Cindy and Jerry F.
Holditch ’79
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Tomball, TX
Jerry F. Holditch ’79 graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelor of Science in geology. Upon graduation from Texas A&M, Holditch served in the U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers. He began his career as a geologist for Gulf Oil and then worked for GHR Energy. Presently, Holditch is vice president at Laredo Energy. In Tomball, he served on the Board of Directors for Brazos Resources from 1991 until 2000. Currently, he serves on the school board at Salem Lutheran School.
The success I have achieved is due in part to the Corps and those friends and the business connections I have made by attending Texas A&M.
Stephen A.
Holditch ’69
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Bryan, TX
After working as an engineer and an independent consultant, Dr. Stephen Holditch joined the Petroleum Engineering faculty at Texas A&M in 1976, where he taught Graduate level courses. He formed S.A. Holditch & Associates, Inc. in 1977 which had grown to more than 80 employees when it became part of the Schlumberger Technology Corporation in 1997. Holditch was elected to the Petroleum Engineering Academy of Distinguished Graduates at Texas A&M in 1998.
Mary Ann and Ray '48
Holbrook
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Santa Fe, TX
Ray Holbrook ’48 marched in the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band, was in the Corps of Cadets, studied engineering, ran on the cross country team and was the third leg in the 1948 mile relay team that won the national championship.
How did he accomplish so much? “We didn’t have to worry about girls back then,” he laughed. “That saved a lot of time.”
Following in uncle’s footsteps—E.G. Eagleston, Class of 1913—Holbrook came to Texas A&M in 1944. His freshman year, he was drafted into the U.S. Navy. He was gone 15 months. When he returned, he again picked up his trombone and track shoes.
“You learn discipline when you go to school at Texas A&M,” he said. Being an Aggie “has meant everything to my career,” he said. “Being an Aggie and having an A&M degree helped me get a job and then get elected to the State Board of Education and County Judge of Galveston County.”
His experiences at Texas A&M helped him step out of Aggieland with confidence, but also keep Texas A&M fondly in his memories. He remembers riding his bicycle across campus to get to class and getting up early for 6 a.m. band practice on the field behind the band hall. He remembers one road trip to Baton Rouge for a football game. The opposing team would wet down the football field to give them another home field advantage. After slipping and sliding across the field himself with the band, “I couldn’t get my boots off,” he said. “I had to sleep in them.”
Holbrook can still repeat the campusology he had to learn as a freshman cadet in 1944—“Lawrence Sullivan Ross, 1838-1898, Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman…” he quoted from the Sully statue.
One of his favorite memories is from Silver Taps, when nothing but moonlight illuminates what he believes is Texas A&M’s most solemn tradition. “Just hearing those trumpets—it gives me goose bumps,” he said.
Another tradition in which he believes strongly is that Aggies help Aggies. “I had the GI Bill to finance my education, but most students have little family resources and need scholarships and loans to attend A&M,” he said. He joined the Endowed Century Club to encourage the Aggie Spirit and help students.
“The lessons I learned at Texas A&M have stuck with me all my life,” he said. “I want to help others experience what I did.”
Cheri ’86 and Paul
Hinds ’86
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The Woodlands, TX
Cheri (Perkins) Hinds graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 1987. Cheri held various social work positions within the health-community sector. Her greatest and longest tenure of an at-home mom has been the most rewarding. Paul Hinds graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering in 1987 and worked for several companies around the world in the oil industry. Paul and Cheri reside in The Woodlands, TX and have three Aggie children Meredith ’14 - Biomedical Engineering, Nathan ‘16 Chemical Engineering and Makaylee ‘ 19 Mechanical Engineering.
Susan C. ’77 and Ronald J.
Hilton ’76
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Houston, TX
Ronald Hilton ’76 is president of Maintenance Facility Consultants and owner of Wellsco Enterprises, Inc. He graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelors degree in environmental design and a Masters in education in 1978. In 1977, Ronald was commissioned in the United States Army and served in the reserves until 1985. From 1978 – 1981 he worked as the Housing Office Coordinator in the Corps Area and Assistant to the Commandant.
His wife, Susan ’77 graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. From 1978 – 1981, Susan worked in the Academic Counseling Center and in the President’s Office at Texas A&M University. Presently she is the owner of WellsCo. Enterprises, Inc.
