating the end of her time in New York. Her internship was over, she was headed back to Lubbock for graduation, and she hadn’t yet managed to land a full-time job in New York. She was a little blue.
She lugged her giant portfolio onto the crowded, standing-room-only E train to head home for the day. Raegan held onto a pole near Joe Tocco, her husband, who noticed a feather in her hair and said, “Hey, there’s a feather in your hair.”
I believe in either investing in good quality pieces or renting good quality pieces.
Raegan has designed clothing worn by many wellknown names such as Beyonce, Michelle Obama and Nikki and Paris Hilton. Recently, a yellow dress she designed for a spring line ended up being worn by Taylor Swift. The dress, which Raegan named “The Viv” dress in honor of her great grandmother, appeared in Swift’s Eras Tour in the slide show that appears on a big screen behind Swift as she performs at her concerts.
“It was a couple of years ago that we had a yellow dress in our spring line,” Raegan says. “It wasn’t made specifically for her, but the PR agency she works with had a request from her stylist. We received an email saying…this is what we’re looking for. And they sent a picture of an old yellow dress. I do love Taylor Swift and so I knew exactly what the yellow dress was from. I immediately jumped out of my chair. I sprint to the front of my office, I grabbed the yellow dress — I think it was probably the only one we have ever made — but I package it up and I overnight ship it, which we’re not even really allowed to do, but I did it because I was like, I don’t care. I want this dress to get there first.”
Fast forward to a girls’ trip to Dallas when Raegan met her aunt and cousin to attend the Eras concert. Raegan was hopeful her dress would appear somewhere, somehow. A few songs in, Swift began singing “Lover,” and the screen behind her displayed The Lover House with Swift wearing Raegan’s yellow dress.
“I have a TikTok that went viral of my actual reaction, screaming my head off that my dress was up there,” Raegan says, laughing.
Exasperated, Raegan told Joe to get the feather out of her hair. After the mildly awkward exchange, the two struck up a conversation, with Raegan opening up about her stress over needing to find a job and being hopeful she’d land one back in New York. She shared her plans to move back to Texas for a month while awaiting interview results.
Joe, a native New Yorker, offered advice on where she should live if she returned and mentioned he knew someone in the design industry, subtly hinting he wanted her number. Raegan obliged and when they arrived at Penn Station and she was exiting the train, she jokingly told him to “call me, business or pleasure.” He did and the two texted back and forth for a bit, but when Raegan returned to Texas, the communication slowed.
Post-graduation Raegan did land a full-time job with Milly and moved back to New York. Without friends, she reached out to Joe. The two began texting and talking on the phone for hours. Raegan finally agreed to take the train over to Long Island to meet him for dinner. Before the evening ended, Joe purchased her 10 train tickets on her phone to ensure she’d come see him again. That was back in 2018. The couple tied the knot in Texas in August 2024. Joe continues to show Raegan all the great things about New York, and she, in turn, has taught his family all about how to root for the Red Raider football team.
Raegan McGuire earned her bachelor’s degree in apparel design and manufacturing and followed her dreams into a design career in New York City. That meant leaving behind her beloved dog, Charlie, who now lives a very pampered life in Lubbock with her mom Debbie and dad Coach Joey McGuire.
ankers traditionally are grounded people who approach their jobs conservatively and without risk. After all, they’re responsible for other people’s money. So it may surprise some to know that outside of the office, one Lubbock banker doesn’t just kick up his feet — he gets them way up in the air.
Barry Ballinger is West Texas Region chairman for PlainsCapital Bank. His job involves overseeing the dayto-day operations of Lubbock locations. He has been with the corporation since 1977. The banker has held various leadership positions with the organization, including Lubbock market president and head of commercial lending. Ballinger also serves as president and a member of Caprock Business Finance Corporation.
When he’s not busy banking, Ballinger often flies hot air balloons.
“I have always had a love of flying and an interest in aviation,” he says. “I became airplane pilot over 50 years ago. When the bank owners decided to purchase a balloon for promotional purposes in 1993, I approached them and said I was interested in being involved. They selected me to be the pilot for the balloon.”
Of course, airplanes and hot air balloons are two very different ways to take to the air. Ballinger explains that a fixed-wing rating allows a pilot to fly an airplane. A rotorcraft rating qualifies pilots to fly helicopters. Pilots licensed to fly balloons are rated as “lighter than air.”
“The bank’s first balloon was a red-and-black one with a Double T on it,” he says. “We purchased it from a dealership in Albuquerque that recommended going to flight school in Fort Collins, Colorado. So that’s where I went to learn.”
In the years since then, he also has become a balloon instructor. He mentions that most people can be up and flying in a matter of four or five hours of instruction. Of course, to become licensed, they must accumulate additional flight hours and pass a written and flight test.
The Red Raider balloon travels in style in a trailer replete with Double T logos. For the past 30 years, Ballinger has flown the PNB Texas Tech balloon proudly at area bank events, including balloon rallies in Plano and Abilene, Texas, and other events in the Austin and San Antonio areas.
Of course, each fall, he and his team always attend the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the largest in the country. He has flown at the Fiesta 26 times.
The nine-day event in New Mexico each fall attracts 550 to 600 balloons. Hundreds of thousands of spectators attend to watch the famous mass ascension, row-by-row of 10 balloons at a time.
“Riding in a hot air balloon is a popular bucket list item,” he says. “Whether you fly in a balloon or not, seeing all the colorful balloons against a blue sky is a great sight. Also, people who attend the Albuquerque Fiesta are not standing behind a rope. They can wander among the balloons, touch them and interact with the pilots and crews. You’re out there in the middle of it, up close and personal.
“Talking with the people is my favorite part of the rallies. Kids are the best because they are so excited. You rarely see someone approach a balloon with a frown.”
The pilot says he enjoys every takeoff. He explains that unlike in a plane with a planned flight from Point A to Point B, in a balloon, you never know where you’ll land. Ballinger likes the unknown aspects of the trip.
He notes that he prefers to fly at an altitude of 200 to 300 feet above the ground, rarely ascending above 2,000 feet.
“My favorite way to fly is low where you can talk to people on the ground, hear dogs barking,” he says.“I’m a banker, not a risk-taker. I’m careful and respectful that I am flying the bank’s balloon. As in my banking job, I’m cautious and conservative while piloting it.
“The hardest part of ballooning is making the go/ no go decision before the launch. Weather is the main factor in the decision, but there are others.”
In 2002, when PlainsCapital Bank underwent a rebranding, adopting the buffalo as their logo, it was time to add another balloon to the stable. This time, the design incorporated buffalo heads. The balloon was named “In the Buff.”
A vital part of ballooning is the crew — it is not an individual sport. He adds that it’s important to give crew — bank staff members, friends, family and others — occasional rides to thank them for their hard work.
I’m a banker, not a risk-taker. I’m careful and respectful that I am flying the bank’s balloon. As in my banking job,
I’m cautious and conservative while piloting it.
The first hot air balloon flight took place in 1783 in France.
The fabric portion of the balloon is called the envelope, and the basket is the gondola.
Although the pilot has a vital role in flight, “wind steerage” is what guides a hot air balloon.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BARRY BALLINGER
The Texas Tech balloon has room for two people, and the buffalo one has room for three.
Friends and crew members who have flown with Ballinger agree that he is a talented, careful pilot. Keith and June Bearden, neighbors and friends of the Ballingers for 22 years, have served as crew members for and passengers of the airborne banker. A 1969 Texas Tech graduate, Keith is Professor Emeritus & Director, Goin’ Band, 1980-2003. June is a 1989 graduate.
“Barry has been the dedicated pilot for the PlainsCapital Bank buffalo balloon for approximately 30 years,” Bearden says. We have seen the work and effort it takes to unload, inflate, fly, recover, deflate and load several times a day. It takes dedication to do that for so many years. He is thorough in preparation and skilled as a pilot. We felt totally secure and safe in our flight above Albuquerque.”
LEFT: The chase crew for the tether, all PlainsCapital Bank employees, are from left, Jake Arthus '22, Brandon Hanslik, Ballinger '77 (pilot), Kyle Arp '18, Payton Cooper and Walker Hemphill '22, '23. MIDDLE: "In the Buff" flies alongside other colorful hot air beauties. RIGHT: Ballinger in the gondola. 4 5
Balloons have been used for aerial reconnaissance during wartime.
The altitude record for a hot air balloon is 68,986 feet (about 13 miles) set Nov. 26, 2005, in India, by Vijaypat Singhania.
Although Ballinger regards flying a hot air balloon as serious business, he always emphasizes the joy in ballooning – namely, observing sights in a different way and experiencing a peaceful feeling while aloft.
“The best time to take off in a balloon is at sunrise,” he says.“When you go on your first balloon ride, you notice that you become part of the body of wind. It’s calm because you’re in the middle of it. It’s very quiet. Still.
“As you climb up through the layers of air, the wind may be going in different directions and may change speed. Then you feel a breeze.”
A native of Dalhart, Texas, Ballinger had friends who attended Texas Tech. His teachers suggested the school also would be a good fit for him.
“It was far enough away from home that I could be independent, yet it was not too far,” he says. “I started school there in the business college, thinking I’d figure out a major as I got into school.
“A family friend who was a banker, gave me advice, and the next thing I knew, I was taking his advice to pursue banking.”
While an undergraduate, he was active in Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BARRY
BALLINGER
PHOTO BY CURT LANGFORD
While in high school, he met his wife, Sue Heiskell Ballinger, who studied human development and family studies at Texas Tech. She was the director of child development for First Baptist Church, Lubbock for 27 years. They married and became the parents of three sons and have five grandchildren. All three sons graduated from Texas Tech.
