Aggies in New Orleans 2024


Thanks to the generosity of New Orleans A&M Club members the club will be hosting the Fish Drill Team to a meal on Saturday after they finish marching in the Krewe of Iris Parade. Tom and Michon Shinn ’84 will serve as the lead hosts at Hard Rock Cafe with an expected arrival time by the FDT at 3:00 pm.

Defending their championship title from last year, the FDT, once again, will compete in the Tulane Mardi Gras Drill Meet on Friday. All information regarding the meet can be found here: https://nro tc.tulane.edu/mardi-gras-drill-meet

Also, as has been our tradition, the club will also host the Ross Volunteer Company to lunch on Lundi Gras at Hard Rock Cafe starting at 11:00 am. Please join us as we welcome the RVs to NOLA in preparation for their march in Rex on Fat Tuesday.

If you forgot to make your donation, you can still do so as as follows:

You may mail your donation to the Club PO box: P.O. Box 52263, New Orleans, LA 70152. Make checks payable to the “New Orleans A&M Club” or to the Greater New Orleans Area Texas A&M Foundation (“GNOA Texas A&M Fndtn”), a 501(c)(3) organization.
PayPal payments can be made to foundation@nolaags.info.
Venmo: @NolaAgs

Thanks and gig ’em!

Frank Larkin ’57


Frank (deceased, see obituary below) and Jerrie Larkin were honored at the 2017 New Orleans A&M Club Muster.

In 1970 the New Orleans A&M Club began sending funds to the Association of Former Students to establish a Louisiana student opportunity award scholarship. At that time Frank Larkin ’57 was president of the Club, and Clarence H. “Six” Augsburger ’43 was secretary/treasurer. The Club was able to fully fund the remainder of the scholarship in early 1989, primarily from proceeds from LSU football game bus trips which were coordinated by Frank. Since then this scholarship has helped numerous Louisiana students, who are selected by school officials, attend A&M at a greatly reduced cost.
Some years later Frank became inspired by Matt Altman ’99, a young man whom he had met. Matt was a cadet in Squadron 14 from Covington, LA. Matt became ill with cancer resulting in a tumor developing on his heart. The tumor was successfully removed in surgery, but some months later cancer was again discovered elsewhere in Matt’s body. Matt received treatments for several months before passing away. Matt’s mother, Theresa Keyser, kept in touch with Frank and recounted in a letter to him what Matt had told her about the last time he was in College Station for an Aggie football game where Matt was able to reunite with all of his buddies. Matt said, “Mom, choosing to attend Texas A&M was the best decision I ever made. I love this place.” Inspired by Matt and his words, Frank established the Club’s Mathew Altman ’99 Memorial Sul Ross Scholarship fund in February, 2006. The Club and its members contributed to this fund, but it was funded in large part by Frank and his wife, Jerrie.

Frank’s inspiration also led him to fully fund his own scholarship in Matt’s name. On April 21, 2007, Frank and Jerrie presented this scholarship to Texas A&M. Frank also participated in the funding of the class of 1957 legacy gift to the Texas A&M Medical School. At the meeting to celebrate its 50th anniversary of graduation on April 20, 2007, the class of 1957 presented a $250,000 endowed scholarship in the name of John Mark Stallings, who has Down Syndrome and is the son of the great football coach Gene Stallings, who is Frank’s classmate and is one of the legendary Junction Boys. Because Frank was a member of the last fish band of 1952/53, Frank and Jerrie also funded the A&M College of Texas Last Fish Band Sul Ross Scholarship in 2011 and were also instrumental in providing seed money for the Club’s latest scholarship which was fully funded in 2014.

Frank Earle Larkin was born in Bauxite, Arkansas and attended elementary school in Eagle Pass, TX and high school in Seguin. He planned to attend the University of Arkansas, his mother’s alma mater, until he happened to go to a football game at Texas A&M. When the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band marched onto the field, Frank was hooked. Frank played trombone in the Aggie Band and majored in Geology.

Upon graduation in 1957, Frank was hired as a geologist by Humble Oil and moved to New Orleans. The job was put on hold while he completed his military obligation in the United States Air Force. He served for three years, two being in Japan. He returned to New Orleans and resumed his career as a geologist with Humble Oil, which later merged into Exxon. He met Jerrie Mathis, a Registered Nurse, and they married in 1966 and had two daughters, Ruth, and Martha who is class of ’96. Frank and his young family were transferred out of New Orleans in 1973 but returned in 1983.

