Let the battle begin

The battle lines will be drawn on Nov. 18 as the college prepares for war – penny war. And if your class wins, you gain an hour of your time Jan. 16.

In memory of James Robertson Jr., Ph.D., and his legacy at the Texas A&M Health Science Center Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, professional student pharmacists are organizing the Ties and Tennis Shoes Memorial 5K Walk/Run on Feb. 21, 2014. Through the event, penny wars and a T-shirt contest, students aim to raise enough funds for the Dr. James Robertson Jr. Memorial Fund to provide an endowed scholarship in honor of Robertson.

The time has arrived to introduce some friendly competition among the Texas A&M College of Pharmacy students, faculty and staff. One contest that just finished up was the T-shirt design contest.

Several students submitted designs. The winner of the design contest will receive a head start for the second competition commencing on Nov. 18—the Texas A&M Rangel College of Pharmacy Penny Wars. The student-driven competitions are intended to increase awareness and excitement about the upcoming 5K and raise additional funds to support the memorial scholarship.

The winning T-shirt design will be used for the shirts worn by participants and patrons on the day of the 5K. The winner of the T-shirt design will be announced on Nov. 14 and will receive 2,000 pennies to use as desired in the penny wars.

The Penny War will be Nov. 18 to Nov. 21 between the three classes, faculty and staff currently at the Texas A&M Rangel College of Pharmacy. Each of the three classes, faculty and staff will have jars in the Dean’s Office and place pennies it their respective jars counting as positive points.

The winning classes will have one free pass on the Dean’s Forum on Jan. 16.

The competitive part is that other classes and faculty will be able to place nickels, dimes, quarters, bills and checks into the other jars counting as negative points. After tallying the positive and negative points, the winner of the penny wars will be revealed and all funds will go toward the Dr. James Robertson Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Robertson was a cornerstone at the Texas A&M Rangel College of Pharmacy. He died after complications from pneumonia on Nov. 21, 2012, in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Student organizers encourage all students and alumni to participate in this event. “A student oriented event would make Dr. Robertson smile,” said Kelsi Gulick, third-year professional student pharmacist. “After all, Dr. Robertson loved his students and this school.”

To register for the 5K Walk/Run, please go to Ties & Tennis Shoes Memorial 5K Walk/Run.

If you have any questions, please contact Cheri Shipman, communications director, 361-221-0606 or COP-memorial5K@pharmacy.tamhsc.edu.