Ballinger earned his BBA degree in management in 1977 from Texas Tech. Graduating from the Rawls College of Business School of Banking, Texas Tech University; Southwestern Graduate School of Banking, Southern Methodist University; and the ABA National Commercial Lending Program, University of Oklahoma further enhanced his knowledge of the industry.
While he was still in college, Ballinger was hired by Plains National Bank. Approaching graduation, he interviewed with several banks but was offered a position at Plains and chose to stay. He’s been there ever since.
Ballinger says that banking has changed a lot over his career. He says that when he first started in banking, customers would seek out bankers for advice or to conduct business. It was a one-way relationship. Today with stiff competition, banks look for employees who can sell themselves and sell the organization. Part of his job is cultivating new customers and building relationships.
Developing personal relationships with customers is perhaps more important than ever. In fact, it is the banker’s favorite part of his job.
“The best thing is the people,” he says. “Yes, I work in a building and sit behind a desk, which many people think is boring, but I interact with so many types of people that every situation and interaction is different and challenging. I enjoy problem-solving and helping customers to reach their goals.”
Ballinger also is supportive of his alma mater and of the Lubbock community. The pilot and the Texas Tech balloon have made several appearances at the Texas Tech Alumni Association’s annual Alumni Cup golf tournament and was once allowed to launch the balloon from Jones AT&T Stadium for a football promotional event. Being familiar with the community is a plus for any banker. He is past president of the Downtown chapter of the American Business Club and the Boys & Girls Club of Lubbock.
If you happen to spot a red-and-black balloon with a Double T or a balloon with buffalo heads, you know Red Raider Barry Ballinger is flying high to tell the world about his alma mater and his employer.
PHOTO BY CURT LANGFORD
PHOTO COURTESY OF BARRY BALLINGER
PHOTO
PHOTO
The United Family has invested in the lives of Red Raiders through Endowed Scholarship Programs.
OUT HERE WE’RE ALL IN
At Texas Tech, we spend every day surrounded by possible. The challenges we face, the answers we seek, and the future we dream of are here, scattered over the endless horizons of the place we call home.
We’re redefining our future, working together to transform lives, fuel excellence, elevate our communities and build champions.
Join us today to build a brighter tomorrow. Because together, what we do tomorrow will go ON & ON
OUR CAMPAIGN PRIORITIES
As we embark on a new era, be a part of shaping our future through four areas of support.
TRANSFORM LIVES
Every gift you make transforms lives and welcomes students into the Red Raider family. Once here, scholarships empower them to pursue their dreams, regardless of financial barriers. Your generous support ensures that promising minds become resilient leaders, ready to impact the world and spread Texas Tech values.
FUEL ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Excellence is our standard, and the discoveries we make go far beyond West Texas. With every donation, we enhance research, elevate teaching and foster innovation. From groundbreaking discoveries to creative endeavors, Texas Tech stands at the forefront of solving problems faced by our region, state and country.
ELEVATE CAMPUS & COMMUNITY
Our campus is a vibrant hub where ideas collide, friendships form and experiences shape character. Your contributions will enhance our facilities, create more welcoming spaces and strengthen our ties with our Red Raider communities as well as the world.
BUILD CHAMPIONS
Texas Tech Athletics’ priorities are to build our brand and win at the highest level. Student-athletes personify our fierce determination and grit. By supporting Texas Tech Athletics, you create lasting memories, impact our national profile and help us win every day.
Through the Years
THE STADIUM
BY JENNY SPURRIER, ED.D.| PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SOUTHWEST COLLECTION/SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY
FOOTBALL HAS BEEN A PART of Texas Tech since the first year of classes in 1925. The first football team was comprised of walk-ons led by Coach E. Y. Freeland and Assistant Coach Grady Higginbotham. The team colors scarlet and black were chosen. The team name “The Matadors” was selected to accompany the Spanish Renaissance architecture on campus. The first Texas Technological football game in Lubbock was played at the fairgrounds, as there was no stadium. The following year, football moved to campus and a wooden building located on the north side of campus became the stadium. Since this initial building, the Texas Tech Stadium has had some amazing growth and changes over the years.
Over the decades, growth was realistic and necessary for the college. This was true for campus sports also. The 1930s would see the stadium grow to hold 12,000 fans in a horseshoe-shaped arena. The 1940s saw continued growth of the stadium and an increase in seats. During the 1940s, there were two fires at the stadium. The first, in April 1944, was located at the northwest end and impacted the dressing rooms. According to The Toreador, Coach Dell Morgan went to Austin to purchase equipment lost in the fire. Another fire occurred in 1947, burning the east stands. This was also the year when the stadium was undergoing major renovation and expansion, in part, as a gift trust by Clifford B. Jones. The structure shifted from wood to steel and concrete. The 1950s decade saw the entrance of Texas Tech into the Southwest Conference. Part of the requirement was that the stadium had to have additional seating, so it was increased to 41,500.
More renovations would occur over the next few decades of the 20th century. Artificial turf would be added, more seating (up to about 47,000) and Tech would become part of the Big 12 Conference. The 21st century continued in much the same
way, more renovations, often as a result of generous gifts. Increased seating capacity was a necessity as support for the university and its team grew. The stadium has continued the Spanish design prevalent on campus. There have been various additions such as mosaics on the west side. Today, Jones AT&T Stadium holds around 60,000 visitors including suites and boxes. The recent changes include new video displays and a renovated south end zone.
The stadium has matched the striking growth of Texas Tech as an institution. It has grown from some bleachers in a field to an impressive college football stadium with modern amenities. There have been many changes over the years, from scoreboards to expanded seating to field turf. Yet, certain things have remained since the beginning or since they were added. The stadium has had coaches, football players, cheerleaders, Saddle Tramps, the Masked Rider, the Goin’ Band and last but not least, great supporters! Today, images of the Jones AT&T Stadium remind us that while times change, things grow, years pass, we can always look back and be grateful for the good memories that were created at Texas Tech.
It has grown from some bleachers in a field to an impressive college football stadium with modern amenities.
THE TEXAS TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION WISHES TO EXPRESS APPRECIATION TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS WHO JOINED AT THE CENTURY LEVEL AND ABOVE. COMPILED BY JEAN ANN CANTORE
Diamond
Sharon Willingham ’81 & Max White
Gold
Susan E. Abrahams ’09
Christopher ’10 & Kelli Adams
Lori ’86 & Robert Bermea
Alex J. Black ’12
Matthew ’98 & Audrey Carter
Trent ’13 & Megan Carter
Alberto ’96 & Holly Castillo
Cybil Frank
Joe & Liana Garza
Michael & Vicki Grimm
Jimmy Holcomb
Danny & Rhonda Holman
Sabra & Matilda Johnson
Kyle J. Jones ’99
Adaryll ’99 & Jessica ’02 Jordan
Sandra ’11 & Luis Nieto ’02
Roberto Guajardo ’74 & Jessie Sjue ’94
Michael R. Williams
Alberto ’03 & Iris Zubia
Silver
Richard, Jr. ’98 & Sebrina ’01 Carroll
Isaac J. Garnett ’05
Clayton ’99 & April Gill
Bryan & Marcella Harris
Dylan ’01 & Natalie Johnson
Christopher L. Nichols
Mayra Ortega ’15 & Breanne Reyes
Andy Cedillo ’87 & Mary Ann Rodriguez
Bronze
Shelby ’14 & Tyler Baker
Wade J. Barnes, Ph.D. ’13 & Charmayne Barnes
Jim Noble, IV ’85 & Jana Cilliers
Casey ’15 & Summer ’17 Felton
John ’79 & Melanie ’17 Fortenberry
Misty Gandy, Ed.D.’23 & Bradley Gandy
Matthew ’17 & Julia Gonzales
Shelby ’98 & Grant Guest
Molly ’05 & Darrik Lasater
Corina Salazar-Luebe ’18 & Darrin Luebe
Bethany Kuwitzky ’21 & Zachary Schilly
Century
Dunn ’12 & Lindsay ’03 Armstrong
Julia Balderrama ’09 & Armando Dominguez
Barbara ’84 & John Baldwin
Ethan Baltier ’18 & Kayle Thomason
Sara & Ricardo ’09 Barrera
Cricket & Shattuck ’18 Bell
Curt R. Benson '88
Kirby ’11 & Trevor Bibb
Nathan & Taber Black
Kyle ’92 & Deidre Bramlett
Jordan ’17 & Jacy Brazell
Timothy R. Bryson
Shelby & Lacey Bufkin
Stephen T. Caddell
Nicolas & Laura Cantu
Charles ’02 & Mary Carathers
Val & Brian ’97 Caravella
Miguel ’15 Aurora Carnero
Gregory ’18 & Elizabeth Carrell
Jesus & Roxanne Carrillo
Edward Garcia & Mallorey Castaneda
Kristopher & Morgan Cavazos
Shine Luke Sobers Chetty Vasanth ’24
Javier & Veronica Contreras
Layna ’86 & Ed Cook
Justin ’06, ’09 & Jennifer Crain
Arthur & Erin D’Andrea
Carlos ’98 & Vicky ’00 De La Cruz
PURPOSE, VISION, MISSION & VALUE STATEMENT
We exist to connect, inspire and love our Red Raider Family. We envision our members living their legacies of pride, loyalty and tradition.
We support our university, build relationships and foster growth.
