Mays Impacts

Written by Steven Mancillas ’21:

The Business & BBQ Professional Development Wisdom Workshop united two very different parts of campus – the Business Honors program and the Meat Science department. The event highlighted three unique elements that characterize the Mays Business School experience: passion, culture, and community.

To begin, in the Business Honors program, a Professional Development event serves to foster the growth of students both personally and professionally. A majority of the events consist of meeting with industry leaders (Mays Leadership Forum), hearing from policy experts and government leaders at the Bush School (Lecture Series), or participating in a Wisdom Workshop. A Wisdom Workshop is a presentation given by a current student on a unique topic that is uncharacteristic, yet beneficial for other Business Honors students. So, naturally, the topic of barbecue fit these criteria.

My background in the barbecue realm consists of serving as a Texas BBQ 101 (ANSC 117) teaching assistant and pursuing a minor in Meat Science under the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. As a freshman in ANSC 117, I was the only business student in a room full of agriculture majors. While this was daunting at first, Dr. Savell, the ANSC 117 professor, offered an adage that served to contextualize my experience: “Barbecue is about fellowship first, and food second.” Since that class, I have discovered a passion for Meat Science, ultimately adding it as a minor to my Business Honors & Finance degree.

The presentation consisted of three segments: “What is Meat Science?”, “What is BBQ?”, and lunch. During this time, I spoke about how the barbecue elective sparked my interest in the origins of this university – agriculture. This interest quickly became a passion after my first animal science class – a passion rooted in a genuine interest in the livestock industry and its impact on society. A large component of the Wisdom Workshop was demonstrating the nature of all possibilities at Texas A&M to connect one’s passion with their education – I hope that my story stands as an example of this.

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An agency team of 28 students in the Aggie Advertising Club and Lisa Troy’s advanced advertising class at Texas A&M University placed second in the district level American Advertising Association’s National Student Advertising Competition.  The team also won a special award for Best Media Plan.  Held in Shreveport, LA April 4 – 6, the competition involved a case study outlined by the current year’s corporate sponsor, Wienerschnitzel. Students spent two full semesters researching and building a $25 million, fully integrated marketing campaign, preparing a professional quality campaign plan book, and presenting the plan to judges at the competition.  Over 150 schools across the country participate in the event each year and the Tenth District, in which Texas A&M participates, is one of the most competitive.

The 2020 Good Bull Advertising team will form in the fall to prepare for next year’s competition.  Students will be seeking donations to help cover the costs of campaign development and travel.  For more information, contact Dr. Lisa C. Troy at LTroy@mays.tamu.edu.

2019 Advertising Competition Team Members: Faiaz Ahbab, Lakyn Allen, Andrew Barker, Sheyanne Chumchal, Tarah Cochran, Maggie Edwards, Shelby Edwards, Shelby Estep, Lindsey Evans, Siobhan Fahy, Clara Gotthardt, Rebecca Griffith, JJ Handy, Kourtney Harris, Michelle Hassler, Luke Jander, Tim Lee, Amber Malague, Lauren Mraz Sarah Pringle, Mollie Pruitt, Mary Laurel Sipe, Stephanie Sovereen, Eugenie Sutio, Kendall Thurston, Sara Turner Rico Wijaya, Haley York Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lisa Troy

Reynolds and Reynolds’ commitment to developing meaningful relationships with Mays Business School students and faculty and its significant philanthropic support resulted in the corporation’s selection as Mays Business School’s 2019 Partner of the Year. This dynamic partnership was highlighted during Reynolds and Reynolds Day at Mays Business School on April 5.

The day’s events included a Top-to-Top meeting between Reynolds and Reynolds executives and Mays’ leaders to discuss industry trends and Mays’ current and future initiatives. Following a recognition ceremony, company executives participated in a meeting with students and faculty from the Reynolds and Reynolds Sales Leadership Institute.

Investing significant time, funds in Mays

The company’s relationship with Mays began with Reynolds and Reynolds employees’ increasing involvement with Mays students and faculty. During the ensuing years, Reynolds and Reynolds financial support for Mays programs has grown. “They’ve made a big impact in a short period of time,” said Mays Dean Eli Jones. “The investments that Reynolds and Reynolds have made have been significant. But it’s more than the money. We have great relationships with these folks. They are partners and have given generously of their time, talent, and treasure.”

The company established a $2 million endowment to support Reynolds and Reynolds Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans and committed $1 million to create the ReyRey Café in the planned new Business Education Complex. More recently, the company dedicated a $4 million endowment for the Reynolds and Reynolds Sales Leadership Institute, an interdisciplinary program that will teach Texas A&M students university-wide about the importance of sales and leading edge sales strategies and technology.

