R. Sam
Torn ’70
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Year Awarded: 2020
Houston, TX
For 36 years, Torn and his wife, Susan ’13, have owned and operated Incomparable Camp Ozark, one of the largest residential summer camps in the nation, where they have impacted over 200,000 children and thousands of staff.
Torn is also developer and owner of Camp OTX, executive director of Camp War Eagle for underserved children, and founder and chairman of Ozone Ministries and Ozark for All camp. He is a member of Texas’ Higher Education Coordinating Board.
As a student, he was head yell leader, in charge of building A&M’s largest Bonfire, and a member of the Corps’ Company F-2, the varsity baseball team and the Student Senate.
Torn is a past chair of the 12th Man Foundation, cochaired the Kyle Field Redevelopment Committee and $485 million campaign and coordinated the redevelopment of Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
The Torns received the 12th Man Foundation’s E. King Gill Award in 2016. Torn is a member of the Corps Hall of Honor and Texas A&M Lettermen’s Association Hall of Honor. He has been a Class Agent for the Class of ’70, an Association area representative and past president of the Association of Former Yell Leaders.
Torn is an Endowed Century Club member of The Association of Former Students, with 28 years of giving.
His Aggie family includes his late father, Roland S. Torn ’38. The Torns have three children, Scott ’95 (married to Secily ’95), Chris ’97 (married to Ceci ’98) and Angela ’02 (married to Stephan ’02), and 13 grandchildren including two Aggies, Sam ’23 and Caroline ’24.
“To me, Texas A&M means legacy, the necessity of being thankful for the opportunity afforded by the efforts of those who came before and the responsibility to make it an even better opportunity for those who come after.”
- R. Sam Torn '70
John D.
White ’70
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Year Awarded: 2020
College Station, TX
White is a former Air Force judge advocate with over 40 years’ experience as a fund manager and lawyer. He is a member of the American Bar Foundation and Texas Bar Foundation, a charter member of the Houston Bar Foundation and has been board certified in civil litigation.
As a student, he was a member of the Ross Volunteers Firing Squad, First Wing commander in the Corps of Cadets and a committee chairman for SCONA (Student Conference on National Affairs).
He is a chairman emeritus of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, a trustee of the George and Barbara Bush Foundation, a former board member of The Association of Former Students, a former board chairman for the Ed Rachal Foundation, a past director of the University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Company (UTIMCO) and a former director of the Greater Houston Partnership, a fellow of the American Leadership Forum and a past chairman of the Texas Young Lawyers Association.
White is a Corps Hall of Honor inductee and a namesake of A&M’s John D. White ’70-Robert L. Walker ’58 Music Activities Center. In 2007, he was named the Texas Aggie Bar Association’s Lawyer of the Year.
He is an Endowed Century Club member of The Association, with 31 years of giving; he has supported the 12th Man Foundation and the Bush Foundation, and he and his wife, Daisy, created the Neva and A. E. (Buddy) White ’42 President’s Endowed Scholarship.
His Aggie family includes his late father, A.E. White ’42. He and Daisy have two daughters and five grandchildren.
Charean
Williams ’86
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Year Awarded: 2020
Arlington, TX
Williams became the first woman to enter the writers’ wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018 when her peers voted her the 50th recipient of the Dick McCann Award for a long and distinguished career covering professional football. The 2020 season is her 27th covering the NFL, including more than a decade as a Dallas Cowboys beat reporter.
She became the first female Pro Football Hall of Fame selector in 2007 and the first female president of the Pro Football Writers of America in 2009.
As a student, she wrote for The Battalion student newspaper and earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism. In 2018, she got a master’s degree in mass communication from South Dakota State University.
She has reported on the NFL for the Orlando Sentinel, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and currently NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk website. She has covered 26 Super Bowls and seven Olympic Games.
Williams serves on the board of the Pro Football Writers, is an adjunct professor in the sport management program at SMU and is an active member at First United Methodist Arlington.
She frequently returns to A&M to speak to journalism students and Battalion staffers.
