Mays Impacts

Communicators with Mays’ Real Estate Center and Dean’s Office were among those honored at the recent Brazos Bravo awards gala, sponsored by the Brazos Valley chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators.

Communicators submit their best writing, editing, design and related communication pieces for the annual competition, which is then judged by IABC chapters in other districts nationwide. Winners recognized this year include:

Brazos Bravo Awards
Printed Communications, Magazine: David S. Jones and the REC Communications Staff for Tierra Grande magazine

Writing, Sales, Promotion, Marketing, or Advertising: Nancy McQuistion for the REC’s “And It Has a Lovely Whatchamacallit”

Editing, Article or Other Manuscript: Nancy McQuistion and Ellissa Brewster for the REC’s “Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!”

Awards of Excellence
Communications Programs/ Campaign, Identity/Program Branding: Jerry Strawser, Pam Wiley and Lara Zuehlke for “Mays Business School Brand Initiative”

Editing, Article or Other Manuscript: Nancy McQuistion and Ellissa Brewster for the REC’s “Blowin’ in the Wind”

Advertising, Print Ad: J.P. Beato and Nancy McQuistion for the REC’s “The Role of Parking in Texas Commercial Real Estate”

Writing, Feature or Human Interest: David S. Jones for the REC’s “Jills of All Trades Remodel”

Writing, Feature or Human Interest: David S. Jones for the REC’s “So You Want to Add a Room?”

Audiovisual, Video or Film for Internal Communications: Randy Birdwell for the REC’s “And It Has a Lovely Whatchamacallit”

Awards of Achievement
Advertising, Print Ad: J.P. Beato and Nancy McQuistion for the REC’s “Texas Shootin’ Match 2002 Photo Contest”

Communication Programs/ Campaign, Integrated Communication: David S. Jones for the REC’s Communications Programs

Design, Annual Report: Robert Beals for the REC’s “2001-2002 Annual Report”

Design, Illustration: Robert Beals for the REC’s “Ports-to-Plains Trade Corridor”

The Department of Management recently honored its scholarship recipients including 12 juniors and seniors who were named Management Scholars. Each received $1,000 scholarships from the department. The scholarships, which were awarded for academic achievement, involvement and work experience, are funded by contributions from the Management Advisory Board, management faculty and friends of the department.

Recipients include: Kirk Blanchard, Nicole Clark, Amanda Dyer, Sarah Hathaway, Jillian Jones, Brian Mobley, Sarah Neely, Sam Patranella, Erin Pouonders, Diana Stokes, Neekie Tajvari and Heather Thornton.

In addition, Christine Duyka, Justin Kling and Jorge Villasmil were awarded Ron Fash Entrepreneurship Scholarships in honor of Ron Fash, Jr., a successful Aggie entrepreneur. Sarah Brundrett, Nicole Clark, Sarah Hathaway, Justin Hill, Brian Mobley and Courtney Tolles were named Ford Motor Company Scholars, which recognizes distinguished junior management majors.

Doctoral candidate Matt Semadeni was named the recipient of the Graduate Student Teaching Award, given by The Association of Former Students. Each year the association honors graduate students for both teaching and research.

Semadeni realized his love for teaching while facilitating sessions as a consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. “I enjoy the dialogue that occurs when people are learning new things,” he says. “I invariably come away from the experience enriched by the diverse viewpoints of the students.”

Teaching entrepreneurship and new ventures and strategic management, Semadeni hopes his courses encourage students to move beyond the mere regurgitation of terms and theories to holistic and integrated thought processes. “I want the students to challenge the assumptions that often keep individuals and organizations from seizing opportunities as they are presented,” he says.

Semadeni, who earned a BS in information systems from Brigham Young University, will graduate from Mays with a PhD in management in August.

Mays students were among those honored with two of Texas A&M’s most prestigious student awards at the Parents’ Weekend All-University Awards Ceremony held in April.

Mays’ recipients of the 2003 Thomas S. Gathright Scholar Award were Melanie Fox, Brooke Bludau and Marshall Trenckmann. The Association of Former Students gives the award annually in conjunction with the Texas A&M Student Government Association to the sophomore, junior and senior with the highest grade point ratio from each college. The award, established in 1973, is named in honor of the university’s first president.

Each year the Buck Weirus Spirit Award is given to 52 students in recognition of their involvement, enthusiasm and embodiment of the Aggie Spirit. The award honors Richard “Buck” Weirus ’42, who served as executive director of The Association of Former Students from 1964 to 1980.

