Texas A&M University and The Association of Former Students have announced the recipients of the 2014 Distinguished Alumnus Award, and among them are five graduates of the college of engineering:
- C.R. “Ray Holbrook Jr., chemical engineering, Class of 1948, of Santa Fe, Texas;
- William W. “Bill” Hanna, civil engineering, Class of 1958, of Wichita, Kansas;
- Dr. Stephen A. Holditch, petroleum engineering, Class of 1969, of Bryan, Texas;
- Charlie W, Seely Sr., petroleum engineering, Class of 1955, of Fort Worth, Texas;
- Charles A. “Charlie” Mattei, mechanical engineering, Class of 1949, of The Woodlands, Texas
C.R. "Ray" Holbrook, Jr. '48, an engineer and attorney, was Galveston County judge from 1967 to 1995. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Texas A&M. While at A&M, he was in the Corps of Cadets, the Aggie Band and student government. He was named to Who’s Who Among American Universities and received the Engineering Achievement Award. He also won four varsity track letters, won several conference championships and was a member of the 1948 national-champion mile relay team.
After serving in the U.S Navy, he began his career as an engineer with Monsanto Chemical Co. in 1952, and after earning a law degree, transferred to Monsanto’s patent department. In addition to service as county judge, he served on the Texas State Board of Education for a six-year term, the Board of Visitors for Texas A&M University at Galveston, the Gulf Coast Water Authority, and was a founding member of the Texas A&M Lettermen’s Association.
He is an Endowed Century Club donor to The Association of Former Students, has been active with the Galveston County A&M Club for more than 50 years and is a member of the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame. He is an Eagle Scout and serves on the executive board of the Bay Area Boy Scouts. He has been a member of the Episcopal Church for over 70 years and is currently a member and serves on the vestry of St. Michael’s Church in La Marque. Holbrook and his wife, Mary Ann, have been married for nearly 60 years and have three children.
William W. "Bill" Hanna '58, a veteran of the U.S. Army, is former president and chief operating officer of Koch Industries. He serves on the Texas A&M College of Engineering External Advisory and Development Council and served on the Nucleus Fund Committee for the Texas A&M University Campaign.
At Texas A&M, he was a member of the Corps of Cadets and earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Hanna has been honored as an Outstanding Alumnus of the Dwight Look College of Engineering and has endowed scholarships for engineering students. He is an Endowed Century Club donor to The Association of Former Students and his many gifts to the 12th Man Foundation and the Texas A&M Foundation have earned him recognition as an Eppright Distinguished Donor and member of the Legacy Society.
In 2013, he received the Charles G. Berwind Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Hanna lost Janice, his wife and sweetheart of 51 years, in 2010. He has three sons and seven grandchildren and is a liftetime member of the United Methodist Church.
Dr. Stephen A. Holditch '69 is a former head of the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering and former director of the Texas A&M Energy Institute. He also founded S.A. Holditch and Associates, which had a worldwide reputation for being able to solve the most difficult petroleum engineering problems.
A member of the Corps of Cadets and Ross Volunteers, he received bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from A&M, all in petroleum engineering. He and his wife, Ann, have funded multiple scholarships in petroleum engineering, as well as a Sul Ross Scholarship. They are Endowed Century Club donors to The Association of Former Students and their many gifts to the 12th Man Foundation and Texas A&M Foundation have earned them recognition as Eppright Distinguished Donors and members of the Legacy Society. Holditch has been honored as a member of the Petroleum Engineering Academy of Distinguished Graduates and as an Outstanding Alumnus of the Dwight Look College of Engineering.
He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995 and has been honored with most of the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ top technical honors, including the Legends of Hydraulic Fracturing Award, which he received in 2014. He and Ann have been married 43 years and have two daughters, and five grandchildren.
Charlie W. Seely, Sr. '55, a U.S. Army veteran, is an independent oil and gas producer, president of Seely Oil Co. and chairman of three companies that manufacture plastic products. One of his companies has been honored as part of the Aggie 100, which spotlights the fastest-growing Aggie-owned or Aggie-led companies.
