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SAN ANTONIO REGION MEETING NOTES, JANUARY 4, 2008
The first order of business was a photo opportunity where Scott Cardwell, on behalf of AT&T, presented Jose Ventura, Chair of the San Antonio TAMHN, with an enlarged check for $9,025.00. In addition to donating to local charities, the AT&T Charity Golf Tournament donates money to organizations that help them sell tickets to the tournament. The San Antonio TAMHN sold $4,025 worth of tickets. AT&T check for $9,025 represents a return of the $4,025, plus a bonus of $5,000 for being the organization that sold the second highest number of tickets. The first place organization received a bonus check of $15,000.
We agreed to use $4,650.00 of these funds for 30 scholarships to Fish Camp for "needy" students identified by the PSC Financial Aid Officers. The cost of Fish Camp is currently $155.00/student. We also agreed to set aside $2,500 to $3,500 for 50 to 70 Wal-Mart $50 gift cards to assist needy students purchase items they will need when they move into their dorm room. You may be surprised how many arrive unprepared without towels, bed sheets, alarm clock, etc, and part of the reason is financial. These are two significant areas where the San Antonio TAMHN can fill the financial gap.
Laurie Castillo announced the PSC met its 15% increase goal in completed admission applications to A&M by minorities in both the San Antonio and Laredo areas. The goal in San Antonio was 554 Hispanic applications and 40 Black applications. The PSC secured 555 Hispanic and 65 Black applications. The goal in Laredo was 205 Hispanic and 1 Black application. The PSC secured 215 Hispanic and 4 Black applications. Hopefully, this will result in at least 227 and 88 Hispanic students from San Antonio and Laredo, respectively, actually enrolling into A&M this coming fall. This is where you and the "Phone-a-Fish" campaign comes in.
We are awaiting the next list of accepted students to call. Our two "Phone-a-Fish" campaigns on 10 and 24 February at the PSC were a complete success. We had enough members respond to call each student. I will let us know when the next "Phone-a-Fish" campaign will be held. We need your support.
Another event that hopefully will encourage admitted students to accept A&M's offer of enrollment is the Admitted Students Reception at the DoubleTree Hotel at 410 and McCullough on Wednesday, 2 April, at 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Anyone from the San Antonio TAMHN who wants to attend this event and represent us should contact Jose Ventura at 535-3407. We would like to have at least 10 of us attend.
Henry Ortega, the Chairman of TAMHN, indicated he met with Tito Guerrero, Vice President and Associate Provost for Institutional Assessment and Diversity, at Texas A&M to improve a dialogue between TAMHN and Tito's office and Texas A&M. One issue that needs to be addressed is having representatives from each College available to meet and assist minority students and their parents on more than the single weekend event called "Aggieland Saturday," which was held on 16 February. There are no other weekend events planned between 1 February and 1 May, the deadline for accepting A&M's offer for admissions. Many minority families simply cannot break away from jobs and school during weekdays.
Laurie also announced that A&M will move up its deadlines next year. The deadline for applying for scholarships will move from 15 December to 1 December 2008, and the deadline to submit an admission application will move from 1 February to 15 January 2009.
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