President Messages

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I don't know about you, but the start of a new school year is the new year for me. Here in Aggieland, a slightly smaller but just as energetic school of new fish have arrived. We're already planning ways to connect them to their noble legacy, introduce them to our world-class traditions, and inculcate them with our core values.

 

Last week we hosted over 50 leaders of nearly every impactful student organization you could name for our Leaders and Legends dinner and round table discussions. We were honored to have Chancellor Glenn Hegar '93 as our speaker and one of our table hosts, along with Aggie legends like former Head Yell Leader and current Regent Sam Torn '70, former Student Body President Colonel Steven Ruth '92, former Corps Commander and new Dean of the Bush School John Sherman '92, former Brigade Commander Dave Eubank '83 and Texas A&M's premier historian and author Dr. John A Adams, Jr. '73. This has become a much anticipated campus event for our students, which would not be possible without your support.

 

A new school year brings new leadership to this campus on the Board of Regents, in the Chancellor's Office, and the Office of the Commandant. You will be pleased to hear that our campus appears to be in very good hands. Our legislators have also crafted new laws like Senate Bill 37 which make all of our campuses more accountable to tax and tuition payers and clarifies that we are the stakeholders with whom administrators should "share governance".

 

One report from the trenches summed up the new climate magnificently: "The cadets are leading again and black belts who aren't busting ass to meet the white belts on the quad are doing push-ups instead!" As the Corps of Cadets goes, so goes Texas A&M and as we go, so goes the most important state in America. Your TRA has positively contributed to the transformative changes over the past five years. 

 

We've been largely known for what we have been against and we make no apologies for that. To quote President George H. W. Bush, we simply "stood where duty required us to stand" and we intend to remain eternally vigilant. But as we look forward to our 150th Aggie birthday next year, we also want to be known for what we are for: Our Core Values and Traditions.

 

On that note, a generous member has issued a challenge grant of $25,000 to build a $50,000 endowment in support of that mission. More to come on this opportunity, but if you already know you would like to help us meet this goal, please contact Mark Browning '88 at admin@rudderassociation.org or through our website TheRudderAssociation.org While you're there, check out our handsome new TRA merchandise at our TRA Online Store.

 

As always, you can help us spread the good news as we work to defend and perpetuate our Core Values and Traditions for generations to come!

 

Gig 'em!

 

Matt Poling '90

President, TRA