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K-State Today

June 1, 2016

Inaugural Wabash CannonBall North Texas set for May 19, 2017

Submitted by Tim Schrag

Building on the purple pride and loyalty of nearly 6,000 K-State alumni and friends in North Texas, the K-State Alumni Association announced it will bring the popular Wabash CannonBall gala to the region in 2017. The inaugural Wabash CannonBall North Texas gala, a black-tie evening for Wildcat fans to dance, dine and raise scholarship dollars for local students to attend K-State, will take place in the Dallas/Fort Worth area Friday, May 19, 2017.     

Carl and Mary Ice, Westlake, Texas, both graduates of K-State, 1979 and 1980, 1988 respectively, will chair the local committee of alumni charged with planning the gala. The event takes its name from the song "Wabash Cannonball," which has played a vital role in the traditions and spirit of K-State since 1968.

The K-State Alumni Association's first Wabash CannonBall gala was in Kansas City in 2007, and since then the program has expanded to include Denver, Colorado, and Houston, Texas. Through the years, the galas have raised more than $2.7 million for scholarships for students from the three locations. 

North Texas represents one of the largest K-State alumni bases outside Kansas, and K-Staters there have already shown a passion for sending Texas students to K-State. In 1999, the local Dallas/Fort Worth alumni club, Kansas State Texans, led by Audrey Mross '80, Dallas, Texas, created an endowed scholarship fund that has continued to grow. Proceeds from Wabash CannonBall North Texas gala will further enhance scholarship funds for local students.          

"K-Staters in North Texas have been incredibly loyal to our university," said Amy Button Renz, K-State Alumni Association president and CEO. "We are honored to bring the Wabash CannonBall to the region and look forward to helping more students join the Wildcat family and attend K-State."   

In addition to the Ices, the Wabash CannonBall North Texas gala committee includes Jim and Marlyn Conrow '73; Rod and Charlene Lake '83; Gordon Rourk '84; and Justine Sterling '07, all of Dallas, Texas; Scott '89 and Julie Jimison, Haslet, Texas; Doug Weyer '70, Lake Dallas, Texas; and David '00 and Andi Stone '02, Southlake, Texas.

Please watch for additional event details, including the venue, in the coming months at K-State.com.