Texas Bowl

Texas Bowl volunteers, sponsors, and special guests gathered at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Wednesday night to celebrate the successes of the third annual Texas Bowl at the 2008 Volunteer and Sponsor Appreciation Reception.

To kick off the night, attendees enjoyed a trashcan drum routine performed by local drum ensemble Percussion One under the direction of Lamar Burkhalter, Chair of the Texas Bowl Band Hospitality Committee.

“Our kids had a great time performing during the bowl week events, and we are so pumped to be involved with an organization like the Texas Bowl,” Burkhalter said.

“Our kids had a great time performing during the bowl week events, and we are so pumped to be involved with an organization like the Texas Bowl,” Burkhalter said.

Jamey Rootes, Houston Texans President and Vice Chair of the Texas Bowl, then took the stage to thank the volunteers and sponsors for their work and commented on the future of the bowl game.

“We have had three amazing years and have grown the bowl every year,” Rootes said. “I can’t see this bowl going anywhere but up in future years in terms of attendance, the donation we make to DePelchin Children’s Center, and overall community involvement. Each of you in this room plays a part in making that possible, and for that, we thank you.”

Following a video recapping this year’s bowl week and game day, Bowl Manager Heather Houston reviewed the many achievements of the 2008 bowl game.

“We started this game in 2006 with 35 sponsors and a handful of volunteers. We’ve now grown our volunteer base to 250 and now have 75 sponsors. Because of your efforts, we produced 20 successful bowl week events, hosted almost 59,000 fans for the game, and will again be able to make a significant contribution to the bowl’s designated charity, DePelchin Children’s Center,” Houston said.

To round out the night, Houston was joined on stage by 2007 Texas Bowl Volunteer of the Year, Chris Vaughan, to present 11 Chairman’s Awards and the 2008 Texas Bowl Volunteer of the Year. Awards were presented to:

• Mike Bier VP, Territory General Manger — Best Buy
• Alisha Silver Senior Sales Manager — JW Marriott
• Shea Ashley Senior Convention Services Manager — Hyatt Regency Houston
• Lisa Trapani Shumate Marketing Manager — KHOU
• Lamar Burkhalter Band Hospitality Committee Chair
• Rob Lynch Gridiron Legends Committee Chair
• Carole Machol Family Events Committee Chair
• Nick Abrego Media Committee Member
• Dana Harmon Family Events and In-Game Committee Member
• Suzie Thomas Senior VP, General Counsel, and Chief Administrative Officer — Houston Texans
• Steve Tello Texas Bowl Board of Directors, Senior VP and General Manager — FS Houston
• Marty Thompson 2008 Volunteer of the Year

The Volunteer and Sponsor Reception symbolizes a close to the 2008 game, but planning for the 2009 Texas Bowl is already well underway.

“The bowl season never really ends,” Houston noted. “The teams take a break, but we never do.”