My best friend had an older brother who was an Aggie. Hearing about and seeing his experiences—and of course his senior Corps of Cadets boots—inspired my decision to attend Texas A&M. When my dad visited me, he quickly grew fond of Texas A&M and its core values. My twin sister also met her husband on campus, an Aggie buddy of mine. It’s a place that’s near and dear to all of our hearts, including my two sons, Chris ’94 and Scott ’97, as well as my sister’s son, Randy Hutchison ’95, and his daughter, Caroline ’26.
Yes, but that was only part of the story. He was one of the founders of Randalls Food Markets, which started with two stores in 1966 and grew to 116 across Texas before it was sold to Safeway in 1999. He was a talented businessman, respected by his employees and colleagues. When Dr. Len Berry—an expert in services marketing and now a university distinguished professor—started the Center for Retailing Studies at Mays Business School, he invited Randalls to be a founding sponsor. My dad befriended Dr. Berry and other leaders like Dr. Benton Cocanougher and Dr. Bill Mobley. He believed in their work and eventually established a planned gift in 1986 to support the business school’s future.
When Dad passed, our family asked for donations to the Center for Retailing Studies in lieu of flowers. The huge outpouring of support from Randalls employees, business associates and friends provided library resources for the center. Our family then provided a gift that was matched by Randalls to create the R.C. Barclay Reference and Retailing Resources Center in the Business Library and Collaborations Commons on West Campus.
There’s no doubt Texas A&M made me and my sons better individuals. I’m proud of what my Aggie Ring stands for, and I hope Texas A&M will continue attracting and educating outstanding students to help them achieve success. Texas A&M is about camaraderie, helping one another, ethics and character building. I want to grow that in the lives of today’s students so they can make the world a better place for our future.
It was a way to give now and still enjoy the benefits of those assets during our lifetime. Plus, the investment grows over time, so you get to see your gift increase. Sandy and I liked the idea of earning income from the gift as well as tax benefits and having it impact the university in the end.
I expect that giving back to Texas A&M will continue to be important to my children as they age, but that will ultimately be their decision. We do talk about it as a family, though. They know about my estate plan and how it will benefit Texas A&M and other organizations that are important to me, as well as my family.
I feel good knowing that when Sandy and I are gone, our gifts will benefit generations of Aggies to come. My dad and I worked hard at an early age to build what we did. I started working for him at 14 years old, and his career began at age 12 with a pair of mules and a wagon, making deliveries for the commissary at a sawmill in the East Texas Piney Woods. It’s important to teach your kids the rewards of working hard and building a career and a life they can be proud of.
