Texas A&M To Help College Station Warmly Welcome Rogue Riders Thursday
Texas A&M University will figuratively roll out the red carpet to help welcome the Rogue Riders to College Station, Thursday (June 28) as they bring their search for America’s friendliest small town to Aggieland.
The Rogue Riders team will visit the community for five days to gauge its friendliness in comparison to small towns in four other states along with another Texas town, Frisco.
When they arrive at Texas A&M’s Appelt Aggieland Visitor Center at 10 a.m. Thursday, they will be informally welcomed and then have a personal tour of the main campus.
College Station Mayor Nancy Berry and representatives of the Bryan-College Station Convention & Visitors Bureau will then formally welcome them. After lunch at the Memorial Student Center, they will visit the West Campus and the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
The full itinerary for Thursday’s visit is below.
Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin has joined with city officials and local civic leaders in encouraging a warm welcome for the Rogue Riders, saying that he is confident that Aggies and all others in the campus community will do their part to convince the Rogue Riders that College Station is worthy of being designated the nation’s friendliest small town.
“We Aggies pride ourselves on being friendly, and we are proud to call College Station our home and pleased to be right in the heart of town, so we certainly plan to do our part to show our well-known hospitality and help add ‘America’s friendliest small town’ to College Station’s many claims to fame,” notes Loftin, who is well-known for his personal friendliness.
Other finalists in the friendliest-small-town category of the Rand McNally and USA Today’s “Best of the Road” competition are Murray, Ky.; Joplin, Mo.; Cloudcroft, N.M. and San Luis Obispo, Calif.
The winners will be announced July 16 and will be highlighted in Rand McNally’s 2013 Road Atlas and in USA Today. The tour will also be featured in a one-hour television special on the Travel Channel in late July.
The City of College Station, the Bryan-College Station Convention and Visitors Bureau, BCS Chamber of Commerce, along with Texas A&M, have planned a comprehensive itinerary for the team’s visit. The Rogue Riders will travel around town in a specially marked “Best of the Road” Honda CRV and will post photos, videos, blogs and social media reports about their experiences.
“It’s quite an honor to be a finalist for friendliest city, which is a quality that everyone who lives in College Station has always recognized and valued,” Mayor Nancy Berry said as the city geared up for the Rogue Riders’ visit. “This is our chance to let the nation know what we’re all about, so if you see the Rogue Riders around town, be sure and give them a warm smile and a friendly ‘howdy.’”
The teams and finalists were selected after receiving the most online votes in May. The Best of the Road Rally began on June 15 in Washington, D.C.
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Media contact: Lane Stephenson, News & Information Services at (979) 845-4662 or Lacey Lively at (979) 764-3445
Best of the Road
Itinerary for Texas A&M University
Thursday, June 28
9 a.m. Interview with 103.9 FM
10 a.m. Arrive at Appelt Aggieland Visitor Center, Rudder Tower, First Floor
Estela Feagin, Assistant Director, Marketing & Communications
10:05 a.m. Campus Walking Tour Main Campus (focusing on student life, history and traditions)
Tour will begin at the University Club and end at Kyle Field
Aleyda Cantu, Student Tour Leader, Aggie Experience Council
11 a.m. Welcome
The Honorable Nancy Berry, Mayor, City of College Station
11:05 a.m. Yell Practice
Nelson Ingram and Drew Nelson, Yell Leaders
11:15 a.m. Golf-Cart Tour of West Campus (including rock-climbing at Student Rec Center)
Hector Funes, Student Tour Leader, Aggie Experience Council
12:30 p.m. Lunch at Rev’s American Grill, Memorial Student Center, First Floor
Mayor Berry and representatives from the City of College Station, Bryan-College
Station Convention & Visitors Bureau and Texas A&M University (Estela Feagin and
Aggie Experience Council members: Kalee Bumguardner, Alyeda Cantu, Hector Funes
and Will Holleman)
2 p.m Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Will King, Marketing and Communications Director
4 p.m. Return to hotel for rest
6:30 p.m. Dinner at The Republic
8:30 p.m. End the evening at Benjamin Knox Wine Depot (live music and tour) – we visited with
the Knox people today and can reserve a table
Return them to hotel when they choose