We embody the Red Raider SPIRIT... Scholarship - Pride - Inclusivity - Respect - Integrity - Tradition
Sol ’99 & Kim DeLeon
Rohan & Emily Dhurandhar
Scott ’97 & Cynthia Dickerson
Grant & Aryn Dickerson
John & Amanda Dicristofalo
Robert H. Dobbs
Michelle ’13 & David Dominguez
Riki ’07 & Beth Dorsett
William & Kelly Driver
Natalie ’18 & Cody Edwards
Shaye ’89 & Craig Elliott
Jesse & Carmen Escoto
James ’06 & Kelly Fasano
Carol ’89 & Joe Faulkenberry
Tyler Fountain
John E. ’03 & Katrina Gallego
Edward Garcia & Mallorey Castaneda
Sonny & Sylvia Garza
Kody & Kathryn Gay
Ryan George, Pharm.D. ’13 & Kali George
Noel & Jodina Geren
Eric ’04 & Erica ’01, ’03 Gober
Julio Gonzales, III ’11& Angela Gonzales ’11
Alonzo ’15 & Gabriella Gonzalez
Noemi ’21 & Jorge Gonzalez
Evan Green '15 & Kami Salyer Green
Joshua ’07 & Amanda ’08 Griffith
Christian Gulde, M.D. ’19 & Whitney Gulde
Michael & Julie ’09 Hansen
Jonathan ’11 & Kaleigh Haney ’12
Jonathan ’09 & Stefanie ’09 Haralson
Jeffrey W. Harp ’83
Dustin Harris ’07 & Vibhuti Patel
Lisa W. Harris ’81
Cristopher ’05 & Rebecca Henderson
Belinda K. Hickman’73
Tiffany ’17 & Michael Hill
Gabriel ’17 & Vianei Hinojosa
Erin ’07 & Chad Hoffman
Jill ’21 & Joshua Holden
Kathryn M. Holland
Joe & Cynthia Hollman
Dean Homen, M.D.’18 & Julie Homen
Dylan Homen, M.D. ’17 & Paige Sterling ’14
Derek Hollilka & Kiera Homolka
Wilford ’89 & Ronda J. Howard
Jeffrey ’04 & Cassidi Howell
Holly ’02 & Austin Hubbard
Terry Hucks
Jon & Candice Ingham
Taylor Johnson
Arlington Jones, II ’95 & Hope Jones ’95
Kyle J. Jones ’99
Pepper ’83 & Marla Jones
Risa L. ’79 & David Jones
James ’08 & Lauryn ’12 Jordan
Kathy L. Kent ’88
David ’94 & Stephanie Kimberly
Kolby ’06 & Annette Kimbrough
Emily Brown ’17 & Mackenzi Kinard ’16
Russell & Amanda King
A.L. LaBombard ’96 & Lloyd LaBombard, Ph.D.
Jerry Lawson ’15 & Stacy Lawson
Ashlyn ’21 & Jarit Lemons
Albert ’09 & Terri Lopez
Nicolas Lugo
Benny & Billie Maben
Traci L. Madden
Joshua ’14 & Meagan Malek
Steven F. Malone ’07
Sandra ’86 & William Marberry
Marty & Rosalie Martin
Adrian ’05 & Nicole Martinez
Kaylie ’10 & Kellee Massie
James ’80 & Linda Matticks
Matthew ’99 & Holly Mayfield
Rickey McKay ’07 & Joyce Griffith
Jennifer Rojas-McWhinney, Ph.D. ’14 & Keino McWhinney
James ’92 & Melinda Medley
Brady Miller, M.D. ’17 & Conor Miller ’19
Trevor & Kelsey Miller
John & Tonja Minardi
Harold & Christy Mitchell
James ’70 & Betsy Mitchell
Morgan Montano ’13 & Harry Phillips
Simone Moody, Ph.D. ’13 & James Moody, DPT ’12
Lindsay E. Moore
Kristen ’08 & Brett ’06 Murphy
Kenneth Myers
Emily Nes, M.D.’17 & Craigen Nes ’08
Ralph Nevins, III ’94 & Lisa Nevins ’98
Walker Nichols, III '03 & Michaels Nichols
James ’13 & Marcie O’Neal ’11
James ’08 & Savannah ’16 Pacheco
Jaclyn ’15 & Troy Parrish
Philip ’80 & Dawn ’05 Payne
Kari A. Perez ’03
Jerry ’00 & Myrna Perez
Rohman L. Perez
Jeffery & Heather Podracky
Adolfo & Rosa Pompa
Jasmine Fearn, Ed.D. ’21 & Lindsay Prekker ’21
Samuel ’95 & Vickie ’82 Ray
Kymberly ’10 & Benjamin Renaud
Karen Roberts ’00 & Lesley Brown, Pharm.D.
Ashley Robinson ’07 & Davan Taylor
Kayla ’15 & Jayson Robinson
Laura C. Robinson ’05
Paul Rodgers
Robert Rodriguez ’21 & Bryan Avila
Tim Roten, Jr. & Kami Roten
Natalie ’08 & Chad Sandell
Eric & Emily Schneider
Jon & D’Anna Schuler
Cody Schwertner
Mark ’79 & Kathy Scott
Ryan Scott ’00
Lt. Col. Bradley Sexton ’81
Donald W. Shelton, III ’19
Ricky & Sheryl Shipp
Bradley ’12 & Elizabeth ’13 Skinner
Billy R. Smith, Jr. ’95
Amanda ’16 & James Smith
Brannon ’11 & Sara Smith
Timothy Spence
Barney & Paula Stagner
Gary ’83 & Susan Stair
Debra D. Stewart ’01
Bryan ’89 & Shirley Stewart
Leo M. Sumner ’09
Meredith ’00 & Jeff Taylor
Justin ’18 & Anna Taylor
Nathan L. Taylor ’13
Ravi M. Tekchandani ’13
Adam ’12 & Andra ’06 Thompson
Patrick Tobin ’14 & Kimberly Chapman, Pharm.D. ’15
Anthony W. Tomlinson ’82
Kathryn R. Van Nostrand ’78
Anthony & Christina Villaloboz
Clayton ’19 & Kimberlee Walden
Tanner R. Watts ’24
Johnnie ’73 & Debbie Weaver
Todd & Julie Weeks
Curtis ’02 Whatley & Kamy ’03 Williams
Chris E. White
Johnnie C. White
Jennifer Whitlock
Curtis ’89 & Kelley Wilkinson
Austin ’12 & Abby Jo Williams
Ralph Williams '07 & Laura Crow
Russell ’02 & Julia ’02 Williams
Novis & Penny Williams
Robert ’07 & Lindsey ’07 Wilson
Sgt. Jeffrey ’08 & Erin Wise
Charles ’08 & Katy Wolf
Shelbi L. Woods ’13
Chad ’94 & Hollie ’93 Worley
Laura ’24 & Ian Zamarron
Chapter Events
1. U.S. Army Specialist Braeden Green ’23 recently completed his U.S. Army Airborne Training. This picture was taken after his first successful jump.
2. Chris Snead, TTAA vice president for operations and engagement, hand-delivered on Aug. 24 a $6K check from TTAA to the Ruidoso Community Foundation for fire and flood relief efforts. Receiving the check for the foundation is TTAA National Board Member and Ruidoso Alumni Chapter President David Deason. The funds are from registration refunds donated by generous alumni who had planned to attend Red Raider Weekend in Ruidoso in June. The next Tech Day in Ruidoso will be June 20-22, 2025.
3. The Big Country Chapter enjoyed hearing Head Red Raiders Basketball Coach Grant McCasland speak about the upcoming season and then riding a bicycle bar through downtown Abilene on Aug. 8.
4. TTAA was proud to host the Texas Tech Alumni Association Black Alumni Network Reunion Sept. 20-22 in Lubbock.
5. TTAA was honored to present the TTAA’s $25K commitment check toward an endowed scholarship fund for future members of the TTU Goin’ Band from Raiderland on Sept. 14.
6. Langford then met with the capital alumni network in Austin during their happy hour at Shoal Creek Oct. 22.
7. The Raiders Rojos Alumni Network hosted their annual scholarship breakfast Aug. 24 at the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center. Raiders Rojos celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2025, having presented more than $700K in scholarships during this time.
8. Carey Hobbs ’58, of Waco, Texas, longtime Athletics Council representative to the TTAA, stepped down from his position at the TTAA National Board meeting Oct. 18 in Lubbock. An ex-officio board member, Hobbs served as a liaison between TTAA and the Athletics Department.
9. The Fort Worth Chapter held a tailgate at Trinity Episcopal Church parking lot Oct. 26 to help raise funds for local scholarships.
10. The Tommy Hooper Memorial Classic was held Sept. 30. Rockwall Chapter leaders, Margie Hooper, Teddi and Dale Cherry and others who put a lot of work into this annual event, which has a long tradition of raising scholarship funds for next-gen Techsans.
11. Curt and Jill Langford joined the Robson Ranch Red Raiders in Denton, Texas, Oct. 26. Marinell Walder ’63, the daughter of one of Texas Tech’s first graduates in 1927. won the door prize.
On July 31, the Rockwall Chapter awarded scholarships to nine Rockwall ISD graduates who will attend Texas Tech University this fall. Recipients from Rockwall High School are Blessing Esene, Burke Felfe, Mia Williams and Seth Williams. From Rockwall Heath High School are Holland Henderson, Reagan Ruecker, Reese Ruecker, Alexa Shaw and Sophia Waller. Since 2005, the Rockwall Chapter has awarded more than $300,000 in college scholarships to 75 Rockwall High School and Rockwall Heath High School graduates attending Texas Tech University.
TTAA Scholarship Recipients Celebrated at Reception
BY ANDREA WATSON
MORE THAN 300 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS and their guests were celebrated at the 12th annual TTAA Scholarship Reception on Sept. 4 at the Frazier Alumni Pavilion.
