Page 12 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2021- Online Magazine

Exceptional
“Professional”
Saddle
Tramp
Jim Douglass
by Jane Bromley
he 85-year-old Saddle Tramps
of Texas Tech have a long
Trich history of supporting the
university – with so much more than
bells and crepe paper streamers.
Their school spirit is unmatched,
and every pledge class is expected
to master a massive amount of
Tech history. The underclassmen
use their stint at the university to
advance their mission: “If it is for
the betterment of Texas Tech, let’s
work at it.”
Over 50 years ago, Jim Douglass
was one of them. And today, he is
the Texas Tech Alumni Association’s
Vice President for Development.
“Basically, I’m a professional Saddle
Tramp.” The service organization
had a huge influence on the young
man from San Antonio. “The Saddle
Tramps did more to prepare me for
my career than any of my classes.”
That statement doesn’t take away
from the excellent education he
received in the College of Business.
(“It wasn’t the Rawls College of
Business back then because Jerry
Rawls and I were there at the same
time.”)
12 Lubbock Senior Link
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As VP of Development for the
TTUAA, Jim is tasked with
overseeing 75+ alumni chapters
across the country, directing
the Alumni’s Vacation/Travel
Program – The Traveling Techsans
– stimulating membership
recruitment, coordinating
community relations, organizing
the Texas Tech University System
Day in Austin every other year,
and much more. One of the main
reasons the Alumni Association
exists is to support Tech’s academic
mission – mainly, raising money
for scholarships – and Jim has been
doing it for 42 years now. He caught
the vision for advancing the mission
of Texas Tech over a half century
ago, and he shows no sign of
slowing down. Red and black have
been his favorite colors for longer
than he can remember.
Although born in Corsicana, and
raised in San Antonio, Jim Douglass
was destined to be a Red Raider.
He was a member of Alpha Tau
Omega and the Student
Senate. He served on the
board of the Student Union
and as president of Thompson
Hall. But nothing was more
enjoyable for him than being a
Saddle Tramp.
After graduating in 1970, he
joined the NM National Guard.
Following basic training at
Ft. Polk and AIT at Ft. Bliss,
he was able to transfer to the
Army Reserves in Lubbock
where he served out the
remaining five years of his six-
year commitment.
His first job after graduation
was with KSEL AM/FM Radio
where he was Continuity
Director for three years.
From 1974-79, he was the first
executive director of Lubbock’s
Big Brother organization.
Big Sisters were added during his
tenure. In October 1979, Dr. Bill
Dean, director of what was then
known as the Texas Tech Ex-Student
Association, contacted Jim about an
opening for assistant director. “It
was a tough decision for me. I have
loved every job I’ve ever had, and I
hated to leave BB/BS.”
But, for the former Saddle Tramp,
it seemed like a perfect fit. Jim has
been able to travel with many of the
Tech presidents as they visited the
various alumni chapters around the
country. He has mobilized hundreds
of Tech alumni to show up for Texas
Tech Day to lobby state lawmakers
on behalf of higher education in
Texas. He works hard to encourage
the dozens of alumni chapters to do
their own fundraisers to provide
TTU scholarships from their
hometowns.
For years, many Red Raider alums
who have chosen to support their
Alumni Association have done so