LION'S ROAR
June 2004

Thanks for all the great feedback we received on our first electronic newsletter. We had a few glitches with the email system we used, but they should be fixed this time around. Please continue to send us your comments.

We hope you enjoy this brief update on what's going on at your Alma Mater.

Jane Martyn
Interim Director

Winner!!!! Name the E-Newsletter Contest

Congratulations to Norman Lane, winner of our e-newsletter contest. The Lion’s Roar was selected as the name for the new alumni e-newsletter, which was distributed to over 8,000 alumni email addresses. Alumni had been invited to submit possible names for the publication and 136 responded with entries. The quality of the submissions was outstanding. Several alumni submitted the winning name, but Norman Lane, MS ’64, from Allen, Texas, was the first alumnus to do so.

115th Anniversary of Texas A&M University-Commerce

Mark your calendar for September 2, 2004. Plans are under way to celebrate the 115th anniversary of the University. More details in our next edition.

LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS ANNOUNCED

2004-2005 Legacy Scholarship winners have been announced. Congratulations to those listed below!!

Gerald Lunday, Commerce
Katie Bowers, Greenville
Kyle Power, Forney
Heather Hughes, Tyler
Brittany Ballad, Paris
Justin Turner, Greenville
Laura Williams, Greenville
Ryan Jarrell, Powderly

If you know of someone who you think deserves to be considered, contact the Alumni Relations Office. Applicants must have a parent or grandparent who graduated from A&M-Commerce. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA and be registered for 12 undergraduate credit hours or 9 graduate credit hours. Applications are due by March 31 of each year. For more information on the Legacy Scholarship, go to:

http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/alumni/AlumniAwardsAndScholarships.html#Scholarships

34th Annual Golf Classic

On Friday, June 4, the Texas A&M University-Commerce Alumni Golf Classic was held. Approximately 60 alumni, employees and friends of A&M-Commerce participated. The golf scramble took place at Sand Hills Golf and Country Club, a nine-hole course near Commerce on FM 1568. Golfers had a chance to win $10,000 for a hole-in-one on Hole #17, sponsored by Williams Motors in Commerce. All proceeds benefited the Alumni Association Legacy Scholarship Endowment. First place team winners were Pete Smith, Pat Bagley, Jerry Morris, Buddy Jones, Byron Housewright and Lowell Ballew.

The next alumni golf tournament will be held on October 29, 2004, during Homecoming Week.

News Briefs

More than 950 graduates participated in 4 commencements at Texas A&M-Commerce on May 8. That compares to the Spring 2003 figure of 791 grads. The Graduate School at A&M-Commerce saw the largest number of students crossing the stage, with approximately 350 receiving master’s degrees and nine awarded their doctorates.
The Tejas social club arranged for the first passenger train in nearly 50 years to traverse the northeast Texas countryside and turned an aging locomotive from the Blacklands Railroad Company into the little engine that could raise funds. In doing so, this club raised $5000 for their scholarship fund. See photo: http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/tamuc-news/news-return.asp?offset=20&Item=1927
The Whitney Biennial is one of the most prestigious art showings in the world, and the last three have included A&M-Commerce alumni. The most recent is Robyn O’Neil, whose work is now on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. http://www.whitney.org/exhibition/index.shtml
A&M-Commerce has joined forces with schools from two of the fastest-growing counties in Texas to provide residents there with more access to higher education. Rockwall ISD is providing facilities for courses to be delivered by A&M University-Commerce and the Collin County Community College District. Students can complete the first two years of their degrees at the community college and be automatically admitted to finish at A&M-Commerce, clearing a path for students—particularly adult learners—who are working toward their bachelor’s.

Looking for a job change?

The Alumni Relations department is seeking a dynamic administrator to lead Alumni Relations and strengthen the university’s ties to students and former students. For more information on applying go to the A&M-Commerce website at:

http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/job-line/PROFESS.htm

SUMMER/FALL CALENDAR

June

4 34^th Annual Alumni Classic Golf Tournament
26 & 27 Alumni Association Board of Directors Retreat

July

13 Commerce Chapter Board Meeting-Alumni Office

August

7 Summer Graduation

30 Classes begin

September

18 Alumni Association Board Meeting-Alumni Office

October

25-30 Star Spangled Homecoming and Veteran's Vigil

The Pride

The next issue of The Pride will be mailed to your home in early July. Watch for these upcoming articles:

Meet your 2004 Alumni Ambassadors.
From Swarovsky and Waterford crystal lions to one created from ground pecan shells, this collection of 725 lions leaves no question as to where this alumnus' pride belongs.
Find out how A&M-Commerce students will soon be a little closer to the stars - and right at the foot of a world-class science education.
What was a Japanese film crew doing in an A&M-Commerce science lab?

Have you signed up yet? When Alumni Spend . . . Alumni Earn!!!

Quite a few alumni have already registered their favorite Visa or MasterCard. Here's how it works:

Register your card online. It's free, easy and secure.
Every time you shop and have your card swiped at a participating merchant, a refund is created.
You get a refund and so does the Alumni Association. (It costs you nothing, and it is a great way for you to lend financial support to the Alumni Association and its scholarship program and other services.)
You can register up to four credit cards into the system online through our web page at: www.tamu-commerce.edu/alumni/Support_Future_Gen.htm

Clip & Save

Traveling to Commerce in the future? The following local overnight accommodations are now available:

Holiday Inn Express 903-886-4777

Holiday Lodge 903-886-3165

The Chapin House Bed & Breakfast 903-886-6713

Don't forget to check out the Alumni Association Website at

http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/alumni/

Comments:

Your feedback is appreciated. The E-Newsletter is edited by Jane Martyn, Assistant Director.

Please write to us at alumni_office@tamu-commerce.edu with any suggestions or additions.

To update your address and phone number, go to: http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/alumni/ServicesAndBenefits.html

To unsubscribe from future E-Newsletter send an e-mail to alumni_office@tamu-commerce.edu with the words "Unsubscribe from E-Newsletter" in the subject line.

While contributions are welcomed, content is solely determined by Alumni Relations of Texas A&M University-Commerce. Opinions expressed may not necessarily express the official position of Texas A&M University-Commerce or its Alumni Association.

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LION'S ROAR June 2004