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Finding its roots in 1876, Texas A&M University would remain an all-male school until 1963, but even though females weren't attending class, a group of Aggie moms made sure there would still be womanly influence on campus. A club of A&M mothers gathered in Dallas in 1922 for the first time, and The Federation of Texas A&M Mothers’ Clubs formed shortly after, according to President Johnna Lenamon.
“The Federation was founded in 1928,” Johnna says. “Mrs. Ada Peoples came to campus to visit her son and was concerned by the poor quality of life on the A&M campus. She worried that there was no entertainment, no culture and a complete lack of women’s influence. She went back to Dallas and formed the first club to start working with the University, support the kids and get those conditions more in line with what a mother thinks they should be.”
Now, there are roughly 111 clubs spanning from California to Pennsylvania with over 7,000 members across the country. If mothers live too far from a local club, the Adopt-A-Mom Program offers to take them in and give them regular privileges of any other member — from goodie bags during finals to graduation gifts for students.
“Most clubs meet on at least a monthly basis,” Johnna says. “It depends on the month, so we could do Painting with a Twist, a wine tour or tasting or a midnight bowling night. It's really about getting these moms together to share stories and that camaraderie — we call it ‘Momraderie.’”
The Federation’s board consists of 27 members who aid in organizing three in-person weekends for members to attend at A&M inAugust, January and April. FromFriday to Sunday, moms attend meetings, have group dinners and hear from keynote speakers — always followed by a fun activity.
“We always do the events after our meeting and always have something for the moms to do,” Johnna says. “Whether that be going to The Cove at The Barracks or doing a sip & shop in Bryan. Saturday evening this year, I'm actually going to do a mom and dad event. We're looking for someplace to go and just all of us get together.”
Before being installed as President in April, Johnna served four other positions for the club. Johnna is prioritizing an important message during her presidency after the recent loss of her daughter.
“My mission this year as President is suicide awareness and prevention,” Johnna says. “I lost my daughter to suicide in 2020. I wanted to run for President and really bring that message home, make sure students know the resources available on campus.”
Johnna worked with Texas A&M’s Counseling & Psychological Services last year along with the Suicide Awareness and Prevention office. At Johnna’s President’s Dinner in August, she will have an Aggie keynote speaker who also lost their child to suicide share his story and knowledge on resources.
“Everybody has been incredibly supportive,” Johnna says. “One of the things that you learn once you are impacted by suicide is the amount of people that have been impacted by suicide. It really has brought awareness, trying to just do away with the stigma of, ‘Oh, you can't talk about that.’ No, we will talk about that. We will bring it forward, we will tell our stories.”
Another way mothers build connections is through their football tailgates at every home game, Johnna says. Their set up is hard to miss with its chandelier shining bright in the center of the tent.
“We have a very prominent spot,” Johnna says. “It's super popular with lots of foot traffic and a prime location. It's just a great place to welcome moms, dads and students. We always have donors pick and game and so they'll bring food and beverages and those types of things. So those are a ton of fun.”
During Family Weekend in April, The Federation hosts a boutique that can be found in the Memorial Student Center, or MSC.
“Family Weekend really is a big weekend for us,” Johnna says. “Clubs can bring all of their Aggie mom gear, whatever they're selling, they can bring and sell at the boutique. All clubs do fundraising to give back to scholarships or give back to student organizations, so it's just a way for us to help them promote and sell items to give back to the students in the university.”
In between their all-member meetings in August, January and April, The Federation also hosts Aggie Mom Camp annually in February, where mothers spend three days at A&M. Their last camp brought over 300 moms to campus — maxing out their stay at the Texas A&M Hotel & Conference Center.
“Aggie Mom Camp is just kind of what you think about when you think about a summer camp,” Johnna says. “We have a big dinner on Saturday night that we have entertainment for and it's usually student groups. The Saturday dinner is opened up to the students so the mom can invite them to come with them. It's just a big slumber party, for lack of a better explanation.”
With there being so much information for members, Aggie Mom University, or AMU, was born to make that learning gap easier.
“We actually spent a year building Aggie Mom University,” Johnna says. “We went through and taped sessions that covered topics on scholarships, how to conduct meetings, member retention, etc. People could attend those sessions and then anytime someone needed to reference a class you can watch the pre-recorded session on AMU."
The last overall message Johnna says she’s trying to bring home during her presidency is ‘Once an Aggie mom, always an Aggie mom.’ Even if a mother’s child has graduated from the university, local clubs have what’s called a Ring of Honor section so that moms can still connect with each other despite no longer having active college students.
“I'm a Ring of Honor mom, my son has graduated,” Johnna says. “Ring of Honor group[s] do things —they take shopping trips, we just got back from a cruise. It was a board cruise, but there were a ton of Ring of Honor moms. We had an amazing time. Each person pays their own way, but it's just to continue that ‘Momraderie.’”
The Federation of Texas A&M University Mothers’ Clubs has an office in Post Oak Mall in College Station. Mothers looking to join can download their app or find a club in their district aggiemoms.org.
