Alumni Association Executive Director Sande Harrison announced the donation, saying it was the lead gift in the Association’s Horizon Campaign that will establish the ASU Alumni Foundation to increase major support and provide a dependable revenue stream for resources for ASU Scholarships and special projects.

 

            “It is fitting that the first major gift to the Horizon Campaign comes from our Association’s President, Lloyd Norris, and his family,” Kyle Box, ASU Alumni Association First Vice President said. “Their commitment will be the first of many from our loyal alumni, who are so supportive of the Association and Angelo State University and so dedicated to the excellence of both.”

 

            Norris, a 1973 ASU graduate and current Association President, is chairman of the board of Town & Country Food Stores. He is joined in the gift by his wife, Sheri, and daughters, Angela and Chancey, both ASU graduates. 

 

            The donation is being made in honor of their late son and brother, Dusty Norris. The plaque designating the ballroom in their name will read: “Donated by the Norris Family/Lloyd, Sheri, Angie, Chancey/In loving memory of Dusty Norris.”

 

            “We are all proud members of the Angelo State family,” Lloyd Norris said. “We wanted to demonstrate that pride through this gift to the Association. No group devotes more time and effort to supporting Angelo State and this donation will provide resources to help the Alumni Association remain a viable partner with ASU.”

 

            The Alumni Association initiated the successful effort earlier this year to switch the governance of ASU from the Texas State University System to the Texas Tech University System. The transition, effective this past September 1, came during Norris’s tenure as Alumni Association President.

 

            Norris, who has announced his retirement from Town & Country Food Stores effective at the end of the year, has been with the firm since 1970, starting by delivering ice to company stores and working his way up to senior management and partner. He has been chairman of the board since 2004. Earlier this year, he and his three partners sold the firm to Susser Holdings of Corpus Christi.

 

            Box said the Alumni Association will formally launch the Horizon Fund campaign in 2008 to support the new ASU Alumni Foundation and provide the Alumni Association with long-term financial resources. 

 

            “Because of the Norris Family,” Harrison said, “we have even more to be thankful for this holiday season.”