Our Aggie Mom Year In Review: 2020-2021

The 2020-2021 year marched quite normally and came with many firsts for the club. We moved our meetings to Central Baptist in Deer Park, opened our first online store and took advantage of both Holiday and Spring Federation Virtual Boutiques. We added Instagram and Twitter to our social media platforms and became a part of Amazon Smile and Kroger rewards. The Officers met prior to each meeting to plan the different activities. We continued with a format of including a devotion and a tradition at our general meetings to illustrate the significance of the Aggie Spirit.

We began our 2020-2021 in August with a Howdy Drive Thru Party at San Jacinto Church that happens to have an ample driveway and covered porte-cochere as well as a nearby parking lot. Many moms and guests opted to stay and mingle and take care of club forms, etc. It was attended by many and the club provided families with Gig’em cookies and drinks. We brought gifts for our May and August 2020 Aggie Graduates to recognize them. We welcomed all new Fish moms with a ‘Howdy Class of 2024’ Greeting by the Yard. The BIG memory of this event was the unquestionable winner of the Car with the Most Aggie Spirit. Angie Dyson and her son Hayden ‘23 and other moms and Aggies rode on an original Red Ass Fire Truck decorated with balloons, banners, and flags which came down honking a loud horn and made lots of noise. It was so incredibly awesome!

Later in August, Charlotte Rogers, VP at Large along with her Aggie, Genna ‘21, produced an outstanding video of Victor White, ’78, as he prepared to retire as Superintendent of Deer Park ISD. The video was posted on our club page. We also began our fundraising with a Charitabull Spirit Event at Bullritos.

In September, we had our first hybrid Zoom and in-person meeting. Our speakers were representatives from Student Health Services who joined via Zoom. They sent their materials ahead of time which were made available during the meeting. They provided information about testing centers and answered questions which was helpful and very much appreciated by our membership. Later in

September, we held a Kendra Scott Gives Back event. Victor White ’78, Superintendent of Deer Park ISD was our guest speaker for October. A well deserved Proclamation after 42 years of excellent service was given in his honor. We wore pink and took pictures with our guest by a large ‘Thank You Mr. White’ Greeting by the Yard. Later in October we enjoyed a World Series game at Moms & Margaritas Spirit Night at Spanky’s Pizza which generated some money for our club. In addition, we held Nothing Bundt Cakes fundraiser which was successful.

We stuffed Goodie Bags which were 5-gallon buckets with large A&M logos and lids at our November meeting. The Goodie Bags were delivered to College Station by Anna Potts ’90, Angie Dyson, and Beth Dombrowa. The drop off location was a parking lot. This was very accessible for our Aggies and they loved the buckets! We used this opportunity to deliver Holiday Boutique merchandise to Alice Artman-Federation 5th VP Boutique. Sweet! We also held a successful CoZzzy Comfy Sheets fundraiser that lasted a month. We participated in a local craft show and made a bit of revenue there.

One Special Event in November was a Home-gating Texas A&M surprise package given to Michelle and Jay Pope. The package included very large balloons, dinner for ten people and a box full of jewelry all from Kendra Scott. It was so neat to see their reactions and of course, Michelle was all smiles as she opened her gifts.

In December we gathered at Angie Dyson’s house for our Christmas celebration. It was purely a social event where we invited potential new members to just mingle and enjoy yummy food. We decided to not meet in January.

Our club celebrated 68 years since its founding at our February meeting with simple cupcakes. We also made valentines for our Aggies and took pictures in front of a pink balloon garland.

Our guest speaker for our March meeting was Johnna Lenamon, Federation 1st VP Membership. Johnna shared her experiences and gave insights into her work for the Federation. We thoroughly enjoyed having her visit us and took pictures in front of green/blue balloon garland. Johnna rocks!:) Later in March we partnered with a local restaurant, Antonio’s Italian Grill & Seafood, in Deer Park for a Spirit Night.

After stuffing our Spring Goodie Bags at our April meeting, we kicked off our spring raffle fundraiser. We also held Officer Elections. The Goodie Bags were delivered to our Aggies in College Station the next day by Angie Dyson and Michelle Pope at the same parking lot as before.