We wanted to give something that would continue to grow and provide a benefit for years to come. Texas A&M provided both of us the educational and inter-personal skills necessary to be successful and we want to help continue the opportunity for other young men and women.
John M.
Hiller ’80
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Springfield, VA
John Hiller was a Development Staff member at Lockheed Martin Energy Systems since 1988. Previously, he was a research chemist and principal scientist with Celanese Chemical Co. and Westinghouse Hanford Co. He received the Department of Energy Award of Excellence for significant contributions to the nuclear weapons program and has authored some 50 publications and patent applications. He earned his Ph. D. in chemistry from Texas A&M University after completing double major at Northern Illinois University.
Michelle ’89 and Robert
Hickox ’90
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Plano, TX
They’d been looking for a way to get involved, said Robert Hickox ’90. “We want to give because, really, we’re grateful,” said Michelle Hickox ’89. It was a shared affection for Aggieland that brought them together in the first place, she said. “A&M is part of our family culture.” They’ve brought their daughters, Cameron ’17 and Abby (who plans to attend A&M), to Aggieland consistently since they were babies. Football season provides a reoccurring family reunion as Michelle’s parents and brother tailgate before home games. Both girls have attended countless soccer camps with the A&M coaching staff. As a family, many of their memories are wrapped around, woven through and made possible because of the Spirit of Aggieland. “A&M and giving back is important to us,” she said, because they have been the recipient of so much. Robert was the first in his family to graduate from Texas A&M. “My folks worked their tails off to allow me to attend Texas A&M without debt,” he said. Michelle’s parents, too, picked up extra jobs so that she could graduate from A&M debt-free.
When Cameron got her acceptance letter, the Hickox family knew they were fortunate enough to be able to allow her the great opportunity of becoming an A&M student. “But not every family can do that,” Robert said. They are donors through several A&M groups, but chose to give through the Endowed Century Club because “we feel like The Association provides great benefits to students,” Michelle said. Their goal has always been to support students.
As a student herself, Michelle always knew she wanted to go to A&M. The traditions—the Spirit, the Aggie family—“A&M is just such a special place,” she said. Robert was a student elsewhere when he took a road trip down with a friend. He filled out an application to transfer immediately. “We think A&M is great,” said Michelle. “We want to give others the opportunity to love it just as much as we do.”
Mary and Royce H.
Hickman, Jr. ’64
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College Station, TX
Royce Hickman is part-owner, Vice President and Treasurer of Brazos Blue Ribbon Bakery in Bryan and Business Administrator for Kingwood United Methodist Church. He was President of The Association of Former Students and has served on the board. He was President of the Houston A&M club and the Friends of Sterling C. Evans Library.
Bobbie and Richard A.
Hickman ’67
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Amarillo, TX
Richard received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering. Following military service and graduate school, Richard joined the global engineering department of Cabot Corporation. Skills learned at Aggieland permitted a most rewarding career. Richard
retired following projects in Brazil, Canada, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, and many of the Corporation’s domestic facilities.
Lynda and Thomas "Tom" W.
Henry ’76
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Huntsville, TX
Tom Henry graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Agricultural Economics in 1976 and received his MBA from Sam Houston State University in 1990. Tom served in the United States Army, 1st Cavalry Division from 1976 – 1980. Tom retired from Exxon Mobil in 2009, after a 29 year career with Exxon Corporation. Tom has served on several boards such as the Huntsville ISD Board, Friends of the Old Town Theater in Huntsville and the Texas Aggie Band Association. Tom and his wife Lynda reside in Huntsville and have two daughters and sons-in-law, Chris Ann ’00 and Lucas ’00 Stroech and Traci ’06 and Morgan ’06 Hinchcliffe.
Chester
Helmer ’42
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Chester Helmer began his career as a test engineer for Douglas Aircraft and then became a design engineer for C.F. Braun & Company. He helped design prototypes of variable depth sonar gear so the U.S. Navy could detect enemy submarines and engine shafts for the first atomic aircraft engines. The latter process was later used for production of oil field valves and equipment.
Janet and Mark S.
Heiman ’79
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Houston, TX
In 17 years with AMOCO, Mark Heiman has handled design and production of facilities in Texas, New Mexico, the Arabian Desert and Norway. He helped establish the first APC interruptible power contract between AMOCO and Plains Electric. Since 1992, he has been project engineer for plant and gas field developments in the United Arab Emirates and, as project engineer and construction manager, he has upgraded a processing plant and expanded collection facilities in Norway.