Industry leader

Reynolds and Reynolds is a software and technology company serving automotive dealerships and car manufacturers. While the company might not be a well-recognized name in most U.S. households, consumers are impacted by the company’s products and services every time they visit a car dealership. Reynolds is a leader in helping dealerships streamline operations and improve customer satisfaction through its products and services. In business, the community, and in their own company, Reynolds and Reynolds is well known for their strong commitment to building relationships and supporting their employees through innovative professional development programs.

That commitment makes Reynolds and Reynolds’ partnership with Mays Business School a natural fit. “We talk about networking a lot. It’s a fine word but it can be superficial,” said Senior Vice President for Corporate Development Robert Burnett ’87. “What’s real is relationships. I believe that we’re here today as Partner of the Year because of the relationships we’ve built with Mays.”

A commitment to military veterans

One of the deepest relationships is with the Reynolds and Reynolds Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans. “We love the military. We’re led by ex-military and that’s our company culture,” Burnett said. “Dean Jones brought this program to our attention and it was a no-brainer for us to become a partner. It’s been a wonderful experience.”

This unique bootcamp, which is part of Mays’ McFerrin Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship, offers cutting-edge experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans who have service-connected disabilities and a passion for entrepreneurship. Veterans are able to take part in the program at no charge.

Reynolds and Reynolds employees regularly volunteer as speakers, panel participants and mentors at the summer bootcamp. Additionally, the company’s philanthropic contributions are funding the program’s growth. “Reynolds and Reynolds’ support is allowing us to expand the number of veterans that we are able to work with in this program,” said LauraLee Hughes, the McFerrin Center’s assistant director of new ventures. “The other big constraint we’ve had is space. Thanks to this funding, we’re able to expand to other facilities and increase the types of activities that we’re able to do with veterans while they are on campus.”

Enhancing knowledge of sales

Reynolds and Reynolds, endowed the recently announced Reynolds and Reynolds Sales Leadership Institute. “One of the things students need to know is sales. You’re always going to be selling something,” said Senior Vice President for Hardware Operations David Shimek ’86. “That’s one of the things that the institute will be teaching – how to present yourself and how to sell yourself, whether you’re selling a product or yourself. That’s going to be important as students go forward.”

Ultimately, Reynolds and Reynolds’ partnership with Mays is devoted to building relationships that will help students succeed both in college and after they graduate. “Reynolds and Reynolds employees from College Station, Houston, and Dayton are on our campus every semester conducting more than 300 individual role plays with students,” said Janet Parish, the director of the Reynolds and Reynolds Sales Leadership Institute. “The time invested by the recruiting team and the sales force who really help to train our students by is a huge benefit that Reynolds and Reynolds brings.”

Written by marketing student Andrew Barker:

When I first walked into Dr. Troy’s Account Planning class in August 2018, I had no idea of the kind of transformative experiences, high impact learning, and profound relationships that lied ahead of me. There was no way to predict the amount of brain power and man hours this kind of project demanded. There was no way I could expect the bitter-sweet feeling I had when our research, creativity, and strategy formulation culminated at the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition (AAF-NSAC) last week in Shreveport, Louisiana. This was something that could only be experienced.

Every year, the AAF selects a client for the National Student Advertising Competition. Colleges and universities across the country then conduct research and create an advertising campaign to be presented in front of a panel of judges comprised of industry professionals and the client’s executives. Over the course of two semesters, my team – Good Bull Advertising – created an advertising campaign for this year’s selected client, Wienerschnitzel, to rebrand the hot dog and fight against common misconceptions about the food. We received the case during the summer and began our research during the fall semester. After utilizing the university’s databases and conducting our own independent research, we administered surveys and interviews to gather thousands of impressions. In the spring, we began our creative journey by focusing our campaign on a central theme and slogan: “Seize the Day, Seize the Dog.” We then created a media plan and came up with advertisements, initiatives, and activations that would take our campaign nationwide.

Last week, Good Bull Advertising traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana to present our campaign. When we arrived at the hotel and conference center where the competition would be staged, we were met by the presence of teams of students from other schools. After a few moments of uneasiness and giving each other once-overs, tensions were eased as the teams remembered that 1) We are all college-aged adults and 2) We all had studied hot dogs for far too long. This was a defining moment, as the teams seemed to have an understanding of each other that permeated into our interactions throughout the rest of the competition.

