Smoke signals summer 2014

SMOKE SIGNALS Summer 2014

Smoke Signals

Summer 2014

A TEJAS FOUNDATION PUBLICATION -‐ TEJASALUMNI.ORG IN THIS ISSUE

Staying connected has been the cornerstone of the work that the Tejas Foundation has focused on in 2014. Read in this issue of Smoke Signals the various ways to stay connected with Tejas.

TejasAlumni.org Earlier this year the Foundation launched its own website that allows you to keep your contact information updated, pay your dues, order merchandise, and keep up with your fellow alumni. Read more about this later in the newsletter.

Events around the country All throughout the year, Tejas gathers together to celebrate the Fires of Friendship. This Fall, those in the Dallas areas will gather for the annual Texas vs Oklahoma football game. Braves near our nation’s capitol, Washington D.C., will gather in October for BBQ. Houston area alumni gather monthly for lunch. All these events are posted on the website TejasAlumni.org

Facebook group Tejas is also on Facebook. The group has now over 250 members which post real-‐time comments, pictures, and news.

To join the Facebook group email: [email protected]

90th Anniversary Reunion Next year, in 2015, will be the Tejas Club’s 90th Anniversary. Mark your calendars for September 5-‐6, 2015 and plan to join in Austin, Texas along with all the active Braves and alumni for a big Tejas reunion.

Current Braves are involved in so many great things around The University community, such as Student Government, Texas 4000 (a charity bicycle ride from Austin to Anchorage supporting cancer research), Student Union, and many other campus organizations. Many alumni have left the 40 acres to be leaders and innovators around the world.

Stay connected with the Tejas Club, Foundation, and your fellow Braves -‐ and share your news.

60 years of the Tejas house 2600 Rio Grande continues to be the center of the Tejas Club. Read about the latest updates to this 110 year old wooden house.

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Decade groups New “decade groups” help you stay in touch with Braves from your era.

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Staying Connected, Involved by John Feather, President – Tejas Foundation

SMOKE SIGNALS | Summer 2014 2

The Tejas Club is enjoying a wonderful summer and is heading into a Fall semester full of excitement and hopeful expectations. The Fourth of July was vigorously celebrated with our annual party and the implementation of summer chores have left the house miraculously clean thanks to meticulous work by our House Manager, Levi Joseph.

This past Spring semester we offered membership to ten young men; they all look forward to losing their “Newman” status the last week of August. Please join us for the festivities at Steak Fry on the 29th and stay for an Alumni Tailgate the following day at the Tejas house as we prepare to start the football season with a win against the Mean Green of UNT.

Keeping up the wonderful tradition of campus leadership, the Club can claim the current Student Government President, along with three of his five executive board members and the Speaker of the Assembly, the Undergraduate Business Council President, three Camp Texas executive members along with eight counselors, four

Texas Cowboys, two Silver Spurs, and three Archer Fellows for the 2014-‐15 school year. Additionally, Braves are involved in everything from the Texas Spacecraft Laboratory to the Ransom Notes (a capella group), to the national champion Texas Rock Climbing club team. Read about how three active braves are spending their summer on page 6.

In closing, I would like to thank Dr. John Feather, Judge Jim Arth, Steven Hardt, and all the rest of the alumni who invest so much of their time in Tejas. It is truly a blessing to have such a dedicated Foundation and helps inspire actives to remain involved long after graduation. May the fires of friendship forever burn.

This year we celebrate 60 years of owning the Tejas house at 2600 Rio Grande. The building remains the center of the Tejas Club, housing around 20 braves every semester, hosting Thursday night coffees, nightly meal plans, and Monday night club meetings.

Maintaining this 110 year old historic wooden house keeps the House Committee busy. The Spring semester saw the removal of three trees from the yard and the installation of flood lights at the base of the columns. Other changes to the Tejas house included a new stove for the kitchen and the repair of the air conditioning and lawn sprinkler systems.

New breakers and breaker boxes for the 2nd and 3rd floors were installed as part of an

ongoing effort to update the electrical infrastructure of the house. This summer work has focused on reconstruction of a basement wall, and replacement of insulation and decking in the attic following the electrical work.

Upcoming projects include the repair of sheet rock throughout the 2nd and 3rd floor hallways, the re-‐surfacing of the porch cover on the south side of the house, and the painting of the exterior of the house.