Judy and Syd
Heaton ’61
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Tampa, FL
Syd Heaton greaduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelors of Arts and Sciences in 1961 and in 1962 his Masters of Sciences. While attending Texas A&M Syd was a Distinguished Student, Distinguished military Student, and Corp Commander in 1961. After graduation, he served in the military and later worked for IBM Corporation for 35 years. During which he worked many assignments around the country in sales and sales management. Syd has served on numerous Boards of Directors and Boards of Trustees including Univerisity of Tampa, Tri-Base Corporation, Alternative Resources Corporation, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and Texas A&M College of Business Advisory Council. Syd and his wife Judy have four children and nine grandchildren.
The Family of Bettye and H. Darryl
Heath ’84
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Colleyville, TX
H. Darryl Heath graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelors of Science in industrial engineering. In 1997, Heath became a partner for Accenture and is still actively serving clients today. Heath is very involved with Junior Achievement, where he has taught, served on the Dallas board, and served as chair. In 2005, he was awarded the National Leadership Award by Junior Achievement. Heath is an active supporter of the Texas A&M Leadershape program, is on the Look College of Engineering Advisory Board and is involved with several leadership programs within the MSC.
I have many great memories from Texas A&M, but some of my fondest were working with the many awesome people in MSC Town Hall putting on great concerts for the university, and hosting some very special guests while there were on campus, Bob Hope, Red Skelton and others. I also had great experiences working on the bonfires through the years. But mostly I had several roommates and buddies who all played lots of intramural sports together and to this day, I still laugh thinking about all the great times we had playing softball, football, and of course, having beers at the Chicken when we were done.
Andrea and David A.
Heath ’76
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Austin, TX
David A. Heath '76 of Austin, TX was a National Merit Scholar and graduated cum laude from Texas A&M University in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in Health and Physical Education, and earned a master's degree in the same field in 1979. He was Texas A&M's first full-time assistant athletic trainer and was later named Head Athletic Trainer for all men's and women's sports within the university.
David spent eight years with Adidas before joining Nike as a regional apparel sales manager in Dallas in 1990. He directed Nike's U.S. territory sales, managed the U.S. equipment division and directed commerce in the Americas region before he became Vice President for U.S. Sales in 2004 where he led the wholesale business of Nike branded footwear, apparel and equipment sales. In February 2007, David was promoted to Vice President for Global Sales where he was responsible for over $16 billion in sales revenue in the four global operating regions. Prior to his retirement in 2009, David managed global HR planning for the entire sales organization, as well as designed and implemented all go-to-market strategies to interface with wholesale customers with his primary day-to-day focus being on the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, China, India, Russia and Brazil.
A community volunteer, David has been active with the Boy Scouts of America for many years. Having served on various corporate executive boards and being a Habitat for Humanity volunteer, David has twice hosted the "How to Interview with Corporate America" session with Texas A&M University's Mays Business School MBA students and is a regular Executive Professor. A third-generation Aggie, David followed in the footsteps of his father, James A. Heath '40 and two great uncles who graduated in the 1920s. He and his wife, Andrea, have two sons, Joel '05 and Todd '07.
Harold J.
Haynes ’46
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San Rafael, TX
Harold Haynes served as Chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation and served on the Boards of Betchtel Principal Operating Companies, Boeing Co., Hewlett-Packard Co., Carter Hawley Hale Stores Inc., and Sante Fe Southern Pacific Corporation. Haynes is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award and the Geosciences and Earth Resources Medal for Distinguished Achievement.
Yvette H. '91 and Robert E. '90
Hayes
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Cypress, TX
Yvette H. '91 and Robert E. '90 Hayes Endowed Century Club Fund
Kathy and Mike J.
Havel ’76
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Dallas, TX
Mike graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology in 1976. He is the President of Metro Custom Plastics, a plastic injection molding manufacturing company in Arlington. Mike is a Retired Captain in the United States Army Reserves, Corps of Engineers. Prior to serving on The Association’s Board of Directors, he was a member of The Association’s Constituent Network Task Committee as well as the College of Science Advisory Board. An Eagle Scout, Mike is a recruiter for Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets and has served on the Corps Development Council.