Texas Techsan May/June 2017

MAY/JUNE 2017

texas

TECHSAN VOLUME 70, NUMBER 03 // THE MAGAZINE FOR TEXAS TECH ALUMNI

J U LY/A U G 2 0 1 2

Public Service by Design // Hope, Faith and Love // The People Business

Texas Tech Tidbits You Never Knew You Wanted to Know

The Texas Tech Mastercard

®

SHOW YOUR RED RAIDER

Pride

everywhere you shop, dine, and travel!

• FREE Texas Tech Alumni Association Membership for non-members or luggage tag for existing members with your first purchase1!

• No Annual Fee! • Earn Unlimited 1% Cash Back2!

Cash Back redemption is applied as a statement credit.

• Earn 2% & 3% Cash Back2 for purchases in select categories3

Get the card that rewards you, and show your support for the Texas Tech Alumni Association every time you make a purchase!

Apply today at commercebank.com/TexasTech or call 1.800.725.0512

1. Subject to credit approval. Within 90 days of account opening of your new Texas Tech Mastercard®, approved applicants must use the card to make a Purchase, Balance Transfer or Cash Advance to receive the one-year membership or one luggage tag. By applying for the Texas Tech Mastercard, you are authorizing Commerce Bank to share information with Texas Tech Alumni Association to fulfill the free gift. Texas Tech Alumni Association will be notified of your account opening, and when you qualify for the free gift. Texas Tech Alumni Association is responsible for fulfillment. Please allow up to 60 business days to receive the free gift. Limit one (1) one-year membership OR one (1) luggage tag per Texas Tech Mastercard® account.

2. The statement credit will reduce your balance, but you are still required to make at least your minimum payment. Values for non-cash back redemption items such as merchandise, gift cards, and travel may vary.

3. Merchants self-select the category in which they would like their transaction items to be listed. Please note some merchants may be owned by other companies, therefore transactions may not be counted in the expected category. A maximum of 2,500 bonus points will be awarded per quarter, per rewards account.

Register your Legacy today at TexasTechLegacy.com Alumni members must be Century Level or above.

a tradition to las

GENERATIONS

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PUBLIC SERVICE

BY DESIGN Architect Joseph Imamura, Ph.D., AIA, combines his love of architectural design, service and teaching.

DEPARTMENTS

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24

32

A little of this and a little of that, all about the Red and Black.

Ginger GilbertRavella shares her experiences with love, loss and finding her way back.

Charles Smith serves as executive commissioner of the Texas Department of Health & Human Services.

TEXAS TECH TIDBITS YOU NEVER KNEW YOU WANTED TO KNOW

HOPE, FAITH AND LOVE

THE PEOPLE BUSINESS

FOR YOUR INFORMATION 6 // THROUGH THE ARCHES 8 // SPORTS 38 // ASSOCIATION NEWS 40 // ALUMNI NEWS 50 // STUDENT SPOTLIGHT 64

texas

TECHSAN VOLUME 70, NUMBER 03

J U LY/A U G 2 0 1 2

photo on the cover by by O’Jay R. Barbee // WILL ROGERS AND SOAPSUDS (OFFICIALLY CALLED “RIDING INTO THE SUNSET”) TRULY ARE HEADING TOWARD AN EVENING SKY. photo on these two pages by Wyman Meinzer // WHERE ARE HIS EARS?

...MY COMMITMENT.

realtor

YOUR HOME, YOUR FUTURE...

VOLUME 70, NUMBER 03 MAGAZINE STAF F Publisher, Bill Dean, Ed.D., ’61, ’65, ’71 Editor, Jean Ann Bowman Cantore ’84, ’87 Associate Editor, Jennifer Bell Ritz ’94, ’95 Intern, Stefanie Wolf

DESIGN Amanda Sneed ’07 Hartsfield Design, Lubbock, Texas

ADVERTISING

STRIVE FOR HONOR EVERMORE...

Brent Ross ’97, Associate Vice President Texas Tech Alumni Association 17th and University/P.O. Box 45001 Lubbock, Texas 79409 Phone: (806) 742-3641 E-mail: brent.ross@ttu.edu

P RINTER

David Rayburn, GRI, CRS

drayburn@westmarkrealtors.com 806.441.0123

Craftsman Printers, Ltd., Lubbock, Texas Published by Texas Tech Alumni Association

AL UMNI ASSOC IATION EX EC UTIVE BOA RD Kristina Harris Butts ’01, ’04 Washington, D.C. (Chair) Linda Burke Rutherford ’88, Carrollton (Past Chair) John W. Redmon ’71, The Woodlands (Chair Elect) Bill Brown ’74, ’76 Austin (Endowment Trust Board & Alumni Finance Chair) Bill Dean, Ed.D.,’61, ’65, ’71, Lubbock (President and CEO)

BOARD OF DIREC TORS

DISCOVER T TUISD Texas Tech University Independent School District offers flexible educational opportunities to help your student achieve their goal of academic success. Courses are self-paced and are available online to students anywhere in the world.

• Enroll full-time or supplement your school or homeschool curriculum.

• All courses are fully accredited by the Texas Education Agency.

• Credit by Exams available.

• Receive a Texas high school diploma.

• Scholarship opportunities for students to attend Texas Tech University.

Continue your legacy with Texas Tech University by having your student be a part of TTUISD!

Find out more at www.ttuisd.ttu.edu/techsan

Alex Arnold, Student Alumni Representative Ryan Barbles ’02, Houston Nancy L. Birdwell ’74, Salado Michelle Bleiberg ’89, Dallas Mandy A. Carr-Johnson, Ph.D. ’94, ’95, ’99, Highlands Ranch, Colo.

R. Heath Cheek ’03, Dallas Paul W. Foster ’80, San Antonio Mike Gayler ’81, Fort Worth Randy Golden ’77, Dallas Francisco “Paco” Hamm ’88, Redondo Beach, California ReBecca Heidelberg ’00, Midland Staci Hernandez, M.D. ’99, ’03, Georgetown Carey Hobbs ’58, Waco (Athletic Council Representative) Tom Hutton, M.D., Ph.D. ’68, Fredericksburg Mark Jones ’79, Brady Leah McCoy ’04, Washington, D.C. Amy Gunter McLane ’97, Salado David A. Miller ’71, Horseshoe Bay Nathan P. Nash ’05, Dallas Vicki Vannoy Nixon ’73, Lubbock Rebecca Ramirez ’01, ’05, Lubbock Gary Shores ’63, Wichita Falls John C. Sims ’65, Lubbock (Legal Counsel) Jerry V. Smith ’65, ’67, Dallas Barry Street ’79, Kress Bobby G. Waddle ’55, DeSoto T. John Ward ’64, Longview Morris E. Wilkes, ’75, Lubbock Louis Bryant Williams Jr.’61, Kerrville Texas Techsan is the official publication of the Texas Tech Alumni Association and Texas Tech University. The Texas Techsan (USPS #021-676) is published bimonthly and mailed to members of the Texas Tech Alumni Association. Annual membership is $50 for alumni and friends of Texas Tech.

Editorial and advertising offices: McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center, 17th & University/ P.O. Box 45001, Lubbock, TX 794095001. 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. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Techsan Magazine, P.O. Box 45001, Lubbock, TX 79409-5001 or by e-mail to paige.m.kohout@ttu.edu.

We welcome story ideas in writing. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

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www.TexasTechAlumni.org

Enjoy premium auto and renters insurance benefits as a graduate of Texas Tech University.

1

So you can snap on, post on and explore on.

When you protect your possessions, you’re really protecting the things that make you, you. Let Liberty Mutual Insurance keep you covered, with benefits like Home Computer Endorsement,2 Accident Forgiveness3 and a Multi-Policy Discount — so you can focus on doing what you love, at home and on the road.

Join thousands of qualified customers already saving: Save up to $519.52 on Auto Insurance4

Renters Insurance as low as $20/month 5

Visit libertymutual.com/texastech or call 888-828-4694.

This organization receives financial support for allowing Liberty Mutual to offer this auto and home insurance program.

Discounts and savings are available where state laws and regulations allow, and may vary by state. To the extent permitted by law, applicants are individually underwritten; not all applicants may qualify.

With our optional Home Computer Endorsement, we will cover up to $10,000 for your computers and smartphones, subject to a $50 deductible.

3 For qualifying customers only. Accident forgiveness is subject to terms and conditions of Liberty Mutual’s underwriting guidelines. Not available in CA and may vary by state.

4 Average annual savings based on countrywide survey of new customers from 01/27/2014 to 01/16/2015 who reported their prior insurers’ premiums when they switched to Liberty Mutual’s group auto and home program. Savings do not apply in MA. 5 The figure was based on the average premium for renters policies written between 5/14/14 - 4/30/15.

1

2

Coverage provided and underwritten by Liberty County Mutual Insurance Company, 2100 Walnut Hill Lane, Irving, TX. Home coverage provided and underwritten by Liberty Insurance Corporation, 175 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116. ©2015 Liberty Mutual Insurance 15-AFF-136764 Affinity:

Valid through February 24, 2016.

Millennial Toolkit

for your information B I LL DEAN, E D.D., PR ESI DE NT & CEO

JEROD FOSTER

A Few Ups and a Down AT THE TEC H Board of Regents meeting on Feb. 24, Vice Chairman Tim Lancaster made the following motion: “I move that the board adopt the following resolution: Because of limited budget funds available to the State of Texas for the next biennium for the two fiscal years ending August 31, 2018, and August 31, 2019, and because of the need to emphasize other funding priorities for the Texas Tech University System, it shall be the policy of the board of regents of the Texas Tech University System that the system shall not further pursue funding by the 85th Legislature of the school of veterinary medicine.”

The motion passed unanimously.

No comment.

positive note, Texas Tech broke ground on Feb. 22 for Experimental Sciences Building II, which will significantly expand the university’s research capabilities.

The 117,000-square-foot building will include an animal vivarium, four general wet labs, three instrumentation labs and two synthetic labs, in addition to offices, collaborative space and three conference rooms.

Ten years ago, the first Experimental Science Building opened on campus, and the new building further emphasizes the commitment Texas Tech is making to research.

Guy Loneragan, Ph.D., vice president of research, was quoted as saying, “Tech had record research expenditures in 2016 at $165 million, and also received a record number of grants and contracts for future research in 2016, which bodes well for our research future.”

According to Texas Tech Today, the goal of ESB II is to increase Texas Tech’s research capacity by: 1-Developing and expanding research areas that align with the university’s existing strengths and address areas of national importance, 2-Increasing the number of faculty with common interests within each research area who can collaborate of largescale project and 3-Expanding research infrastructure to support thematic research areas.

Another positive development: System administrators at Texas Tech will soon be moving into the new System Office Building that will serve as home for system leadership staff and personnel.

The approximately 80,000-gross-square-foot, three-story structure is located at the intersection of Texas Tech Parkway and the Marsha Sharp Freeway.

The new office building will include a multipurpose room for Board of Regents meetings and other events as well as public art in the main entry lobby. It also will house core system functions, such as Facilities Planning & Construction, Institutional Advancement, Financial Services, Audit Service, General Counsel, Governmental Relations, Academic Affairs and Communications & Marketing.

As the system has grown, these core functions have been located in a handful of buildings on and off the campus, Chancellor Robert Duncan commented. “Bringing our leadership team together will allow us to communicate better, collaborate better and continue to move the system forward in concert with our member institutions.”

ON A MORE

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H AT S OF F T O Head Men’s Basketball Coach Chris Beard. It was a tough, sometimes heartbreaking, season. The record does not show it, but the men’s basketball team was highly competitive in the Big 12 games.

Most of the Big 12 home games, with the exception of Oklahoma State, came down to the last minute.

Four very close losses stand out. The week of Feb. 7, we lost 62-61 to TCU in Fort Worth when an official called a foul with two seconds left in regulation to give TCU two free throws. The next game was against Kansas on Feb. 11.

It is pretty obvious that when you play Kansas in basketball, you better bring your A+ game because you are not only playing a great team with a great coach but you are not going to get any breaks from the officials.

Ask K-State. Their game in Lawrence with K-State leading by two and as the game ended a KU player took four steps without dribbling and make a game-tying basket. That is normally what is called walking. No call. KU won in overtime.

In our game in Lubbock with five seconds left, KU set an illegal screen and knocked Jonathan Gray to the floor. No call.

The call was then on a Tech player, giving KU two free throws.

KU won by one, 80-79.

The week of Feb. 18, we lost in double overtime to West Virginia, 83-74, and lost to Iowa State 82-80 in overtime.

The Raiders lost five games by a total of 12 points.

This team put it all out there every time they took the court. They were fun to watch, especially if you like nail-biters. I think we have the right guy and I look forward to the future with Chris Beard.

We are

KNOWLEDGE. We are teachers, researchers, writers, artists.

We are

INTEGRITY.

We are advocates, counselors, leaders, mentors.

We are

SERVICE.

We are social workers, builders, caretakers, healers.

We are

COURAGE.

We are dancers, performers, creators, visionaries.

We are the Texas Tech University

HONORS COLLEGE. For more information on the Texas Tech University Honors College, please contact us at

806.742.1828 | HONORS.TTU.EDU

through the arches COM PI LE D BY STE FAN I E WOLF

PEOPLE BRADLEY J. JOHNSON, Ph.D., THE GORDON W. DAVIS REGENT’S CHAIR IN MEAT SCIENCE AND MUSCLE BIOLOGY IN THE TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL & FOOD SCIENCES, HAS BEEN SELECTED TO A FIVE-YEAR TERM ON A PRESTIGIOUS COMMITTEE THAT EVALUATES THE SAFETY OF FOOD ADDITIVES. The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is a collection of international food safety experts from around the world who ensure the safety of food additives, evaluate contaminants, naturally occurring toxicants and residues of veterinary drugs in food.

The JECFA is administered by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Steinmetz

Walker

TEXAS GOV. GREG ABBOTT REAPPOINTED A CURRENT MEMBER AND APPOINTED TWO NEW MEMBERS TO THE TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY SYSTEM BOARD OF REGENTS, ANNOUNCED ON JAN. 23. Reappointed was John Steinmetz, originally appointed by former Gov. Rick Perry on Feb. 1, 2011. The two new appointees are John Walker, of Houston, chief executive officer of EnerVest, Ltd. and executive chairman of EV Energy Partners, L.P., and J. Michael Lewis, of Dallas, a private investor and the general partner of Coronado Resources, Olympia Royalty and Wellspring Royalties. All three appointments, effective Feb.1, are subject to Senate confirmation. The governor appoints regents to six-year terms. The terms of two other regents, Debbie Montford of San Antonio and Larry Anders of Dallas, end Jan. 31.

MARGARET L. WILLIAMS, A PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT AND A DEAN AT ONE OF THE TOP RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES IN THE COUNTRY, HAS BEEN NAMED NEW DEAN OF THE JERRY S. RAWLS COLLEGE OF BUSINESS. Williams brings with her more than 30 years of experience as an educator and administrator in both management and psychology, most recently serving as the Page Endowed dean of the College of Business and Public Administration at the University of North Dakota. Williams replaces Paul R. Gobel, the James E. and Elizabeth F. Sowell Professor of Finance who has served as the college’s interim dean since Jan. 1, 2016.

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Lewis

THE 2017 BEST ONLINE PROGRAMS RANKINGS BY U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT RELEASED ON JAN. 10 PLACED TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY’S WORLDWIDE ELEARNING PROGRAMS AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION. Texas Tech was ranked in four areas: Best Online Graduate Computer Information Programs (No.6), Best Online Graduate Engineer’s Programs (No. 17), Best Online Graduate Education Programs (No. 109) and Best Online Bachelor’s Programs (No. 110).

The survey of more than 1,300 online programs includes general rankings of each institution’s online bachelor’s degree programs and discipline-specific rankings of online master’s programs. To learn more visit: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/elearning/

THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES & NATURAL RESOURCES ANNOUNCED A $2.6 MILLION RESTORATION PROJECT AIMED AT BRINGING THE ICONIC DAIRY BARN BACK TO ITS PLACE AS WORKING ACADEMIC FACILITY. After sitting vacant for 50 years and being one of the oldest and most recognizable structures on campus, the Dairy Barn stands as a monument to the university’s history. Proposed renovations involved securing and updating the historic building’s interior.

Included in the plans are the creation of two large meeting areas on the barn’s first floor as well as loft spaces and the addition of several offices in what were originally livestock stalls.

