October 9, 2000

Aggie BSM campaign pushing toward end goal
___COLLEGE STATION--In the spirit of the 12th man, Aggies from several states, along with their family and friends, are rallying to meet two challenge grants in the effort to build a new Aggie Baptist Student Center.
___The new center will replace the recently demolished 1949 building in the Northgate area of College Station.
___The Baptist General Convention of Texas student ministry department, the Aggie BSM Alumni Association and churches from Creath-Brazos Baptist Association have joined together to raise $1.3 million to build a new Aggie Baptist Student Center. They also hope to raise an additional $200,000 for a maintenance endowment fund.
___Current efforts are focused on meeting two challenge grants totaling $230,000.
___One of those challenge gifts was made by Dorothy and Ray Galvin of Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston, who had their first date at the annual BSM banquet at A&M in 1952.
___Now they want to encourage fellow Aggies to help complete the building campaign.
___"We have been impressed with the track record of the Aggie BSM in producing both vocational and volunteer Christian leaders who are serving all over the world," said Ray Galvin, who retired in 1997 as president of Chevron USA Production Co. "The BSM is a great place to meet friends with common Christian values and to become involved in BSM Bible studies, leadership training and mission activities."
___The Galvins made an initial gift in memory of her father, Cliff Bates, who taught an Aggie Sunday School class at First Baptist Church of College Station and was an active volunteer at the BSM.
___The other matching grant has been extended by the Mabee Foundation of Tulsa, Okla.
___Both challenge pledges have a Dec. 31 deadline. To receive these two gifts and secure the $1.3 million needed to build the building, the Aggie BSM must generate $114,000 in gifts and multi-year pledges by year-end.
___The campaign, called Operation Northgate, began with a $250,000 commitment from the BGCT and a $90,000 pledge from First Baptist Church of Bryan.
___"Our church has a great partnership with the Aggie BSM and hopes to minister to hundreds of Aggie students every year," said Pastor Tim Owen. "Our members are pleased to be a part of this exciting event."
___Other donors include individuals such as Cliff Harris, former director of the Aggie BSM, who gave a gift in memory of his BSM director, Prentiss Chunn. Then his wife, Ellen, gave a gift to name the prayer room in the new building in honor of her husband.
___"Cliff spent many hours on his knees when he was director, and I thought this would be an appropriate way to honor his service and his love for the Aggie BSM," she said.
___"Being an Aggie means that you value and cherish your unique experience at Texas A&M as well as your classmates," Harris said. "For a former BSMer, it also means that you value the spiritual foundation and relationships that mold who you are in the family of God, and you want to preserve the Aggie BSM tradition for future Aggies. I pray that all BSM former students will be involved in building the new Baptist Student Center."
___For more information on contributing to the campaign, call Don Cramer of the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation at (800) 558-8263.

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