Katy/West Houston A&M Mothers’ Club

P.O. Box 501

Barker, TX 77413-0501

281-578-3127

pennynelsn@aol.com

September 2007

Howdy Aggie Moms!

We started the new school year with a GREAT September meeting. Our membership is growing fast. Emma Lipperdt, our membership chairman has told me we now have 106 paid members and she is still receiving them in her mail. So, I’m expecting to hear a new number at our October meeting. We have lots of new freshmen Moms and previous members joining and renewing memberships. I appreciate the interest in our club as we work together for the success of our students.

Our first program speaker was unable to come at the last minute, so Nancy Williford’s husband, Alan Parrish ‘82 filled in at the last minute. He is a Houston policeman, and a proud member of the Class of 1982 of Texas A&M. Alan discussed important personal safety issues and crime statistics. The number one problem in Houston is burglary of cars. Moms were advised not to leave valuables in their car. He also said to STAY VIGILANT. Listen to your instincts! Don’t ignore if something feels out of the ordinary. If you are being followed, he suggests: DON’T GO HOME. Go to a police station, a fire station, or an emergency room. Get to know your area policeman; they are there to help you! Alan was very entertaining, informative, and even told a few jokes.

Thanks to the board members for providing refreshments and for their hard work in making our first meeting of the school year go so well. We appreciated each board member telling us about their committee and look forward to hearing more from them over the course of the year.

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. Deadline is Oct. 9 th!

Please remind your Aggie Mom friends to mail their membership forms to Emma Lipperdt (her address is on the form that you can download from our website) or bring them to the next meeting. Better yet, get a group of your Aggie Mom friends and carpool together to the next meeting. We will have our Membership Directory ready at the November meeting.

A big Thank You to Kathy Keeney and Christina McCaslin for stepping up to the plate to be our Ways and Means Chairs. 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 30 & December 1. 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 October meeting as well 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. You can download the form off our website or pick one up at the October meeting. You can also sign up to help assemble or deliver them during Winter-in-Aggieland Nov. 30th.

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 October 4 th general meeting.

We invite you to our next meeting on Thursday October 4 th at 7:00 pm at the Living Word Lutheran Church located at 3700 South Mason Road. Please join us and remind those Aggie Moms who couldn’t make the first meeting to join us to hear our speakers and meet and renew friendships with other Aggie Moms.

Aggie Mom Love,

Penny Nelson

Katy/West Houston A& University Mothers’ Club

President 2007-2008