Texas Blazers

Texas Blazers' Logo

The Texas Blazers is an honorary male service organization at The University of Texas at Austin founded September 7, 1994. Members are selected from the UT Student Body for their leadership, commitment to service, and academic achievements. They are known for their involvement in the community, serving as official hosts for the university, and as mentors at Eastside Memorial High School. The organization is led by an elected Chairman and ten other executive board members. The Texas Blazers work closely with the Orange Jackets, an honorary women's service organization filled with accomplished women who are also dedicated to serving campus and the greater community.

Purpose

The purpose of the Texas Blazers is threefold:

  1. Support the greater Austin community through service.
  2. Uphold and promote University of Texas spirit and traditions.
  3. Serve The University of Texas by exhibiting campus leadership while maintaining high standards of academic excellence.

History

The Texas Blazers was founded September 7, 1994, on the patio of the Texas Union by a group of men who wanted to create an organization committed to a more “hands-on” approach to service that included high standards of academics, leadership, and spirited support of the University. The founders also desired the Texas Blazers to be an organization that was a strong representation of the student body to better serve the University. These student leaders came from various student organizations across campus to perform service for the UT and Austin communities. Finally, the founding members desired an organization free of hazing and other activities unbecoming of a quality student organization.

Upon the suggestion of Richard Reddick, in 1994 the Texas Blazers began their relationship with Johnston High School (now known as Eastside Memorial High School) in east Austin. While they originally began by mentoring at Johnston, current Texas Blazers mentor, tutor, empower, and assist Eastside Memorial HS students with the college application process.

In their first year, the Texas Blazers was recognized for their outstanding service, winning “Most Outstanding Service Organization” at the annual UT Swing-Out Awards. In the spring of 2003, the Texas Blazers continued upon their past achievements and were named the “Most Outstanding Organization” by the UT Leadership Board at the Swing-Out Awards.

In 2007, the Texas Blazers created the “Texas Blazers Endowed Scholarship” at The University of Texas. The endowment allows for an annual scholarship for a graduating student from Eastside Memorial High School, helping to create a closer relationship between Texas Blazers, Eastside Memorial High School, and The University of Texas at Austin.

Honors and Awards

Past Texas Blazers Chairs

Year Chair
1994–1995 Paul Massingill and Robert Bleaker
1995–1996 Paul Massingill and Robert Bleaker
1996–1997 Shaarik "Rik" Zafar and Michael Danziger
1997–1998 Jeff Rouse and Chris Crear
1998–1999
1999–2000 Landon Duyka
2000–2001 Tim Rybacki
2001–2002 Brian Wisnoski
2002–2003 Nolan Fields
2003–2004 Tommy Vanelli
2004–2005 Chaitanya Indukuri
2005–2006 Matthew Tabbert
2006–2007 Andrew Limmer
2007–2008 David Yount
2008–2009 Cody Cheek
2009–2010 Reese Mathieu
2010–2011 Christopher Fox
2011–2012 James Limmer
2012–2013 Jake Alford
2013-2014 Thomas Pigeon
2014-2015 Neal Makkar
2015-2016 Lee Alford
2016-2017 Sam Karnes

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.