At the beginning of the competition, we were reminded by competition staff that we would likely work with the people around us in the near future as we were all geared toward careers in advertising. As I watched other teams’ presentations, I was encouraged by this thought. It was interesting to see the different directions teams went with the case because, for the most part, we all reached similar conclusions in our initial research (one team even used a slogan that we had brainstormed in the early stages of our campaign). It reminded me that there is never one solution to a problem and that the best solutions are flexible to the always-changing environment.

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2^nd Annual Aggie PITCH Awards $50,000

COLLEGE STATION, APRIL 2, 2019 – The McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship hosted its second annual Aggie PITCH on the evening of April 2, 2019. Aggie PITCH is open to all currently enrolled students and seeks to identify the best student business pitch at Texas A&M. 10 student teams were selected as finalists to compete for $50,000 in prize money. The finalist team members represented 6 colleges and over 15 majors. Each team was allotted 10 minutes to give a pitch on their business and field questions from a panel of expert judges. The 2019 finalists boasted impressive entrepreneurial endeavors that included medical devices, novel web applications, and products to serve the military and first responders. At the end of the night the top 5 teams were announced and awarded significant cash prizes. “As predicted, our second annual Aggie PITCH was an even greater success, with teams from across campus showcasing the fact that Texas A&M stands at the forefront of entrepreneurial innovation. Our students are poised to solve the biggest and greatest challenges facing society, and the McFerrin Center stands ready to help our Aggie Entrepreneurs along their successful journeys.”

2019 Aggie PITCH Winners

1^st Place ($15,000): LCLIP, Ahad Azimuddin

2^nd Place ($12,000): Zanbazan, Nargis Mourey

3^rd Place ($10,000): Polylabs

4^th Place ($8,000): Lazarus

5^th Place ($5,000): SKYPAWS LLC

A full listing of the 2019 Aggie PITCH finalists and winners, including company descriptions, can be found at tx.ag/AggiePITCH

2019 Aggie PITCH 1st Place Winner: LCLIP

2019 Aggie PITCH 2nd Place Winner: Zanbazan

2019 Aggie PITCH 3rd Place Winner: PolyLabs

2019 Aggie PITCH 4th Place Winner: Lazarus

2019 Aggie PITCH 5th Place Winner: SKYPAWS LLC

On Friday, April 5, Mays Business School will honor Reynolds and Reynolds as its 2019 Partner of the Year. Designated Reynolds and Reynolds Day in Mays Business School, the day will include a formal recognition ceremony as well as strategic discussion between company officials and Mays leaders and students.

Ceremonies will kick off with a Top-to-Top meeting with Reynolds and Reynolds executives – Senior Vice President for Corporate Development Robert Burnett and Senior Vice President for Hardware Operations David Shimek – and Mays’ senior leadership. At 11 a.m., Dean Eli Jones will present the 2019 Partner to the Year award to Reynolds and Reynolds. This ceremony will take place in the Wehner Lobby. Immediately following, Burnett and Shimek will speak to Mays students who are part of the Reynolds and Reynolds Sales Leadership Institute – an interdisciplinary program that develops future sales professionals and advances the sales profession.

Recognizing a leading Mays partner

The Partner of the Year honor is given to an organization that has achieved excellence in advancing Mays’ vision, providing career opportunities, developing quality professionals, and investing intellectual and financial capital towards the realization of Mays’ mission. Initiated in 2016, Mays’ Partner of the Year has previously been awarded to Phillips 66, KPMG, and EY.

“Mays is fortunate to have so many important partnerships with a variety of organizations,” said Jones. “Recipients of Partner of the Year have pushed the concept of partnership to a higher level. They find innovative ways to support our students and faculty and are active in our advisory councils, classrooms, and programs. They also provide important financial support to Mays’ premier programs.”

Automotive industry leader

Reynolds and Reynolds serves the automotive industry by streamlining operations and improving customer satisfaction through the industry’s only Retail Management System. Driven by a 150-year legacy of product innovation and customer service, Reynolds and Reynolds helps dealers transform every aspect of their business.

The Dayton, Ohio-based company has facilities in Houston and College Station as well as Tampa, Florida, and has developed deep ties with Mays as well as with Texas A&M overall. “Reynolds and Reynolds supports our students through internships and hiring our graduates. Company representatives also are regularly involved in our classrooms and many of our programs,” Jones said. “Reynolds and Reynolds has provided significant financial support to Mays, including being a founding partner for the Sales Leadership Institute and the lead founder for the Reynolds and Reynolds Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans through the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship.”

For further information about events planned for that day, contact Cindy Billington at cbillington@mays.tamu.edu or 979-458-1872