Another Kendra Scott Gives Back event took place in April. Alma Tovias, ’89, President, attended the District 6 Meeting in League City and enjoyed visiting with Aggie Moms from surrounding clubs. Since our club encompasses Pasadena, Deer Park and La Porte we held a Spirit Night at Gringo’s in La Porte later in April.

We installed our new officers at our May meeting. It happened to be May the Fourth and Angie Dyson graciously themed all the food items accordingly; so creative.

As a token of appreciation, outgoing Club President, Alma Tovias ’89, was presented with a beautiful framed “Care Package to Aggieland” Benjamin Knox print by incoming Club President, Anna Potts '90.

In mid-May, the club volunteered at the Strawberry Festival working an entrance ticket gate. We also set up a table and sold raffle tickets. The raffle drawing was held on May 27th and the 1st Prize winner was Cathleen Inman ’88, Federation President 2019-2020. Cathleen was the first person to buy tickets online and it paid off – LOL! With the online sales at Boutique and the additional opportunity at the Strawberry Festival, the club sold more than 1000 tickets making this fundraiser a huge success. We were very blessed to have donors provide our raffle prizes this year which helped tremendously.

Our club was comprised of 42 members. We awarded $4800 in scholarships to College Station and Galveston students and provided $400 to student organizations as well as $100 to Federation. WHOOP!

Our Aggie Mom Year In Review: 2019-2020

The 2019-2020 was a great year with loads of memorable fun. We branded our club with a new logo.

The Officers met throughout the summer to plan the different activities for the year. We continued with a format of including a devotion and a tradition at our general meetings to illustrate the significance of the Aggie Spirit.

In August, we held our Howdy Party and welcomed families with a Pizza and Ice Cream social donated by Spanky’s Pizza and HEB, respectively. Our guests were the Galveston Yell Leaders and we included a recognition event for our May 2019 graduates. Former Galveston Yell Leader, Eric Amason, attended and was recognized as our Aggie Graduate. In addition we welcomed all new Fish moms. We also had members attend the Fall Federation Dinner, Meeting and Workshops later in August.

In September, we made Aggie Mom T-shirts and socialized during the fabrication. We wore those freshly made T-shirts as we participated and marched in the 70th Annual Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo parade earning us the Award for Most Original Entry. WHOOP! Later in September, we were invited to accept the trophy and even joined in the Rodeo Grand Entrance procession for that evening.

Casey Gros ’09, Assistant Director TAMU Scholarships & Financial Aid, was our guest speaker for October and provided very helpful information. We wore pink for this themed meeting we called “Aggie Moms Stand Together.” Later in October we enjoyed an Astros World Series game at Moms & Margaritas Spirit Night at Spanky’s Pizza which generated some money for our club.

We sent off our 12th Can speakers with 312 lbs of goods at our November meeting. We also held a successful Bunco Bash fundraiser on a beautiful day and had lots of fun. We received an in-kind donation from the Knights of Columbus and held the event at their hall.

In December we gathered to stuff Fall Goody Bags and had our Christmas celebration at a local restaurant. Goody Bags were delivered to happy Aggies the following day.

We had the honor of hosting Master Officers Donovan and Hosea at our January meeting. They provided self-defense tips for all families who attended. We also honored our December 2019 graduates and recognized our scholarship recipients. We read their heartfelt ‘Thank You’ notes. In addition, we kicked off our Spring Raffle Fundraiser. Several members attended the Federation Dinner, Meeting and Workshops later in January.

We celebrated 67 years since our founding with lively entertainment by the phenomenal Aggie Wranglers at our February meeting. They brought so much energy as they twirled and danced their boots off. On the heels of that spectacular performance, ten of our club members got another glimpse of their dance routines at Aggie Mom Camp that following weekend.

Our March meeting turned green with the presence of two amazing Carpool speakers. A car prop was used for some Carpool karaoke enjoyed by all.

The last two general meetings were held via Zoom due to the lockdowns stemming from COVID-19 pandemic. Officer Elections were held in April and Officer Installations in May. Our spring fundraisers had to be cancelled except for our raffle. We opted to move the drawing date out by four weeks as this is our biggest fundraiser. We were very blessed to have sponsors for our prizes this year which helped tremendously. We exercised caution and postponed Goody Bags distribution until deemed safe in May. Our final club event was Carryout for a Cause with Peter Piper Pizza fundraiser.