Jorge A.
Bermudez ’73
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Year Awarded: 2017
College Station, TX
JORGE A. BERMÚDEZ ’73 received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics. As a student, he was a member of the student chapter of the Sports Car Club of America and took part in activities within the Department of Agricultural Economics.
He was chief risk officer for Citigroup/Citibank 2007-08, CEO and president of Citibank Commercial Banking Group 2006-07 and Senior Advisor International and CEO of Citigroup Latin America 2002-06, in a 33-year career with Citibank and Citigroup. He is currently president and CEO of the Byebrook Group.
Since 2015, he has served on the board of trustees of the Texas A&M Foundation. He served on the board of The Association of Former Students 2006-12, including serving as chair in 2011, and supported the enhancement of the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center. He serves on the College of Agriculture Development Council, the Dean’s Advisory Board for Mays Business School and A&M’s International Advisory Board, and created scholarships for dependents of veterans and business honors scholarships, among gifts that also include support for the Financial Planning Program and the Wiley Lecture Series.
He was named an Outstanding International Alumnus of A&M in 2016, received the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2009; and was added to the Department of Agricultural Economics’ Tyrus R. Timm Honor Registry in 2006.
He serves on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Moody’s Corp. and the Community Foundation of the Brazos Valley, which he chaired in 2013. He chaired the steering committee of the New York Clearing House trade group.
His family includes wife Andrea Moo-Young Bermúdez, five children and three grandchildren.
“Integrity has no price, only value that accrues throughout your life.”
- Jorge A. Bermudez '73
Craig C.
Brown ’75
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Year Awarded: 2017
Houston, TX
CRAIG BROWN ’75 received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in accounting. As a student, he was a member of I-2 and 6th Battalion staff and a Ross Volunteer; received the Army ROTC Superior Cadet Award; and was the college's Outstanding Senior Engineer and a letterman in track.
After graduation, he worked with Exxon and Keystone International. In 1986, he co-founded Bray International, a global manufacturer of rotary valves and actuators; he is owner, CEO and chairman.
Since 1989, he has been chairman and co-founder of the Craig and Galen Brown Foundation, which recruits National Merit Scholars to A&M. He selects students who are leaders in their schools and communities, are well-rounded and will make a difference in the lives of others. In the past 25 years, over 300 students have come to A&M as Brown Foundation Scholars, including 200 engineers; 40 doctors and veterinarians; and business, liberal arts, and STEM majors. The foundation also selects and presents the Outstanding Senior Engineering Award and scholarships to five students annually.
He has served on the College of Engineering Advisory Council for more than 25 years, and has been on the Corps of Cadets Board of Visitors and an executive cabinet member for the Lead By Example capital campaign. He has supported the Chancellor’s Century Council, the MSC renovation and other projects, and is an Endowed Century Club member with 38 years of giving.
He was named 1984 Outstanding Young Houstonian by the Houston Junior Chamber of Commerce, a 2006 Outstanding Alumnus of the College of Engineering and a 2012 Outstanding Alumnus of Mays Business School and was inducted in 2017 into the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor.
His family includes wife Sue; seven children, including Zachry G. Brown ’05 and Carter R. Brown ’10; and two grandchildren.
William M. "Will"
Fraser III ’74
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Year Awarded: 2017
Garden Ridge, TX
GENERAL (RET.) WILLIAM M. FRASER III ’74 received a bachelor’s degree in engineering technology. As a student, he was first sergeant and commander of Squadron 10 in the Corps of Cadets and was on the 1971 national champion Fish Drill Team, then served as an FDT instructor 1971-73.
He served as the commander of U.S. Transportation Command, the single manager responsible for global air, land, and maritime transport for the Department of Defense, from October 2011 to May 2014; commander of Air Combat Command from September 2009 to September 2011; vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force from October 2008 to September 2009; and assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from May 2006 to October 2008.