O’J AY BARBEE

O’J AY BARBEE

O’J AY BARBEE

NEWS

Photos above: The Dairy Barn currently.

Photos at right: Architect's renderings of the restored structure.

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through the arches

THE EDWARD E. WHITACRE JR. COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AT TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY DEBUTED WITH A RIBBON CUTTING ON JAN. 30, 2016, ITS NEW CB&I ADVANCED PROTOTYPING AND MANUFACTURING FACILITY. This facility will give the students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering the most advanced technology and facility to enhance their education and experience. The facility will allow students the opportunity to develop the tactile and functional understanding of mechanical and theoretical principles that will prepare them to be career-ready engineers. The renovations of this facility were made possible through a $1.6 million philanthropic grant from CB&I, one of the top energy infrastructure companies in the U.S.

TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN ARE LAUNCHING A NEW PARTNERSHIP TO ENSURE TEXAS STUDENTS GET THE MOST OUT OF DUAL-CREDIT COURSES. This partnership brings together leading educational innovators from across the state to identify best practices for high-quality dual-credit instruction and coursework that helps students reach their postsecondary goals. The TEXAS OnRamps Dual Credit Innovation Collaborative (DCIC) partners include Austin Community College, El Paso Community College, Houston Community College, Texas Tech and the University of Texas at Austin, which will work together to increase the long-term value of dual credit for students, institutions and the state. Dual-credit courses enable students to earn college credit while they are still pursuing their high school diplomas.

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BRIEFLY

The Office of the President hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for the Experimental Sciences Building II on Feb. 22, 2017.

ADMINISTRATORS FROM TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY AND THE TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY SYSTEM BROKE GROUND FEB. 22 FOR EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCES BUILDING II (ESB II), which will significantly expand the university’s research capabilities. The 117,000-square-foot building will include an animal vivarium, four general wet labs, three instrumentation labs and two synthetic labs, in addition to offices, collaborative spaces and three conference rooms. Its construction was funded by $70 million from the Texas Legislature’s authorization of a tuition revenue bond and $7 million in revenue finance system funds to be repaid by Higher Education Assistance Funds. (See p. 6 for more information.)

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PUBLIC

service

BY DESI GN

by JEAN ANN CANTORE photos by AARON CLAMAGE

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A recent project for Imamura was working on the design for Pikes Peak National Cemetery in Colorado, which includes a visitor center, flag assembly and the first green burial section at a national cemetery. He also has created designs for Puerto Rico National Cemetery Expansion in Morovis, Puerto Rico, and Crown Hill National Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana, as part of the agency’s effort to increase burial access for veterans over the next 100 years.

“NCA’s history dates back to the Civil War,” Imamura says.

“In fact, the motto of Veterans Affairs and NCA is taken from President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address: ‘To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.’ Our mission really is about Fulfilling Lincoln’s Promise.”

He explains that the Veterans Legacy Program, launched on Memorial Day, 2016, at Riverside Cemetery in California and at Beaufort National Cemetery in South Carolina, increases public awareness of veteran service and sacrifice. The program offers educational materials and plans for students and the public to learn more about military service and its role in United States history.

Imamura’s dedication to this mission was rooted in his family history. His mother’s father immigrated to the United States with his family from Russia, coming through Ellis Island aboard the Berengaria in 1923. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and served in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. Imamura’s grandfather was buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.

On the paternal side of his family, the architect’s father, Tadayoshi “Tod” Imamura, immigrated to the United States from Japan in 1966. He traveled by boat to San Francisco, California, and then took a bus to Lubbock, where he attended graduate school at Texas Tech University.

“His ability to speak English was extremely limited,” Joe Imamura says. “However, he was embraced quickly by students at Texas Tech because there probably were just a handful of Japanese students enrolled at the time. He earned the nickname ‘Tex’ and lived in Sneed Hall.”

Lubbock was where Tod Imamura met his future bride, Sharelyn “Angie” Saltzman, a marketing major from Denver.

The two married in 1971. They then moved to Miami, Florida, and Japan, and then settled in Angie’s home state.

His parents’ love of Texas Tech prompted him to attend Texas Tech for his college education.

“I was an avid golfer in high school and developed an interest in golf course design, which I learned would require a degree in landscape architecture,” Imamura recalls. “I also was interested in architecture, but couldn’t find a school that would allow me to pursue both.”

At that time, Texas Tech was the only university that would even consider allowing him to have a double major in architecture and landscape architecture, something that never had been done at Texas Tech.

Imamura received guidance from former Dean of Architecture Jim White, AIA, and Jim Brink, Ph.D., associate professor in the Honors College. Together, they created a unique degree program that would suit the enthusiastic student. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental development in 2000. He also received the Highest Ranking Graduate Award for the College of Architecture from the Texas Tech Alumni Association.

“Joe first came to me at Tech in 1996 as a freshman in the College of Architecture and completed his Ph.D. in 2016,” says White, “I have been involved with him in all of his degree programs. If I had to describe him in three words, ‘determined to succeed’ I would say could describe him accurately.”

‘To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.’

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A recent project for Imamura was working on the design for Pikes Peak National Cemetery in Colorado, which includes a visitor center, flag assembly and the first green burial section at a national cemetery. He also has created designs for Puerto Rico National Cemetery Expansion in Morovis, Puerto Rico, and Crown Hill National Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana, as part of the agency’s effort to increase burial access for veterans over the next 100 years.

“NCA’s history dates back to the Civil War,” Imamura says.

“In fact, the motto of Veterans Affairs and NCA is taken from President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address: ‘To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.’ Our mission really is about Fulfilling Lincoln’s Promise.”

He explains that the Veterans Legacy Program, launched on Memorial Day, 2016, at Riverside Cemetery in California and at Beaufort National Cemetery in South Carolina, increases public awareness of veteran service and sacrifice. The program offers educational materials and plans for students and the public to learn more about military service and its role in United States history.

Imamura’s dedication to this mission was rooted in his family history. His mother’s father immigrated to the United States with his family from Russia, coming through Ellis Island aboard the Berengaria in 1923. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and served in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. Imamura’s grandfather was buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.

On the paternal side of his family, the architect’s father, Tadayoshi “Tod” Imamura, immigrated to the United States from Japan in 1966. He traveled by boat to San Francisco, California, and then took a bus to Lubbock, where he attended graduate school at Texas Tech University.

“His ability to speak English was extremely limited,” Joe Imamura says. “However, he was embraced quickly by students at Texas Tech because there probably were just a handful of Japanese students enrolled at the time. He earned the nickname ‘Tex’ and lived in Sneed Hall.”

Lubbock was where Tod Imamura met his future bride, Sharelyn “Angie” Saltzman, a marketing major from Denver.

The two married in 1971. They then moved to Miami, Florida, and Japan, and then settled in Angie’s home state.

His parents’ love of Texas Tech prompted him to attend Texas Tech for his college education.

“I was an avid golfer in high school and developed an interest in golf course design, which I learned would require a degree in landscape architecture,” Imamura recalls. “I also was interested in architecture, but couldn’t find a school that would allow me to pursue both.”

At that time, Texas Tech was the only university that would even consider allowing him to have a double major in architecture and landscape architecture, something that never had been done at Texas Tech.

Imamura received guidance from former Dean of Architecture Jim White, AIA, and Jim Brink, Ph.D., associate professor in the Honors College. Together, they created a unique degree program that would suit the enthusiastic student. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental development in 2000. He also received the Highest Ranking Graduate Award for the College of Architecture from the Texas Tech Alumni Association.

“Joe first came to me at Tech in 1996 as a freshman in the College of Architecture and completed his Ph.D. in 2016,” says White, “I have been involved with him in all of his degree programs. If I had to describe him in three words, ‘determined to succeed’ I would say could describe him accurately.”

‘To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.’

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facts about the

National Cemetery Administration A Sub-Agency of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In 1862, Congress authorized President Abraham Lincoln to purchase land for use as national cemeteries.

Fourteen national cemeteries were established in 1862 and managed by the Department of the Army.

In 1973, Congress transferred many national cemeteries to what was then called Veterans Administration and created the National Cemetery System, renamed NCA in 1998.* Today, NCA manages 136 national cemeteries across the country in 40 states and Puerto Rico.

In Fiscal Year 2016, NCA interred 131,488 veterans or family members.

The busiest national cemeteries include: • Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, California, with 8,503 interments annually • Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Florida, with 7,046 interments annually • Calverton National Cemetery, Calverton, New York, with 6,059 interments annually NCA will open 15 new national cemeteries by 2021.

NCA anticipates 95 percent of veterans (more than 20 million) and their eligible family members to have burial access within 75 miles of their home by 2021.

NCA’s workforce includes approximately 1,700-1,800 employees of which 75 percent are veterans. *The Department of the Army is responsible for Arlington National Cemetery and 29 other cemeteries, while the National Park Service manages 14 and the American Battle Monuments Commission manages 25 national cemeteries overseas.

Pictured on this page, from top to bottom, are the types of projects in which Imamura is involved: Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California; Puerto Rico National Cemetery Expansion Project, Morovis, Puerto Rico; Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, Dallas, Texas.

Images are Courtesy U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration.

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Despite having just completed a rather grueling undergraduate program, after graduation, Imamura began working on his master’s degree in architecture. In Summer 2004, through the College of Agricultural Sciences and National Resources, he was selected to participate in the Congressional Intern Program and was placed with the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence.

“One of my duties was to read correspondence sent to the President and then assign an agency who could best respond to the constituent,” he says. “Today, I am now receiving those letters sent to the President and forwarded to our agency. It gives me a direct interface with veterans and their families as they seek a remedy to solve a particular issue, which I enjoy.”

That summer of the internship, he also pursued an opportunity to study abroad via the CASNR program in the British Virgin island of Tortola. The time spent there enhanced his knowledge of land use and environmental planning. After his time there, he returned to D.C. to complete his internship.

Imamura earned his master’s degree in architecture in 2006. While finishing his second master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on urban planning in 2007, he attended the American Institute of Architects national conference in San Antonio, Texas.

It was there that he met Les Shepherd, AIA, a 1983 architecture graduate from Texas Tech and 2010 Distinguished Alumnus, who just happened to be the chief architect of the U.S. General Services Administration. Shepherd was being honored by Texas Tech’s College of Architecture at the event.

After a discussion about combining architecture and public service, Shepherd asked Imamura to send him his resume. Thinking Shepherd was just being gracious, Imamura did not hurry to do so. However, Shepherd contacted Imamura within a few days, asking for it again. He complied, and within a matter of hours before attending commencement to receive his second master’s degree, Imamura received a call from Shepherd, offering him a job with the Office of the Chief Architect in D.C. The aspiring designer and public servant had a government job before he even received his diploma.

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“I know of no one who has demonstrated such drive and energy to succeed in the midst of a fulltime demanding career while also maintaining a ‘normal’ home and family life.”

Another wonderful thing Imamura found at Texas Tech was his wife, Lubbock native Nicolette “Niki” Imamura. The couple had planned to marry in March 2008, but the job offer changed their plans.

“It was a whirlwind,” Imamura says. “I didn’t think it was right to ask Niki to move to D.C. when we weren’t married. We planned our wedding in 10 days and our friends in Lubbock rallied to help us. A friend of mine was our photographer, another friend helped with music and food, and we got married at Spirit Ranch outside the former County Line Restaurant in Lubbock in July.”

Niki was attending South Plains College at the time and, later, enrolled at Tech through distance education to complete her bachelor’s degree in university studies in 2013 and her master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in nutrition education in 2015.

She currently works in human resources at George Mason University and shares a similar passion for public service. She has strong interests in programs such as “No Kid Hungry” and “Feeding America.”

“We are deeply rooted in Texas Tech,” Joe says. “Even our home is decorated in red-and-black. The other day, Niki was in the bookstore at George Mason but couldn’t bring herself to buy any paraphernalia. She said she just couldn’t do it. We are loyal and devoted Red Raiders.”

Since living in the nation’s capital, the family, which includes daughter Madalynn, takes advantage of their central location. They enjoy short trips to New York City, the beach and visiting museums and sites such as Gettyburg, Monticello and other places of historic interest. As Joe says, though, “We’re still tourists ourselves, and we’ve taken in our share of amusement parks, too.”

Joe also is a part-time instructor in integrative studies at Texas Tech University.

Imamura laughs when asked about hobbies, saying, “My wife would say my hobbies are grading papers or pursuing one professional certification or another.”

The inevitable question ‘What is a typical day for you?’ brings about a positive response.

“Every day is a little different with new problems to solve and the chance to make impactful decisions.

The scale and scope varies,” he says. “I might select finishes for a building or, on a larger scale, review concept drawings and master plans for new cemeteries and meet with the undersecretary for memorial affairs to discuss national policy. I’m currently leading a team of experts to review and rewrite NCA’s policies to better serve our veterans.”

In addition to work and family time, the knowledgeable architect completed his third master’s degree, in landscape architecture in 2012. In May 2016, he became Joe Imamura, Ph.D., having completed his doctoral degree in land use planning, management and design.

“Joe always kept his eye on the target, persisting to the doctorate through his work as a full-time government employee in the pressure cooker ‘inside the beltway’ and his first priorities as a husband and a father,” Brink says. “I know of no one who has demonstrated such drive and energy to succeed in the midst of a full-time demanding career while also maintaining a ‘normal’ home and family life.”

Three words Brink would use to describe Imamura? “He Doth Persist!”

About White and Brink, Imamura says they are wonderful mentors and student advocates. He notes they helped him get to where he is today.

Madalynn, Niki and Joe on the National Mall, Washington, D.C.

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IMAMURA’S

certifications AICP Certified Planner (American Institute of Certified Planners) PMP Project Management Professional (Project Management Institute) LEED AP LEED-Accredited Professional (Green Business Certification Inc.) CMIT Construction Manager In Training (Construction Manager Certification Institute) RA Registered Architect (Architects are required to pass seven exams; Joe is in the process of completing these exams to become a Registered Architect.)

professional

RLA Registered Landscape Architect (Landscape architects are required to pass four exams; Joe is in the process of completing these exams to become a Registered Landscape Architect.)

There are some professionals who practice both architecture + planning or landscape architecture + planning, but even fewer who practice architecture + landscape architecture. Even more rare are those who practice all three (architecture + landscape architecture + planning).

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“Going to Texas Tech was the best decision I ever made,” Imamura says.

“I’m unconventional in my approach to my education and career. I feel as if I’ve had a series of small successes along the way but that the bigger ones are yet to come. I like the fact that I’m able to influence federal public architecture through my work. I also have some ideas of how I might return to Texas Tech one day as an administrator.

“The education I received at Texas Tech has prepared me well for the career path I’ve chosen in architecture and public service. One reason I teach is that it’s a way of giving back.”

Spoken like someone with a true servant’s heart.

texas tech

tidbits you never kn w you wanted to know...

Sometimes we forget what we learned, or sometimes we learn what we never knew. We’ve compiled a few factoids that Red Raiders everywhere will be tickled to read.

BY STEFANIE WOLF & JENNIFER RITZ PHOTOS BY O’JAY BARBEE & JEROD FOSTER M A Y / J U N E 2 0 17

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1,839 acres Second largest in nation

65%

More than of students come from farther than

300 miles from Lubbock

29,963 Total undergrad enrollment

+ 6,058

Total graduate enrollment

36,021

22:1 Student to faculty

Total Fall 2016 enrollment

Established in

1923

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54% Male 46% Female

Texas Tech

seal representati

EAGLE | OUR COUNTRY

STAR | STATE BOOK | CHURCH

10 COTTON BOLLS | 10 COTTON-PRODUCING COUNTIES SURROUNDING LUBBOCK

KEY | HOME

Hiding in

LAMP | SCHOOL

plain sight

Alumni who attended Texas Tech for any number of years might be surprised to learn of the amazing detail carved into the original campus buildings: Administration, Textile Engineering, Chemistry/Geosciences and Home Economics.

Students of yesterday and today most likely have walked past these building hundreds of time and taken very little notice of the names, faces, quotes and symbols that adorn the exterior walls.

