TIHAA Christmas Party - December 6, 2013

by Mary Gomez





Rosemary Grilled Chicken in Champagne Sauce.
TI Houston Alumni Association, TI'ers and spouses, and guests, got together for a Christmas Party annual celebration on December 6, 2013. 70 TIHAA members and guests, dressed in their beautiful holiday attire started arriving at the Crowne Plaza Suites around 6:30 p.m. Lawson Cook, designated photographer for the night, took photos of the guests posing in front of a 12 foot Christmas Tree beautifully decorated with golden colored bows and trumpets.


Appetizers cheese/grape/crackers.
Della DuHart, Mary Gomez and Jean Houston were at the registration table, ready to help the guests sign in. Inside the festive banquet room were 10 elegantly appointed tables set for eight guests each. Guests were greeted by Lucy Salas, club president, and Della DuHart, party chairperson, and encouraged to enjoy a plate of cheese and crackers and grapes and find a place to sit. The cash bar in the nearby lobby was open for those who wished to buy a glass of wine or other drinks. D.J. Rock played an assortment of background Christmas music as guests socialized with friends.



Just before the meal, Lucy Salas, club president, extended a warm welcome to one and all. She said that after we ate there would be some board introductions and an award presentation followed by some prize drawings.


Della & Mary were a great team!
She then asked Della DuHart, and Mary Gomez, party co-chair, to help her get started and said that what you see here was due to their efforts and asked for a round of applause. Della said "Welcome and thank you for coming" and thanked all of Santa's helpers.


Mary & Jean staff the Sign-in table.
Tom Johnson said Grace and everyone lined up at the buffet as indicated, where they were served Rosemary Grilled Chicken with Champagne Sauce as well as three savory side dishes of Rosemary Potatoes, Rice Pilaf, Steamed Vegetables, rolls and a choice of a delicious assortment of cakes. Coffee and Iced tea were available and a salad was on the table.













Lots of super prizes await the raffle.
After dinner Lucy introduced each of the outgoing Board of Directors for 2013 and the newly elected officers for 2014. Then she handed the mic to Gary Luckett, Treasurer, for an award presentation. Gary proceeded to present Della DuHart with a $25 gift card to Olive Gardens for having recruited the most memberships in 2013.

Quickly, he then awarded a surprised Lucy her presidential plaque for service to the club which read:

Texas Instruments
Houston Alumni Association
In Appreciation
Lucy Salas
President
2011 – 2012 – 2013


Lucy then asked past president Charles Sumrall to share one of his jokes with us, which the audience always enjoys, and then we proceeded with the prize drawings.


Gary Luckett presents a recognition plaque to Outgoing President Lucy Salas.
The drawing for door prizes was done by Della with the help of various members picking the winning names. Lawson took a photo of each of the happy winners.

The prizes and prize winners were:

Christmas wreath, winner - Rudy Gomez
$ 25 Pappas gift card, winner - Tom Johnson
$ 25 Pappas gift card, winner - Charles Slanina
$ 25 Pappas gift card, winner - Pat Oates - Collier
$ 25 Pappas gift card, winner - Fermina Sutter
$ 25 Lopez gift card, winner - Betty Pink
$ 10 Pappas gift card, winner - Gary Luckett
$ 10 Pappas gift card, winner - Tharon Barfield
Crystal Vase, donated by Della, winner - D.J.Rock
Crystal Salad Bowl Set, donated by Della, winner - James Wade
Teddy Bear, donated by Della, winner Gladys Price





Some dancers enjoy the slow music.


D.J. Rock kept the Christmas spirit with seasonal music selections.


Poinsettia winners:

Tony Leigh, Sarah Harvey, Deloris Baugh, Luanne Luckett, K.J. Byers Jr. and Annette Jordan.

One guest at each table won a bottle of Sparkling Grape Cider donated by Della DuHart. She also passed out several tins of cookies at random.

After the prize drawings, Lucy said to start the dancing music and move your feet. Let's have some fun. Many of the guests enjoyed dancing to a varied selection of music by D.J. Rock. While some guests had to leave early, others stayed till just after 10:00 p.m. It was a very enjoyable evening out with friends. At the close, Lucy said, Thank you for coming. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We hope you had a fun time eating and socializing.

We'll mail out the pictures before year end. See you next year. Drive carefully.







Complete list of attendees:

There were a total of 70 TIHAA members and their guests present.

Deloris Baugh, Helen Colwell, Betty Parker, Dorothy Wanza, Gary & Luanne Luckett, Israel & Nora Morales, Dora Mireles, Lucille Salas, Gladys Price, James & Dorothy Wade, Eugenia Brown, Tony & Susan Leigh, Victoria Leigh, Mary Green, Donald & Lynn Stefan, Daren & Jewel Welch, Bill & Mary Young, Charles & Sylvia Slanina, George Wolf, Pete & Sandy Ramilez, Lee & Delma Cotton, Sarah Harvey, K.J. & Gloria Byers, Rudy & Mary Gomez, Eurlene Hines, Diane Murray, Tharon Barfield, Della DuHart, Morris & Loreli George, Martha Adams, Mona Williams, Bernadine Dennis, Thomas & Jeannette Johnson, Charles & Linda Brixey, Patricia Oates & Richard Collier, Tom & Fermina Sutter, Mammen John, Claressa Banks, Betty Grant, Daryl & Brenda Moss, Bob & Marian Gruber, Tom & Cindy Crossant, Lawson & Kay Cook, Charles Sumrall & Ferol Beer, Mary Brown, Annette Jordan, Betty Pink and Robert Watkins.

Prize Winners:









Here are our attendees' photographs at the Crowne Plaza's beautiful Christmas Tree, thanks to photographer Lawson Cook.



Merry Christmas to all ....
.....and to all a Good Night!