His experience in wartime, contingency and humanitarian relief operations includes Operation Southern and Northern Watch, Operation Desert Thunder, Operation Allied Force, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom.
He serves on the Corps of Cadets Board of Visitors and the Texas A&M-Galveston Board of Visitors, as well as the board of directors of the Corps of Cadets Association. He is an at-large representative on the Leadership Council of The Association of Former Students and is a Diamond level member of The Association’s Century Club, with 35 years of giving.
He was inducted into the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor in 2013.
He chairs the board of the Military Child Education Coalition, serving all military-connected children, and is a member of Mission Readiness - Council for a Strong America, also serving U.S. youth.
His family includes wife Beverly; two children, including daughter Ashlee Fraser Cain ’01; and seven grandchildren.
Charles H.
Gregory ’64
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Year Awarded: 2017
Houston, TX
CHARLES H. GREGORY ’64 received a bachelor’s degree in economics. As a student, he was commander of the Ross Volunteers, active in Student Conference on National Affairs, and first sergeant and commander of F-2 in the Corps of Cadets.
He served in the U.S. Army 1967-69 to the rank of captain, primarily in intelligence in Vietnam. He then worked for a regional securities firm and became its vice president of venture capital operations. For 30 years, he served as CEO of Rupley Holdings, purchasing its predecessor out of bankruptcy and building it into four separate businesses.
He served for seven years on the board of trustees of the Texas A&M Foundation and was chairman. He has also served on the President’s Board of Visitors and for more than 20 years on the Liberal Arts Development Council, and has been a Double Diamond member of The Association’s Century Club, with 33 years of giving. He has created an endowed chair in liberal arts and a graduate student fellowship and has supported The Gardens at Texas A&M project, the MSC renovation and the Texas A&M Foundation building fund, among other gifts.
In 2016, he was inducted into the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor. He is a class co-representative for the Ross Volunteers Association and a class representative for Company F-2. He served on A&M’s Vision 2020 planning group and the committee for A&M’s early-2000s capital campaign. He also supports and serves Houston charities.
His family includes wife Mary, a son and a daughter, as well as his late father, R.P. Gregory ’32, and uncles A.J. Gray ’45 and Delbert W. Gray ’49.
William M. "Bill"
Huffman ’53
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Year Awarded: 2017
College Station, TX
WILLIAM M. “BILL” HUFFMAN ’53 received a bachelor’s degree in poultry science. As a student, he was a battalion staff captain in the Corps, received the College of Agriculture’s Distinguished Service Award and Faculty Achievement Award and graduated with the highest grade point average in the College of Agriculture.
He was on active duty in the U.S. Army 1954-56. After making the highest grade on the March 1959 Texas bar exam, he was in full-time private legal practice in Marshall from 1959 to 1998. He was president of the Harrison County Bar Association.
He is a 2016 inductee into the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor, and since 2013 has served as a Class Agent for the Class of ’53; in 2014, he compiled a directory of his classmates. Since 1986, he and his wife, Barbara, have been members of the A&M Legacy Society and A&M Heritage Society and have made gifts including support for the College of Medicine, Corps of Cadets, MSC, Kyle Field, Fish Camp, the new band hall/music activities center, and numerous scholarships, including a President’s Endowed Scholarship and and two Corps 21 Scholarships. They have also given more than 600 individual students their first-year active memberships in The Association of Former Students. He is a Diamond level member of The Association’s Century Club, with 52 years of giving.
He served on the board of Good Shepherd Health System from January 2009 to February 2017 and has chaired the board since October 2015. He was chair of the city commission of Marshall 1971-78. He has also served in the Marshall Lions Club and on boards for the Harrison County Hospital Association and Harrison County Airport.
His family includes wife Barbara, son William Marion Huffman, Jr. ’88, daughter Gay Lynn Huffman ’92, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Arno W.
