Katy/West Houston A&M Mothers’ Club

P.O. Box 501

Barker, TX 77413-0501

281-578-3127

pennynelsn@aol.com

August 2007

Howdy Aggie Moms!

Summer is just about over and soon it will be time to send our Aggies back to College Station or Galveston for the fall semester! Congratulations to those of you who are sending your students to Texas A&M for the first time. You are about to begin an association with a great University and a great Mothers’ Club. The University has a lot of wonderful people and resources and job of the A&M Mothers’ Club is helping you to connect with them and therefore bridge the gap between home and college for students and parents alike. Our club is one of 126 Aggie Moms’ Clubs in Texas and other states with the same purpose.

Our Katy/West Houston Club was started in November 1993. We hold monthly meetings at which student speakers and University faculty and staff inform us about different Texas A&M activities, resources, and traditions. We hold our meetings on the first Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM with the exception of January (no meeting), at the Living Word Lutheran Church located at 3700 South Mason Road. From I-10, go south on Mason Road, turn right on Westheimer Parkway. The Church building is on the left.

Enclosed you will find a membership application – please fill it out and bring it with you to the September 6 th general meeting. Or, if you would prefer, mail it with your dues to Emma Lipperdt at the address on the form. We are asking that all membership forms and dues be returned by the October 4th meeting so that we can have a directory ready for your at the November 1st meeting.

Did you know Aggie Moms’ has a Weekend Retreat? (formerly called Aggie Mom Fish Camp) This camp is similar to the camp that the “fish” and transfer students attend and all moms, guardians, and grandmothers (not just new moms) are invited to attend the weekend retreat. Each year it is held in College Station on an away game weekend. This is my 10 th year to attend, so I assure you, that you will have a wonderful time! In fact, I even chaired Camp IX, and our own Nancy Williford is co-chair of the retreat this year. So mark your calendar for November 9-11 to come and have fun, learn Aggie traditions, see some great entertainment, hear informative speakers, and make new Aggie Mom friendships. Oh, did I mention there is time for shopping and time to spend with your Aggie! Registration Forms can be found online at www.aggiemoms.org.

As is our tradition, our Club will again be participating in the “Winter in Aggieland” Craft Fair at the Memorial Student Center (MSC) in College Station on November 29 – 30. Our Ways and Means Committee will be showing us Aggie items that will be available to buy at each meeting, as well as at Winter in Aggieland. They accept checks and cash at the meetings for any Aggie items you might need for birthday presents, graduations, or just a special treat for your Aggie of any age. We have hand towels, ring crest seals, ironwork stars and handcrafted items, just to name a few things. Continuing on this year, we will have pictures of these items posted to our website so you can see what’s available. The money raised by Ways & Means is used to fund out scholarships and donations to TAMU organization and clubs.

Our Club participates in a rebate program with Kroger and Randall’s. We will have Kroger cards available at our meetings for those of you who would like one. Every time you shop, we encourage you to simply present your card, and the purchase price of your groceries will automatically be recorded to our Club’s account. We receive one percent of the total purchases at the end of each quarter. We have a number that we use at Randall’s. Renee Anchors will have more information about these programs at the first meeting as will as the Kroger cards.

Another important tradition of our Club is providing support in the form of care packages for our Aggie Students twice a year just before finals week. You will hear details from Laurel Adami about this special way to let our Aggies know we care about them at this hectic time at our meetings.

To make it convenient for our Aggie Moms to get the latest information about our club, call the Katy/West Houston A&M University Moms’ Hotline at 281-394-8108. You can call this number at anytime to find out what is happening or coming up with our Club. Marilyn Mokwa will have magnets available at the meetings for you to take home. You can also visit our website (www.katywesthoustonaggiemoms.com) to download general meeting minutes, newsletters, care package order forms, scholarship applications and see our Ways & Means items. More information will be given at our September 6 th general meeting.

Please join us for the first meeting of the 2007-2008 school year on Thursday September 6 th at 7:00 PM to hear an interesting program from the University and meet lots of friendly Aggie Moms. We look forward to seeing you!

Aggie Mom Love,

Penny Nelson

Katy/West Houston A& University Mothers’ Club

President 2007-2008