Campus Life

Texas A&M Foundation Honors Most Generous Benefactors At A&M Legacy Society Celebration

The Texas A&M Foundation honored members of the A&M Legacy Society, who donated $100,000 or more in support of the university.
By Monika Blackwell, Texas A&M Foundation April 24, 2015

legacy society
Heritage members of the A&M Legacy Society Bonnie and Joe Merritt of Argyle, Texas, created a scholarship for students in
small animal veterinary medicine and supported the small animal hospital construction with their gifts.

(Texas A&M Foundation)

The Texas A&M Foundation on Thursday and Friday honored members of the A&M Legacy Society, a group composed of individuals, corporations and organizations who donated $100,000 or more in support of the university, or individuals who made provisions in their estate plans for gifts to support Texas A&M.

“This is a very exciting time for Texas A&M, and it’s wonderful to be able to celebrate our strong future with the people who have dedicated their time and resources to moving us in that direction,” said Ed Davis, president of the Texas A&M Foundation.

The two-day A&M Legacy Society celebration included a gala on Thursday evening and a breakfast, college tours and luncheon on Friday. Nearly 600 people attended the gala at the Hildebrand Equine Center, including 250 new A&M Legacy Society members, the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Texas A&M University President-select Michael Young and Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System John Sharp. Dr. Eleanor Green, the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, also spoke about the college’s initiatives as it enters its centennial year.

As a gesture to welcome them to Texas A&M, the foundation presented a cowboy hat to President-select Young and a pair of cowboy boots featuring the university’s logo to his wife Marti. To conclude the evening, members of the Aggie Wranglers, a country western dance team comprising Texas A&M students, entertained guests with jitterbug moves and two-step footwork.

A&M Legacy Society members Jesse and Lynda Curlee of Phoenix, Arizona, believe that former students should support the university in order to provide others with a superb educational experience. One of the couple’s most generous gifts to the university was a 1999 contribution to help construct the Texas A&M Foundation’s headquarters, the Jon L. Hagler Center.

“Giving back to an institution that you love and that played a major part in your life is an easy decision,” said Jesse Curlee, who earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing engineering in 1967 and is the president of Supima, which promotes American Pima cotton and licenses the name and trademark to companies worldwide. Curlee also served on the Texas A&M Foundation’s board of trustees from 1998 to 2005.

“Texas A&M is one of the nation’s elite universities, but to maintain and increase its status, more private funding will be necessary in the future,” said Curlee. “The entire impact the Aggie experience has made in my personal and business life has been very significant.”

Membership in A&M Legacy Society results from giving through any of four Texas A&M fundraising organizations: the Texas A&M Foundation, The Association of Former Students, the 12th Man Foundation and the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation.

The Texas A&M Foundation also honors Legacy Society members by inscribing their names on walls and glass panels in Legacy Hall of the foundation’s headquarters in the Jon L. Hagler Center. In addition, the south wall of the building is reserved for those who have given $5 million or more to support Texas A&M. This year, the names of Virginia L. and Cuthbert C. Burton ’42, Ashley R. ’88 and David L. Coolidge ’87, Trisha and L.C. “Chaz” Neely Jr. ’62 and Robyn L. ’89 and Alan B. Roberts ’79 were added to this distinguished list.

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