She is a Diamond-level member of The Association’s Century Club, with 31 years of giving, and has funded scholarships for Aggie journalism majors.
Her husband, Tom Dumper, is a former A&M assistant volleyball coach.
“It’s as simple as this, I have had many firsts in my career as a woman in a male-dominated field. I would not have accomplished anything in my career without Texas A&M and my journalism degree from the Liberal Arts department. It set in motion everything that has happened since.”
- Charean Williams '86
E. E. "Mr. Mac"
McQuillen ’20
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Year Awarded: 2021
College Station, TX
As a student, McQuillen was a lieutenant colonel in the Corps, lettered in track and basketball, was captain of the 1920 Southwest Conference champion basketball team and associate editor of the yearbook, a Ross Volunteer, senior class president and valedictorian. His college career was interrupted by service in World War I as a U.S. Army second lieutenant.
He led The Association of Former Students as executive secretary from 1926 to 1947. He reorganized and encouraged A&M Clubs throughout Texas and beyond; created an Opportunity Award Scholarship Program that helped thousands attend A&M; and introduced annual giving in 1942. In 1943, McQuillen created the first Muster packets sent worldwide, formalizing Aggies’ practice of gathering on April
21 under the name of “Muster.” He initiated the Gold Star Fund for children of former students killed in combat and led fundraising for A&M’s Memorial Student Center.
From 1947 to 1963, he was director of the Texas A&M Development Office; he led the Texas A&M Development Foundation (today’s Texas A&M Foundation) 1953-63. He served the American Alumni Council as director (1947-
48) and president (1955-56) and was a co-recipient of its Grand Award for Alumni Giving in 1959. He was elected to the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975. In 2020, The Association created the E.E. McQuillen
Society of volunteer fundraisers in his honor.
“The institutionalization of the organized, worldwide Aggie Muster was probably his proudest accomplishment.”
- Granddaughter, Julie Hayes
Ray
Nesbitt ’55
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Year Awarded: 2021
Houston, TX
Ray B. Nesbitt ’55 graduated from A&M in three years, then started as a junior engineer at the Humble refinery in Baytown. He retired in 1998 as president of Exxon Chemical Co.; previous positions included vice president of Exxon Chemical Europe and president of Exxon Chemical Americas. In 1991, he received Texas A&M Engineering's Outstanding Alumni Award.
He served as a director of the Houston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and on boards including Hibernia Bank
and Marshall National Bank. He and wife Sarah co-chaired capital campaigns for St. Francis Episcopal Church and The Women’s Home in Houston. At A&M, they created chemical engineering scholarships; a chemical engineering professorship, chair and faculty
endowment; and an engineering study classroom.
Nesbitt was a Gold-level member of The
Association’s Century Club with 32 years of giving, supported the 12th Man Foundation and Texas A&M Foundation and was a member of
the Chemical Engineering Advisory Council and A&M Legacy Society. He served on the executive committee for A&M’s “One Spirit, One Vision” capital campaign.
“He has demonstrated competence and integrity throughout his career and brought honor to Texas A&M.”
- Melbern G. Glasscock 1959
John C.
Otto ’70
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Year Awarded: 2021
Bryan, TX
For John C. Otto ’70, coming to A&M and being part of the Aggie Band and the Corps of Cadets was the best experience of his life, said his wife, Nancy. He walked into Dorm 11 with a footlocker and a great deal of apprehension about what was coming, and left four years later with a degree, the Aggie core values and lifelong friends, she said.
As a student, Otto was head drum major of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band, a Ross Volunteer and a member of the MSC Leadership Program.
Otto was a certified public accountant in Houston 1970- 1975 and in Dayton 1975-2010. He served on Dayton’s city council and school board and served eight years active and
reserve duty in the U.S. Army. He was an Endowed Century Club member of The Association with 46 years of giving. Elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2004,
Otto represented District 18 for six terms, from 2005 to 2017, chairing the House Appropriations Committee and holding other key positions. In 2017, he became assistant
vice chancellor and director of local government relations for The Texas A&M University System.
