Sigma Phi Epsilon - University of Texas

Sigma Phi Epsilon Education Foundation of Texas Alpha P.O. Box 442100 Lawrence, KS 66044-2100 Address Service Requested ΣΦΕ T E X A S A L P H A s U N I V E R S I T Y O F T E X A S S I G M A P H I E P S I L O N CCOLAD A E Alumni News Charles E. Craig '52 is enjoying his time with his great-grandchildren. Charlie still goes into the office every day, but two of his children, Kay and Sam, are running the business now. Charlie lives in Houston, Texas. Dr. R. Kent Stobaugh '64 is a clinical professor of oral/maxillofacial surgery at the U.T. Health School of Dentistry in Houston. Kent retired as an oral surgeon in 2013 and lives in Houston with his wife, Nancy. E-mail: kentstobaugh@ gmail.com William F. Hicks '70 retired in 2014 as director of information technology for Ash Grove Cement Company. He is a varsity football official for the Sunflower and EKL leagues. He is training for a 100-mile bike ride around Lake Tahoe (his ninth!) to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Bill and his wife, Kay, live in Shawnee Mission, Kan., and have three children and 13 grandchildren. E-mail: billhicks48@gmail.com McKenzie S. Smith '15 moved to Los Angeles in July 2017. He lives downtown near the Staples Center, and his job with AT&T includes managing 11 retail stores. Mac attended the Oregon Eclipse Festival at Big Summit Prairie, Ore., along with 30,000 others to watch the total eclipse and listen to live music. Mac enjoys living in LA and likes having visitors from UT. E-mail: mckenzie93@sbcglobal.net position has greatly improved the frequency, reliability, and access to information for parents and has improved parent involvement within the fraternity. "The Texas Alpha Parents Club was organized to help keep parents informed, but also to bring parents together socially and in support of the chapter's goals, activities, and projects," the couple said. In addition to Texas Alpha, Don and Suzanne are also co-chairmen of the Texas Parents Ambassadors Council. When their oldest son, Trey '14, was accepted to UT, the Laidlaws attended UT Family Orientation and were so impressed with the Parents Association they wanted to be a part of it. They joined as four- year members and later agreed to serve on the advisory council. Fortunately, Thomas '18 was admitted to UT in 2014, so they were able to extend their involvement for another four years. Together, Don and Suzanne are serving their second term as chairmen of this group of 75 parents who represent the 11,644 active members of Texas Parents. Texas Parents awards some $40,000 in grants each fall to student organizations for service projects that enhance the UT community and enrich the UT experience. They also recently participated in the selection process to name the male and female Outstanding Student, which will be awarded in April. "It has been a true privilege to meet, work with, and get to know so many of the exceptional UT administrators and student leaders, UTPD, and Austin PD representatives," Suzanne said. "I feel so lucky to be able to participate as a parent alongside such dedicated professionals in support of all UT students." In 2017, Don and Suzanne were honored to be a part of the inaugural year of the new Family Leadership Council, along with Texas Alpha parents Janet and Will Aigner. This is a small group of seven couples, who have conversations with the highest levels of UT administration about parent perspectives of current issues on campus. Specifically, they have been able to advocate for the many benefits of Greek life, in contrast to the negative stereotypes. "Hopefully we can all work together to help improve perceptions and lead other Greek organizations in making changes to improve the overall quality of Greek life at UT," Suzanne said. Don is a third-generation graduate from St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., and moved to Dallas after college to accept a position with IBM. After 13 years at IBM, he worked in sales management at several technology firms, including EMC, CommVault, and is now at Sirius Computer Solutions. Suzanne is a third- generation Texan and was indoctrinated from an early age to be a Longhorn. She moved to Dallas after graduation and met Don at IBM where she worked for six years. She spent the next 11 years in tech management at Fina Oil & Chemical Co. Today, Suzanne is a realtor and the couple has been married for 31 years. "We want to say how proud we are of the young men of Texas Alpha," both said. "We've seen first-hand the commitment and accountability they have to each other. Their brotherhood in SigEp encourages them to strive to be better students, leaders, and men." Don and Suzanne will hand off the Parents Club leadership to Beth Boehm, who has two active Texas Alpha sons. The Laidlaws can be reached at sslaidlaw@ sbcglobal.net. Don and Suzanne Laidlaw (Continued from page 2) www.texassigep.com CONNECT ONLINE Sigma Phi Epsilon – Texas Alpha i 8

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