Krebs ’64
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Year Awarded: 2017
Bryan, TX
ARNO W. KREBS, JR. ’64 received a bachelor’s degree in education. As a student, he was a member of the Corps of Cadets and the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band, vice president and president of the Student Education Association and a member of the Pre-Law Society.
He joined the Houston law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski after law school graduation in 1967 and was a partner in the litigation section 1975-2007. He was head of the litigation department in the firm’s Dallas office 1997-2002.
He has served as president and an executive committee member for the 12th Man Foundation and on the board of The Association of Former Students, and is in the Lettermen’s Association Hall of Honor and Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor.
A past president of the Texas Aggie Bar Association, he was named Aggie Lawyer of the Year in 2006.
An Outstanding Alumnus of the College of Education and Human Development, he created an endowed scholarship in the college and has served on development councils for the college and the Bush School of Government and Public Service.
He is a Silver level member of The Association’s Century Club, with 54 years of giving; he and his wife helped fund the Memories exhibit in the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center. He has also supported the Sterling C. Evans Library.
He serves on the operating committee of the Texas Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education and the board of Industry Bancshares community bank holding company. Through his pro bono activities, he helped establish hometown organizations including the Shelby Area Historical Society.
His family includes wife Barbara, daughter Kirsten Krebs Calder ’89, stepson Bret L. Dark ’89 and four grandchildren. His father was Arno W. Krebs, Sr. ’37.
Maj. Gen. Raymond L.
Murray ’35
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Year Awarded: 2017
Carlsbad, CA
¬¬¬MAJ. GEN. RAYMOND L. MURRAY ’35 received a bachelor’s degree in English. As a student, he lettered in football in ’31, ’32 and ’33, was named to the 1933 All- Southwest Conference football team, and was A&M's most valuable player in 1934. He was also an infantry regiment colonel.
He was selected as one of three Aggies to receive a direct commission in the U.S. Marine Corps, entering as a second lieutenant. In 33 years of service, he became one of the most highly decorated Aggies in history, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross, two Navy Crosses, four Silver Stars and the Legion of Merit. In 1945, he was part of the honor guard at President Franklin Roosevelt’s funeral.
He served first in Shanghai during the Sino-Japanese War in 1937. During World War II, he led Marines at Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Saipan. In the Korean War, he led the 5th Marines in the landings at Pusan and Inchon and in the Chosin Reservoir campaign. He served as deputy commander for all Marine forces in Vietnam.
He was A&M’s campus Muster speaker in 1967. In 1999, he was inducted into the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor. In 2003, the city of Oceanside, Calif., named a bridge in his honor. He passed away the next year. In 2007, a high school named in his honor was dedicated in Vista, Calif., where scholarships are given in his name. In the Leon Uris novel and film Battle Cry, he was the model for the character of Lt. Col. “High Pockets” Huxley.
He was a Bronze level member of The Association’s Century Club, with 26 years of giving.
His surviving family includes wife Zona; a daughter and two sons; grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Martín E.
Torrijos ’87
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Year Awarded: 2017
Panama City, Panama
MARTÍN TORRIJOS ’87 received bachelor’s degrees in political science and in economics. He worked in the U.S. for four years before returning to Panama.
His political career began in 1990, when he was elected to lead the Revolutionary Democratic Party’s youth organization. He was Panama’s undersecretary of government and justice 1994-98, responsible for national security, civil aerial navigation, public transportation and telecommunications. He was elected to lead his party in 1999, serving as general secretary for three terms.
In 2004, he was elected as the 42nd president of the Constitutional Republic of Panama, serving from Sept. 1, 2004, to June 30, 2009. His administration achieved economic growth of 8.5 percent, reduced the unemployment rate, and created a range of social programs from education to health, including fiscal and social security reforms. Also during his presidency, Panama approved and began the Panama Canal expansion, a $6.3 billion project.
In May 2006, he participated in the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement for collaborative research between Texas A&M University-Galveston and the International Maritime University of Panama. In 2007, Texas A&M and The Association recognized him with the Outstanding International Alumnus Award.
