Oklahoma State Weekend

Despite the Aggies' loss to Arkansas and the Cowboys' loss to the Broncos, we hope you still had a great weekend. The outfit successfully made it to Dallas and back without any major problems, which is a significant achievement. To those who were able to make it out and support the outfit in person, we hope that you were not disappointed in the Corps' appearance. The Southwest Classic is a game that will be held in the Cowboys' Stadium for the next 10 years, according to the contract, so hopefully the Corps' March-In will become bigger and bigger each year (and hopefully the Aggies' performance will get better, as well).

From one weekend to another, the Ags will take on OSU this weekend in a series that has developed significantly over the past few years. OSU and Texas A&M have played each other for several years in a row now, and the match-up rarely disppoints. If you have not already purchased tickets, I personally recommend acquiring some for this event. If not, we still encourage everyone to stop by for the BBQ after the game. Here is the basic time line for Saturday...

9:15 - First Call
10:00 - Step Off
11:30 - Kick Off, Beat the Hell Outta' OSU
~6:00 - BBQ Dinner

The outfit has not had an evening BBQ dinner in a while; however, we are pouring a lot of effort into this one to get it going. The BBQ chain is cooking up some mad fajitas Saturday and we invite everyone to come out after the game and grab a couple during the cool College Station evening. Your son should be contacting you for estimated numbers to attend the BBQ, but please give him a call just in case he forgets. We are planning on serving at 6:00 in the evening, but this time may be changed depending on what time the game ends.

A few other notes...

October 31st, the Iowa State weekend, we will be holding our annual F-2 Silent Auction. This is one of the primary fund raisers that the outfit conducts each year, with merchandise donated by local businesses. Every year, outfit members collect Texas A&M, Corps of Cadets, and Company F-2-related merchandise provided by local businesses to be auctioned off. We reserve a room in the study lounge (the small building by the dorm and BBQ site) where we set up with all of the items and open it up to F-2 friends and family members to come and go throughout the day. We also invite Greek Essentials, a local business who create customized products that they put on sale at a booth they set up in the same room, just in case the auction doesn't have something you want.

We invite and encourage everyone to come and bid, but to those who aren't satisfied with simply showing up, there are ways you can help further. In the past, outfit parents have provided items from their homes. From quilts to knitted blankets to baskets of assorted goods, we have had a significant portion of auctioned merchandise come from outfit parents, so if you feel so compelled, feel free to bring something down. We only ask that you notify us of what you intend to bring so that we may maintain an accurate inventory.

That Sunday, November 1st, we are holding the annual Will Ferrell Memorial Golf Tournament. Will Ferrell, F-2 class of 2001, passed away in a car accident the summer after his senior year. In his honor, his F-2 '01 buddies created a scholarship in his name and began holding a golf tournament, each year to raise funds for that scholarship. In 2008, the class of '01 passed along the responsibility of holding the tournament to the outfit. We are humbled and honored to bear such a responsibility and invite all F-2 family and friends to this year's tournament on November 1st at the Bryan Municipal Golf Course. Mark this date down in your calendars, as it is not one you should want to miss. More information will follow, but if you intend to come and participate in the tournament, please contact Brian Rhoades at rhoadesy@tamu.edu (please stand by for a change in this contact). There is a fee involved to play, usually around $30. We will get a hard number for you once we have finalized the deal with the golf course.

The outfit is doing well, thus far and the fish are performing magnificently. F-2 received the second highest score in the first round of Commandant's Room Inspections and doing very well in march-in evaluations, despite a low score from last year's Final Review (*ahem* class of 2009) that counts towards this year's overall score. We're all working hard, getting ready for the second and third rounds of tests and preparing for General Moore Inspections. We hope to see all of you this weekend for fajitas, football, and family after the game.