The time, effort, and money to maintain a house as delicate as ours is substantial. Your foundation dues and generous donations facilitate the ongoing maintenance. Thank you for your continued contributions.

Xinesi Update by Kenton Wilson

60 years of the Tejas house by Steven Hardt, Tejas house committee chair

The Tejas house, in the heart of West Campus, illuminated with new column lights installed this Spring.


AROUND TEJAS

Clift Price shares UT stories Clift Price, a 1942 grad, shares stories about UT around the start of World War II with Austin-‐area Tejas alumni.

Texas 4000 Tejas Braves Ross McGarity and Seth Sydner beginning their 4,000 mile bike ride to Alaska, raising money to fight Cancer. Find out more about Texas 4000 and track their ride at texas4000.org

FAST FACTS

97% of goal As of July 15th, we have met 97% of our goal to have 200 dues paying Foundation members. If you haven’t paid your 2014 dues, please visit TejasAlumni.org to pay.

19% Only 19% of Foundation Members are dues paying members.

TEJAS ALUMNI ON FACEBOOK

Visit the Tejas Alumni Facebook page to stay up-‐to-‐date and share your current and past Tejas moments.

TO JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP, EMAIL [email protected]

The Tejas Foundation has launched a brand new website that offers many great features.

Registering for the site Each alumni was emailed in April login credentials for the website. This login lets you access all the member-‐only areas of the site including updating your profile and connecting with other braves. If you have misplaced or did not receive this email, please visit the login page on the site.

Paying your dues Once you have logged into the site, you can check your membership status, and pay your annual dues by credit card.

The Foundation has a goal of having at least 200 paying dues members in 2014.

As of July 15th we are at 97% of our goal. Please pay your dues online and help us reach and exceed our 2014 goal.

Your foundation dues go directly to supporting the needs and sustainability of Tejas.

Update your Tejas profile When you log-‐in to the new website, you have the ability to keep your information up-‐to-‐date by providing your latest address, email, biography, and work information. Share as much or little as you want. You will also have the option to decide which parts of your profile you want shared with other alumni or only privately shared with the Tejas Foundation.

Get in touch Once you are registered on the site, you can search for braves who are in your area, connect with those who have similar interests, and more.

New! Pay your dues online at TejasAlumni.org


Tejas Events – Fall 2014 The Braves of Tejas invite alumni to participate in all of these events this Fall. Please come by, greet old friends, meet the current Braves, and renew the fires of friendship.

Friday, August 29 – Steak Fry in Austin (change from the usual Saturday schedule)

Saturday, August 30 -‐ Alumni Tailgate in Austin (before the North Texas home game)

Saturday, October 11 -‐ OU Weekend in Dallas

Saturday, October 18 -‐ DC/East Coast Tejas Fall BBQ in Washington, DC Saturday, October 25 -‐ Tejas Foundation Fall Meeting 10:00-‐noon at the Club in Austin Friday-‐Saturday, November 7-‐8 -‐ Tejas Parent's Weekend

Xinesi Kenton Wilson and the Braves also invite alumni to come by the house before or after any home game and also to the weekly Monday night Tejas meetings starting at 10:00 pm. More details will follow for all of these events, but please contact Kenton Wilson at [email protected] or John Feather at [email protected] for more information.

New Foundation board members The Tejas Foundation is proud to announce that it has added four new members to the Board:

Brad Dieringer of Austin (graduated 2000) Chris Fellows of Houston (2013) Jacob Guerra of Chicago (2008) Zach Richter of Austin (1998)

Four Board members have completed many years of devoted service and have been elected to the Council of Elders: Bob Robertson; Lee Hamilton; Reagan Simpson; and Austin Ligon.

Current Board members Jim Arth, John Feather, Tim Ginn, and Zach Zbranek were re-‐elected for three year terms.

We deeply appreciate the hard work of all of those who have served the Tejas Foundation over its 61 year history.

Honors!


To encourage former Braves to re-‐kindle “the fires of friendship” and to attend the 90th Tejas Reunion on September 5-‐6, 2015, Foundation President John Feather appointed “mature” Brave Ed Elmore and recent graduate Chris Fellows to head the Decade Captain’s Committee. Each decade has a “Decade Captain” whose primary responsibility are the braves from that decade. Via email, “snail mail”, and/or contact by telephone or personal visit, the Decade Captains are asked to reach out to their fellow decade braves.