“The Scholarship Reception provides us with a chance to congratulate all the students who are selected for a TTAA scholarship, whether it’s a scholarship from the national organization or from one of our chapters,” said Chris Snead, TTAA vice president of operations and engagement. “These students come from across the state and country, and to get them all in one room to highlight their achievements is always a fun opportunity for us. Each student sets himself or herself apart, and I continue to be impressed by the quality of our applicants every year.”
More than 2,100 students applied for TTAA scholarships during the 2024 application period and only 392 were selected, making the process incredibly competitive. This year’s scholarship recipients had average test scores of 1330 on the SAT and 28 on the ACT. They also had an average 3.89 GPA and an average class rank of 17.
2024 TTAA Alumni Cup Raises Funds for First-Generation Scholars
BY KRISTINA BUTLER
The TTAA and its chapters distributed a total of $507,900 in scholarship funds for Fall 2024.
TTAA scholarship applications open each year on Feb. 1 to applicants accepted to TTU. To learn more about TTAA scholarships or how to become a scholarship donor, visit texastechalumni.org/ scholarships or contact Chris Snead at chris.snead@ttu.edu.
THE TEXAS TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION hosted another highly successful Alumni Cup Golf Tournament on Sept. 13 at the Rawls Course at Texas Tech, making for a fun-filled weekend of golf, fun and football. This year's event proved to be our most successful yet, raising more than $133,000 to support the academic mission of Texas Tech, alumni programs and student scholarships, including $20,000 specifically designated for the First-Generation Scholarship Fund.
The event kicked off with an Alumni Cup Reception sponsored by Crown Royal on Thursday evening at the Frazier Alumni Pavilion. The reception was an opportunity for players, sponsors and guests to connect with old friends, meet new people, and enjoy some food, drinks and prizes before the early morning tournament.
Players arrived at the award-winning Rawls Course before sunrise Friday morning ready to hit the links. Emphasizing the Red Raider spirit of the TTAA Alumni Cup, teams were greeted by a new addition to the tournament, a giant red and black Double T-branded hot air balloon,courtesy of Barry Ballinger, chairman of PlainsCapital Bank. Teams also enjoyed a hamburger lunch, followed by a second flight of players in the afternoon.
2024 TOURNAMENT WINNERS
1ST PLACE
Darrell Adams, William Breland, Brandon Porter, Ronald Reeves
2ND PLACE Ryan Lewis, Lee Lewis, Hudson Carper, Dustin Nicholas
3RD PLACE
Marc Dunham, Ryan Blair, Eric Cunningham, Shon Ross
LONGEST DRIVE MEN: Stan Walker
CLOSEST TO PIN MEN: David Davidson
CLOSEST TO PIN WOMEN: Joy Daniel
50/50 RAFFLE: Phil Lemons
The PlainsCapital Bank hot air balloon floats by the Rawls Course Clubhouse.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CURT
LANGFORD
PHOTOGRAPH BY TTAA
Scholarship recipients at the 2024 12th Annual TTAA Scholarship Reception.
Chancellor Emeritus Kent Hance Endowed Chapter Leadership Workshop
THE NEWLY-NAMED CHANCELLOR EMERITUS
KENT HANCE Endowed Chapter Leadership Workshop debuted Sept. 20 in Lubbock. Hance put his support behind the Texas Tech Alumni Association’s chapter network by endowing the workshop. This important event brought together chapter leaders to share ideas and to
Texas Techsan Receives Honor
JENNIFER RITZ ’ 94, ’ 95, TEXAS TECHSAN ASSOCIATE EDITOR, has received a Best of District IV Award from CASE (Council for the Advancement & Support of Education) for her entry “Parting Shot” in the 2024 CASE District IV Awards competition. Her entry represents a former magazine department that consisted of a photo and description by one of the issue’s photographers on the last page of the publication.
Her award notification states,“You are
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New York Life
Overton Hotel
PCI
Peoples Bank
PlainsCapital Bank
Platinum
Populous
Partners
Purified Solutions
Red Raider Sports Properties
Rip Griffin
Silver Oak
Slate Group
Standard Sales • Steve Senter • Stone Tec Inc. • Teinert • Texas Tech Credit Union • Tronic • TTU College of Arts & Sciences
VEXUS The 2025 Alumni Cup is set for Sept. 12 at the Rawls Course at Texas Tech. Learn more at texastechalumni.org/alumnicup.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TTAA
Hance front and center with attendees and other Red Raiders.
A GLIMPSE AT TEXAS TECH’S HERITAGE In the 1965 "La Ventana," "Frosh Cheerleaders rally 'round Picadors."
1975
MORRIS E. WILKES (BS Journalism) Lubbock, has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Abernathy High School. He received the honor during this year’s homecoming football game against Friona on September 27. Morris is the founder and principal of The Wilkes Company, a strategic communications, leadership and public affairs consulting firm, and has
ALUMNI NEWS
COMPILED BY ALLIE HERRING AND JENNIFER RITZ
worked as a journalist, writer, broadcaster and government relations-public policy advocate over the past four decades. Morris is also a certified public speaker, trainer and executive coach on leadership and communication and is currently the outgoing president of the Texas Tech Alumni Association National Board of Directors. His wife is KITTY HARRIS WILKES (Ph.D. Human Development and Family Studies ’83).
1984
JON N. KOCEN (BS Electrical Electronics Technology) Houston, Texas, has been awarded the Silver Snoopy, the NASA astronaut personal achievement award. This award was prompted by his implementation of innovative solutions while increasing process efficiency by using existing commercial-off-the-shelf software to
Pictured are Richard Edwards, Donna Schulz, Sam Kayem, Pat Moore, Eddie Broome and Marcia White.
PHOTO RESEARCHED BY JEAN ANN CANTORE
automate and streamline manual requirement verification processes, export control processes, and risk management in support of multiple NASA programs. The Silver Snoopy is awarded to less than one percent of the NASA/contractor workforce annually. His wife is MICHELE HARRIS KOCEN (BS Electrical Electronics Technology ’84).
1984
LINDA K. ZUKAUCKAS (BBA Accounting) New York, New York, has been named chief financial officer of Integrity Marketing Group, LLC, a leading distributor of life and health insurance and provider of wealth management and retirement planning solutions. Linda brings with her 40 years of results-driven experience in optimizing the financial and operational performance of global companies and will play a key role on the executive team in providing financial oversight and leadership. She previously held leadership positions at Nielsen Holdings, American Express, Ally Financial Inc. and Deutsche Bank. Her husband is JAMES H. ZUKAUCKAS (BBA Finance ’80).
1990
RANDY L. ANDERSON (BS Agricultural Communications) Lubbock, has been recognized by the HRSouthwest Conference as its 2024 Speaker Hall of Fame Award recipient. This award highlights his exceptional contributions to professional development in the human resources profession. Randy is the co-founder
and principal of e3 Professional Trainers and is also a Certified Speaking Professional with a speaking career spanning more than two decades. His wife is CATHY MCGREGOR ANDERSON (BA English ’93, M.Ed. Education ’98).
1991
BRIAN L. MAYES (BA Telecommunications) Sunnyvale, Texas, is celebrating 10 years of operation of Mayes Media Group, an advertising, public relations and public affairs agency based in North Texas that he founded in 2014. The agency has since won 30 national awards for creative excellence and political strategy and is also known for its work with school districts. Brian has 32 years of experience in the industry and brings experiences from multiple advertising agencies. His wife is Sheri.
RUSS B. WEBB (BBA Marketing) North Richland Hills, Texas, a founding managing partner at Silver Oak Commercial Realty, won the commercial real estate agency category in the Best of Denton County 2024 awards. Along with running his business, Russ serves on the Texas Tech University Rawls College of Business Scholarship Committee, is an emeritus member of the Rawls College of Business Advisory Council and is a former member of the Texas Tech Alumni Association National Board.
BOOKS
JAMES R. TUORILA (Ph.D.’86 Psychology) St. Cloud, Minnesota, authored a book, “The Day I Died: A True Story of Patriotism, Faith and Survival,” which is available on www.amazon.com. The book is the true story of a U.S. American Marine hero who, through stubbornness, determination, love and patriotism, survived five years of near total isolation and brutal captivity at the hands of the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. James has been elected National Surgeon General of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. James served in the United States Army from 1973 to 1977, earning his VFW eligibility by serving in Korea. In recognition of his service, he received the National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal and two Army Commendation Medals. He joined the VFW in 1995 at Post 428 in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where he maintains his Gold Legacy Life membership. He has served as Post Commander, All-American District Commander and Department Surgeon. This is his fourth time serving as National Surgeon General. His wife is Diane.
1998
CRAIG W. LEMOINE (BS Family Finance Planning, Ph.D. Personal Financial Planning ’13) Champaign, Illinois, has caught attention for becoming a backyard winemaker. The associate professor at the University of Illinois successfully grows vines in a 20-by-50-foot area behind his house, showcasing the growing popularity of backyard wineries.
2004
CHRISTOPHER A. GALLE (BBA Finance, BBA Business Economics) Darien, Connecticut, has joined Nopetro Energy, a Miami-based turnkey producer, distributor and operator, as senior vice president of finance. In his new role, Christopher will oversee capital allocation processes, project financing and acquisitions. He previously served as chief investment officer and head of investor relations at Bioenergy Devco. His wife is KATHRYN FULLHART (BA Journalism ’04).
2006
JODIE GILDERSLEEVE NORTH (BBA International Business) Krum, Texas, and ADAM NORTH (MPA Public Administration ’22) announce their marriage on July 14, 2024. Jodie recently accepted a promotion to director and portfolio manager of energy at First Citizens Bank in Dallas, Texas. Adam also recently accepted a promotion from assistant fire chief to fire chief.
2008
BRAD J. FRERICH (BBA Accounting, MSA Accounting) Dallas, Texas, has been promoted to a managing director role at Ernst & Young, a global accounting firm. Brad joined EY in 2008 and specializes in global tax compliance and reporting for the real estate industry. His wife is Liz.
