Retiring Rep. Smithee Honored at One West Campaign Event

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

Faithful WT donors, including those giving $10 million and above, also celebrated

CANYON, Texas — Retiring state Rep. John Smithee and more than 13,000 donors to West Texas A&M University were celebrated at an April 16 event marking the historic conclusion of the University’s One West comprehensive fundraising campaign.

Smithee, a WT alumnus who has who has made monumental contributions to the Texas Panhandle while representing District 86 for the past 40 years, was presented the President’s Panhandle Pioneer Award by WT President Walter V. Wendler.

At the event, WT officials revealed that the campaign raised $208,654,050—the most money raised in a fundraising campaign in Texas Panhandle history.

All 13,377 donors to the campaign were ceremoniously recognized as recipients of the University’s Pinnacle Award.

Also recognized during the evening were other top donors in the University’s Old Main Society and the Eternal Flame Society.

The event also revealed the new Crystal Buffalo Society, recognizing supporters who have donated $10 million or more in cumulative gifts. New members of the Eternal Flame Society also were recognized.

The inaugural Crystal Buffalo Society members are the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation, Cheryl and Alex Fairly, the Sybil B. Harrington Trust, and Drs. Geneva and Stanley Schaeffer.

“In this campaign, we received amazing gifts and continued giving from generous donors who believe in the importance of WT’s mission,” said Dr. Todd W. Rasberry, WT vice president for philanthropy and external relations and executive director of the WTAMU Foundation. “The level of giving during the One West campaign provided both the necessity and occasion for creating a new giving level to recognize current donors and inspire future donors’ gifts.”

The President’s Panhandle Pioneer Award recognizes those who have provided substantial volunteer service to WT and the region.

Smithee, an Amarillo attorney, announced his retirement from the Texas House of Representatives in 2025.

“I think West Texas A&M University has benefited immensely from John Smithee’s contributions to leadership in the state of Texas,” WT President Walter V. Wendler said. “He really cares about people, and that shows when he engages with you.”

Smithee, who is descended from a pioneering Panhandle family, has spent his entire life living, working and raising a family in Amarillo. A 1973 graduate of then-West Texas State University, Rep. Smithee is a practicing attorney and was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1985 to serve District 86, which includes Armstrong, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Hartley, Oldham, Parmer and Randall counties. He announced his retirement from the House in 2025.

Among his accomplishments in office, Smithee was instrumental in bringing WT into The Texas A&M University System.

Smithee said he always felt WT would thrive in a merger with the A&M System.

“I felt like we would be stronger as part of a group or a team because Texas A&M had so many resources,” Smithee said. “I think it was a good decision for the overall growth and evolution of the University. We see evidence of that everywhere on campus.”

“He was a champion for that cause,” Wendler said, “and he was right on every count.”

Smithee helped expand 911 service to Amarillo and the Panhandle, helped secure the new Panhandle State Hospital inpatient mental health center, and helped secure state funding for the renovation of the Geneva Schaeffer Education Building. 

“His partnership with WT has been really incredible,” said Rep. Caroline Fairly, who was elected in 2024 to represent Smithee’s neighboring District 87. “It’s refreshing that you can have someone with his relationships and his success and … that he’s still humble about it all. John is overall just a very respected individual in Austin.”

The April 16 event in the Piehl-Schaeffer Pavilion on WT’s Canyon campus also celebrated the induction of new members and elevation of existing members in the Old Main Society, a group founded in 1998 to recognize supporters whose lifetime total of donations to WT and the WTAMU Foundation exceeds $50,000. Forty-two new members were inducted, and 25 ascended to new levels within the Society.

The Old Main Society has 478 total members.

Plus, seven new members were inducted into the Eternal Flame Society, consisting of donors who are making gifts to the University through their estate planning.