Currently the Decade Captains are reaching out to request updated contact information in telephone calls or correspondence. Some have

already made contact by email and other correspondence. 1970’s Decade Captain, David Matlock, has actually stopped by the homes of several Tejas contemporaries to visit them in person.

In the next several months, many Decade Steering Committees will be organized. Hopefully, a brave from every year in that decade will agree to service. Thus, when Braves see names of persons with whom they were in the Club, those braves will be encouraged to attend and reconnect at the 90th reunion. Contact your Decade Captain if you would like to serve on the Steering Committee.

AROUND TEJAS

Save the date: Sep 5-6, 2015 Join Braves from all around the world as we gather in Austin to celebrate 90 years of Fire & Friendship. Keep checking TejasAlumni.org for the latest reunion details.

Texas Independence Day 2014 Dr. Margaret C. Berry celebrating the 35th annual Texas Independence Day breakfast.

Bob Pees Croquet Tournament & Crawfish Boil Braves enjoy crawfish on the lawn of the Tejas house in Austin.

Decade Groups by Ed Elmore & Chris Fellows, Chairs of the Publicity Committee

Decade Captains 1940’s Jack Johnson [email protected]

1950’s Jerry Gilmore [email protected]

1960’s Tom Behrman [email protected]

1970’s David Matlock [email protected]

1980’s John Shepperd [email protected]

1990’s Doug Connolly [email protected]

2000’s Kyle Carpenter [email protected]

2010’s Louis Armendariz [email protected]


Resuming a tradition carried out by many Braves before him, Chris Jordan has been participating in Shakespeare at Winedale, a program dedicated to bringing Shakespeare to life through performance. As a member of the forty-‐fourth summer class, Chris lives full-‐time in Round Top, preparing three of Shakespeare's plays -‐ The Taming of the Shrew, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Troilus and Cressida, in preparation for public performances, which begin on July 17th. Throughout this, Chris spends his time studying and performing in the converted nineteenth-‐century barn that is their theatre. Following the conclusion of these performances in the Winedale, Chris will be on tour throughout Texas and to Staunton, Virginia to perform at the American Shakespeare Center.

Ross McGarity is currently riding a bicycle from Austin to Anchorage, Alaska with his Texas 4000 teammates. This adventure began over a year ago when he began fundraising for cancer research and cancer support services. Ross has dedicated his ride to a former high school teacher, his grandmother, an aunt and an uncle, and his mother, all individuals that he has witnessed battle cancer. Tejas’s presence has been huge in the organization for the past few years, and this summer is no different. Both Ross and former Xinesi Seth Snyder are serving as Assistant Ride Directors for the Ozarks and Rockies routes, respectively. Next year, Braves Levi Joseph, Connor Hughes, and newman Jeffery Saeling will also don the Texas 4000 uniforms and begin their journey.

Along with three other Tejas members, Nosa Aimuyo is working for Texas Parents as a Family Orientation Student Leader. He emcees the opening session, introducing administrators, and welcoming over a thousand parents to the Forty Acres. Throughout the day, Nosa, Connor Hughes, Ethan Balsamo, and Trey Curran educate parents on the different resources that they can use to support their incoming Longhorns during their career at the University. These four young Braves have built an outstanding relationship with not only Texas Parents, but also the Office of the Dean of Students and are representing the Club extremely well.

Ross McGarity

Nosa Aimuyo

Chris Jordan

Tejas braves on summer break


Dues Paying Members As of July 15, 2014

John Feather Robert Wills

Cal Chaney James Cowles Alex Cranberg Steven Crowell Daniel Hagan Steven Hardt J. Harrison Jon Ivey Stephen Jones Robert Mims Paul Navratil Milam Pharo George Richardson

Arthur Allison James Arth Richard Baker Douglas Batson Jeffrey Baumgarten Margaret Berry John Bricker Kevin Brown Max Brown Harley Clark Richard Davis Eduardo Diaz Farzin Dinyarian William Driscoll George Fleming Robert Foster Thomas Hagan K. Hamilton R. Jones Joseph Krier Dan Kubin Jeffrey Liaw Christopher Lippincott Mark Long Oscar Lopez Gregory Lucia Eric Mayo John Meneghetti John Menke C. Nance Trevor Pearlman Rudolph Peters Daniel Polter P. Price Lacho Ramirez William Ray Charles Reeder Mark Reidmiller Ben Rosenberg Frank Rynd Phillip Scott Alan Seese Reagan Simpson Angus Sladen Richard Spears J. Stancil Edwin Turner Thomas Turner Ronnie Volkening Zachary Zbranek