The original campus planners included the carvings purely for aesthetic value and the hope that their inclusion on the structures would cause students and campus visitors to stop and ponder their meanings. The sculptures range from faces of Texas and American historical figures to gargoyles and cupids. Specific to Texas Tech are the seal of the university on the north side of the Administration Building, a carving of the school monogram symbol TTC (Texas Technological College) on the Chemistry Building’s columns and cotton bales on the Textile Engineering Building. The product chosen was Lueders stone, a variety of limestone from a Jones County quarry near Lueders, Texas. Lueders is north-northeast of Abilene. For areas subject to more wear, such as exterior windowsills, builders used Bedford Limestone from Indiana. These symbols and faces were carved by hand, a process that today would prove impossible to replicate—there are not likely artists who could complete such detailed carvings, and, if the artists did exist, the cost would be exorbitant. (Excerpt is from a 2007 Texas Techsan magazine story “Hidden Faces and Places.”)

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col l e ge s College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources • College of Architecture • College of Arts & Sciences • Whitacre College of Engineering • College of Human Sciences • J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts • College of Media & Communication • School of Law Knapp Residence Hall

Talkington Residence Hall

dorms Bledsoe • Sneed • Horn • Knapp Wall • Gates • Hulen • Clement Coleman • Chitwood • Weymouth Stangel • Murdough • Honors Murray • Carpenter/Wells West Village • Talkington • Gordon

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA, a new endeavor, is still in the planning stages.

SEVILLE, SPAIN, offers study abroad for full semesters.

satellite

campuses

JUNCTION offers two bachelor’s degrees, two master’s degrees, a doctorate of education and a superintendent certification program.

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TTU AT COLLIN (DALLAS) offers three bachelor’s degrees and two master’s degrees.

WACO offers four bachelor’s degrees.

FREDERICKSBURG & HIGHLAND LAKES offers four bachelor’s degrees, three master’s degrees, a doctorate of education as well as business classes and a superintendent certification program.

JEROD FOSTER

EL PASO offers a bachelor’s in architecture.

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Carpenter-Wells Residence Hall

19.18

Inches of rain annually

Longitude and Latitude

33.5779° N 101.8552° W

262 days

Average days of sunshine

coolest mascot

in Americ

The first appearance of the Masked Rider was in 1936 at a bowl game. The duo—horse and rider—later became the official mascot of Texas Tech University in 1954, when Joe Kirk Fulton took the reins as the first Masked Rider. The horse, always black, and rider, decked out in a black hat and mask and scarlet cape, steal the hearts of Red Raiders, especially when they tear across the field at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Masked Rider has been named one of the top 25 mascots among American universities*, but, who are we kidding? We know it’s the best! *CollegeFootballNews.com list of “College Football’s 25 Greatest Mascots”

Number of

tulip bulbs

planted According to Charles Leatherwood, managing director of the Department of Grounds Maintenance Operations Division, during the fall his department plants 8,300 yellow and 50,300 red tulips for spring bloom. These tulips are planted on the main campus, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and our satellite campuses around the state.

A special thank you to the Texas Tech University Visitor’s Center for providing many of the facts included in the story. Also, thank you to Charles Leatherwood, managing director of the Department of Grounds Maintenance Operations Division, for providing the tulip count.

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Hope,

Faith Love

and

by jennifer ritz ★ photos by jonathan alonzo

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Editor’s note: Have you ever heard an unbelievably amazing and inspirational story, or watched a movie that moved you to tears?

When you try to retell the story or explain the movie, you know your retelling is somehow sorely lacking, that you just can’t do it justice by your mere words alone. Well, that’s how I feel about this story. It’s moving, it’s amazing, it’s heartbreaking, it’s exhilarating and, try as I might, I’m not sure I did Ginger and Troy’s story any justice. A few pages in a magazine can’t fully tell the hours I spent getting to know Ginger and Jim, I don’t have the space to tell all the stories they told, and my words alone certainly can’t paint an adequate picture of their experiences. But I do hope, fervently, that when reading this, you get a clear understanding of who Major Troy “Trojan” Gilbert was, and who Ginger is, and how both Ginger and Jim have honored Troy and our military. Guns up...

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Roots of Red and Black: When Ginger Gilbert-Ravella chose to attend Texas Tech, she followed in the footsteps of her mother and her maternal grandparents. Her grandfather, Jim Wiman, graduated in 1938 with a degree in agricultural education, and his wife, Ginger’s grandmother, Jimmie B. Wiman, graduated in 1938 with a degree in home economics. Her grandfather lived with a family on what was then College Avenue, and he paid for his room and board with milk he sold from his dairy cow. Her mother, Judy Wiman Gurley graduated in 1968 with a degree in elementary education. Her father Jay Gurley, Ph.D., took several courses from Texas Tech while pursuing his doctoral degree. Her uncle Bob Wiman also received a bachelor’s in history in 1976, as well as her brother Matt Gurley, who received his bachelor’s in geography in 1998.

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1989 ★ San Angelo, Texas

1990 ★ Lubbock, Texas

It’s fascinating how the finger of God works sometimes.

Ginger Gurley Gilbert-Ravella ’93 wanted to attend Texas Tech and continue her family’s Red Raider tradition, but as a native of Clovis, New Mexico, she would have had to pay out-of-state tuition.

“I wanted to start out at Tech, but attending Angelo State was a more affordable option at the time,” Ginger explains.

Her enrollment at Angelo State changed everything about her life and laid out a future she could never have imagined.

The first little flicker of change came while she was visiting with friends in the Angelo State student union building one day, right before Christmas 1989. She was introduced to a young man named Troy Gilbert. Troy had attended most of high school at San Angelo’s Central High—his senior year was spent in Germany, where his father was stationed as a senior NCO in the Air Force. So although he graduated in Germany (in 1989), he still loved San Angelo and chose to return to Texas to enroll at Angelo State.

“There were immediate sparks,” she recalls of that first meeting. “But I had been casually dating a friend of his—Lance. It wasn’t a serious relationship, but Troy and I were both sensitive to their friendship.”

Ginger and Troy began visiting over the phone and soon after, they were head over heels.

“Troy left for Christmas break to visit his parents, who were still in Germany,” she says. “While he was there, he purchased an Andy Warhol poster for Lance.”

The significance of the Warhol poster? Well, the friend was a huge film buff. When Troy returned to Texas for the 1990 spring semester, he approached the friend with the peace-offering poster.

“It was sort of like, ‘Here’s something I know you’ll love, and, by the way, I’m dating Ginger now.’” Ginger says. “Lance was really, really great about it.”

By that point, Ginger and Troy were crazy in love and, of course, inseparable—they even planned their eventual transfer to Texas Tech together.

Once Ginger was considered a Texas resident, she and Troy transfered to Texas Tech. Ginger received her bachelor’s in interior design in 1993, and Troy, the first in his family to receive a college degree, received his bachelor’s in international trade in 1993 as well.

The couple married just one week following their May 1993 graduation. Troy had always dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot, but at that time, there was a pilot surplus in the U.S. Air Force. Troy decided to work in the civilian world for a while.

“We moved to Midland-Odessa after we got married,” she says. “I worked in Odessa for Chesapeake Interiors and Troy managed the Midland Country Club. We’d been there about six months when Troy decided he’d had enough, and he applied to OTS (Air Force officer training school).”

The couple was elated when Troy was accepted.

He completed his training at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, and Ginger moved home with her parents for those few months. In 1995, Troy began his first Air Force duties as a personnel and protocol officer in England.

“He faithfully fulfilled his duties, and every year, for his first four years in the Air Force, Troy applied to become a fighter pilot,” remarks Ginger of Troy’s determination to become a pilot for the U.S. military.

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1995 ★ Lakenheath, England The couple moved to England in 1995 and lived four years at Royal Air Force Lakenheath. Troy continued to serve generals as a personnel and protocol officer.

Ginger, whose faith in her husband never wavered, began paying for him to take private flying lessons to prepare for the day he was accepted into flight school. She and Troy were overwhelmed with the excitement of living in the U.K., and Ginger loved her job in merchandising, which allowed her to travel all over England.

“It was a gift from God,” says Ginger of her time with Troy and the opportunities they had together. “Troy’s family was stationed in Germany twice, he had traveled all over Europe when we’d met, he was so cosmopolitan to me. We loved our time in England. We traveled all the time. I look back and obviously, the Lord knew we didn’t have a lot of time together, because we got to live and do things in our 20s that most people never get to do. I went from Eastern New Mexico, to West Texas, to that. Troy gave me the sweetest gift. Growing up, my wall was plastered with pictures of places like Paris—never dreamt I’d get to be that girl who would get to travel like I have.”

In late 1997, the couple was told they’d be transferred to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“I was pregnant with our first son, Boston,” Ginger says. “We moved in late October and I had Boston, who came early, on Nov. 8. It was a whirlwind.”

Colorado Springs brought a new baby and some long-awaited news for Troy.

“A week after Boston was born, Troy was called into the general’s office and informed he was accepted into flight school,” Ginger says. “So even though he finally got what he’d wanted for so long, he deferred flight school for one year. That spoke volumes about who Troy was. He deferred to serve General Oelstrom and to be with me after the birth of our first baby.”

Troy’s pilot training began in 1998 at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, where the family spent 18 months. They then moved to Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix for nine months of F-16 training.

By the time he completed training in Phoenix, they had welcomed their second son, Greyson, and the family was off to Aviano Air Base in Italy.

“Our daughter Bella was born in Italy, and we spent three years there,” says Ginger.

“That was Troy’s first and only operational assignment.”

Troy and Boston.

Ginger, Troy, Boston, Greyson and baby Bella.

Ginger says their time in Italy was unforgettable and that, looking back, she and Troy were blessed to spend their lives together in such remarkable places.

“We moved back to Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix in 2004, where Troy was an instructor pilot, teaching younger guys to fly F-16s,” she says.

In February 2006, the Gilberts welcomed two new family members, a set of identical twin girls, Aspen and Annalise— which definitely made for a full house.

Ginger says Troy predicted early in her final pregnancy that she was going to have twins, and, she says, “He told me after our first sonogram, ‘A fighter pilot’s always right! I knew it!’”

The arrival of twins meant Ginger and Troy were busier than ever when Troy, who was by then Major Troy “Trojan” Gilbert, was selected later that same year, in 2006, for a four-month deployment to Balad Air Force Base in Iraq. He was tapped to fly combat missions and was also in charge of standardization and evaluation for the Operations Support Squadron. He left in September and was to return home in December.

Ginger, Troy and their five children, including Aspen and Annalise.

Troy and his F-16.

Ginger reflects on her marriage to Troy and says, “I’m so thankful we met as teenagers, because we didn’t have a lot of time together. We enjoyed our time at Tech going to Carol of Lights, just walking to class. We squeezed a lot into our short time together: five kids and 11 moves in 13 years.”

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Nov. 27, 2006 ★ The Day The World Stopped Turning “Troy’s plane’s gone down.”

The words rocked Ginger to her soul. There had been a knock at her front door on the Monday following Thanksgiving. She opened the door to a terrifying sight for anyone who has family on active duty: the base commander, the base chaplain and two officers. It’s never good news, and that morning was no exception.

All the Air Force knew was the bare minimum.

“They said they couldn’t get in to the crash site, so they couldn’t confirm or deny whether he was alive,” Ginger recalls. “To me he was superman.

He had more than 1,000 flying hours. It didn’t seem possible.”

The next several days brought more upsetting details. While flying a rescue mission, his plane went down and insurgents absconded with Troy’s body and belongings.

According to an Air Force Times article published Oct. 5, 2016, which included information from an accident report released in 2007, “An AH-6 Little Bird helicopter had been shot down, and its crew and the coalition forces trying to reach them were under attack…insurgents in three vehicles went into a building, where they began firing on ground forces. While Gilbert refueled, his wingman, Capt. Michael Dietrich, dropped a laser-guided 500-pound bomb on the building, the accident report said. The insurgents fled in their vehicles, and Gilbert and Dietrich tracked them, making several low passes to make sure they were following the right vehicles.”

It was while strafing the vehicles Troy’s plane crashed. It seemed every bit of news Ginger received was devastating.

Her best friend, her rock, her hero…just…gone? Ginger says the ensuing days were dark, the most painful of her life. She was lost in the grief of losing Troy, of her children losing their father. And she anxiously awaited any news on her husband’s whereabouts.

Once Air Force personnel were able to reach the crash site, they recovered a small skull fragment. DNA tests confirmed it was Troy’s, and his status changed from “whereabouts unknown” to “killed in action.” Ginger had to determine how to tell her children, who were nine, six, three and only nine months. Her ultimate decision was to make it simple: Daddy’s gone to be with Jesus.

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There was a memorial service in Phoenix Dec. 6 and the first of what would turn out to be three funerals over a 10-year span at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The day of his first funeral service, Dec. 11, flags at Memorial Circle were lowered to half-mast to honor Major Troy “Trojan” Gilbert.

At the Dec. 11, 2006, service, Troy’s coffin contained only the tiny skull fragments recovered at the crash site.

“I never stopped praying that Troy’s remains would be found in my kids’ lifetime,” Ginger says.

In 2011, when the military began moving out of Iraq, Ginger and Troy’s family had to work to have him designated missing in action. According to the military, he was accounted for. But, Ginger says, “He was still missing.”

Family and friends fought to have the search for Troy’s remains continue, and in 2012 they received positive news: the search would go on.

In 2013, Ginger was informed by Troy’s former commander Gen. Robin Rand, that more of Troy’s remains had been found—a few small bones.

The discovery necessitated another funeral, which also necessitated Ginger telling her twins, who were only seven—she told the older children when they turned 10—that most of their father’s remains had never been found. There was another funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, and Ginger, who never gave up, accepted that the second burial closed the book on the pain of not having Troy’s complete remains.

“It was the tip of his toes,” says Ginger. “So we had the top of his skull and the tips of his toes. I felt like God was telling me, ‘I have Troy, from the tip of his toes to the top of his head.’”

August 2016 ★ San Antonio, Texas It had been almost decade since Troy’s plane was shot down. Much had changed in Ginger’s life, except her unending faith—she kept that all along. Faith that her children would be fine, hope that she would be fine. And that faith brought her to pray without end for Troy’s return.

In late August of 2016, an Iraqi tribal leader came forth with information about remains and belongings of a U.S. Airman. The remains were collected, sent to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, and tested. The results: the remains were indeed Major Troy “Trojan” Gilbert. In October, his remains and belongings were transferred to Ginger, her children, Troy’s parents and Troy’s sister.

“It was so special for us,” Ginger says. “Our son Boston, who had just turned 18, was considered his next of kin, so he received Troy’s flight jacket (when the belongings were returned to the family).”

And so it was, that on Dec. 19, 2016, Troy was laid to rest a final time. The bells at the Administration Building on the Texas Tech campus rang out 93 times in honor of Major Troy “Trojan” Gilbert, class of ’93.

“I was overwhelmed that God would show such extravagance to my children and me,” Ginger says. “After all that time, we were able to bring him home.”

Maj. Troy "Trojan" Gilbert

…I drive your truck. I’ve cussed, I’ve prayed, I’ve said goodbye, shook my fist and asked God why. These days when I’m missing you this much, I drive your truck.

“I Drive Your Truck,” recorded by Lee Brice, country singer

There have been many ways Troy has been honored. Of course there are the Texas Tech bells ringing 93 times in Memorial Circle on the day of his 2016 funeral and the time the Texas Tech football team wore stickers on their helmets that read “Maj. Gilbert” during the 2006 Insight Bowl in, Arizona. Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, where Troy completed his initial Air Force training, in 2009 named a new educational training center for Officer Training School cadets “Gilbert Hall” because Troy epitomized what an OTS candidate should be.

Then there’s the truck. Ginger met country musician Lee Brice while promoting Folds of Honor. She mentioned to Brice that his song, “I Drive Your Truck,” plucked her heartstrings. Songwriter Connie Harrington was inspired to write the song when she heard a report on the radio one Memorial Day weekend, where a father whose son was killed in action was asked how he planned to honor his son. The father said, “I plan to drive his truck.” The resulting song was recorded by Brice.

Ginger told Brice she often thought about Troy’s 1992 pickup he sold just months prior to deploying, and she wondered where it ended up and who might be driving it.

Brice contacted Jim Ravella with an idea: find the pickup and return it to Troy’s sons.

At an April 2016 Academy of Music Party for a Cause Festival in Vegas, Brice invited Ginger and her five children onstage, where he explained that he was inspired by her story and decided to work with Jim to find it. Jim and Brice found the pickup in Phoenix; it was still running.

“We were up on stage and he hands me these keys,” says Ginger, who says it was a complete surprise, she believed she was at the event to represent Folds of Honor.