He is a Past Chair of The Association of Former Students Board of Directors, past president of the Fort Worth Tarrant County A&M Club, a former Class of 1955 Agent, former board member for the 12th Man Foundation, and serves on the President’s Council of Advisors. He was a member of the Corps of Cadets, received a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M and was a Distinguished Military Graduate.
He is an Endowed Century Club donor to The Association of Former Students and his many gifts to the 12th Man Foundation and Texas A&M Foundation have earned him recognition as an Eppright Distinguished Donor and member of the Legacy Society. He has given of his time and resources to organizations beyond Texas A&M, including tangible support provided to an orphanage in Russia. Seely has three children.
Charles A. "Charlie" Mattei, Jr. '49, a veteran of the U.S. Army and chairman emeritus of United Business Corp., is the former chairman and CEO of Cit-Con Oil Co. and a former vice president of both Gulf Oil/Chevron and Citgo. He served as president of the Beaumont and Tulsa A&M clubs, Class of 1949 Agent, president of the 12th Man Foundation and the Sul Ross Group, and as a member of the Vision 2020 Task Force, President’s Board of Advisors, and the Corps Development Council. He received a bachelor’s in engineering from Texas A&M. Mattei was named Outstanding Aggie by the Houston A&M Club and has been inducted into the Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor.
He and his wife, Bettie, are Endowed Century Club donors to The Association of Formers Students, and their generous gifts to the Texas A&M Foundation and the 12th Man Foundation have earned them recognition as Eppright Distinguished Donors and members of the Legacy Society. Their gifts to Texas A&M include a President’s Endowed Scholarship, a 12th Man Endowed Scholarship and a Sul Ross Scholarship. In addition to his service to Texas A&M, Mattei also filled leadership roles with his local Rotary Club, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and his local United Way. Mattei, who passed away April 18, and Bettie are parents to four children and seven grandchildren.
Since the inception of the award in 1962, only 237 of Texas A&M’s 410,000 former students have been recognized with the Distinguished Alumnus Award, the highest honor bestowed upon a former student of Texas A&M University. Awarded jointly by the university and The Association, this award recognizes those Aggies who have achieved excellence in their chosen professions and made meaningful contributions to Texas A&M University and their local communities.
“Texas A&M is one of the nation’s great, public land-grant institutions in large part because of the contributions these outstanding Aggies have made to their professions, their communities and their alma mater,” said Texas A&M Interim President Dr. Mark Hussey ’79.
The recipients learned of their honor when surprised in their places of business and other locations by a group of university and Association representatives, including Hussey, The Association of Former Students’ 2014 Chair of the Board of Directors Kathleen Gibson ’81, Association President and CEO Porter S. Garner III ’79, a Ross Volunteer, along with Reveille VIII and her handler.
“While our outstanding 2014 Distinguished Alumni represent a broad set of backgrounds and experiences, they all share a common love and appreciation for Texas A&M,” Gibson said. “They well represent and actively live our core values of excellence, integrity, leadership, loyalty, respect, and selfless service.”
Garner echoed the sentiments of Hussey and Gibson and offered his congratulations on behalf of the Aggie Network. “The Aggies selected as Distinguished Alumni represent the highest levels of achievement and service within the Aggie Network,” Garner said. “In the 52 years this award has been presented, it has been bestowed upon less than one-tenth of one percent of our former students.”
The Association of Former Students will further honor all recipients of this award during its annual Distinguished Alumni Gala on Oct. 10. In addition, the 2014 recipients will be recognized during the Texas A&M football game against Auburn on Oct. 11. Nominations for the 2015 Distinguished Alumnus Award will be accepted beginning May 1 through Oct. 1.
The Association of Former Students, established in 1879, is the official alumni organization of Texas A&M University. The Association connects the nearly 650,000 members of the worldwide Aggie Network with each other and the university, and provides $10.6 million a year in impact to university scholarships, awards, activities and enrichment for students, faculty, staff and former students. For more information about the Distinguished Alumnus Award or The Association, contact Kathryn Greenwade at KGreenwade88@aggienetwork.com or visit www.AggieNetwork.com.