Walter Allen Henry Baade William Bacon Marvin Beck Jerry Box John Brauss Lorence Bravenec William Brookshire Raymond Brown Thomas Bruns Kayne Burk Bert Campbell Brent Chaney Kirk Chen Paschel Church James Clark James D. Cole Thomas Daly Britt Davis David Dell’Osso Christopher Dodd Danforth Dougherty Travis Dunn Gary Ellison Ed Elmore M. Geiger E. Groppe Eric Hagstette Dexter Hill Jack Johnson James Key John King Steve King David Krueger Logan Kunitz John Lay Gary Lehmberg Clayton Lindgren Andrew Linton Clark Lord Tommy Mathis David Matlock Marchand McDougal Travis Meitzen Samuel Millsap David Mincberg Gus Nixon John Nyfeler Patrick Palmer Patrick Parker Larry Phillips Joe Powell Tommy Raye Bill Reagan Thomas Reavley Steven Rich John Richardson Zachary Richter Robert Robertson William Rodriguez Trevor Rosen Dan Seilheimer Edwin Seilheimer Craig Shaffer Kevin Shaw James Shepperd Joe Shull E. Smith Edgar Smith Thomas Steck John Strasburger Robert Trotter William Vogt Nathan Wesely Jerry Whitten Thomas Williams James Wilson Joe Word Erol Yayboke William Young

Council Circle: $1000+

Totem Circle: $500 -‐ $999

Xinesi Circle: $250 -‐ $499

$100 -‐ $249


Dues Paying Members As of July 15, 2014

Denton Anderson Sean Barrett Sagar Bhadra Norayan Bhargav

Alexander Bourdeau Derek Deas Dustin Deas Anthony Fazzio

Matt Gian Stephen Gilstrap Jacob Guerra Tepera Holman

Sam Keyburn Chris LeBlanc Edward Lopez Daniel McDonald

Adam Mardel Robert McKee Jason Munkatchy Stephen Pugh

Max Rizzo Jonathan Schwart Robert Seilheimer Jason Smith

Russell Thesing Christopher Waggonner Christopher Wayman Michael Windle

Chris Fellows Timothy Ginn Russell Godfrey Jared Hoaldridge

Clayton Huff Shitij Jain William Johnson Colin Jones

Chris Klabunde Patrick Lawlor Nickolas Lebo Gregory Lipscomb

Ryan Martinez Mark Molaro Abayomi Olufowoshe Adam Reeder

Eric Verbit Patrick White Nick Zajicek William Vining

Kenton Wilson

$50 -‐ $99

$25 -‐ $49

Sherry

Stamp

http://www.tejasalumni.org

Name: _____________________________________________ Tejas years:_________________

Home address: _________________________________________________________________

City: __________________________ State:___________________ Zip: __________________

Home phone: (_____) ________________________ Email:_____________________________

Work phone: (_____) ________________________

The Tejas FoundaTion

2014 alumni dues

2014 FoundaTion supporT:

Tejas FoundaTion endowmenT ConTribuTion: $____________

ToTal: $____________

sCholarship ConTribuTion:C. Thomas Behrman Scholarship $____________Judge Harley Clark Scholarship $____________Jim Fenner/Bob Dedman Scholarship $____________George M. Fleming Scholarship $____________Dean Byron Fullerton Scholarship $____________Judge Royce Lamberth Scholarship $____________Gregory E. Lucia Scholarship $____________David L. Shull Memorial Scholarship $____________

dues CaTegories: Council Circle $1000 Totem Circle $500 Xinesi Circle $250 (10+ years since graduation) $100 (Between 5-10 years since graduation) $50 (Less than 5 years since graduation) $25

Visa/mC inFormaTion:Card Type: _________________________________

Card Number: _______________________________ CVV Code: ________________________________

Expiration Date:______________________________

Amount Due: _______________________________

Billing Address (if different from address above):

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

Please return application and payment to: The Tejas Foundation - P.O. Box 1448 - Cedar Park, TX 78630

www.tejasalumni.org - Fax: (800) 784-9034

*Scholarship Contributions are made payable to the Tejas Educational Foundation and are Tax-Deductible.Foundation Dues are NOT Tax-Deductible.

paymenT inFormaTion:

Renew Online:www.tejasalumni.org

Smoke signals summer 2014

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