2014
MEGAN D. SPRAGUE (BA Public Relations, MA Mass Communications ’15) Dallas, Texas, has made a name for herself in two distinct yet connected industries: public relations and fried chicken. She is currently head of public relations at Raising Cane’s, a role that comes after working in communications for both Wingstop and KFC.
DIAMOND [$5,000+ ANNUALLY]
Darrell W. ‘81 & Deena Adams
Amy ‘00 & David Akins ‘01
Scott Asher, Ph.D. ‘98 & Stephanie Asher ‘99
Harriett Billingsley
John B. Billingsley, Jr. ‘61
Bryant Bonner, Ph.D. ‘95 & Whitney Bonner ‘96
Darrell Brownlow, Ph.D. ‘87 & Brooke Brownlow ‘87
Patrick C. Bryan ‘06
Lt. Col. Mark H. Bryant ‘83 (Ret.)
Danielle ‘11 & James Caldwell ‘87
Ralph Campbell, Jr. ‘59 & Kay Campbell
Regent Clay ‘97 & Ashley Cash
Donald ‘82 & Vicki Chenault ‘82
Stephen ‘97 & Vicki Covey
Regent Tim ‘81 & Annette Culp ‘81
Charles ‘59 & Barbara Cummings
Thomas Curtis, AIA ‘80 & Gloria Curtis ‘79
Amy Daughters ‘91 & William Daughters, II
Lisa ‘91 & Patrick DeGroote ‘90
Alan ‘80 & Jo Douglas ‘80
Helen J. Geick ‘61
Christian Hasenoehrl ‘92
Tom ‘87 & Jerri Jacobs
Peggy W. James ‘64
Walter L. Johansen ‘77
Kirby ‘76 & Kim Johnson
Stephen R. Johnson ‘78
Lenin & Vera Juarez
David ‘74 & Janis King
Randall ‘07 & Shauna Klaus ‘07
John Kuczek, D.V.M. ‘00 & Emily Kuczek
Brandon ‘01 & Sheri LaBonte ‘97
Michelle N. LaVoie ‘16
Rowland C. Lawson ‘84
Lanny ‘77 & Joni Layman ‘79
Jason ‘98 & Stacy Lewis ‘98
Heather ‘96 & James Marchlinski
Brandon ‘00 & Kimberly May ‘03
George ‘66 & Linda McMahan ‘66
Joe ‘86 & Tracy McMeans ‘87
Michael J. McVean ‘84
William R. Moler ‘88
Glenn D. Moor ‘84
David Peeler, Jr. ‘63 & Jeanne Peeler
Joyce W. Perkins ‘64
Corrie ‘05 & Sean Rae ‘05
John ‘71 & Ann Redmon ‘71
Steve ‘72 & Barbara Reichmuth
Monticia Sauer ‘87 & Ralph Sauer, Jr. ‘86
Adam ‘05 & Alline Schoppe ‘11
Maxie Scott
Donald ‘80 & Susan Sinclair ‘81
Lisa ‘83 & Mike Skaggs ‘82
James ‘74 & Alice Skinner
Anita R. Smith ‘63
Brandon ‘93 & Daniela Snow
Barry ‘79 & SuDeline Street ‘79
Chase ‘05 & Rebecca Street ‘08
Ben Strickling, III ‘79 & Roxane Strickling ‘77
Dale ‘65 & Cheryl Swinburn
Max ‘67 & Doris Swinburn
Joseph ‘20 & Casey Thieman
Diane ‘68 & Jerry Turner ‘68
Regent John Walker ‘68 & Lisa Walker
Chelsea ‘13 & Trey Warnock
Sharon Willingham ‘81 & Max White
Ella ‘70 & Ray Williams ‘71
Capt. John (Ret.) ‘62 & Ann Woody
Max Swinburn Farms
PLATINUM [$2,500-$4,999 ANNUALLY]
Grant ‘81 & Johnna Adamson
Steve Alley, M.D. & Joyce Alley
Bruce ‘91 & Melissa Anderson
Steve F. Armstrong ‘70
Doug ‘69 & Nancy Barnhart
Robin Beard ‘12 & Carl Beard, Ph.D.
Nelda F. Benninger
Bill ‘78 & Paula Benton
Dusty ‘08 & Sarah Burger
Steve ‘83 & Elizabeth Burleson ‘84
Amy ‘87 & Tom Burress ‘82
Frank Busby, Ph.D. ‘68 & Cheryl Busby ‘69
Joe Ed ‘64 & Jo Canon ‘66
Danielle Carey ‘90 & Russell Carey, III ‘88
Donald ‘69 & Robbie Champion ‘69
Alicia ‘00 & Michael Chaney ‘00
Holt ‘00 & Kaye Cowden ‘78
Lynn F. Cowden ‘80
William ‘72 & Ann Daniel
Ashley ‘12 & Cody Davis ‘11
Celia ‘74 & Mike Davis ‘74
Thomas DeLoach, Jr. ‘90 & Jacquie DeLoach
Cheri ‘99 & Jason Dickerson ‘99
Michael Doherty, D.V.M. ‘73 & Ginger Doherty
Johnny ‘88 & Joyce Dossey
Bob ‘73 & Pamela DuLaney ‘77
Henry ‘87 & Laura Ehrlich
Jan M. Elliott
Ian ‘01 & Susan Fairchild
Jay Frankfather, M.D. ‘94 & JoLynn Frankfather ‘97
John ‘68 & Judy Friess ‘68
James ‘72 & Dinah Gaspard ‘72
Somer ‘98 & Doyle Glass
Randy ‘77 & Linda Golden ‘77
Ralph G. Goodlet, Jr. ‘82
Ellen Green ‘61 & Norris Green, Jr. ‘60
Ashlee ‘07 & Kyle Groves
Michael & Karen Gunter ‘86
Matthew ‘01 & Rebecca Halbgewachs ‘00
Rickey ‘74 & Sherrie Hale
Dan Hart, AIA ‘90 & Jennifer Hart ‘92
Chris ‘96 & Jennifer Hayden ‘96
Michael ‘97 & Lesley Hedlund ‘99
Brad ‘90 & Kimberly Heffington ‘90
Wayne Henry ‘75
Chad ‘99 & Heather Henthorn ‘00
Richard ‘73 & Emilee Hervey
Thomas ‘95 & Stephanie Hilbun ‘95
Ronald ‘70 & Edith Hilliard
LeeAnn M. Hinkle ‘00
Jorjanna ‘70 & Steve Hipes ‘69
Allen ‘78 & Linnie Howard
Don J. Howe ‘71
Christopher ‘91 & Robin Huckabee ‘92
Dale ‘86 & Jennifer Hudspeth ‘86
Nancy ‘80 & Rex Isom ‘78
Donald ‘66 & Janice Jackson
Forrest Jackson, Jr. ‘91 & Kimberly Jackson
Steven ‘96 & Lesley Jeffcoat ‘96
Byron ‘70 & Robbie Johnson ‘71
Wilson ‘88 & Lendy Jones
Jerrell ‘92 & Peg Kendrick
Maj. Victor Koch, Jr. ‘92 & Lisa Koch
Kathryn ‘80 & Russell Laughlin ‘81
Jeff Lawlis, CPA ‘89 & Meghan Lawlis
Scott ‘90 & Kathryn Lewis
Christopher ‘93 & Stacy Loveless ‘92
Troy A. Marchbanks ‘02
Jamie ‘98 & Marcus Mainord ‘98
Vickie ‘89 & Dale Matlock
Mark ‘86 & Kelly McCormick ‘90
Monica ‘84 & Stephen McCormick
Michael ‘67 & Barbara McKenzie ‘68
Raymond McKim, III ‘77 & Betty McKim
Anne ‘76 & Robert McNaughton ‘84
Aaron McNeece, Ph.D. ‘64 & Mrs. Sherri McNeece
Robert ‘82 & Sarah Miers
Eric ‘84 & Melissa Miller ‘84
Amy A. Moore ‘03
Joshua ‘04 & Kristin Moose ‘04
Gary ‘82 & Leslie Moss
T. Kevin Nelson ‘92 & The Honorable Ginger Nelson ‘92
Mike ‘79 & Martha Petraitis ‘81
Ralph D. Pettingell ‘08
Diana K. Pfaff ‘91
Stephen ‘90 & Christina Poore
L.J. Porras, Jr. ‘06
Janice V. Posey ‘63
Mary Jo Price ‘53
Cindy ‘90 & David Proctor ‘91
Michael ‘98 & Rebecca Pubentz ‘99
Jack ‘72 & Janet Reed ‘71
Adelita P. Reyna ‘13
Jacque ‘72 & Sam Rich
Joshua ‘06 & Kristina Robertson ‘06
Melanie A. Robertson ‘05
John Roueche, III ‘88 & Elise Roueche
Nancy R. Ruff, Ed.D. ‘69
J. Greg Sargent ‘82
Amy ‘05 & Landry Scott ‘05
Diane ‘68 & John Scovell ‘68
Deborah H. Sellers ‘88
Josh M. Shuster ‘00
Kenneth Slack, Jr. ‘71 & Betsey Slack
Bobby ‘80 & Sabrina Smith
Garrett ‘09 & Rachel Stauder
Eric ‘91 & Katy Taylor
Fred ‘71 & Pam Underwood
James ‘80 & Susan Wedel ‘83
Cody Welch, M.D. ‘96 & Lezly Welch ‘97
Monty ‘85 & Becky Whetstone
Edward Whitacre Jr. ‘64 & Linda Whitacre ‘65
Karen E. White ‘81
William ‘99 & Jennifer Whitten ‘00
Brooke ‘99 & Dustin Whittenburg ‘00
John Wilkins, Jr. ‘88 & Karen Wilkins ‘89
Foy ‘64 & Jo Ann Williams ‘64
Molly ‘84 & Tom Williams ‘85
L. E. Willis, III ‘84 & Lorie Willis
Donald Wood ‘82 & Tanya Wood, Ed.D. ‘99
Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund
James Wedel Farms
The Capital Trust Company of Delaware
GOLD [$1,000-$2,499 ANNUALLY]
Ken ‘63 & Renee Abraham ‘71
Susan E. Abrahams ‘09
Austin Adams ‘17 & Christy Adams, Ed.D. ‘17
Christopher ‘10 & Kelli Adams
Robert Adcox ‘95 & Keeley Orman-Adcox ‘95
Todd ‘86 & Mary Aiken
Isaac L. Albarado ‘04
David ‘86 & Lisa Alderson
Charlotte Alexander ‘82 & VADM John Alexander ‘82
Curt ‘07 & Nikki Alexander
Janis & Robert Allen
Jesse Allen, PE ‘80 & Veronica Allen
Lori M. Allen ‘93
Tawny ‘06 & Trevor Allen ‘08
Timothy ‘80 & Kandee Allen
Rosemarie K. Allen, Ed.D.
