A Match Made in Aggieland

Very few blind dates turn out as well as this one did!  The year was 1957.

"You remember," says Jarrell Gibbs, '60, "we didn't have women at A&M at the time."  That being the case, he no doubt appreciated the efforts of a former high-school girlfriend, who talked her sorority sister, Cynthia Ellerbeck, into a blind date for the corps trip to Ft. Worth for the TCU football game.  Jarrell and Cynthia met, and the rest, as they say, is history.  They married in St. Louis, MO (her hometown), after graduation three years later.

The Texas Aggie and his TCU lady have come a long way since then.  Jarrell served more than twenty years in the U.S. Army, commanding units on three continents and serving two tours in Vietnam.  He did everything from commanding an artillery battalion in the First Cavalry Division to serving in the Pentagon as part of the Army General Staff, working with members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate for approval of the Army's annual budget request.  When he retired in 1980, he embarked on his second career.  By the time he retired from that one, he was President of the Dallas-based energy company, TXU Corporation.

Cynthia has been with him all the way, transforming every one of their houses into a home.  She raised their son, Timothy, and daughter, Karen—much of the time while her Army husband was away on his country's business.  Well-known encourager that she is, she supported Jarrell's career activities, "Often," he admits, "when it was not convenient or high on her list of things to do or places to go."  And somewhere along the line, this former TCU Horned Frog became an ardent A&M supporter.  She absolutely insisted, for example, on the installation of a block ATM on the fireplace mantel in their Hot Springs Village family room!

A Continuing Passion for Aggieland

These days, Jarrell is active in private investments.  But his passion for Aggieland—a passion nurtured by a father who gave up his own dreams of going to Texas A&M to attend North Texas while working on the family's Denton, TX, farm—is undiminished.  The man who reckons his "first diaper must have been maroon" has served as Chairman of the Texas A&M Research Foundation Board of Trustees and a member of the advisory council for the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine Leadership Council.  Of course, those positions only represent a portion of what Jarrell and Cynthia Gibbs give to TAMU in terms of time and expertise.

They have also contributed financial resources:  large gifts to the Corps of Cadets by funding endowments to provide scholarships and support for the Corps Leadership Excellence Program, as well as an endowment to support MSCC's Student Conference on National Affairs (SCONA).  As a matter of fact, they've made provisions in their estate plans, so they can do still more for the Division of Student Affairs.

"Student Affairs provides the opportunity to gain a 'complete' education while at Texas A&M," explains Jarrell.  "Academics provide the professional foundation, and Student Affairs provides the opportunities for social interaction and leadership, opportunities that are not provided in the classroom.  Both [facets of education] are critical to being a responsible citizen, regardless of the field of study or the career one wishes to pursue."

His convictions are based on personal experience.  "If I had not learned the leadership skills provided by the Corps of Cadets and had the chance to practice those skills by leading SCONA V," he points out, "I would have received only half the education TAMU offers."  Remember, this comes from a man with two successful careers, one in public service and one in corporate America!  The fact that A&M boasts an incredibly high level of student involvement—more than 70% of Aggies are involved in student organizations—provides ample evidence that current students agree with him when it comes to the value of combining in- and out-of-the-classroom experiences.

Checklist for Success

In addition to urging Aggies to fully experience the A&M education by taking advantage of the opportunities Student Affairs offers, what other advice would the Gibbs like to pass along to current students?

• You live in a global society; learn a second language.
• Never be afraid of failing, just learn from the experience.
• Never become indispensible in the job you are in, unless you never want to move from that job.
• Only you can define success in your life; never let someone else define it for you, as they may not have the same values or outlook on life you do.
• Develop more than one mentor.
• It's always better to do the right thing than to do things right.

The Gibbs' continued dedication, their generosity to Aggieland and to Aggies past, present, and future, clearly reflect the Aggie Spirit Jarrell credits with profoundly impacting his life.  It's a spirit, he says, that "includes not only a dedication to our school, but a profound work ethic, high moral standards, and a responsibility to serve.  I am just pleased," he adds, "that I can, in some small way, give back, so that others may experience the same opportunities afforded me."

Jarrell and Cynthia Gibbs currently reside in Hot Springs Village, AR.  Their son, Timothy, lives with his wife and two daughters in Daingerfield, TX.  Their daughter, Karen, lives with her husband and two daughters in Memphis, TN.

If you would like to know more about the Student Conference on National Affairs, housed in the Memorial Student Center Complex Student Programs Office, please visit http://scona.tamu.edu/.

If you would like to know more about giving to Student Affairs at Texas A&M University, please go to http://giving.tamu.edu/spirit/studentaffairs/default.aspx.

Contributed by:
Kathy DiSanto, Communications Specialist
Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs