The message to the nation from the party (the Texas party, that is): "Can we celebrate? You bet we can."
By REBECCA NOAH POYNTER '85
The message to the nation from the party (the Texas party, that is): "Can we celebrate? You bet we can."
The legendary Black Tie & Boots Inaugural Ball is a colossal Texas block party with more than 11,000 "neighbors" attending. At Monday night’s pre-inaugural celebration, Texans and their friends shared a good-time attitude and some Aggie-Longhorn bipartisanship.
"There may not be a Texan in the White House, but that doesn’t stop Texans from throwing the best inaugural ball in town," said 2009 Black Ties & Boots Inaugural Ball Chair Ed Perez (who attended college in Austin).
The sponsoring organization, the Texas State Society, is made up of Texans living and working in the District of Columbia. Dozens of Aggies are among those who work hard to make the night happen. "I hate to admit it, but we couldn’t do it without the Aggies," said Texas State Society spokesperson (and Longhorn) Jenifer Sarver. Doug Centilli ’86 handled arrangements for 20-plus acts as the entertainment chair of the event. And Aggie students working this semester on Capitol Hill worked two-hour volunteer shifts.
The Texas State Society sponsored its original cocktail reception when Dwight D. Eisenhower took the presidential oath. Since then, Black Tie & Boots has gotten bigger and bolder. An iconic moment was when President George W. Bush revealed his cowboy boots to the crowd at the 2005 event.
On Monday night, at the Gaylord National Resort on the icy banks of the Potomac River, guests were met by seven entertainment stages and tables of Texas fare (a divine treat for expatriate Texans who live in D.C.). For thousand of Aggies living in Washington or visiting from Texas, the night would be a good time in the chips and hot sauce, longneck beer and country music way. Dress was tuxedoes and boots for the men, evening gowns (and boots if desired) for the ladies. Cowboy hats were optional, but seemed an enviable choice in the freezing weather.
An all-Aggie band, Emory Quinn, opened the night in the main ballroom with their Americana music. (The final act was country singer Rick Trevino, whose music career began while he was a student at A&M.) On stage, U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn spoke, flanked by 31 of the 34 members of the Texas Congressional delegation. "Tonight is a great opportunity to showcase Texas talent, camaraderie and hospitality in our nation’s capital," said Cornyn, the president of the Texas State Society.
Hutchinson offered this: "Texans, we are a little too loud, a little too rowdy, but our hearts are as big as our mouths." That brought an audible "whoop" from Rep. Louie Gohmert ’75, a former member of The Association of Former Students Board of Directors.
Later in the evening, Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington made a surprise visit to acknowledge the military members present. Appraising the crowd, he remarked, "They really do everything big in Texas."