Gregory ‘02 & Daniela Allison
Alexis J. Anderson ‘74
Cynthia ‘78 & Jeffrey Anderson ‘80
Michael Anderson, JD ‘03 & Elizabeth Anderson
Russell S. Anderwald ‘99
Jamie ‘73 & Conrad Appleton
Justin ‘14 & Le’Ann Ardoyno
Vincent ‘90 & Gretchen Arena
Andrew ‘74 & Kathy Armstrong
John ‘04 & Kimberly Arrick
Gary ‘78 & Terri Ashby ‘84
Thomas ‘65 & Robbie Ausley
Ryan ‘01 & Angela Austin
Landon W. Autrey ‘23
Larry ‘84 & Tiffany Autrey
Jonathan ‘09 & Lauren Ayers
Christopher Aylor, PE ‘98 & Stacia Aylor ‘97
Kim ‘86 & Craig Bagley
Charles ‘73 & Leslie Baker
James E. Baker
Justin Balderas
Edgar E. Baldridge, IV ‘23
The Honorable Nelson Balido, Jr. ‘93 & Sandra Balido
Douglas Swartz, Ph.D. ‘12 & Lauren Swartz, M.D. ‘06
Phil ‘72 & Michelle Swatzell
Regent Shelley ‘79 & Greg Sweatt ‘79
Jordan N. Swick ‘17
Sharon ‘86 & Joel Talley
Bill ‘87 & Shawna Tankersley ‘87
John ‘89 & Shelli Tarpley ‘91
Dalton Tarwater, Ph.D. ‘59 & Nancy Tarwater ‘59
Paul ‘87 & Terri Tarwater
Amy L. Taylor ‘91
Brandy L. Taylor ‘03
Lance ‘99 & Dawn Taylor ‘00
Jan Taylor ‘67 & Robert Taylor, Jr. ‘71
Terrell Taylor, Jr. ‘86 & Johnette Taylor
Toni ‘84 & William Taylor
Carrie ‘98 & David Teague ‘97
Charles ‘83 & Marita Tedder
LEFT: 1923 Society reception with Chancellor's Council and Chancellor Tedd Mitchell in Austin. BELOW: TTU President Lawrence Schovanec, left, was featured guest at a 1923 Society Breakfast. At right is Jim Douglass, TTAA vice president for development.
Christopher M. Tejeda ‘07
Samuel ‘09 & Samantha ten Brink
Dean ‘79 & Mary Katherine Tetirick ‘79
Matthew ‘07 & Lauren Tharp
Russell Thoma, PE ‘80 & Jency Thoma ‘82
Carolyn Thomas ‘72
Gracelyn ‘97 & Russell Thomasson ‘98
Allison Thompson ‘02 & Christopher Thompson, M.D.
Carolyn ‘05 & Justin Thompson ‘06
Greg ‘90 & Jamie Thompson ‘90
Matthew ‘11 & Sarah Thompson
Robert ‘75 & Diane Thompson
Patrick Thornton ‘89 & Loretta Talley
Tracy Thrash
Dwayne ‘67 & Elizabeth Tidwell ‘66
Fred Timberlake, Jr. ‘68 & Kay Timberlake
Diane ‘78 & Bill Todd
Brad ‘80 & Kristie Tooley ‘83
Flo L. Touchstone ‘78
Mitchell ‘82 & Tonya Toups
Ralph ‘94 & Debbie Trevino
Troupe ‘83 & Sharla Trice
Lindsey ‘97 & Paul Tubbs ‘98
Elesha & Troy Tucker
Chance ‘08 & Kim Turner
Gary J. Turner ‘82
Lane ‘89 & Kim Turner ‘90
Anne ‘71 & Jerald Tyre
Justin ‘98 & Brooke Underwood
Renee B. Underwood ‘78
Jarrod ‘02 & Amanda Upton ‘10
Phillip ‘08 & Michelle Urrutia
Anne VanBeber, Ph.D. ‘79 & Hance VanBeber
Larry ‘21 & Paula Vanderwoude
Brian ‘93 & Teresa Vardeman ‘93
Rozanne C. Veeser ‘63
Kyle ‘89 & Carla Villyard
Clinton Vincent, PE ‘99 & Ann Wells
Courtnie ‘11 & Wesley Vinson ‘13
John Vollet, Ph.D. ‘69 & Lucy Vollet
Bobby G. Waddle ‘55
David K. Waggoner, JD ‘83
Fred P. Wagner, Ph.D. ‘50
Kent ‘84 & Beckey Waldrop ‘89
Baylor ‘98 & Jamie Walker ‘98
Daniel ‘79 & Bredgitt Walker
David ‘78 & Michelle Walker
Jennifer ‘94 & Theodore Walker
Richard ‘73 & Catherine Walker
Ben ‘76 & Patricia Wallace
Michael D. Walleck ‘95
Toni E. Wallingford ‘68
Brianna ‘16 & Jarrod Walsh ‘16
Collin ‘12 & Kaitlan Walterscheid ‘14
Capt. Cade Walton ‘96 & Zane Walton
Sally Ann Walton
Juifeng ‘86 & Lu Wang
Leslie & Donald Ward
The Honorable T. John Ward, Sr. ‘64 & Elizabeth Ward ‘86
Jill & Martin Warren
Velma G. Warren ‘77
Leslie Wayne, M.D. ‘02 & Geoffrey Wayne, Sr. ‘97
Jim ‘72 & Lavenia Weathers
Samuel Weaver, III ‘65 & Carolan Weaver
James ‘75 & Claudia Webb
Molly I. Webster
Michael ‘05 & Tori Weems ‘05
Cam ‘91 & Stacey Welch
Janelle ‘79 & Terence Welch
Julie ‘04 & Nicholas Wells ‘06
James ‘91 & Cheryl Werner ‘91
Michael ‘93 & Teresa West
Connie & Jack Westbrook
Mark ‘83 & Sherri Whatley
Herman Wheatley, Jr. ‘65 & Barbara Wheatley
David Wheeler, Ph.D. ‘66 & Amy Meyer
Patricia Wheeler ‘93 & Charles Wheeler, D.O.
William J. White ‘99
Tony ‘79 & Cindy Whitehead ‘81
David ‘64 & Carla Wight
Greg ‘86 & Emma Wilkes
Kitty Harris, Ph.D. ‘83 & Morris Wilkes ‘75
Peter Wilkinson, Jr. & Teresa Wilkinson
Bryant Williams, Jr. ‘61 & Brenda Williams
Dale Williams, Pharm.D. ‘04 & Jennifer Williams
David Williams, M.D. ‘93 & Adrienne Williams
Michael R. Williams
Scott ‘74 & Diane Williams
Thomas ‘79 & Kellie Williams
Chad ‘05 & Jessica Wilson
Christi J. Wilson ‘01
Shayne ‘97 & Christina Wilson ‘99
John ‘74 & Teresa Wilson ‘87
Joseph Wilson ‘87 & Megan Taber
Mark ‘85 & Denise Winn ‘86
William C. Winters ‘08
Jeffrey ‘83 & Annette Wise ‘84
Elizabeth ‘88 & Erik With ‘89
Andrew ‘10 & Meghan Woelke ‘14
Mark ‘91 & Laurie Wolfe
Gary Wood, Ph.D. ‘73 & Sheryl Wood
Leonard ‘84 & Rhonda Wood
Leonard ‘01 & Tamera Wood
Shayne ‘90 & Jennifer Woodard
Mark ‘77 & Claudia Woods
Michelle Worthy, DNP ‘21 & Roy Worthy
Gary ‘78 & Melinda Wright ‘80
Stephen Wright, Jr. ‘95 & Jennifer Wright
Keith ‘07 & Samantha Wyly
Scott Wyrick, M.D. ‘87 & Lenore Wyrick
Amber N. Yanez ‘16
Justin ‘02 & Ashley Yarborough
Jeff ‘82 & Deborah Yarbrough
Scott & Shannon Yocham
Martha & Robert York
Claire Sherman ‘00 & Michael Young ‘95
Tyler ‘06 & Emily Young
Wesley B. Youngblood ‘74
Britny ‘08 & Ignacio Zambrano ‘07
Alberto ‘03 & Iris Zubia
Ann ‘74 & John Zwiacher ‘74
Alan Henry Insurance Agency, Inc.
Amarillo National Bank
Bright Funds
Charities Aid Foundation of America
The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, Inc.