“I burst into tears. They were his keys, Troy’s old keys. Then he said the pickup was parked behind the building we were in. My son Greyson had just turned 16 a few days before that, so he was able to climb into the pickup and crank it up.”

Following the presentation of the pickup, Iron Cross Automotive in Tulsa, Oklahoma, refurbished the interior and applied a custom paint job to the truck. Jasper Engines & Transmissions, along with Seymour’s Garage, in San Antonio, are putting in a new drivetrain.

To watch a video of the presentation, visit: http://tasteofcountry.com/lee-brice-military-wife-truck-acm-party-for-a-cause/

Top, Troy’s refurbished truck.

Bottom, Troy and sons, Boston and Greyson, in the truck.

Also, NRATV.com produced a documentary on the story, called “A Hero’s Legacy.”

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Hope Renewed

Ginger and Beckham.

Ginger talks a lot about the people in her life who brought her through the darkness of grief. Her friends, her family, even people she didn’t know, who provided comfort in the way of food, fellowship and even funds. Two of those people were Jim and Andrea Ravella. Jim was also a fighter pilot, so he and his wife were aware of Ginger’s loss.

In the December following Troy’s death, they reached out to Ginger.

They wanted her to know they were praying and they offered support and, ultimately, a close friendship developed between the three. Andrea was suffering from terminal breast cancer, but, Jim says, her faith in God kept her strong. Through their struggles they offered Ginger hope and the faith to believe that things would get better. For Ginger, their friendship was an immense source of solace.

“At some point in all the darkness, there’s a fork in the road,” says Ginger.

“You have to choose if you’re going to be bitter, angry and hate everyone, or go the other way. I’m still here and I try to make the best of that.”

Jim’s wife Andrea lost her battle with cancer Dec. 17, 2007. Jim, in his grief, reached out to Ginger.

“I had to tell her that, if I’d ever said anything stupid, I was apologizing now,” Jim recalls. “Andrea’s death was so final, I never grasped that before.

Here we were telling Ginger how to cope with Troy’s loss and I realized I had no idea back then the finality of death.”

Just days following Andrea’s death, Jim traveled to Wichita Falls to visit Andrea’s mother. On Christmas day he planned to head to Dallas to visit one of his sisters. Ginger called to check up on Jim, asking him about his upcoming plans.

“I told him I was headed to Dallas to visit a friend,” Ginger says. “My kids were with Troy’s parents in Wichita Falls.”

When the two realized they’d both be in Dallas, they took it as a sign they needed to finally meet face-to-face. Both Ginger and Jim say the meeting felt like they’d known each other for years. By January 2008, Jim says he’d made a decision that, to many of his friends, seemed questionable.

“I was on the phone with Ginger in January, and I asked her to marry me,” Jim says. “So many people thought we were crazy, asking someone I’d just met to marry me. I felt I knew her spiritually, in the deepest way. I hadn’t even met her kids or her parents. But much later, after we married, Ginger’s father told me, ‘When Ginger left to go meet you in Dallas, she said she thought she might marry you.’”

ASHLEY RODGERS

ASHLEY RODGERS

Lou Ortiz presents a military stole to Ginger during the Feb. 7 event.

Ginger being interviewed prior to the Feb. 7 event.

In February, Ginger Gilbert-Ravella traveled back to Texas Tech as a guest of the Texas Tech Military and Veterans National Alumni Chapter and the Office of the President.

At an event held in her honor at the McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center Feb. 7, she spoke on behalf of the Folds of Honor Foundation and shared her story as the wife of Maj. Troy “Trojan” Gilbert. During the event, Lou Ortiz, the director of the Texas Tech University Military Veterans Program, presented Ginger with a framed Texas Tech military stole. The stole, which is camouflage and adorned with the seal of Texas Tech University, is part of the graduation regalia worn by military veterans today.

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From left, twins Aspen and Annalise, Greyson, Bella, Jim and Ginger in their home in San Antonio.

Ginger accepted Jim’s proposal. She says that she, too, had friends and family question her decision. The couple married in May 2008, and Ginger and her five children moved to San Antonio, where Jim was based, with Jim and his youngest son, Anthony. They’ve been married happily for nine years.

And although some might think it was a tough transition for Jim to go from having one child at home to having six, it wasn’t.

“I’m the youngest of eight kids,” says Jim, whose father was also career Air Force.

He adopted Ginger and Troy’s children, and wanted the two boys, Boston and Greyson, to keep the surname Gilbert. Bella, Aspen and Annalise carry the last name Ravella.

Jim is now retired from the Air Force and he and Ginger both work for Folds of Honor, a foundation that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service-members. They both travel extensively in support of Folds of Honor. Jim is the senior vice president, and Ginger is director of the Folds of Honor Speakers Bureau.

One thing that has always been important to Ginger and Jim is keeping alive the memories of their spouses.

“For the girls, the only memories they have of their father is the stories we tell,” says Jim. “We don’t want our kids to forget who Troy and Andrea were. So we talk about them and keep their memories alive.”

Though both Ginger and Jim have had their spirits shaken and tattered through their separate ordeals, they both say their faith and God’s love brought them to where they are today. They’re joyful, busy with kids and traveling. For Ginger, the best way to honor Troy has been to help others through her volunteer efforts for military causes. Something that keeps Ginger grounded is her faith, which keeps her focused and has provided her with mercy and grace even before she lost Troy.

“It’s so important to me to experience God’s presence and to hear His voice so clearly,” she says. “Life tends to get so loud sometimes, it’s important to slow down, walk with him and listen.”

Ginger and her husband, Jim, collaborated on a recently published book, “Hope Found.” The book shares the couple’s struggles, losses and how they found their way back to living joyfully and gratefully.

The book can be purchased in hardback, paperback and Kindle on amazon.com.

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the

PEOPLE B U S I N E SS

YOU COULD SAFELY SAY THAT EXECUTIVE COMMISSIONER CHARLES SMITH IS THE EPITOME OF THE TERM “PEOPLE PERSON.” He enjoys being with people and loves working with them. Knowing what makes people tick and helping them live safe and healthy lives are priorities for him.

As head of Texas Health & Human Services, Smith leads the largest state agency in Texas, with about 54,000 employees.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott appointed Smith to this position in 2016. Smith reports directly to the governor.

“Being the executive commissioner for the Health & Human Services system, there’s some duality,” he says. “I serve as head of the Health & Human Services Commission, which currently handles the client services of HHS for the State of Texas. That includes Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, CHIP, Women’s Health Programs, and starting Sept. 1, 2017, will also include all of the state hospitals and state-supported living centers. That will have about 54,000 employees proper for just the HHS Commission.

“In addition, I also oversee the Department of Aging & Disability Services, DADS, which is the regulatory aspects of nursing facilities and assisted living centers and statesupported living centers. DADS will be going away effective Sept. 1, and those positions will be folding into the HHS Commission.

“I also currently oversee the commissioner for the State Health Services, who is over public/population health services. It has regulatory aspects associated with it in state hospitals that deal with infectious diseases, such as TB. Then there is the Department of Family & Protective Services (DFPS), which houses Child Protective Services (CPS).

DFPS also has a commissioner. I’m still responsible for making sure those agencies are well-run and that we’re following the state policy direction of the state legislature and the governor.”

Smith’s career in state government began 28 years ago, during his last semester at Texas Tech. He was working toward his bachelor’s degree in psychology and aspiring to attend law school. His uncle suggested that he pursue an internship with the Office of the Attorney General to enhance his resume for his law school application. Smith made a phone call to his uncle’s contact and was invited for an interview.

Charles Smith, Executive Commissioner of the Texas Department of Health & Human Services.

BY JEAN ANN CANTORE | PHOTOS BY EARL NOTTINGHAM

M A Y / J U N E 2 0 17

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33

Although the office had no internships, Smith was determined to serve there in some capacity.

“I said, ‘Hey, I’m willing to volunteer, whatever you need me to do.’ I talked to Donna Morris, manager and a Tech grad, who said, ‘How many hours can you work?’ I said, ‘Probably four or five.’ She said, ‘A week?’ I said, ‘No, a day. I finish my classes by about noon, so I have the rest of the day.’”

Smith worked in the legal section, typing legal pleadings and getting people to sign affidavits. Upon graduation, the attorneys asked Smith if he would like to stay. He enjoyed the work, so it was a nobrainer to remain with the office. He needed a job, and he needed to save money for law school.

“It turns out I never went to law school because after working with the Attorney General’s office, I started getting increasing responsibilities,” he says.

“Within two years, I became the manager of the office in Midland and ran it from December 1990 through August 1993. From 1993 to 2000, I ran the Abilene child support office, which was a larger office than Midland—with a larger staff, larger caseload and more counties. I was promoted to assistant regional administrator for the Dallas/Fort Worth region in July 2000. I became the regional administrator for Dallas/Fort Worth in 2002.

“I left to become assistant deputy director of field operations in October 2003.”

During his service in state government, Smith has learned about all kinds of people and living situations. His career not only has been gratifying, but it also has been eye-opening.

A native of Childress, Texas, Smith grew up in a tight-knit family of eight children with both parents at home. He lived what he calls a sheltered life.

“Mom stayed at home,” he says. “She did a tremendous amount of work. We had breakfast before we went off to school, and then she would take us to school and pick us up. In middle school, she’d come pick us up, and we’d go eat our meal at home. When I was in high school, I would drive home at lunch, and she’d have a meal there. She cooked three times a day, even though we were going to school. I thought that was the norm until high school, when my friends were saying, ‘Man, I wish I was at your house’ and those types of things. I realized then that it was not the norm.”

At the Attorney General’s Office in Lubbock, he saw, for the first time, people who were not paying child support and the plight of some children born out of wedlock.

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During his service in state government, Smith has learned about all kinds of people and living situations. His career not only has been gratifying, but it also has been eye-opening.

Charles and Angela Smith at their home.

COLLEGE ALSO WAS FULL of surprises for Smith.

He started out playing college football for East Texas State University in Commerce, which is now Texas A&M Commerce.

“I had gone home in the summer between my freshman and sophomore year and met a girl, Angela, who was a friend of my sister,” he says. “We had a great relationship, began dating and dated throughout my sophomore year. She graduated from high school and went to Lubbock Christian University, so I stopped football and headed to Texas Tech.

“It worked out well. We’ve been married now for 27 years.”

While attending ETSU, Smith had his eye on a career with the FBI, Secret Service or CIA and was majoring in criminal justice. Texas Tech didn’t offer that degree program, so rather than lose a lot of credit hours when he transferred, he rolled those hours into psychology and sociology.

“I tell people that psychology is a very good, broad major because you understand more about human beings and the human dynamics of dealing with people,” he says. “That’s been very beneficial when dealing with people from a wide range of perspectives. My psychology degree has served me well in my personal life and professional career.”

M A Y / J U N E 2 0 17

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PHOTO COURTESY OF TEXAS HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION

HHSC Executive Commissioner Smith, second from left, speaks from the dais Aug. 19, 2016, during a committee meeting at the Brown-Heatly Building in Austin.

NO TWO DAYS ARE ALIKE for the executive commissioner, who usually arrives at work at 7:30 a.m. and often doesn’t put his tasks to rest until late evening.

His days are filled with meetings, paperwork and the unexpected. Issues requiring his immediate attention can develop quickly.

Legislative dealings and budget issues are two major challenges for any state agency. With all the changes in medical insurance, it’s no wonder that money is a concern. Smith notes that the state budget allocated for HHS for 2018-2019 is less than that for 2016-2017. He adds that the increasing costs of medications and growing number of people who need state assistance for health care put a strain on the agency.

During a rare downtime, maybe when a meeting has been cancelled at the last minute, Smith enjoys visiting with his staff at the Brown-Heatly building in Austin, Texas, headquarters for Health & Human Services. He may walk around

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the building, greeting people, asking how they are and how the agency could make their jobs more efficient.

He also visits offices in his agency or the Department of Family and Protective Services across the state. To him, knowing his staff and seeing how they work and interact with each other and customers is a vital part of his job.

“Life is about relationships,” he says. “Connecting with staff is important because it is my way of creating the type of atmosphere where people gain professional and personal satisfaction from their work. Personally, I work best when I know my co-workers. The right connections improve performance because problems get raised and resolved faster, people exhibit initiative and people actually share breakthroughs for the good of the team.

It’s an orchestrated effort, and everyone does yeoman’s job in making this thing work.”

In fact, Smith compares his agency’s work to that of the New England Patriots football team.

“We want to create a high-performing team that is focused on chemistry and continuous improvement,” he says. “We have a leadership team that is very dynamic. I would say that the thing I’m most proud of in my career is the number of people I’ve been able to work with and see them go on and go off and grow professionally. I always think it’s a good thing when people come in and poach your good employees because that means you’re developing and creating the right type of individual so that somebody sees their worth. I’ve always taken personal pride in that.

“We’re all beginning to understand how our strengths can come together to create some great synergy for the agency.”

ANOTHER TEAM of which Smith is a part is his family. He and his wife and their two grown children, Christopher and Alyssa, remain close, although the two younger Smiths have their own lives.

“My wife is a teacher and a coach and a great person,” he says. “Professionally, she’s won awards in many different places because of my career and moving.

“We’ve maintained the ability to have family time, and that’s really important. When our kids were young and growing up, we had dinner together every evening, cell phones and TV off. We stayed together and talked and stayed involved in our kids’ lives. It’s really continued today. Our son’s married with a family, and they still come by. Our daughter still comes home to spend the night and watch movies. It’s really a good situation, and we’re really blessed. We worked hard to bring them up right. We’re really proud of the kids.”

Smith calls Saturday “our day” because it’s when he and his wife spend the most time together and “capture those free moments.” They both enjoy working in the yard and golfing. Living in an area with greenbelts and trails, they often run or walk while they talk. Movies, restaurants and quick trips to San Antonio are fun for them, too.

Sundays are devoted to church.

In addition, the couple remains loyal to Texas Tech and are proud that they have encouraged a number of young people from their church to attend college in Lubbock.

“We brainwashed our kids along the way so they didn’t want to go to UT or A&M,” he says. “We’ve also worked with the school and had quite a number of kids from Dripping Springs High School go to Texas Tech.

“My wife was instrumental in working with another couple to develop an alumni chapter within the last year-and-a half. We’re Red Raiders, through and through, all the way to our license plates on our cars.”

The couple with some of their favorite things.

ALTHOUGH HIS JOB is high-ranking, Smith remains humble. He is strongly committed to the mission of Texas Health & Human Services.

“I am very grateful for being appointed to this position by Gov. Greg Abbott,” he says.

“In state government, you really can’t get any higher than the gubernatorial appointment of a state agency, especially a state agency that is as large, complex and as important as this one.

“We literally do touch the lives of every single Texan.”

A Red Raider family in their red-andblack home. From left, Christopher, Charles, Angela and Alyssa.

M A Y / J U N E 2 0 17

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sports COM PI LE D BY J EAN AN N CANTOR E

Kittley and Brown Garner USTFCCCA Region Awards

THIS MARKS THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW THAT A RED RAIDER HAS TAKEN MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE-OF-THE-YEAR. STORY AND PHOTOS BY TEXAS TECH ATHETICS COMMUNICATIONS

T E X A S T E C H T R AC K and field snagged two U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Region Awards, the league announced March 6.

Head Coach Wes Kittley brought home the Mountain Region Men’s Coach of the Year award, while student athlete Charles Brown picked up Men’s Field Athlete of the Year award.

“I am very honored to have such an opportunity and to receive this award,” said Coach Kittley. “It proves that our men’s team is improving and becoming a great team.

I am proud that we are making these strides and becoming better overall.”

Each of the nine regions honored both genders’ top track and field athletes, and the top men’s and women’s head coaches and assistant coaches. Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches.

Mountain Region Men’s Coach of the Year– Wes Kittley This year in Ames, Iowa, the Texas Tech men’s track & field team scored the most points ever in school history at a Big 12 indoor meet with a total of 99.5 points. Kittley coached Big 12 Champions in both the 60m hurdles, Darien Tennon, and long jump, Charles Brown. His men’s team currently holds nine world ranked marks with the 4x400 relay now sitting at a No. 5 world ranking and No. 11 national ranking. Overall the men’s team has 14 top-five conference marks, 10 of those being top-three marks. Kittley has seven entries for NCAA Indoor Championship, which is the second most in program history. The men’s team also sits in the No. 1 seat in the Mountain Region.