Frank retired from Exxon in 1992. He has been very active in the New Orleans A&M Club during all his time in New Orleans. Jerrie has also been a loyal servant to the Club supporting Frank and Texas A&M every step of the way. Although Frank always possessed the spirit for the betterment of the New Orleans A&M Club, he has relied heavily on Jerrie for her assistance, patience, and loyalty to him and Texas A&M all performed with a kind and gracious demeanor.
In recognition of the many years of service and sacrifice to fellow Aggies, the New Orleans A&M Club board and officers have resolved to establish the Frank and Jerrie Larkin Service Award Scholarship Fund. Donate online here: http://nolaags.info/foundation/

Obituary

MARDI GRAS

ROSS VOLUNTEER Reception – Monday, Feb 27, 2017 @ 11 am

Continuing a tradition that began in 1951, the New Orleans A&M Club will host the RV Company for the 66th annual meeting of the two groups. The Ross Volunteer Company will be in New Orleans to serve as honor guard for Rex, king of Mardi Gras. The Krewe of Rex Parade is scheduled to begin at 10:00 am on Feb 9th. The parade starts at the intersection of Napoleon Avenue and S. Claiborne Ave. It proceeds south to St. Charles Avenue and turns left. The parade continues down St. Charles to Canal Street. The Krewe disbands at the intersection of Canal and South Peters Street.

On Monday, Feb 8, the RV Company will attend the Club luncheon at Hard Rock Café on the corner of Iberville and Bourbon in the French Quarter. The menu has a of choice of hamburger, grilled chicken breast sandwich, veggie burger, bar-b-que pork sandwich or grilled chicken Caesar salad. French-fries, soft drink and a chocolate chip cookie are also included. The cost is $19, inclusive of tax and tip. Club members are welcome to attend.

Freshman Drill Team Luncheon – Saturday, Feb 25, 3 pm
http://tulanenrotc.com/mardi-gras-drill-meet/. The meet is considered the National Championship for drill teams. The FDT is the perennial favorite and draws close attention by the other teams. The FDT will be defending the National Title won by the class of 2019.

At noon on Saturday, Feb 25th, the FDT will march in the Krewe of Iris Parade which follows the traditional uptown route. After changing out of uniform, they will walk to the Club luncheon at the Hard Rock Café in the French Quarter for 3 pm. Club members and FDT family members are welcome and encouraged to attend. They can order and pay separately or prepay $19 (tax and tip inclusive) for the group menu. The menu has a choice of hamburger/cheeseburger, grilled chicken breast sandwich, veggie burger, bar-b-que pork sandwich or grilled chicken Caesar salad. French-fries, soft drink and a chocolate chip cookie are included.

Fish Drill Team Featured in The Movie “A Few Good Men”

Texas A&M Aggies vs LSU Tigers

November 28, 2015

Game Time:  TBA

Midnight Yell (Friday, 27 Nov 15)

Midnight Yell Practice will be led by the Texas A&M Yell Leaders from the balcony of Johnny White’s Pub and Grill, 718 Bourbon St.  Johnny White’s is directly behind St. Louis Cathedral and across Orleans St from the Bourbon Orleans Hotel.

Stop in during the day on Friday, have some food and drinks and be sure to thank the staff for allowing us to take over their bar and balcony.

Roundtrip Game Day Transportation   (Saturday, 28 Nov 15)

For those Aggies attending the game or wanting to tailgate at Tiger Stadium without the hassle of traffic and parking, the New Orleans A&M Club has arranged to provide round trip motor coach transportation from New Orleans.

Departure time is expected to be 5 to 6 hours before kickoff, allowing ample time for tailgating.  Staging for pickup and return will be at the DoubleTree Hotel, 300 Canal St.

Bus riders will be provided beverages for both legs of the bus trip and are also invited to participate in a tailgate hosted by the Baton Rouge and New Orleans A&M Clubs, Aggieland Outfitters and The Association of Former Students.

The tailgate will be located next to RV lot 407, bus lot 406 and “The Levee Lots” parking area.  LSU Football Parking Map

The cost of the bus trip is $125/adult and $75/child 17 and under.  Reservations can be made online by visiting the New Orleans A&M Club’s website, http://www.nolaags.info/gigem.  Payment may be made using PayPal or by mailing a check to the club.

Lodging

A block of 30 rooms has been secured at the DoubleTree for $179 per night for Friday and Saturday night (Nov. 27th & 28th).  To make a reservation at the discounted rate you must call the reservation line, 800-222-8733, and ask for rooms in the “New Orleans A&M Club” block or use group code “NOA”.  No additional rooms will be added to the block due to the high demand created by the Bayou Classic game on Saturday.

Check out who is attending the bus trip and tailgate party! http://nolaags.info/tailgate-party-attendees/