JPMorgan Chase Bank
Law Offices of Sam J. Chase, P. C.
Philanthropy International, The Lazarus Foundation
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
Thoma Engineering, Inc.
*As of November 22, 2024
Lady Raiders Coach Krista Gerlich was a featured guest at a 1923 Society Breakfast. TTAA Vice President, Development, Jim Douglass interviewed her at the event.
Professional
2015
GRANT P. INGRAM (BS Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management) Graham, Texas, has joined the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce (TACC) as chief operating officer. Grant previously served as the assistant city manager for the City of Graham and the executive director of the Graham Economic Development Corporation. In his new role, he will oversee daily operations, strategic initiatives and overall management of the chamber while working closely with its president, CEO and board of directors. His wife is HANNAH AGUAYO INGRAM (BSN Nursing ’18).
2017
ASHLEY D. SMITH (BA Public Relations, MA Mass Communications ’19) Frisco, Texas, has begun a new role at Androvett Legal Media & Marketing, a full-service agency providing public relations, marketing, advertising and
digital expertise to the legal community and a range of other business. As digital project manager, Ashley helps connect clients with audiences through search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising and social media tools.
2019
KOLTON B. BISHOP (BBA Marketing) Shallowater, Texas, has earned a promotion to banking officer at Peoples Bank. He currently serves as a credit specialist at their 82nd Street location in Lubbock and has worked for Peoples Bank for five years.
TAYLOR G. MASON (BBA Accounting) Lubbock, has been promoted to banking officer at Peoples Bank, where he has been an employee for seven years. A Lubbock native, Taylor serves as a deposit reviewer at the 82nd Street location of Peoples Bank.
Techsan Memorial
MILITARY |LT. COL. JASON R. CAMPBELL ’05; Wright Brothers National Memorial First Flight Airport, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Sept. 28. Died in a small-engine plane crash along with his wife, Kate Neely, and three others. U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, Fort Liberty, North Carolina. Program manager for the Civil Affairs Military Government Specialist Program, advising and assisting commanders and civilians in providing governance expertise. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, Operation Enduring Freedom; 19 years of active duty service. Awards and achievements include a Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, two Merit Service medals and three Army Achievement medals.
KENNETH G. “KENN” ACKER ’53; Lubbock, Oct. 14. U.S. Army Veteran. Survived by wife, Barbara Stevenson Acker.
WILLIAM DONALD ARNOLD ’65; Brenham, Texas, Nov. 11. Survived by wife, Linda Elaine Arbuckle Arnold.
Emeritus of Plant & Soil Science, 1991-2016. Came from University of Idaho to chair TTU Department of Plant & Soil Sciences. Fellow, American Society of Agronomy & Crop Sciences. Inductee, Davis CASNR Department of Plant & Soil Science Hall of Fame. U.S. Army, Veteran,101st Airborne, Vietnam. Survived by wife, Sherry K. Auld.
Texas, Sept. 18. U.S. Navy Veteran.
Army Veteran, 1964-66. Survived by wife, Martha A. Black.
Assistant professor, home economics, 1960-82. Distinguished Alumna,College of Human Sciences, 1989. Chair, Alumni Relations Committee, COHS Dean’s Advisory Board. Member, Texas
, Ph.D., Associate Professor Emeritus of Curriculum & Instruction.
’80, ’88; Wolfforth, Texas, ’65; Ennis, Texas, ’57; Newton, Kansas, ROBERT B. “BOB”
’59; Lubbock, Nov. 30.
’63; Lubbock, Aug. 30. U.S. Army Reserves Veteran. Survived by wife,
’77; Lubbock, Nov. 30. Lubbock County Judge.
’71; Dallas, Texas, Dallas, Texas, Sept. 13. U.S. Army Veteran. Survived by
SONDRA “KAY”
Red Raiders ® WRECK ’EM®
ARTHUR M. ELLIOT , Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences; Lubbock, April 27. Taught for 34 years. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Veteran; when his platoon was deactivated, transferred to the U.S. Air Force
JEAN ANN B. FELTY ’88; Lubbock, Aug. 7. Survived by husband, David Felty.
ALBERT “EDWIN” FOWLER, JR. ’69; Lubbock, Oct 18. Survived by wife, Jane Barton Fowler.
MARIA S. GARCIA ’04; Dimmitt, Texas, Aug. 31.
ADDISON E. GRADEL, ED.D. ’82,’85,’89; Lubbock, Sept. 25. Survived by his wife, TAMMIE K. GRADEL ’17.
E.W. HALLFORD, JR. ’63; Fredericksburg, Texas, Nov. 29. U.S. Army Veteran, Vietnam. Survived by wife, RUBYE CLINGINGSMITH HALLFORD ’66.
WILLIE O’BERRY HARAGAN , former First Lady of Texas Tech University and longtime Texas Tech and TTAA supporter. Member, Museum of Texas Tech University Association Board; Officer, University Women’s Club. Member, TTAA Ambassadors. Worked as an advisor in Health Professions Advisors Office, TTUHSC, and in Admission and Student Affairs Office, School
of Medicine. Survived by husband, DONALD R. “DON” HARAGAN, PH.D., Professor of Geosciences; President Emeritus of Texas Tech University.
PAUL BROOKS HARBIN ’82; Lubbock,Aug.18.Survived by wife, MARLA RHEA WINDERS HARBIN ’83, ’86.
DERRY DON HARDING ’58; Lubbock, Oct 15. U.S. Army Veteran. Survived by wife, CAROLYN REYNOLDS HARDING ’58.
MARK PRESTON HARLAN ’79; Lubbock, May 24. Survived by wife, DIANE WILKINS HARLAN ’80.
PATRICIA ELLA “PAT” FERTITTA HARRIS ’78; Lubbock, Sept. 11. Survived by husband James B. “Jim” Harris, who helped establish and taught in the TTU landscape architecture department.
CHARLES “DAVID” HART ’67; Lubbock, Aug. 27.
KARA FRANCES TUNE HAYS ’70; Lubbock, Nov. 21. Survived by husband, REV. HUGH L. HAYS ’69.
RUDOLPH “DOLPHY JOE” HELLMAN ’65; Muenster, Texas, Sept. 4. Survived by wife, Della Wimmer Hellman.
JULIA ELIZABETH FIFER HILBURN ’59; Llano, Texas, Aug. 1. Survived by husband, GEORGE B. HILBUN ’57.
WILMA FERN WHEELER HILL ’49; Lubbock, Oct. 7.
KIRBY LYNN HODNETT ’75; Lubbock, Aug. 21. U.S. Air Force Veteran.
ANDERSON MCCLAIN HORNE ’01,’01; Salida, Colorado, Aug. 25. Survived by wife, TIFFANY L. RHODES , M.D. ’97, ’01.
BETSY JO HORTON ’84; Lubbock, Oct. 11.
SUSAN “JAN” DOHERTY HOWARD ’70; Cedar Park, Texas, Oct. 22. Survived by husband, RANDAL L. “RANDY” HOWARD ’71.
DON HUFSTEDLER ’55; Lubbock, Oct. 16. U.S. Army Veteran.
MARLENE PORR HUTTON ’60; Lubbock, Oct. 23.
NANCY ANN HUDDLESTON JARAMILLO ’86; San Antonio, Texas, Oct 31.
CLIFTON LEE “LC” JOHNSON, JR. ’09; Lubbock, July 29.
STEPHEN CLAY KING ’72; Lubbock, Sept. 21. His wife, MARILYN MCCLENDON KING ’71, ’77, passed away in Lubbock, Oct. 19.
JENNIFER MAREE “JENNY” KOBYLINSKI ’04; Dallas, Texas, Nov. 24.
REGINALD THOMAS “REGGIE” MCCASLIN ’75; Midland, Texas, Oct. 16. Survived by wife, Jeri Jan Jolly McCaslin.
AUDREY CAROL HUCK MCCOOL, ED.D. ’82; Lubbock, Nov. 17; assistant professor and director, Coordinated Undergraduate Program in Dietetics, 1977-1980. U.S. Army Reserves, Colonel, Army Medical Specialist Corps, 1979-2000. Survived by husband, BARENT N. “BARRY” MCCOOL , Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Hospitality & Retail Management.
MICHAEL DUNCAN MCDONALD ’60; Levelland, Texas, Nov. 10. Survived by wife, Martha A. McDonald.
THE HONORABLE ENRIQUE MARTINEZ ’78; Lubbock, Sept. 9. Magistrate, Lubbock County and Lubbock Municipal Court. Survived by wife, Maria Elena Martinez.
LARRY BRUCE MASTEN, PH.D. 14. Chair and Professor Emeritus of Engineering
Technology, 2000-2007. Established Department of Engineering Technology. Associate dean, College of Engineering. Member, Faculty Senate. Survived by wife, YONDELL BINGHAM MASTEN , Ph.D., R.N. ’78, professor and associate dean, TTUHSC School of Nursing.
YVETTE PAULENE PORRAS MEDRANO ’91; Lubbock, Nov. 19. Survived by husband, Daniel Medrano.
MIKE MELCHER ’73; Dallas, Texas, Nov. 4. Survived by wife, Debra S. “Deb” Melcher.
THE HONORABLE LARRY L. MELTON ’61; Odessa, Texas, Aug. 19. Former longtime mayor of Odessa. U.S. Army Veteran. Survived by wife, J’Nevelyn Williams Melton.
EDDIE JO HALFORD MILLER ’69; Lubbock, Oct. 31. Survived by husband, JOE M. MILLER ’66. ’67.
JACK FRANCIS MOORE ’58; San Angelo, Texas, Nov. 24. Survived by wife, ANN WOOD MOORE ’57.