Mountain Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year – Charles Brown Brown became the 2017 Big 12 Indoor Champion in long jump last week at the Lied Kittley Recreation Center with his best mark of 7.89m/25-10.75. The sophomore also hit qualifying marks in all three jumps events (LJ, HJ, TJ), recognized as some of the top marks in the world. This makes Brown only the third athlete in NCAA history and first in Big 12 history to qualify for indoor nationals in three jumping events. On top of his winning the men’s long jump in Ames, Brown was all-Big 12 in two other events at the indoor championship scoring 18 of Tech’s 99.5 points. Brown boasts an undefeated indoor season in the long jump and holds a No. 1 Mountain Region ranking in long jump and triple jump and a No. 2 rank in high jump.

Brown, top and right.

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Shining with Tech Spirit

H 303 rooms, 15 stories, full guest services H Just off-campus, near Jones AT&T Stadium H Fine Dining Restaurant & Lounge H Complimentary Internet H Complimentary Airport Transfer

2322 Mac Davis Lane, Lubbock • Reservations: 806.776.7000 • Online: overtonhotel.com

newest members COM PI LE D BY DAWN MOR E NO

$50

$100

$250

$500

$1000

LOYALTY

C E NTU RY

BRONZE

S I LVE R

G O LD

$2500 $5000+ P LATI N U M

D IAM O N D

THE TEXAS TECH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION WISHES TO EXPRESS APPRECIATION TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS WHO JOINED AT THE CENTURY LEVEL AND ABOVE.

///GOLD

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Jones ’11 (Hannah Jones ’12)

Mr. & Mrs. Chris Searcy (Lacey Searcy ’05)

Mr. Chad Laurence ’94

Mr. & Mrs. Travis Sellers ’91 (Leslie Sellers ’93)

Mr. Richard Leach & Dr. Karla Leach ’81

Mr. & Mrs. Keven Simpson (Melissa Simpson ’05)

Mr. & Mrs. Joe Martin (Angela Martin)

Mr. Tom Sinclair

Mr. & Mrs. James Maxey ’84 (Sheila Maxey)

State Farm Insurance Co.

Mr. Andrew McCaslin ’11

Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Tate ’73 (Sarita Tate)

Mr. Philip Monaghan ’76 Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Morton (Karen Morton ’82)

Mr. & Mrs. Carl Thomas ’08 (Charla Hundley Thomas ’08)

Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Pate (Mary Pate ’69)

Mr. Stanley Tucker & Dr. Kathryn Tucker ’12

Mr. & Mrs. Bobby Reynolds ’64 (Nancy Reynolds)

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Verrill (Renee Verrill ’82)

///BRONZE

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Rinewalt ’05 (Katherine Rinewalt ’05)

Mr. Gary Wall

Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Rohde ’92 (Leanne Rohde ’92)

Mr. & Mrs. Colin Zwickey ’01 (Sarah Zwickey)

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Birdwell ’13 (Ann Birdwell)

Ms. Graciela Ruiz ’03

Dr. & Mrs. Benjamin Clapp ’00 (Luz Clapp)

Mr. & Mrs. James Ryback ’05 (Jennifer Ryback)

Mr. & Mrs. Jack Darden, Sr. ’49 (Mary Jo Darden)

Mr. & Mrs. Jason Schniederjan ’96 (Amy Schniederjan)

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Garcia ’15 (Christina Garcia)

Mrs. Shannon Scott ’07

Mr. & Mrs. John Jeter ’90 (Ann Marie Jeter) Mr. & Mrs. Gaylon Kornfuehrer ’57 (Barbara Kornfuehrer)

/ / / S I LV E R Mrs. Lauren Hargrave ’11 Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Luke (Eleanor Luke ’77) Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Steves ’99 (Amy Steves)

Mr. Nathan Henry & Mrs. Jennifer Law-Henry ’02 Murray D, LLC Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Patriquin ’05 (Erin Patriquin) Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Schertz ’01 (Tamara Schertz)

/ / / C E NTU RY Mr. Charles Braafladt Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Byrd ’80 (Billie Byrd) Mrs. Stacy Caster ’12 Mr. Roger Church & Mrs. Michelle Spoonemore ’01 Mr. & Mrs. Paul Coon (Diana Coon ’83) Mr. & Mrs. Rensay Davis (Suzanne Davis ’85) Mr. Ross Degreve, II ’10 Dr. & Mrs. Jeff Denton ’09 (Tiffany Denton) Mr. & Mrs. Michael Dorman ’82 (Pamela Dorman) Mr. & Mrs. Brent Duty ’98 (Lindsay Duty) Mr. Derrick Fannin ’08 Dr. & Mrs. Daniel Ferguson ’11 (Brenda Ferguson) The Honorable & Mrs. Thomas Fuller ’66 (Josephine Fuller) Mr. & Mrs. Steven Furlow ’72 (Lisa Furlow) Gafford Pest Control Services, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Felix Gelinas (Phoebe Gelinas ’88) Mr. & Mrs. Rick Graydon ’69 (Kathy Graydon) Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Gulrich ’82 (Lois Gulrich) Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan Haralson (Holly Haralson, Pharm. D. ’09) Harold Lloyd Patterson & Mary Tom Patterson Family Trust Mr. & Mrs. Edward Hicks (Peggy Hicks ’17) Mr. & Mrs. Brett Howard ’11 (Danielle Howard ’12)

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Photo Reprints The Daily Toreador and La Ventana Visit

www.dailytoreador.com and click on Buy Photos.

2016 Annual Report

Dear Alumni Association Members: Our entire staff really appreciates all of our members. Without the support we receive from your membership in the TTAA, we could not accomplish many of the things we do to support students, faculty, staff and Texas Tech in general.

While our membership numbers declined slightly in 2016, our numbers are more than double the national average. All alumni associations are struggling with how to grow membership numbers, especially among recent grads. Institutions with an annual budget of more than $1 million saw, on average, that 7.5 percent of their alumni contributed to their respective alumni associations in 2016.

Texas Tech alumni contributed at a rate of 19 percent in 2016.

That type of consistent support is what allows the TTAA to be so active in its support of Texas Tech University. Here are a few examples of how your support made an impact on the university.

We awarded more than $400,000 to 523 students from the Texas Tech Alumni Association Endowment Trust. Investing in the Endowment Trust generates scholarships for future generations.

Our Excellence Grant program awarded grants of $10,000 last year to the TTU Department of Physics and the Innovation Hub at Research Park.

As mentioned above, one of the major challenges is attracting and keeping recent graduates in the fold. All graduates receive a one-year membership courtesy of President Schovanec’s office. Last year, we retained 19 percent of those graduates. That doesn’t seem like a very good number until you consider that the national average is just 7 percent. This is a major challenge for all universities.

The Official Texas Tech Class Ring Program continued to have record growth. We sold 1,883 rings in 2016. Of those, 1,379 people were eligible for the ring ceremonies, and we had 1,034 students attend the ring ceremonies.

In the fall, we had more than 150 student leaders attend our Student Leadership Reception along with President Schovanec.

The Texas Tech Legacy Program celebrated its sixth year of existence in 2016 by adding 698 new members for a total of 5,839 Legacies. The Legacy Program continued to engage future Red Raiders through Texas Tech birthday cards, gifts and programming throughout the year.

None of the things I have mentioned here would be possible without you. Thank you again.

GO TECH,

Bill Dean, Ed.D. President and CEO Texas Tech Alumni Association

Members in 2016 86% Members in

13

Different Countries

Contribution Breakdown

$2,154,545 Total Contributions

23%

222,528

monthly renewal letters

Total Alumni in U.S

TTAA Board President letter

201,285 Total ALumni in Texas

13% 11%

membership campaigns

2%

Telemarketing

2%

Military & Veterans Chapter

1%

TTAA Football pregame party 50.95% 48.96% 49.05% 50.95%

48% Other

TTAA Membership Breakdown

30,210

SAB & SAA

1,127

Total saa members

28

Total saB members

Scholarships

Student Alumni Board (SAB) members serve as ambassadors for the Texas Tech Alumni Association and the Student Alumni Association. The 2016 board participated in numerous TTAA events, as well as regional and national Council for Advancement and Support of Education Affiliated Student Advancement Programs (CASE ASAP) trips for workshops and leadership training.

SAA is sponsored by the Alumni Association, and strengthens the bond between students and alumni. Throughout the year, SAA is involved in social, career-oriented and school-unifying events.

$404,000 in funds

$10,000 grants

523 students

Administered and/or created by TTAA and its chapters

1

High Energy Llano Estacado program in the Department of Physics

2

Innovation Hub at Research Park

$145,000 204 students

Funded solely by chapters only

Chapters No matter where you are, connect or reconnect with other alumni and friends through the TTAA Chapter Network. Our regional chapters provide opportunities to network, volunteer, and socialize with fellow Red Raiders while also raising scholarship funds for students in your local areas.

Total:

75 Texas:

46

Offcial Texas Tech Class Ring Program

TTU GRads

1,883

8,058

rings sold

Young Alumni members

1,379

students eligible for ring ceremony

1,034

students attended ring ceremony

membership Institutions with an annual budget of more than one million saw, on average, that 7.5 percent of their alumni contributed to their respective alumni associations in 2016.

Texas Tech alumni contributed at a rate of 19 percent in 2016.

The Texas Tech Alumni Association has partnered with the Office of the President to provide every undergraduate student with a complimentary membership in the TTAA. This program is designed to engage young alumni and foster a lifelong connection with their alma mater.

$20,446 Frazier pregame memberships

144 New 402 reNew

legacies The Texas Tech Legacy Program provides children and grandchildren of TTAA members a fun way to start learning about Raiderland at an early age. Members receive Texas Tech birthday cards and gifts throughout their membership.

distinguished alumni award Since 1967, the Texas Tech Alumni Association has presented the Distinguished Alumni Award to the most prestigious graduates of Texas Tech University for their professional achievements, contributions to society and support of the university.

Past recipients have governed states, flown space missions, sung leading roles in the great opera houses of the world, served as CEO’s and military commanders, won Olympic Gold Medals and even performed heart surgery on celebrities such as Larry King and David Letterman.

2016 Honorees

Mark Lanier ’84 The Lanier Law Firm P.C., Houston, Texas

Jaston Williams ’71 Playwright Leander, Texas

distinguished service award The Distinguished Service Award was established in 1977 to recognize outstanding service to Texas Tech University or the Alumni Association. Alumni, friends of Texas Tech, as well as current and former employees of the university are eligible to receive the award or to submit a nomination.

Stephanie Rhode was selected as the 2016 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award.

Laura Nieto ’95 Senior Manager, Southwest Airlines Dallas, Texas

Lauro f. Cavazos award The Lauro F. Cavazos Award is presented to individuals who have made a positive impact on the university through outstanding accomplishments, acts of service and/or financial support.

The award was created in 1987 in honor of Lauro F. Cavazos, Ph.D., a sixthgeneration Texan who served as the 10th president of the university. He was the first Texas Tech alumnus and first Hispanic to hold that office.

John & Diane Scovell were selected as the 2016 recipients of the Lauro F. Cavazos Award.

top techsan awards Recognized as individuals who exemplify team spirit and extraordinary work proficiency, four individuals were honored at the Texas Tech Alumni Association’s 2016 Top Techsan Luncheon.

Dustin Delano Office of the Vice President for Research Kelly Fox, Ph. D. Higher Education Teaching Sites at Fredericksburg and Highland Lakes Zaida M. Gracia Whitacre College of Engineering Janelle Zamora University Career Center 2016 Top Techsans, L to R Kelly Fox, Ph. D.; Janelle Zamora; Dustin Delano; Zaida Gracia

2016 National Board of Directors Executive Committee

Special Positions

National Board of Directors

President Linda Rutherford ’88 Carrollton

Academic Recruiting Representative Peggy Adcox Maxwell ’76 Grapevine

Immediate Past President Tom C. Sellers ’77 Sulphur Springs

Athletic Council Representative Carey Hobbs ’58 Waco

President Elect Kristina Butts ’01, ’04 Washington, D.C.

Secretary & Legal Counsel John C. Sims ’65 Lubbock

Endowment Trust Board and Alumni Board Finance Chairman William D. “Bill” Brown ’76 Austin

Student Alumni Board Representatives Thad C. Brock ’16 Henrietta

President & CEO Bill Dean, Ed. D. ’61, ’65, ’71 Lubbock

Alex Arnold ’17 Lubbock Texas Tech University Ex-Officio Representative Lisa Calvert Lubbock

Ryan Barbles ’02 Houston

ReBecca Heidelberg ’00 Midland

Gary Shores ’63 Wichita Falls

Nancy Birdwell ’74 Albany

Staci Hernandez, M.D. ’99, ’03 Jerry Smith ’65, ’67 Georgetown Dallas

Michelle Bleiberg ’89 Dallas

Nancy Isom ’80 Idalou

Barry Street ’79 Kress Bobby Waddle ’55 DeSoto

Mandy A. Carr-Johnson, Ph. D Amy Gunter McLane ’97 Salado ’94, ’95, ’99 Highlands Ranch, Colo.

David A. Miller ’71 Heath Cheek ’03 Lubbock Dallas Nathan Nash ’05 Paul Foster ’80 Dallas San Antonio Vicki Nixon ’73 Mike Gayler ’81 Lubbock Coppell Timothy Parker ’94, ’96 Randy Golden ’77 Roswell, N.M. Dallas John Redmon ’71 Art Hall ’96 The Woodlands San Antonio

T. John Ward ’64 Longview Morris Wilkes ’75 Lubbock L. Bryant Williams, Jr. ’61 Kerrville

Texas TEch Alumni Association And Subsidiary Consolidated Statement of Activities For the years ended December 31, 2016, and 2015

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position For the years ended December 31, 2016, and 2015 Assets

2016

2015

1,061,368

1,831,435

354,215 28,724 2,184 98,756 49,942 5,539,985 240,776 2,765,299

275,397 158,294 4,729 168,384 47,946 5,794,007 240,776 2,794,622

10,241,250

11,315,590

140,297 12,346 29,667 134,590 23,238 68,382 164,009 50,000 Total Liabilities

314,401 134,862 130,618 23,238 338,381 151,625 622,528

Net Assets Unrestricted Temporarily Restricted Permanently Restricted

9,330,000 288,722

9,933,743 288,722

Total Net Assets

9,618,722

10,222,465

10,241,250

11,315,590

Cash and Cash Equivalents Receivables Accounts Receivables Contributions Receivables Employee Receivables Inventory Prepaid Expenses1 Restricted Cash and Receivables Property and Equipment Cash Surrender Value of Life Insurance Policies Other Assets Total Assets Liabilities and Net Assets Liabilities Accounts Payable Retirement Payable Accrued Liabilities Payroll Liabilities Accrued Compensated Absences Ring Deposits Due to Affiliate(s) Deferred Revenues Notes Payable 1,093,125

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

Revenue

2016

2015

Sales and Commissions Contributions Unrestricted In-Kind Contributions University Support Restricted Sponsorships Rental Income Programs and Special Events Techsan Magazine Revenues Royalty Income Investment Income Insurance Proceeds Gain (Loss) on Sale of Assets Assets Released From Restriction Miscellaneous Income

192,867

255,380

2,004,073 110,000 28,150 41,495 348,347 484,386 138,263 343,550 127,266 4,496 3,847

2,164,281 75,000 67,625 65,900 325,519 434,665 124,380 289,448 (12,527) 5,345

Total Revenue

3,826,742

3,795,016

Total Revenues and Other Support

3,826,742

3,795,016

Program Expenses Fundraising Expenses Management & General Expenses

2,406,619 891,764 932,101

2,050,574 802,572 932,704

Total Expenses

4,230,484

3,785,850

Increase in Net Assets from Operations

(403,742)

9,166

Contributions to Endowment Trust

(200,000)

(600,000)

10,222,465

10,813,299

9,618,722

10,222,465

Expenses

Net Assets, Beginning of the Year Net Assets, End of the Year UNAUDITED FINANCIAL INFORMATION Financial Information provided by Texas Tech Alumni Association Accounting Department

getting to know Texas Tech Alumni Association Board Members

FRANCISCO “PACO” HAMM IN WHAT CITY DO YOU RESIDE? Redondo Beach, California.

WHAT IS YOUR POSITION ON THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD? I am a new board member.

WHAT WAS YOUR MAJOR AND CLASS YEAR AT TECH, PLUS ANY OTHER DEGREES YOU MAY HAVE EARNED? I have a bachelor’s

degree in telecommunications from Texas Tech, 1988, and a master of liberal arts degree from Texas Christian University, 1992.