In 2017, he received the Olin “Tiger” Teague ’32 Award from The Association and Texas A&M Advocacy Network for contributions and government service on behalf of A&M. In 2020, the mace used by A&M’s head drum major to lead the Aggie Band was named in Otto’s honor. A&M System Chancellor John Sharp ’72 presented Otto with an inscribed replica of the mace.
“Throughout his career, he was revered for his
honesty, integrity and dedication to improving
the lives of all Texans.”
- Glenn Hegar 1993
Mark W.
Albers ’79
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Year Awarded: 2022
The Woodlands, TX
Mark W. Albers ’79 believes, “We are all put here for a purpose, and that purpose is not ‘all about us.’” Rather, he says, our purpose “is found in the One who put us here in the first place.”
From the beginning, Albers knew he wanted a career in oil. He studied petroleum engineering at A&M, participating in Student Engineers’ Council, Engineering Honor Society, Campus Crusade for Christ and even walking onto the football team. After graduating summa cum laude, Albers soon found a job with Exxon. It was the perfect fit. Albers remained at ExxonMobil for over 38 years, eventually working his way up to corporate senior vice president over the upstream at the company’s headquarters in Irving, Texas. Albers’ career took him from Australia to Africa, bringing on new supplies of energy.
While excelling in industry, Albers also found the time to stay involved in his local community. Albers is an area advisor to Men’s Bible Study Fellowship over Houston and East Texas, providing leadership for about 2,500 participants. He has served on the boards of the MD Anderson Cancer Center, CEO Forum and the Grace School of Theology.
Service to Texas A&M has remained a priority to Albers. Albers served on the boards of The Association of Former Students, the A&M System’s University Lands Board, and the Engineering Advisory Board. Albers and his wife, Cindy, are Endowed Century Club members. They have funded an endowed scholarship, an endowed faculty fellowship, and classroom improvements in the new Zachry engineering complex.
Three of Mark and Cindy’s four children attended A&M with their spouses: Byron ’06 (Sharla ’06), Amanda ’11 (Scott ’11), and Amy ’15 (Tony ’11). Their son David (Marin) graduated from Rice University. They have 12 grandchildren.
“Mark is a steady influence with the rare gift of raising the level of accomplishment of all those with whom he works.”
- George N. Harris, Jr. '85
General Joe
Ashy ’62
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Year Awarded: 2022
College Station, TX
ccording to General Joe Ashy ’62, the saying, “We are the Aggies, The Aggies are we,” “highlights the imperative that Aggie excellence demands ‘us’ (rather than ‘me’) to selflessly serve for the greater good. Our unity and collective spirit are what make us transcendent and distinctive!”
Ashy is one of only 10 Aggies to rise to the rank of four-star general in the U.S. military. He began his 35-year military career as a fighter pilot in the Air Force after four years of ROTC with the Corps of Cadets. By the end of his service, Ashy was concurrently serving as the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command. Included in his many military decorations are the Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the U.S. Defense Distinguished Service Medal with cluster. General Ashy’s command touched the lives of countless U.S. and global coalition partner members.
After retirement from the military, Ashy founded aerospace consulting company Ashy and Associates LLC, where he served as president and CEO. He was appointed to the Independent Strategic Assessment Group, which advises the Air Force in the areas of air, space, cyber, and command and control. Appointed as a senior fellow by the Department of Defense, Ashy mentored up-and-coming U.S. flag officers through the Capstone and Pinnacle programs. During his 18 years of involvement with these programs, Ashy also led U.S. delegations to over 120 countries.
Ashy has been closely involved in Texas A&M’s Sul Ross Group, which includes Aggie former students of 55 or more years from graduation. Ashy served as the group’s president during the 2021-22 term. Ashy has been married to his wife, Sue, for 61 years. They have a daughter, Karen, and a granddaughter, Lt. Col. Kristin Clinger ’09.
Ashy’s Aggie family includes his late father, Joe Ashy ’29, his brother, Dr. Thomas Ashy ’64.
