Muster inspiration from an Aggie astronaut

To highlight the wide range of Aggie Musters, we covered six local Musters in April 2019 for a story in Texas Aggie magazine. Read the series: tx.ag/ComeAndMuster

There is a rock band playing across the street as you pull up to the Civic Center in Denton, which expresses life in this North Texas college town nicely.

Muster chair Elliott Beard ’05 is outside placing signs to point the way for arriving Aggies.

Nearly 200 will converge here tonight (April 20, 2019) for the Denton County A&M Club Muster. There’s a city restriction on open flames in the Civic Center, so the Muster ceremony will have battery-powered candles, but it will burn no less brightly for that.

Most arrive early for the catered meal, featuring chicken fried steak from a local restaurant. Wine is served on a donations-accepted basis, and the Club officers greet everyone and see that they’re all served dinner before getting in line themselves.

The officers are also adding names to the Roll Call up to the last minute. Denton is another Muster that determines which names it will call by printing out the full 1,600-name list and asking attendees to mark the names they want called.

Drew Larson '01 and Pam Sames '87 check in attendees and greet them with a resounding "Howdy!"

After dinner, even more Aggies and family arrive for the speaker and ceremony. Warren ’80 and Diane ’84 Boorman drove up from Plano because they wanted to attend a Muster without a required ticket price. “I’m cooking brisket at home,” Warren said, “so we appreciated that option.”

As he introduces the Club’s 2019 scholarship recipients, president Drew Larson '01 recalls the scholarship he got from the Wichita County Aggie Moms that allowed him to attend A&M.

“I’ll never forget how much it meant to me how that group of Aggie Moms supported what I was doing.”

He encourages everyone to renew membership for $25: “That’s the whole reason our Club exists, is to give scholarships to students from Denton County.”

Beard works more or less year-round to secure Muster speakers; in the six years he’s been Denton’s Muster chair, he’s gotten some well-known names, including Dave South and Jackie Sherrill.

For 2019, it was Col. Mike Fossum ’80, the former astronaut and space station commander who in 2017 took the helm of Texas A&M University-Galveston as vice president and chief operating officer.

Fossum speaks with great pride of his Aggie students in Galveston, tells some good-bull stories that have the room laughing, and also speaks of the importance of the Muster tradition thousands of Aggies are participating in worldwide.

Fossum addressing the 2019 Denton County A&M Club Muster.

“You’re not an Aggie only during the short time you’re a student. You’re an Aggie for life. And even after your days are done, you’re still an Aggie as long as your loved ones are there to answer for you,” Fossum says.

“There are times in life when the most precious gift you can give another human being is the gift of your simple presence. To the families of those we have lost, we are fully present, and trust that you feel the arms of the Aggie family holding you close to our hearts.”

• Volunteer at a Muster: tx.ag/MusterVolunteer
• You can place a name on the Muster Roll year-round: tx.ag/AddAName
• Hundreds of Musters were held last year. Was one near you? tx.ag/2019Musters
• Most Aggies’ names are not called on campus. Learn where your loved one or friend can be called: tx.ag/WhichMuster
• The Association provides many services for Aggies hosting Musters - a speakers bureau and sample
• speeches; Muster songs, poems and videos; help in publicizing your event and more. Get started: tx.ag/HostAMuster