WHERE ARE YOU EMPLOYED AND WHAT IS YOUR POSITION? I am a United States Air

Force Lieutenant Colonel (RET). I currently am a freelance producer and development partner for WestSide Stories Entertainment with actor Jon Huertas.

WHAT ARE THE NAMES OF YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS? My kids are Carmen and Nicolas,

who both attend the University of Miami (Ohio).

MAJOR ACTIVITIES IN WHICH YOU WERE INVOLVED AS A STUDENT AT TECH: I was ac-

tive with KTXT-FM, The University Daily, Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and University Center Programs.

WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FONDEST MEMORIES FROM YOUR TECH DAYS? Attending my first football game at Jones Stadium and seeing all of the pageantry is one of my fondest memories. I had just arrived from growing up in Germany, so this was all new! Walking to class across Memorial Circle in my first haboob prepared me for several future trips to the Middle East–they got nothing on the haboobs that storm through West Texas! The most precious is the honor of wearing the scarlet and black while representing Texas Tech in cross country.

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU’VE ENJOYED SEEING OCCUR RECENTLY AT TEXAS TECH?

The amount of growth as a university in the areas of research, academics, facilities and, of course, sports. The caliber of new students and Tech’s continued importance in the state is impressive. And the Lazy River…wow!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK? “The Notebook.” (I made the mistake of reading it

while deployed to Iraq in 2004.)

WHAT IS THE LAST MOVIE YOU SAW? Just recently saw “Hacksaw Ridge” and “Lion”– both amazing. “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Cool Hand Luke” are two of my favorites.

WHAT ARE YOUR INTERESTS AND HOBBIES? I enjoy running, photography and travel

and usually incorporate all three.

WHAT CHARACTER TRAIT DO YOU VALUE HIGHLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL? Loyalty, integrity

and humility.

IF YOU COULD ASK FIVE OR SIX PEOPLE TO YOUR HOME FOR AN EVENING, WHO WOULD THEY BE? Antonio Banderas, Mark Twain, Peyton Manning, Agnetha

Fältskog (ABBA), Will Rogers and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf.

M A Y / J U N E 2 0 17

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alumni news COM PI LE D BY STE FAN I E WOLF

A G LI M PS E AT TE XAS TEC H’S H E R ITAG E

Students outside the Mathematics Building, going from class to class, in the 1957 “La Ventana.”

50

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TECHSAN

texastechalumni.org

1964

1984

1993

DAVID G. WIGHT (BS Petroleum

DANIEL HUERTA (BA Sociology) Dallas,

THE HONORABLE CHRIS OLDNER (JD

Engineering) Anchorage, Alaska, was

Texas, was promoted to executive general

Law) McKinney, Texas, has joined the

recently appointed by Alaska Gov.

manager of the City of Dallas Fair Park.

Dallas and Frisco offices of the family

Bill Walker to the Board of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. David retired from Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. in 2006 as CEO and president. He and his wife, Carla, have two children.

1975

1988 JAMES R. “JAY” OLD (JD Law) Austin,

Texas, a veteran trial attorney, has joined the Houston-based commercial litigation firm of Hicks Thomas LLP. He will continue to represent construc-

law boutique Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson, LLP, as Of Counsel. John is a former judge, having been appointed in 2003 by then Gov. Rick Perry to be the first judge of the newly created 416th District Court in Collin County, where he presided over both criminal and civil cases, including Family Law disputes. He served the 416th District for three full

JOHN HUTCHINGS (BAR Architecture

tion, insurance, petrochemical and

Design) Dallas, Texas, was elevated to

health care companies. Previously he

the American Institute of Architects

headed Jay Old & Associates with of-

(AIA) 2017 College of Fellows, one of the

fices in Austin and Beaumont. The five

highest honors the AIA can bestow up-

other attorneys from his former firm

on a member. He has led the creation of

are joining him at Hicks Thomas LLP.

one of the world’s most acclaimed sports

Jay is a former president of the Texas

practices, delivering architecturally and

Association of Defense Counsel and has

environmentally significant multi-use

chaired the Construction Law Section of

TRAVIS WALKER (BBA Management

facilities designed to be regionally ap-

the State Bar of Texas. He is board certi-

Information Systems, BBA General

propriate to revitalize cities globally. His

fied in Personal Injury Trial Law by the

Business) Dallas, Texas, was recently

wife is ALICE BRUFFEY HUTCHINGS (BS

Texas Board of Legal Specialization and

named director of business development

’74 Home Economics Education).

has been recognized on the Texas Super

for Dallas construction firm Corbet

Lawyers list every year since 2005.

Design + Build. In this position, Travis

1976 MARCIA ASCANIO (BAR Architecture

1989

Design, MS ’77 Interdisciplinary Studies)

KYLE COX (BAR Architecture) Boerne,

Dallas, Texas, was elevated to the

Texas, purchased custom home build-

American Institute of Architects (AIA)

ing franchise G.J. Gardner Homes. He

2017 College of Fellows, one of the high-

began expanding G.J. Gardner Homes

est honors the AIA can bestow upon

by selling franchises across the state of

a member. Marcia has raised the bar

Texas. His wife is KRIS WILLIAMSON COX

for the architectural industry through

(BS ’89 Physical Education).

her leadership in delivering unparalleled technical proficiency, setting high standards in quality management and technical education, and developing emerging architects through instrumental mentorships worldwide.

terms. Oldner also served as the presiding judge of Collin County Court Law 5 from 2000 to 2003 His wife is MARY COLLIER OLDNER (BA ’92, MA ’94).

1999

will oversee external marketing efforts, new projects and client acquisition. Prior to joining Corbet, Travis worked at PEServices, an engineering firm, where he assisted with business development. He also worked as a sales representative for Eclipse Aesthetics, increasing sales in his territory by 400 percent in one year.

SUZANNE “ZANNA” GUESS BOWLES (BS

Environmental Engineering) Richland, Washington, and her husband, Nathan, recently started their own business, GRAM Northwest, LLC. It is a multidiscipline environmental firm supporting client-based remediation projects. A

M A Y / J U N E 2 0 17

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51

A special thank you to our top-level members for their continued support.

Diamond ($5,000 or more annually) Mr. & Mrs. Bryant Bonner ’95 (Whitney Bonner ’96)

Mrs. Peggy B. LaFont ’61

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Breedlove ’70 (Lorrie Breedlove)

Mr. Rowland Lawson ’84

Lt. Col. Mark H. Bryant ’83

Mr. Glenn D. Moor ’84

Mr. & Mrs. Donald G. Chenault ’82 (Vicki L. Chenault)

Mr. & Mrs. John W. Redmon ’71 (Ann R. Redmon ’71)

Mr. & Mrs. Jason Elliott (Robin Elliott ’95)

Mr. & Mrs. Barry C. Street ’79 (SuDeline Street ’79)

Mrs. Helen J. Geick ’61

Mr. & Mrs. Randall W. Vines ’84 (Dona E. Vines ’86)

Platinum ($2,500 to $4,999 annually) Mr. G. Barney Adams ’75 (Kandy Adams ’75) Mr. & Mrs. Grant F. Adamson ’81 (Nelda S. Adamson) Mr. & Mrs. Mike Baca (Jan W. Baca ’70) Dr. & Mrs. Edward Broome ’68 (Jan L. Broome ’68) Mr. & Mrs. Robert F. Brown ’59 (Elena R. Brown) Mr. & Mrs. Steve L. Burleson ’83 (Elizabeth Burleson ’84) Ms. Maria R. Carter ’87 Mr. & Mrs. Clay Cash ’97 (Ashley B. Cash) Mr. Floyd E. Cotham, Jr. ’83 Mr. & Mrs. Lynn F. Cowden ’80 (Lisa Cowden) Mr. Richard R. Davila, II Mr. Daniel F. Frye, III ’73 Mr. Ralph G. Goodlet, Jr. ’82 Mr. & Mrs. J. Todd Gregory ’85 (Nancy Gregory) Mr. & Mrs. B.R. “Rip” Griffin (Geneva Griffin ’51) Mr. & Mrs. Will B. Hagood ’69 (Karen Hagood ’71) Mr. & Mrs. Ronnie D. Hammonds ’68 (Nancy L. Hammonds) Mrs. Julianna Hawn Holt ’69 Mr. H. Wayne Henry ’75 Mr. Bob L. Herd ’57 Dr. & Mrs. William W. Hinchey ’74 (Joann C. Hinchey) Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Hix ’70 (Leslie Hix ’71) Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Holloman ’80 (Karlene Holloman) Mr. Peter M. Holt Mr. & Mrs. Don J. Howe ’71 (Vickie Howe) Mr. & Mrs. Ken V. Huseman ’75 (Jaye M. Huseman) Mr. & Mrs. Tom W. Jacobs ’87 (Jerri L. Jacobs) Mr. & Mrs. Parker Johnson ’97 (Victoria Johnson) Mr. & Mrs. Eric M. Kuefler (LeAnne Kuefler ’92) Mr. & Mrs. Lanny G. Layman ’77 (Joni Layman ’79)

Mr. & Mrs. Mark R. Malone ’87 (Darcy Malone ’87) Mrs. & Mrs. Mark R. McGuire ’83 (Nancy Q. McGuire ’77) Mr. & Mrs. Michael McKenzie ’67 (Barbara McKenzie ’68) Mrs. Joyce W. Perkins ’64 Mr. & Mrs. Stephen S. Poore ’90 (Christina B. Poore) Mr. & Mrs. Joe H. Price (Mary Jo Price ’53) Mr. & Mrs. Michael Pubentz ’98 (Rebecca Pubentz ’99) Mr. & Mrs. Ben H. Ralston ’76 (Jeannie Ralston ’77) Dr. Nancy R. Ruff ’69 Mr. & Mrs. W. Joseph Sammons ’78 (Susan Sammons ’78) Mr. & Mrs. Robbie R. Sartain ’79 (Kathleen M. Sartain ’79) Mr. & Mrs. John Scovell ’68 (Diane Scovell ’68) Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth H. Sheffield, Jr. (Catherine Sheffield ’79) Mr. & Mrs. James E. Skinner ’74 (Alice B. Skinner) Mr. Gary T. Skrehart ’79 Ms. Anita R. Smith ’63 Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Smith ’65 (Gail Smith ’68) Mr. & Mrs. Tom S. Stacy ’75 (Melinda Stacy) Mr. & Mrs. Phil D. Staley ’70 (Sharon Staley ’71) Mr. & Mrs. Dale V. Swinburn ’65 (Cheryl Swinburn) Mr. & Mrs. Max Swinburn ’67 (Doris Swinburn) Mr. David F. Thomas ’83 Mr. & Mrs. Fred A. Underwood ’71 (Pam Underwood) Mr. Tommy W. Velasquez ’93 Mr. & Mrs. John B. Walker ’68 (Lisa A. Walker) Mr. Geoffrey L. Wayne, Sr. ’97 & Leslie G. Wayne, M.D. ’02 Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Weber, III ’77 (Debra Weber) Mr. & Mrs. Edward Whitacre ’64 (Linda Whitacre ’65) Mr. Dan White ’79 (Debbie White) Mr. & Mrs. John W. Wilkins, Jr. ’88 (Karen Wilkins)

*As of March 9, 2017

Gold ($1,000 to $2,499 annually) Mr. & Mrs. Mike R. Abbott ’63 (Diane Abbott) Mr. James D. Abbott ’48 Mr. & Mrs. Kevin L. Acosta (Arcilia C. Acosta ’89) Mr. Darrell W. Adams ’81 Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Adcox ’95 (Keeley K. Orman-Adcox ’95) Mr. & Mrs. David R. Akins ’01 (Amy R. Akins ’00) Dr. & Mrs. Richard G. Alexander ’58 (Janna Alexander) Mr. Robert Allen (Janice Allen) Mr. & Mrs. Bruce E. Anderson ’91 (Melissa Anderson) Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Anderson ’80 (Cynthia Anderson ’78) Mr. & Mrs. David Anderson ’84 (Susan Anderson ’85) Mr. & Mrs. Dennis W. Anthony ’75 (Loraine C. Anthony) Mr. & Mrs. C Kevin Atkins ’81 (Gay Atkins) Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Baker ’73 (Leslie E. Baker) Mr. & Mrs. David E. Barber ’65 (Sandra R. Barber) Dr. & Mrs. Carl A. Beard (Robin Beard ’12) Mr. & Mrs. Joe Beaty ’69 (Patricia Beaty ’75) Mr. & Mrs. Weston Benoit ’12 (Cat Benoit ’11) Dr. Francille Bergquist ’68 Mr. & Mrs. Oran H. Berry, III ’71 (Linda L. Berry ’70) Mr. & Mrs. Brent C. Bertrand ’87 (Tonya H. Bertrand ’86) Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Billstone (Stephanie Billstone ’95) Ms. Nancy L. Birdwell ’74 Mr. & Mrs. Colin R. Blair ’96 (Carolyn D. Blair ’95) Mr. William C. Bomberger ’79 Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Boutwell ’97 (Kasi Boutwell ’99) Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Boyd ’74 (DeLilah Boyd) Mr. & Mrs. Bennie R. Brigham ’65 (Mary Brigham ’66) Mr. & Mrs. Larry R. Britton ’69 (Judith A. Britton) Mr. C.H. Brockett ’75 Mr. & Mrs. Randy L. Broiles ’79 (Cindy L. Broiles) Mr. Alan D. Brown ’69 Mr. & Mrs. Eddie M. Brown ’60 (Billie G. Brown) Mr. & Mrs. William D. Brown ’74 (Karen E. Brown ’74) Mr. Patrick C. Bryan ’06 Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Bryant ’73 (Rebecca Bryant) Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Buckalew ’72 (Shelley Buckalew) Dr. J. Fred Bucy ’51 Mr. & Mrs. Pete Buniva (Sabrina Buniva ’87) Mr. Guy P. Burdett ’87 Mr. & Mrs. Randy Butts (Kristina Butts ’01, ’04) Mr. Jack L. Byrd ’56 Mr. & Mrs. Larry Byrd ’57 (Patricia Byrd) Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Cameron (June C. Cameron ’64) Mr. & Mrs. Ben D. Campbell ’77 (Marsha B. Campbell) Mr. & Mrs. Howard R. Carlson, IV ’08 (Ali Carlson) Mr. David R. Carter ’87 Mr. & Mrs. R. Don Cash ’66 (S. Kay Cash ’67) Mr. & Mrs. Eugene C. Chambers ’66 (Carole Chambers) Mr. & Mrs. Donald R. Champion ’69 (Robbie Champion ’69) Mr. & Mrs. Mark A. Cina ’75 (Anne G. Cina) Mrs. Peggy Clark ’64 Mr. & Mrs. Bobby D. Clifton ’73 (Rhonda Clifton) Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Copeland ’91 (Kristy S. Copeland ’90) Mr. & Mrs. David Copple ’91 (Marquel Copple) Mr. James D. Cox ’04 Col. Jimmy D. Cox ’63 Mr. & Mrs. Brenton A. Croley ’96 (Carrie E. Croley ’95) Dr. & Mrs. Charles F. Cruser ’76 (Salty Cruser) Mr. & Mrs. Tim G. Culp ’81 (Annette L. Culp ’81) Mr. & Mrs. Charles Cummings ’59 (Barbara Cummings) Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Cummins ’75 (Barbara Cummins) Mr. & Mrs. Jim Daniel (Mary Daniel ’78) Mr. & Mrs. Cody W. Davis ’11 (Ashley N. Davis ’12) Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth G. Davis ’84 (Lisa G. Davis) Mr. & Mrs. Sean D. Davis ’86 (Donna Davis) Mr. & Mrs. Enoch L. Dawkins ’60 (Frances S. Dawkins) Dr. & Dr. Miles R. Day (Audra R. Day ’99) Dr. & Mrs. Bill F. Dean ’61 (Peggy M. Dean ’66) Ms. Jane B. Dickson ’74 Dr. & Mrs. Michael A. Doherty ’73 (Ginger R. Doherty) Mr. & Mrs. Jim A. Douglass ’70 (Patti Douglass ’85) Mr. & Mrs. Michael Dowdey ’88 (Cynthia Dowdey ’88) Ms. Laurie Dowell ’71 Mr. & Mrs. John C. Downs ’66 (Edie Downs) Captain & Mrs. David A. Drake ’82 (Paige A. Drake) Mr. Atlee R. DuBose ’96 Chancellor & Mrs. Robert L. Duncan ’76 (Terri G. Duncan) Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Eakens ’72 (Bonny Eakens) Mr. & Mrs. Gayle M. Earls ’59 Mr. & Mrs. Stan J. Edwards ’68 (Jane Edwards) Mr. & Mrs. Michael S. Erspamer ’73 (Patty Erspamer ’74) Mr. & Mrs. C. Robert Fabling ’69 (Lee Fabling) Mr. Quinton A. Farley ’81, ’85 Mr. Andrew Fickman ’88 Mr. & Mrs. Joe A. Fralick (Celeste R. Fralick ’88) Mr. & Mrs. Ricky Gaddis (Melinda Gaddis ’84) Dr. Steven G. Gamble ’67 Mr. & Mrs. James L. Gaspard ’72 (Dinah A. Gaspard ’72) Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Gellner ’07 (Mary A. Gellner ’05) Mr. & Mrs. Donald J. Gillilan ’97 (Melonie Gillilan) Mr. & Mrs. Bryan B. Gossett ’73 (Nancy K. Gossett) Dr. Addison Gradel ’82 Mr. & Mrs. Robert Graves ’70 (Susan Graves) Hon. & Mrs. William Gray ’64 (Lanette Gray) Mr. & Mrs. Thomas R. Green ’64 (Mary Ann Green ’64) Dr. & Mrs. Dan Guy (Terri S. Guy ’73) Dr. & Mrs. Nadim G. Haddad ’88 (Christine Haddad)