New Old Main Society members include:

• Benefactor ($1 million to $4,999,999): Anonymous; Paul Batenhorst; the late Hank Gerdsen; the late Phyllis Gerdsen; Lisa G. Hennen; and the Prairie Thunder Foundation;
• Patron ($500,000 to $999,999): Danita and Gregg Bynum; Linda B. Caraway; Cobalt Cattle Co. LLC; Debbie and the late Bill Farnum; Jan and Dr. Mark Hassinger; 1st Sgt. Shirley Nichols; and Robert E. Phipps;
• Ambassador ($250,000 to $499,999): Jacque and Scott Anderson; Dean Cluck Feedyard; Sharon Lofton; Linda and Gary Pitner; Colleen and Jason Sweet; David T. Whatley; and Karen and Warren White;
• Sustainer ($100,000 to $249,999): Brenda Furlow; Cody Jones; the Stella M. Kemble Trust; Pepsi Beverages; Barbara and the late David Russell; and Monica and Wade Shaffer;
• Supporter ($50,000 to $99,999): Hiromasa Anan; James Beckham; Capital Farm Credit; Circle Bar Trust; CoBank; the W.H. and Mary Ellen Cobb Charitable Trust; FirstBank Southwest–Perryton; Sharon R. Guthrie; Pam and Kurt Landis; Middlewell Trust; Dr. Keri Rogers Mize; Albert Quinto; Reed Beverage; Lana Sue Francis Rogers; and Texas Seed Trade Association.

Rising Old Main Society members include:

• Visionary ($5 million to $9,999,999): Anonymous; High Plains Christian Ministries Foundation;
• Benefactor: Sharon and Jim Bob Brown; the Buffalo Council; Champion Feeders LLC; Judy Fugate; Lanna and Bob Hatton; Natrelle and Dr. Russell Long; and Rosemary Gerdsen Prichard and the late Stan Prichard;
• Patron: Susan Darlene and Dr. Bruce C. Brasington; Faith Dulaney; Dr. Marty Kuhlman; and Jeannette and the late Dick Railsback;
• Ambassador: the Josephine Anderson Charitable Trust; the late Susan Coleman; the Gloria K. Coon Charitable Trust; Carole and Rick Couch; J’Melle and the late Gary Fletcher; Northwest Texas Healthcare System; and Plains Land Bank;
• Sustainer: Cindy and Gary Barnes; Laylan Copelin; Dr. Jim Cornette; Farm Credit Bank of Texas; Raising Cane’s; and the Texas A&M University Foundation.

Eternal Flame Society inductees include Paul Batenhorst, Cheryl Harris, Kerry Rogers Mize, Linda and Gary Pitner, Albert Quinto, Lana Rogers, and Monica and Wade Shaffer.

The President’s Panhandle Pioneer Award was established to recognize the volunteer and service contributions of an individual or organization providing for the betterment of the University and the Texas Panhandle.

Previous Pioneer Award recipients include: Texas Cattle Feeders Association (2019), Mike Wartes (2021); Dr. Barbara Bain, Dr. Helen Piehl and the late Dr. Geneva Schaeffer (2022); Lilia Escajeda (2023); and Four Price (2024).

Previous Pinnacle Award recipients include: Geneva and Stanley Schaeffer (2006), Bill and Joyce Attebury (2007), John Marmaduke (2008), Ray and Barbara Bain (2009), John G. O’Brien (2010), Helen Piehl (2011), Jack and Helene Hayward (2012), Atmos Energy and Charles K. and Barbara K. Vaughan (2013), Dyke and Terry Rogers (2014), Don and Twanna Powell (2015), The Don and Sybil B. Harrington Foundation (2016), Amarillo National Bank (2017), The Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation (2018), Happy State Bank (2019), Cheryl and Alex Fairly (2020), High Plains Christian Ministries Foundation (2021); Lanna and Bob Hatton (2022); WT President Emeritus Russell C. Long and wife Natrelle Hedrick Long and the Mary E. Bivins Foundation (2023); and Terry, Trevor and Regan Caviness (2024).

Faithful donors and supporters, such as those honored April 16, contribute significantly to the regional impact of WT and help the University live up to the goals of its long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which raised more than $200 million dollars, the largest such campaign in Texas Panhandle history.

About West Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a Regional Research University in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers multiple options for students to graduate and succeed: 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Photo: Rep. John Smithee, left, was presented the President’s Panhandle Pioneer Award by West Texas A&M University President Walter V. Wendler, right, during a celebration of the successful completion of WT's One West comprehensive fundraising campaign April 16. Also pictured are Becky Smithee and Mary Wendler.

—WT—