For more than two decades, Torrijos has been an economic advisor to international companies and governments. More recently, he has earned recognition as a moderator in regional conflicts. After Haiti’s earthquake in 2010, he became actively involved in the reconstruction effort and served as a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Board.
He is vice president of the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America, a director of the Inter- American Dialogue policy analysis center and board president for the Omar Torrijos Foundation.
Edmond
Wulfe ’55
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Year Awarded: 2017
Houston
ED WULFE ’55 received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. As a student, he served on 2nd Wing staff as a cadet lieutenant colonel, was a Ross Volunteer and a member of the Freshman Drill Team and the Senior Court, and was president of Texas A&M Hillel.
He is the chairman, CEO and founder of Wulfe & Co. commercial real estate brokerage, development and property management firm. Among properties he has developed: BLVD Place, which won a 2015 Houston Business Journal Landmark Award; redeveloped Meyerland Plaza, which was honored among “Deals That Made a Difference” in 1995 and 1996; and Gulfgate Center, which won the Houston Chapter of the Urban Land Institute’s 2012 Development of Distinction Award and Best Rehabilitation Renovation Project in 2003. He was previously executive vice president and a director of Weingarten Realty Investors.
He serves on Texas A&M’s Master of Real Estate Advisory Board, has been a lecturer for MBA students, created an endowed scholarship in Mays Business School, and funded an auditorium in the Texas A&M Hillel Building. He has been a Diamond level member of The Association’s Century Club, with 33 years of giving.
He chaired Houston Mayor’s Main Street Coalition, leading redevelopment of the city’s Main Street Corridor; chaired the Stadium Park Redevelopment Authority; chaired a referendum to expand Houston’s light rail and transit systems (2003); and co-chaired a $100 million parks bond issue campaign (2012). He has served on executive committees and boards for Greater Houston Partnership, Houston Symphony, Scenic Houston, Holocaust Museum, Uptown Management District and the Texas Bowl.
His family includes wife Lorraine, four daughters, seven grandchildren, extended family of two daughters and three grandchildren, and his brother Emil Wulfe ’58.
John M.
Yantis ’53
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Year Awarded: 2017
San Antonio, TX
JOHN M. YANTIS ’53 received a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology. As a student, he was a freshman class officer and “A” quartermaster in the Corps of Cadets.
After serving in the military, he worked for H.B. Zachry Co. and later as an equipment salesperson. In 1965, he founded what is today the $70-million-per-year construction firm Yantis Co., of which he served as chairman. He was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 1988, and the company is a multiple-year honoree of the Aggie 100 list of fastest-growing businesses.
He is deeply involved in philanthropy and service both in San Antonio, where he was on the board of directors for Boysville (1980-84), and at Texas A&M. In 2008, he created the Patsy and John Yantis ’53 Regents Scholars Student Assistance Endowment Fund through The Association. He has served on the 12th Man Foundation board and on the 12th Man Foundation’s Champions Council and the Chancellor’s Century Council, has endowed 12th Man and Association scholarships, is a member of the A&M Legacy Society and has been a Gold level member of The Association’s Century Club, with 36 years of giving. In 1999, he was inducted into the Texas A&M Lettermen’s Hall of Honor.
He was chairman of the 2007 Valero Alamo Bowl and has served on the board of Associated General Contractors and as president of Oak Hills Country Club, former home of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament, in 1990 and 1999.
His family includes his late wife, Patsy; children J. Mike Yantis ’76, Thomas G. Yantis ’78, Nancy Yantis Austin ’82 and Susan L. Yantis ’84; son-in-law Henry Eitt Austin ’80; grandchildren Mike Yantis, Jr. ’02, Taylor Eitt Austin ’12, and Hailey Lynne Austin ’15; and granddaughters-in-law Jennifer Nicole Yantis ’06 and Laura Oatman Austin ’13.