Mr. & Mrs. Jon C. Hale, Jr. ’80 (Gaye R. Hale) Chancellor Emeritus Kent Hance ’65 Mr. & Mrs. Keith R. Hansen ’68 (Glenda G. Hansen) Mr. & Mrs. Owen Harrison ’73 (Lois Harrison) Dr. Robert I. Hart ’80 Mr. & Mrs. Jim Hart ’83 (Susan M. Hart ’83) Mr. Terence Hart ’75 Mr. & Mrs. Tim A. Hatch ’51 (Tommie A. Hatch ’51) Mr. & Mrs. Mark Havins (Karen A. Havins ’93) Mr. & Mrs. Bob D. Hayter ’72 (Nancy Hayter) Mr. & Mrs. Daniel W. Heinchon ’81 (Nita C. Heinchon ’81) Mr. & Mrs. Alan R. Henry ’64 (Cassandra L. Henry ’67) Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. Hervey ’73 (Emilee G. Hervey) Mr. William H. Hervey ’49 Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Hilbun ’95 (Stephanie Hilbun ’95) Mr. Robert W. Hodge, II Mr. & Mrs. Gregory R. Hoes ’86 (Lori Hoes) Mr. & Mrs. Ted Hogan Jr. ’77 (Joellen Hogan ’76) Mr. & Mrs. Kevin P. Holleron ’94 (Mona K. Holleron) Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Hood ’60 (Kyle T. Hood) Mr. Stanley K. Horton ’86 Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Huckabee ’91 (Robin Huckabee ’92) Mr. & Mrs. Jimmie B. Hunt ’56 (Betsy H. Hunt) Mr. & Mrs. Rex Isom ’78 (Nancy Isom ’80) Mr. & Mrs. Steven T. Jeffcoat ’96 (Lesley H. Jeffcoat ’96) Mr. & Mrs. Roger Jeschke ’74 (Deni Jeschke) Mr. & Mrs. John B. Jeter ’90 (Ann Marie Jeter) Mr. & Mrs. Wilbur H. Johnson ’65 (Patricia J. Johnson) Mr. & Mrs. H. David Jones ’69 (Cindy R. Jones) Mr. & Mrs. Todd Johnson (Mandy A. Carr-Johnson ’94) Mr. & Mrs. Troy D. Jones ’57 (Lona F. Jones) Mr. Van Josselet ’74 Mr. & Mrs. Phillip S. Kahlich ’09 (Kara Kahlich ’09) Mr. & Mrs. T.W. Kendra (Anne-Marie Kendra ’77) Mr. & Mrs. Mark A. Key ’94 (Cynthia Key) Major Anthony D. Killa ’95 Mr. & Mrs. Ryan A. Kimberling ’08 (Jamie Kimberling) Mr. & Mrs. M. Chris Kirksey ’84 (Betsy B. Kirksey ’83) Mr. Derek D. Klaus ’12 Mr. & Mrs. Terry G. Knighton ’80 (Patricia Knighton) Mr. & Mrs. Gaylon Kornfuehrer ’57 (Barbara Kornfuehrer) Mr. Kenton D. Krejci ’88 Dr. John Kuczek ’00 Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Lathem ’94 (Carol Lathem ’94) Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Laudermill ’01 (Mindy Laudermill) Mr. & Mrs. Dan C. Lewis ’73 (Debra A. Lewis) Mr. & Mrs. Justin Lian (Lauren E. Lian ’05) Mr. & Mrs. James R. Lindley ’60 (Bernice G. Lindley) Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Loveless ’93 (Stacy Loveless ’92) Dr. & Mrs. Julio F. Madrigal ’82 (Dolores Madrigal) Lt. General Wendy M. Masiello ’80 Mr. & Mrs. Bob Mayo ’69 (Jo Mayo ’71) Mr. & Mrs. Jim McCarley ’87 (Myra L. McCarley ’86) Mr. & Mrs. George McCleskey, III (Royan McCleskey ’95) Mr. & Mrs. Brian F. McCoy ’75 (Wetonnah L. McCoy) Mr. & Mrs. Paul McDonald ’81 (Karen P. McDonald ’81) Mr. & Mrs. George G. McDuff ’58 (Beverly J. McDuff ’54) Mr. & Mrs. Ryan McKenzie ’98 (Kathleen McKenzie ’04) Mr. & Mrs. David H. McLellan ’76 (Theresa B. McLellan) Mr. & Mrs. George H. McMahan (Linda M. McMahan) Mr. & Mrs. Kevin McMahon ’73 (Karen McMahon ’73) Mr. & Mrs. Robert McNaughton ’84 (Anne McNaughton ’76) Mr. & Mrs. C. Aaron McNeece ’64 (Sherri McNeece) Mr. & Mrs. Philip L. Meaders ’84 (Lamar Meaders) Mr. & Mrs. Kyle J. Meismer ’03 (Jacklyn Meismer) Dr. John S. Menzies ’75 Ms. Patsy Middleton ’57 Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Miers ’82 (Sarah Miers) Mr. & Mrs. Lon E. Miller ’71 (Gertrude P. Miller ’65) Mr. & Mrs. Jacob A. Miller ’01 (Erica Miller) Mr. & Mrs. Tim G. Miller ’82 (Kyla Miller) Dr. Carolina Moctezuma ’99 Mr. Robert K. Moeck ’78 (Sara H. Moeck ’81) Mr. & Mrs. Dudley Montgomery ’52 (Patty Montgomery) Mr. Michael J. Montgomery ’76 Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Moore ’56 (Dorothy E. Moore) Mr. & Mrs. Joshua C. Moose ’04 (Kristin M. Moose ’04) Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Morris ’99 (Leslie Morris) Mr. Kevin G. Morton ’83 Mrs. Janet Moseley ’65 Mr. & Mrs. Tommy Mrazek ’75 (Debra Mrazek ’81) Ms. Jennifer L. Neff ’91 Dr. Susan E. Nelson Mr. & Mrs. Jerry W. Nevans ’81 (Shelli Nevans) Mr. & Mrs. Lyndel A. Newsom ’55 (Billie Newsom) Mr. Coby B. Nichols ’98 Mr. & Mrs. Benny D. Nixon ’74 (Vicki Nixon ’73) Mr. & Mrs. Michael W. Norton ’85 (Melanie T. Norton ’86) Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth W. Norvell ’74 (Deborah Norvell) Mr. & Mrs. David Overholt (Selena Overholt ’02) Mr. & Mrs. John C. Owens ’71 (Cynthia Owens ’73) Dr. & Mrs. Brian R. Papworth ’88 (Mardi Papworth) Mr. Bob J. Paradiso ’79 Mr. Paul E. Pardaen ’05 Mr. & Mrs. Joe J. Parker, Jr. ’73 (Marjorie Parker ’73) Mr. Paul E. Parkinson ’74 (Crystal Parkinson) Mr. Andy Payne ’65 (Mary-Lees Payne) Mr. & Mrs. Gary S. Payne (Debbie Payne)

Mr. Gary R. Petersen ’68 Mr. & Mrs. Mike J. Petraitis ’79 (Martha M. Petraitis ’81) Mr. & Mrs. J. Steven Phillips ’93 (Stacey Phillips ’93) Mr. & Mrs. David R. Pickering (Lugene L. Pickering ’77) Mr. Bruce A. Pike ’97 Mr. & Mrs. Steven Pomerantz (Karen Tandy Pomerantz ’74) Mr. & Mrs. Vernon Pruett ’78 (Debra Pruett) Mr. & Mrs. Scott R. Pullen ’80 (Carroll A. Pullen) Mr. & Mrs. Terry H. Putman ’69 (Mendy W. Putman ’81) Mr. & Mrs. Gil H. Radtke ’82 (Ann G. Radtke) Mr. & Mrs. Sean D. Rae ’05 (Corrie C. Rea ’05) Mr. & Mrs. Samuel M. Ray, IV ’66 (Sandra Ray) Mr. Jerry S. Rawls ’67 Mr. & Mrs. Steve D. Reichmuth ’72 (Barbara Reichmuth) Mr. & Mrs. Sam Rich (Jacque M. Rich ’72) Mr. & Mrs. David D. Ricks ’82 (Jill Ricks) Mr. & Mrs. Deaton Rigsby ’54 (Jan Rigsby) Mr. & Mrs. Walter Rinehart ’60 (Joyce Rinehart) Mrs. Janet O. Rippy Dr. & Mrs. T.C. Robinson, IV ’89 (Michelle Robinson) Mrs. Kathy Hager Roberts ’72 Mr. & Dr. Keith J. Rogers (Brooks Rogers, M.D. ’87) Ms. Terry L Rolan ’85 Mr. & Mrs. John E. Roueche, III ’88 (Elise W. Roueche) Mr. & Mrs. John H. Saenz ’96 (Suzanne Saenz ’95) Dr. & Mrs. Martin Salazar ’78 (Margie Salazar) Mr. Alan J. Sales ’75 Mrs. Sammie Saulsbury ’58 Dr. Alan C. Schauer ’77 (Regina Schauer) Mr. & Mrs. Ryan W. Schneider ’01 (Mindy B. Schneider ’02) Mr. & Mrs. Ricky C. Scott ’81 (Lori J. Scott ’80) Mr. & Mrs. Jerry W. Selfridge ’60 (Sue Selfridge) Mr. & Mrs. Joe M. Shannon ’89 (Brooke M. Shannon ’88) Mr. & Mrs. David E. Sharbutt ’71 (Patsy Sharbutt) Mr. Josh M. Shuster ’00 Dr. & Mrs. Kevin Sieck ’95 (Tisha Sieck) Ms. Sharon J. Simandl Mr. Reagan W. Simpson & Nancy Simpson, Ph.D ’75 Mrs. Tammy Skrehart Mr. Kenneth L. Slack, Jr. ’71 Mr. & Mrs. Bobby L. Smith ’80 (Sabrina T. Smith) Mr. & Mrs. Drue Smith ’93 (Jill A. Smith ’92) Mr. & Mrs. John P. Smith (Ashlee M. Smith ’07) Mr. & Mrs. Lesley K. Smith ’86 (Amy V. Smith) Mr. & Mrs. Lucian Smith ’74 (Kristin Smith ’76) Mr. & Mrs. Marlis Smith ’54 (Shirley Smith ’54) Mr. & Mrs. Robert D. Smith ’82 (Tabitha Smith) Mr. & Mrs. William Snyder ’55 (Sally Snyder) Mr. & Mrs. Stephen R. Souter ’71 (Jill H. Souter) Mr. & Mrs. Bryan A. Springston ’81 (Sheri E. Springston ’81) Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Stallings ’74 (Kathy P. Stallings) Mr. & Mrs. Clifford Stewart (Lynne Stewart ’78) Mr. & Mrs. Thomas G. Stewart, Jr. ’76 (Tricia Stewart) Reverend Stephen Stine ’72 Mr. & Mrs. James H. Stone ’50 (Evelyn Stone ’48) Mr. David L. Stoneking ’77 Mr. Chase Street ’05 Mr. & Mrs. Larry G. Strickland ’70 (Linda F. Strickland) Mr. Clayton R. Sykes ’09 Mr. & Mrs. Cloyce A. Talbott ’58 (Anita P. Talbott ’91) Ms. Amy L. Taylor ’91 Mr. & Mrs. Lance L. Taylor ’99 (Dawn M. Taylor ’00) Ms. Allison L. Thompson ’02 Mrs.Tracy Thrash Mr. & Mrs. Fred Timberlake, Jr. ’68 (Kay G. Timberlake) Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Turner ’68 (Diane Turner ’68) Mr. Bobby G. Waddle ’55 Mr. & Mrs. John P. Wald, Jr. ’80 (Karen M. Wald ’80) Mr. & Mrs. David W. Walker ’51 (Virginia C. Walker) Mr. & Mrs. Ben B. Wallace ’76 (Patricia H. Wallace) The Honorable & Mrs. T. John Ward ’64 (Elizabeth Ward ’86) Mr. James M. Watson ’58 Mr. David F. Webber ’88 Mr. & Mrs. Dan G. Webster, III ’61 (Molly I. Webster) Mr. & Mrs. James S. Werner ’91 (Cheryl E. Werner ’91) Mr. & Mrs. David G. Wight ’64 (Carla Wight) Mr. & Mrs. Gary B. Wilcox ’81 (Angie L. Wilcox) Mr. & Mrs. Andy Williams ’91 (Camille Williams) Mr. & Mrs. Bryant Williams ’98 (Alison E. Williams) Mr. & Mrs. L. Bryant Williams, Jr.’61 (Brenda Williams) Mr. & Mrs. Chris Williams ’86 (Lezlee Williams ’87) Mrs. Jamelle Williams Mr. & Mrs. Tom W. Williams ’85 (Molly Williams ’84) Ms. Mary Jane Williamson ’62 Mr. & Mrs. L. E. Willis, III ’84 (Lorie L. Willis) Mr. & Mrs. W. Eric Wilson ’92 (Jackie L. Wilson) Mr. Warner Wish & Karen Wish, Ph. D ’97 Dr. & Mrs. Gary B. Wood ’73 (Sheryl Wood) Mr. Lee Wright ’87 Mr. Randy Wright ’68 Dr. & Mrs. Scott W. Wyrick ’87 (Lenore P. Wyrick) Mr. Wesley B. Youngblood ’74 Mr. & Mrs. John D. Zwiacher ’74 (Ann L. Zwiacher)

*As of March 9, 2017

alumni news diverse science and engineering consulting company, GRAM NW is equipped with a wide range of interdisciplinary expertise in hydrology, geology, environmental science, environmental engineering, and project management. They have seven children.

2002 SHERI DONNELL MUDD (BA Public

Relations, MA Mass Communications) Lubbock, was promoted to director of sales for Nexstar Broadcasting (KAMC/ ABC TV and KLBK/CBS TV). In 2016, she was a recipient of the Texas Tech University College of Media & Communications “Outstanding Alumni” Award, received the Make-A-Wish

Call or visit our website for Season Tickets Payment Plans are available (806) 742-TECH 54

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TECHSAN

texastechalumni.org

TEXASTECH.COM

THE UNEXPECTED

YES

See how opportunity brought one Red Raider into health care and back to Lubbock.

Laura Valdez, nurse manager for Covenant Children’s ER and Texas Tech alumna.

Sometimes all it takes is one decision to change the course of your life, the course of your career. Saying yes can often take you to cities, places and into jobs you never dreamed. For New Mexico native Laura Valdez, it was a decision to take a college job at Covenant Health while attending Texas Tech University that forever changed the course of her life.

“When I was a senior in high school, my interest was interior design, and Texas Tech was the only university in the area that had an affiliated program,” Valdez said.

“When I was an interior design major, I got a job in the lab at Covenant.”

After spending time in the lab, Valdez knew she wanted to be more involved with patients, to stay in health care and go into something more personal.

“One day I was sitting in the cafeteria, and I saw a nurse bring her patient down,” Valdez said. “The interaction between the nurse and the patient was phenomenal, and I knew then that I needed to go into nursing.”