“General Ashy’s reputation for integrity and selfless dedication to supporting America’s warfighters combined to set the highest possible standards for military and industry interactions.”
- Lt. Gen. Bruce "Orville" Wright
Gregory
Cokinos ’79
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Year Awarded: 2022
Houston, TX
“The core values embraced by the student body and stressed in the Aggie culture have built and guided me to a more virtuous and fulfilled life, which is essential to maintaining the traditions of this great country,” said Gregory Cokinos ’79.
Cokinos earned his bachelor of business administration degree from A&M, quickly followed in 1982 by his Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law. In 1989, he cofounded Cokinos Young law firm, specializing in construction, engineering and real estate law. Cokinos is the firm’s president and CEO. Under his leadership, the firm has grown from three lawyers to over 85 across three states.
Cokinos has been repeatedly recognized for his contributions to his field. He was the first Houston lawyer to be inducted into the American College of Construction Lawyers, a group considered the top 1% of U.S. construction lawyers. Thomson Reuters has named Cokinos a Texas Super Lawyer every year since 2005 and one of The Top 100 Super Lawyers in Texas every year since 2007. He was awarded 2018 Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers and is the 2022 chair-elect to the Texas State Bar Construction Law section. In 2021, Cokinos was named Houston Business Journal’s most admired CEO.
Never far from his beloved alma mater, Cokinos is an avid fan of all things Aggie. In 2017, Mays Business School named him an Outstanding Alumnus. Cokinos has served on the board of The Association of Former Students and was chair of the board of the 12th Man Foundation. Since 2019, Cokinos has returned to campus as a professor of construction law.
Cokinos comes from a large Aggie family — more than 30 Cokinoses have graduated from A&M since 1939. He and his wife, Page, have six children, four of whom have attended A&M: Kyle ’16, Katherine ’17, Carter ’19 and Mary Kristen ’24.
“I’ve never seen him back down, even in the face of long odds and tremendous adversity. He will not be outworked. He will not be outmaneuvered. He will not be discouraged.”
- Russell W. Smith '03
Mark
Fischer ’72
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Year Awarded: 2022
Oklahoma City, OK
If Mark Fischer ’72 were to share some advice, he would say, “Make a difference, and be a master of your own destiny. Always remember, in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity, so embrace complexity to arrive at the best outcome.”
Originally, Fischer wanted to become an astronaut. In 1968, when he was a freshman at Texas A&M, the United States was engaged in the space race, and Fischer thought that acquiring an aerospace engineering degree was the best way to join this exciting new field. He did graduate in aerospace engineering; but by 1972, he had decided to turn his attention to the energy sector instead.
Fischer started his career with Exxon, and in 1988, he founded his own oil and gas company, Chaparral Energy. The company operated in 13 states under Fischer’s leadership. It was recognized by the Aggie 100 four times, the Oklahoma City Metro 50 award eight times, and was recognized as one of the best places to work in Oklahoma City. Ernst and Young named Fischer an Entrepreneur of the Year national finalist in 2012. Fischer served as Chaparral’s CEO and chairman of the board until his retirement in 2017. Additionally, Fischer owns and chairs the boards of six other companies: Dippin’ Dots, Pointe Vista Development, SuMark Pharmacies, Doc Popcorn, Resource Oil and Gas and Skybridge Development.
Recently, Fischer and his wife, SuSu, co-chaired A&M’s Lead by Example campaign, which raised over $4.25 billion in support of Texas Aggies. Fischer has served on a number of nonprofit boards, including the Boy Scouts of America, and he chaired the board of The Association of Former Students in 2019. The Fischers have sponsored Habitat for Humanity and Big Brothers Big Sisters, as well as the Zachry Engineering Complex’s Fischer Engineering Design Center.
The Fischers have two children, Scott and Christy ’04, and three grandchildren. Two of Mark’s brothers are Aggies as well.
“While his business successes are impressive and noteworthy, his greatest attribute is his engaging spirit for life and his desire to help others.”
- Lias J. "Jeff" Steen '80