Mays’ recipients of the 2003 Buck Weirus Spirit Award were: David Thompson, Jr.; Amy Binks; Anna Hollier; Alfred Huebinger; Katherine Bailey; Robin Cappel; Justin Clark; Richard Cronin; Katherine Lemmon; Joseph Medina; Jeremy Whitbeck; Eric Bethea; John Casares; Elizabeth Dacus; Brittany Denton; Rachelle Gentry and Alexander King.

Accounting professor Martha (Marty) Loudder was awarded the 2003 University Distinguished Achievement Teaching Award. Given by The Association of Former Students, it is the highest honor bestowed on a Texas A&M faculty member. Recipients are honored with a framed certificate, $4,000 and a gold commemorative watch.

It is only fitting that someone with Loudder’s passion earn this award. “I used to play ‘teacher’ after school when I was in first grade,” she says. “I even had a little blackboard in my bedroom.”

Loudder’s rapport with students comes through her teaching as well as her involvement as faculty advisor to Mays’ Freshman Business Initiative, a peer-led learning community for freshmen. Through both she hopes to teach students to “think critically and develop habits that lead to life-long learning.”

One of 22 to receive the award this year, Loudder joined Mays in 1989. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from West Texas A&M University and her doctorate degree from Arizona State University.

“I am very proud to receive this award,” says Loudder, who has also been named a PricewaterhouseCoopers Teaching Excellence Professor. “To Aggie professors, those gold shields on the watch are as special to us as Aggie rings are to the students!”

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has extended accreditation for Mays’ undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degree programs. In their recommendations to extend accreditation, the AACSB’s Peer Review Team cited Mays’ “spectacular physical plant that has first-rate technology” and the many “impressive centers” as some of the outstanding characteristics of the school.

“As with any important milestone,” says Dean Jerry Strawser, “this is only possible because of the efforts of everyone in our entire school.”

Mays’ Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team brought home Rookie of the Year honors from the SIFE USA National Exposition in Kansas City.

During the national competition, SIFE teams presented multi-media summaries of the educational outreach projects they developed and implemented throughout the year. In its first year, Mays’ SIFE team participated in projects such as “Breaking the Cycle” with Phoebe’s Home and Project Unity, “Be Your Own Boss” with Snook High School and “Penci-Cola” with College Hills Elementary.

“Making it to the national competition in our first year was amazing in itself,” says Cynthia Billington of the Center for Retailing Studies, who serves as Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellow (adviser) for the team. “But receiving Rookie of the Year at the National Exposition was a true testament to our team.”

Texas A&M SIFE team members include: Anthony Sullivan, sophomore; Chris Anderson, sophomore; Brady Ferguson, sophomore; Jonathan Collins, freshman; Lindsay Cox, freshman; Tennessee Walker, junior; Kelly Philbeck, freshman; Chet Creel, sophomore; Brettne Vitek, senior; and Kenny Kwong, an MBA student.

The business advisory board members for SIFE Texas A&M are Cheryl Holland, Center for Retailing Studies; Pat Sullivan, Blue Beacon Intl; Larry Hodges, Copy Corner; John Bernheim, Sam’s Club; and Rick James, Walgreens.

Whipping up successful business ventures is nothing new to Lynn and Creed Ford III. In fact, you can probably attest to that if you’ve ever dined at Chili’s Grill and Bar, Kona Steak House or Johnny Carino’s Country Italian.

After more than 20 successful years with Brinker International Inc. (formerly Chili’s Inc.), Creed ’75 formed the Ford Restaurant Group with Lynn, which supports franchised restaurants such as Chili’s Grill and Bar, Rudy’s Texas Bar BQ and Ozona Grill and Bar. Creed also co-founded Fired Up Inc. with Norman Adballah, which is the parent company for Johnny Carino’s Country Italian.

The Fords are hoping to ignite a similar entrepreneurial passion in Mays faculty and students through a recently committed security interest with a current market value of $1.85 million. As part of the One Spirit One Vision Campaign, their gift will establish the Ford Entrepreneurship Endowed Fund within Mays’ Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship to support faculty research, course development and student opportunities.

“Entrepreneurship is the cornerstone for all successful businesses,” says Creed, who with Lynn have two Aggie children, Harper ’00 and Creed IV ’02, and a daughter-in-law Cassie ’01. “Our wish is that this contribution will provide support for the center to educate and research the ever-changing dynamics of new business ventures. Hopefully, the center will play a major role in helping entrepreneurs build companies, create jobs and ultimately benefit Texas A&M.”