Valdez applied to the Covenant School of Nursing, graduated and worked in the children’s ER for two years before taking a job opportunity in Dallas. Seven and a half years later, Valdez decided to return to Lubbock.

“I wanted to come back home to Lubbock, to Covenant, to the nurses who had taught and shown me how to be a nurse,” Valdez said. “Covenant is the only health network with a children’s hospital between Albuquerque and Fort Worth. For me, it was the perfect fit.”

Aside from her professional reasons, there were other factors that ultimately influenced her decision.

“My son was just starting school, and I had heard great things about the school system in Lubbock and knew I wanted him there,” Valdez said. “And I had such a great experience with churches. I wanted to get my family involved in a church, and I knew I could do that in Lubbock.”

ADVERTORIAL

Valdez chats with a patient.

Now, Valdez serves as the nurse manager for the Covenant Children’s ER where she’s come full circle professionally, and helps grow and train nurses.

“We provide the best pediatric care in the region,” she said. “We are expanding into eastern New Mexico, and we get to see people that are traveling from their home and offer them a new home while they are in Lubbock.”

And Covenant, along with other local health care providers, continues to grow and expand.

“One of my greatest pleasures in my role is looking at the surprise on the faces of physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and other medical professionals interviewing here from some of the big-name medical schools and health systems and being able to say, ‘Yes, we have that specialty, service or center of excellence right here at Covenant Health,’” said Karen Baggerly, chief nursing officer at Covenant Medical Center. “Lubbock is an advanced medical community, offering the same or even more comprehensive levels of services than are found in larger metropolitan markets.”

Aside from being an advanced medical community, Baggerly also notes that Lubbock itself is a city of opportunity.

“Lubbock truly is a community of innovation without the hassles or traffic found in big cities,” she said. “Health care professionals seeking growth and the ability to make a difference will find the career of a lifetime here.”

And to make it easier for job-seeking health care professionals to find available positions, the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance (LEDA) has stepped in to act as a conduit between job seekers and health care entities.

“The health care industry is a leading force in our local economy,” said Christine Allen, director of workforce development for LEDA. “LEDA has listened to our health care organizations, and we are assisting with the effort to recruit highly skilled, in-demand employees to our community.”

One way LEDA is accomplishing this task is through return2lbk.org, which features concentrated, valuable job openings in a variety of industries.

“Aside from available job openings, return2lbk.org offers information about life in Lubbock and video testimonials of former alumni/Lubbockites who returned to the ‘Hub City,’” Allen said.

In fact, Lubbock has been recognized nationally for its wealth of opportunity and was recently named one of the top 10 cities to find a job by Fortune.com. It was also recognized as the 68th Best City for Millennials on Millennial Personal Finance’s list of Top 150 Cities for Milliennials.

“We’ve always had an excellent quality of life in Lubbock,” said John Osborne, president and CEO of LEDA. “Now Lubbock is investing in a variety of ways to enhance it. In the last few years, we’ve seen dozens of restaurants and retail stores come online, and our local attractions continue to grow and expand, making Lubbock a well-balanced city that people want to live and work in.”

As for Valdez and her son, they do not have plans to leave anytime soon.

“Lubbock is an area of growth,” Valdez said. “I have opportunities to grow in my career, and my son has opportunities to learn and grow. It is such an exciting time, especially in the health care field. I would tell others who are thinking about moving back to come grow with us.”

For more available health care positions and other employment opportunities in Lubbock, please visit www.return2lbk.org or call 800.687.5330.

Valdez and her son, Mason, enjoy a Texas Tech basketball game.

alumni news North Texas Waltzing for Wishes “Best

member of the New Home PTO and a

the Cattle Baron’s Ball committee, a

All Around” Celebrity Dancer and the

youth committee member of New Home

Lubbock Lemonade Day Bank Loan

American Cancer Society’s “Silver Stirrup

Baptist Church.

Day Chairman and a volunteer for

Volunteer Award” as well. She was also

2004

a recipient of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce’s “Twenty under Forty” Award at the end of 2015. She and her husband, Bryan, have three children.

JODI WIED SMITH (BS Agricultural and

Applied Economics) Lubbock, was promoted to senior vice president for First United Bank. She has 20 years of experience in the financial industry and has been with the bank for 14 years.

Jodi is the vice president of the New Home athletic booster club, a member of the New Home FFA booster club, a TTAAAad_Oct.16.pdf

1

9/15/16

St. Benedict’s Chapel. Her husband is JASON PUNCHARD (BGS ’98).

2006

AMY PITTMON PUNCHARD (BA Public

Relations) Lubbock, was promoted to senior vice president for First United

RYAN GRAY (BS Interdisciplinary

Bank. She has five years of experi-

Agriculture) Petersburg, Texas, an-

ence in the financial industry and 13

nounced his retirement from rodeo on

years of experience in marketing. Amy

Nov. 13, 2016. Ryan has been one of the

serves on the board for the Lubbock-

most accomplished bareback riders in

Cooper Education Foundation and the

the world throughout the last decade.

Louise Hopkins Underwood Center

He qualified for the National Finals

for the Arts. She is a part of the

Rodeo eight times, including seven in a

UMC Gala Underwriting Committee,

row. His wife is LACY BOHLANDER GRAY (BGS ’06).

8:11 AM

The University Career Center is accepting gently worn, like new, professional clothing for the Career Closet!

We invite Texas Tech Alumni to donate clean, quality clothing that is three years old or less to TTU students.

C

M

Y

Below is a list of the types of clothing that are needed to stock our closet:

CM

MY

CY

CMY

Suits, Dress Pants, Long Sleeved Dress Shirts Blazers, Dress Slacks, Dark Socks Ties, Belts, Dress Shoes

K

Suits, Dresses, Dress Pants, Blouses, Skirts Scarfs & Accessories Dress Shoes

For more information, please contact Toni Krebbs at toni.d.krebbs@ttu.edu, or by phone at 806-742-2210 M A Y / J U N E 2 0 17

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59

alumni news & Associates, has been awarded the

WESTON D. HARDING (BS Agricultural

Accredited Asset Management Specialist

and Applied Economics) Chicago,

(AAMS) professional designation. AAMS

Illinois, owner of X Plus Real Estate, was ranked in the top 1 percent of all realtors in Chicago through the Chicago Association of Realtors. For the past five years, he has been ranked in the top 10 percent. His business has been growing year after year, with 2016 being the best yet, closing out at more than $20,000,000 in sales.

2008

2011

designees distinguish themselves not only

LAILA HAJJI DOWN (BS Interdisciplinary

by identifying opportunities in investment

Agriculture) Johnston, Iowa, has started

planning, but also by making comprehen-

her own coaching, speaking and fa-

sive recommendations to meet a broad

cilitation company, Point One. This

range of financial goals. Jennifer joined

company works with managers and

the firm in 2016 and has eight years of ex-

teams through coaching, speaks at vari-

perience in the financial services industry.

ous events from youth conferences to

She serves women, retirees, business own-

corporate meetings, and offers sales

ers and families and offers financial and

training and leadership facilitation. Her

retirement planning, insurance, education

husband is Kevin.

and long-term care planning and 401(k) and portfolio management.

JENNIFER H. DAYOUB (BBA Finance)

El Paso, Texas, a financial advisor at the El Paso office of Raymond James

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alumni news

In Memoriam JETTIE LEE EVANS AUTRY ’64, Fort Worth, Texas, died Oct. 8, 2016.

DONALD R. “DON” AVERY ’57, Whitharral, Texas, died Dec. 24, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Lois.

KYLE KIM BOOTH ’81, Dallas, Texas, died Oct. 3, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn.

JAMES E. “BUCK” CANNON ’58, Asheville, North Carolina, died July 15, 2016. He is survived by his wife, KAY ROBINSON CANNON ’57.

KENNETH OTTO CARTER ’52, Lubbock, died Dec. 19, 2016.

WILLIAM CLAY CUMMINS ’58, Fort Worth, Texas, died Sept. 5, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Kathie.

TRAM BAO DU , a student, Midland, Texas, died Dec. 15, 2016.

MARY ELLEN CARR EMERY ’57, Colleyville, Texas, died June 20, 2016. She is survived by her husband, Jim. JAMES CARL ETHRIDGE ’78, Lubbock, died Dec. 31, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Diane.

TWILA CAGLE FORBES ’66, ’77, Lubbock, died Dec. 19, 2016. She is survived by her husband, TERRY FORBES ’71, ’76.

NITA SULLIVAN GIBSON ’71, Lubbock, died March 17, 2016.

WILLIAM ELDRED “BILL” GLIDEWELL ’65, Lewisville, Texas, died Oct. 7, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Shirley.

JACKIE SUSAN ETHEREDGE HAMPTON ’83, ’99, Lubbock, died Dec. 20, 2016. She is survived by her husband, BILLY DON HAMPTON ’81.

SARAH PINSON HARP ’60, Plano, Texas, died Aug. 7, 2016. She is survived by her husband, LEON P. HARP ’57.

RICK LEE HARRIS ’74, Lubbock, died Jan. 6. He is survived by his wife, Muffy.

DERRELL JENNINGS ’64, Shallowater, Texas, died Jan. 12. He is survived by his wife, Glenda.

CAROLYN JAN JOHNSON ’73, Lubbock, died Dec. 20, 2016.

SIDNEY SILAS KOTHMANN ’67, Dallas, Texas, died Nov. 23, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Jane.

KRISTI PAULK LANKFORD ’95, Sundown, Texas, died Dec. 29, 2016.

BETTY HAMILTON LAROE ’56, Lubbock, died Jan. 23.

PATRICK MICHAEL MCBRIDE ’95, Dallas, Texas, died Oct. 3, 2016.

JERRY DEWAYNE MCLAUGHLIN, II , M.D.,’86, Longview, Texas, died Jan. 20. He is survived by his wife, Sundi.

ROBERT PAUL MCMILLEN ’78, Lubbock, died Dec. 28, 2016.

RICHARD TODD MINCKLER ’92, College Station, Texas, died Feb. 2. He is survived by his wife, JENNIFER SELLERS MINCKLER ’93.

MARK GREGORY MITCHELL , a student, The Woodlands, Texas, died Feb. 1.

NORMA AKIN TAYLOR-MORRISON ’50, ’59, Irving, Texas, died Dec. 21, 2016. She is survived by her husband, J.B. PATSY ANN WATSON NARMOUR ’59, Lubbock, died Jan. 17. She is survived by her husband, REG NARMOUR ’63.

DON NELSON ’55, Tulia, Texas, died Jan. 14. He is survived by his wife, Marlene.

WILLIAM MACK NOBLE ’54, Lubbock, died Jan. 17. He is survived by his wife, Marilynn.

QUINTON MATTHEW NOEL , a student, The Woodlands, Texas, died Jan. 31.

ED G. PARKS ’65, Victor, Montana, died Dec. 29, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Mary.

JOSEPH T. PATTON ’53, Lubbock, died Dec. 29, 2016.

JOHN DOUGLAS “DOUG” QUEEN ’70, Casper, Wyoming, died Dec. 5, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Kristin.

LARRY HUBER SENKEL ’70, Houston, Texas, died March 28, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Carol.

JAMES E. SEVER ’49, Lubbock, died Jan. 3. He is survived by his wife, Una. BLAKE DEAN SHUTTLESWORTH ’79, McKinney, Texas, died Dec. 30, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Pam. ALBERT STEINFATH ’52, Lubbock, died Dec. 25, 2016. He is survived by his wife, SHIRLEY HAIRGROVE STEINFATH ’54.

DEBORAH DOUGLAS SYKES ’77, Ballinger, Texas, died Jan. 28. She is survived by her husband, TOM SYKES ’76.

SUE GARRETT THREADGILL ’43, San Antonio, Texas, died April 30, 2016.

ROY EARL TIDWELL, JR. , ’90, Tyler, Texas, died Jan. 18. He is survived by his wife, Terrilyn.

KENNETH LEE WILLIS ’49, Floydada, Texas, died Jan. 1. He is survived by his wife, Barbara.

RON L. YANDELL ’78, Mineral Wells, Texas, died Dec. 27, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Cora.

M A Y / J U N E 2 0 17

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63

student spotlight COM PI LE D BY J EAN AN N CANTOR E

SARAHI MORALES , a graduate student and re-

search assistant in the Department of Agricultural Education & Communications in the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, was selected as a 2017 Next Generation Delegate for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Global Food Security Symposium March 28-30 in Washington, D.C. She was chosen from a pool of more than 600 students representing 313 universities and almost 90 countries.

Morales’ research focuses on food security and agricultural leadership in various corners of the world. She examined how the traditional leadership structure in certain South African tribes limited food security when promoting extension programs, and in another study, she examined how government-sponsored agricultural investment to promote economic growth affected food security and dietary diversity in households in Honduras, her home country.

TE X A S TEC H U N I V ERS I TY

School of Law students RYLEY

BENNET, BRIAN BURKHARDT, BRENT DEBNAM and ANDREA NFODJO won the American Bar Association Arbitration National Championship in January in Chicago. This title is the school’s fifth ABA Arbitration Championship and third since 2012.

In November, the Arbitration Team traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, and captured the Law School’s 98th regional advocacy championship. The national title also marks the school’s 40th advocacy championship by going undefeated at the national rounds of the competition.

THE AC A DEM IC QUA DRAT H L ON (AQ) team in the Department of Animal & Food Sciences won the Southern Section AQ competition at the Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center in Spring Hill, Tennessee in February. The team from Texas Tech consists of seniors DARBY GONZALES and MICHAELA PINDER , junior BLAYNE TROXELL and sophomore DEAN CHAPMAN .

The competition, sponsored by the American Society of Animal Science, pits teams from colleges across the country in four categories over a two-day period—lab practicum, written exams, oral presentations and a quiz bowl competition.

This year marked the second year Texas Tech has participated. The Texas Tech team finished first in the quiz bowl competition and took second place in both lab practicum and the written exam to finish first overall.

Auburn University finished second, followed by Texas A&M University in third.

64

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TECHSAN

texastechalumni.org

T H E T E X A S T E C H Chapter of Define American, a campus organization that creates a community for undocumented students, was nominated as the Define American College Chapter of the Year, placing second overall.

Texas Tech is home to the first collegiate chapter of Define American. In Fall 2013, ALIZA WONG, PH.D. , associate professor of history and associate dean in the Texas Tech Honors College, invited journalist and CEO of Define American, JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS , to speak as part of the Open Teaching Concepts Series. SABA NAFEES , a current Texas Tech graduate student, shared her story with Vargas and invited him to return in Spring 2014 for a screening of his documentary, “Documented.”

This event inspired Vargas to create college chapters across the nation. Nafees and Wong continued to spread the word of Define American. Christopher Ponce is current president of the chapter. At the end of the 2015-2016 school year, the Texas Tech Chapter of Define American was registered as an official student organization.

media won 39 awards from Columbia Scholastic Press Association and were named finalists in Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards Recognition for work completed during the 2015-16 school year. Staff members of the “La Ventana” yearbook, The Daily Toreador newspaper and The Hub@TTU multimedia publication are among the 2017 Gold Circle Award winners, “La Ventana” received 20 awards, while The Daily Toreador earned 13 digital awards.

The Gold Circle Awards recognize excellence in reporting, writing, video, photography and design for yearbooks and digital media.

Additional awards for print newspapers and magazines will be announced later this year. The Daily Toreador and The Hub@TTU also were named finalists in the upcoming Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards.

T E X A S T E C H ’ S S T U DE N T- OPE R AT E D

Dr. Harvinder Gill Associate Professor & Whitacre Endowed Chair of Science and Engineering

Any child will tell you that shots hurt. Dr. Harvinder Gill would like to change that. His research in an oral vaccine delivery system that uses pollen grains as the vehicle for vaccine delivery could change how we look at vaccinations. This innovation is needle-free, child-friendly, convenient, painless and easy to self-administer. All advantages that will make children in doctor’s office everywhere breathe a sigh of relief.

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Reagor Dykes Auto Group & Texas Tech Alumni Association Purchasing Partnership

Donate $100 to Alumni Association It’s simple, go to redreagorcars.com or texastechalumni.org and print your program certificate and offer details. Present the certificate at any of our Reagor Dykes Auto Group Locations and we will make a $100 donation to the Texas Tech Alumni Association upon completion of your next new car lease, new or pre-owned car or truck purchase.

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