JERRY DEAN MORRIS ’67; Richmond, Virginia, Nov.14. U.S. Air Force Veteran, Vietnam; U.S. Coast Guard Reserves. Survived by wife, Linda Morris.
SHAY MOUSAVI ’01; Lubbock, Aug. 24. Survived by wife, Nikki Mousavi.
NEWTON LEONARD NORMAN, II ’60; Boise, Idaho, Sept. 20.
JEFFREY LEE “JEFF” NORTHERN ’92; Levelland, Texas, Aug. 1. Survived by wife, LAURA BAGGETT NORTHERN ’89.
BENTLEY HERMAN PAGE, JR. ’71; Lubbock, Nov. 21. U.S. Air Force Veteran, Vietnam. Survived by wife, Melinda Angel Page.
DOYLE EDWIN “COACH PARKER” PARKER ; Lubbock, Oct. 7. Assistant football coach, Texas Tech, 12 years. Received Distinguished West Texan Award from National Football Foundation, Texas Tech Chapter, the chapter’s highest honor.
LORIN JACKSON “JACK” PARKS , senior natural resources management major; Paducah, Texas, Sept. 19.
SUSAN CELESTE BOONE PERRIN ’70; Amarillo, Texas, Nov. 5. Survived by husband, JOHN S. PERRIN ’70, ’72.
’67; Memphis, Texas, Nov. 25. Survived by wife, Beth “Ann”
WILLIAM ALLEN PETERS ’63; El Paso, Texas, Sept. 2. Survived by wife, SHERRY KEMP PETERS ’77.
JAMES KEITH “JACK” PETTIT ’60; Stephenville, Texas, Nov. 22.
JAMES VANCE PIPKIN ’65; Lubbock, Nov. 6. Survived by wife, PHYLLIS A. DUNCAN PIPKIN ’63, ’88.
MASHAALAH “MASHA” RAHNAMA-MOGHADAM, Ph.D., associate professor of economics. Carmel, Indiana, Nov. 7. On faculty for 30 years; also served as director of graduate studies. Research interests: macroeconomics and international economics. Published numerous works based on his research. Survived by his wife, Heda Rahnama.
JUDY ANN HIGHTOWER RIBBLE , longtime TTU and TTAA supporter; Lubbock, Oct. 19. Survived by husband, SAMUEL O. “SAMMY” RIBBLE ’58.
JOHN A. RIVERA, assistant academic dean, Whitacre College of Engineering, 28 years. Lubbock, Aug. 22. Mentor and friend to students; guided many engineering students to successful careers. Completed all but dissertation for a doctorate in industrial engineering, manufacturing and systems engineering, Texas Tech University. Survived by wife, DIANA CAVAZOS RIVERA ’84.
JEFFREY ALAN ROBINS ’13; Georgetown, Texas, Sept. 12.
ROBERT QUILLMAN ROGERS, III ’24; Deming, New Mexico, Nov. 15. Survived by wife, Theresa Rogers.
THOMAS JOSEPH “TOM” SALB, JR., PH.D. ’93, ’98; Lubbock, April 10. Survived by wife, Karen Jan Maciolek.
CARLOS ENRIQUE SANCHEZ , sophomore biology major; El Paso, Texas, Sept. 29.
THE HONORABLE JERRY WAYNE SANDEL ’64; Farmington, New Mexico, Oct. 25. Survived by wife, Clair Sandel.
CHARLES “GARY” SOUTHARD ’69; Wichita Falls,
letterman and captain, Red Raiders football team. Inductee, Texas Tech Athletic Hall of Fame. USAF Medical Corps Veteran. Survived by wife, SANDRA ADAMS TALKINGTON ’64.
MATTHEW JOSEPH TAMBURELLO ’21; Houston, Texas, March 22, 2023.
PAULA O’DONNELL THOMPSON ’96,’97,’05; Lubbock, Nov. 7.
MARY ANN BABER TITTSWORTH ’65, ’67; Wichita Falls, Texas, Sept. 29. Survived by husband, H. CLINTON “CLINT” TITTSWORTH ’67.
ZANE GREY TOMLINSON ’57; Merritt Island, Florida, Sept. 21.
DRU VOWELL ’62; Lubbock, Sept. 14. Survived by
for U.S. Air Force at Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois. Surveyed and documented buildings for the National Park Service. Traveled extensively to study historic buildings with his twin brother, James E. “Jim” White, also a TTU professor of architecture. Served on numerous college and university committees. Thirdyear director, president-elect and president, AIA Lubbock. Member of Texas Society of Architects, City of Lubbock Urban Design & History Commission; Lubbock Heritage Society; Lubbock County Historic Preservation Board; Habitat for Humanity Building Committee and Historic American Building Survey. Held many roles at First United Methodist Church.
TERRY FRANCIS WIMMER ’77; Fort Worth, Texas, Sept. 23. Student body president. Survived by wife, SHERRY BEARDEN WIMMER ’76.
CAREER CENTER SERVICES
D o c u m e n t R e v i e w s :
Student Alumni Board: Looking Toward the Future
BY JEAN ANN CANTORE
The Student Alumni Board provides students with an opportunity to be part of the Texas Tech Alumni Association — well before they graduate. To become members, applicants go through a competitive interview process. Earning a spot in SAB is an honor, as membership is capped at 35.
“For the Student Alumni Board, first and foremost, we look for students that love Texas Tech University, because they must be great ambassadors of the association and Texas Tech,” says Chris Snead, vice president, operations & engagement, and current SAB advisor, TTAA.“We also look for ‘student-first’ students, well-rounded students that have their academics as a priority. We ask a lot of our members, so those who can manage their time efficiently have great success as a member of SAB.”
Membership in SAB helps prepare students for life after college by developing their relational and leadership skills. Networking with TTAA National Board members, alumni, association team member and others is a perk.
Member duties include greeting visitors at Frazier Alumni Pavilion pregame events and congratulating soon-to-be graduates at Senior Decal Drive- Thru. They interact with fellow students during Official Ring Days. Members help host Official Ring Ceremonies, Commencement Open Houses, the Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner, A Matador Evening and the Top Techsan Luncheon.
During SAB Success Panels, members receive real-world career advice from alumni participants. Members who attend Texas Tech System Day in Austin also get to meet with legislators and their staffs.
I joined the SAB during the time that Texas Tech was considering offering an official school ring. I was hesitant to get behind this effort. I liked the individuality of Tech graduates selecting their own rings.
When the design process started, members of the SAB had the opportunity to be a part of selecting what would be on the ring. The Double T was a given. The Masked Rider and the Bell Tower were important symbols to include. Sealing the ring with the inscription of “Strive for Honor” completed the design and allowed alumni to not only carry the words of the “Matador Song” with them but also serve as a reminder of what Red Raiders are to do every day.
SAB members help students select Official Rings.
Throughout the process, I not only began to embrace the idea of an official ring, it became very special to me. Attending the ring ceremony at the then Merket Alumni Center is one of my favorite memories toward the end of my time at Tech. The room was full of Red Raiders who were about to finish their time at Tech and move on to their next phase in life.
There is rarely a day that I go without this ring on my finger. Now, 25 years later, I am a huge fan of this tradition and love how it has grown! I get excited when I see a Tech ring on the hands of other alumni. I am grateful for the unspoken connection it brings. I am proud to wear a daily symbol of the school we love so dearly.
— REBECCA WRIGHT HEIDELBERG ’00, MIDLAND, TX
Former member, TTAA National Board, 2015-2020
Student Alumni Board
Student Alumni Board was one of the most rewarding experiences that I had as a Texas Tech undergrad! It sounds silly now, but it was through my early interactions with alumni, at various events, that I first realized that being a Red Raider is not just for your college years . . . but for a lifetime. Being able to participate in events with alumni and consequently, considering these alumni to be mentors, had a significant impact on me. Those passionate Red Raiders truly made me the alumna that I am today.
I should note that Curt Langford was my SAB advisor, so it’s been the very best “full circle moment” now to serve on the National Board of Directors, with Curt as president and CEO of TTAA. The cherry on top of my SAB experience? My son, Preston, is now a member! I’m so thrilled and proud that TTAA and our staff mean as much to him as they do to me.
— KATIE TERRELL MARSHAL ’96, ’98, AUSTIN, TX
Current member, TTAA National Board
For more information about SAB, please scan the QR code.
Members prepare to put TTAA decals on seniors' cars.
The SAB end-of-year dinner.
“If we don’t help our young people, where is society going to be in 25 years? That’s the next generation.”
Building a Legacy
From creative visionary and educator, to a champion of philanthropy
Tina Fuentes never intended to stay in Lubbock, Texas. She thought her move to Texas Tech University would be a pitstop. After a few years of teaching, Fuentes was sure she’d land a job at the University of New Mexico and return to the Land of Enchantment. But, like many others, Lubbock became home.
Fuentes became deeply involved in the community and at Texas Tech - where she created the annual undergraduate show in the School of Art, organized the first Dia de los Muertos procession in Lubbock, taught as a professor for 33 years in the School of Art and most recently committed a life insurance policy to the Fuentes Endowment in Studio Art Painting.
While giving back to the community has always been important to Fuentes, helping students afford college and educating the younger generation is crucial to her.
“If we don’t help our young people, where is society going to be in 25 years?” Fuentes said. “That’s the next generation.”
Through her endowment, Fuentes hopes to support the next generation of artists.
“People make assumptions about donors. You assume they are all millionaires. It’s good for people to know that sometimes it’s just the average person out there,” Fuentes said.
“The reward to me is that I helped someone. Whatever I believe in, I contribute and help if I can. I try to encourage people to share and give. You can’t take it with you when you go. And it doesn’t have to be $100,000 or a million. A little bit here, a little bit there—it all counts.”
