Special Recognition to....

On November 13, 2010 Texas Spirit Kaitlin Kaufmann completed the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. That's right ladies, all 26.2 miles! The race benefited Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Kaitlin is also planning to run the Austin Half Marathon in February and has started a team (TEXAS FIGHT) with a few other Spirit actives. 

Congratulations on your amazing accomplishment Kaitlin! 

Shout Out To Our Club Soccer Girls!

Congratulations Caitlin Cash, Shannon Funke, Hannah Waitt, and Caroline Suter on getting second place at the Women's Club Soccer National Championship November 20, 2010! We are so proud of all the hard work you put into the season.

The National Championship Game took place in Colorado and was played against University of California Santa Barbara. The game went to overtime and still ended in a tie, so was then decided in a heartbreaking round of penalty kicks.

Great job ladies, and we look forward to see what you girls bring to the table next season!

Band Jam

After originally starting in 1995, Band Jam this year was held at the Parish and featured three bands: Calhoun, The Frontier Brothers, and What Made Milwaukee Famous. Band Jam is a charity concert and is our biggest annual event. Fundraising takes place all semester and all the proceeds from the event and other fundraising efforts go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and granting the wishes of hospitalized and terminally ill children. This year, we were able to raise over $17,000 for Make-A-Wish and help grant 3 kids wishes.

Frontier Brothers

Calhoun

Also, Texas Spirits made Austin 360's A-List at Band Jam this year! Check it out by clicking here!

Thanks to our Service Haunts, Meagan Sanders and Kayce Sebree as well as to all of the other Band Jam committee members for making this year's concert so great!

Weenie Service Project

On November 20, 2010 the Fall '10 Weenies completed their pledge class service project. The ladies woke up early Saturday morning to visit The Summit Assisted Living Center. At the event the girls did arts and crafts with current residents including things like Thanksgiving leaves and turkey hats. The girls also delivered cards to many of the rooms and visited with those living in the complex. 

What a great way to start out a Saturday and get in the spirit for Thanksgiving! 

The Last Mixer of the Semester!

Texas Spirits mixed with The UT Club Ice Hockey team on November 17, 2010. The mixer's theme was "The Office" and was a fun night of meeting new people and bonding with other Texas Spirits members.

A big thanks to Brooke Rogers and Amanda Chavira (above) for all the hard work they did over the past year planning all of the Spirits events!

Congratulations to the Second Half of GC 2011!

Hook 'em Haunts: Gabe Dobbins

& Andrea Chao

History Haunt: Alexa Hart

Public Relations Haunt: Neven Simpson

Royal Spirit Haunt: Sam Anderson

Singing Haunt: Amaris Chang

Special Projects Haunts: Nancy Tan

& Gaby DeLeon

Spirits in the Spotlight!

Our November 17th featured Spirits.....

Weenie of the Week:

Aly Kasberg

This semester Aly has demonstrated what it means to be a Texas Spirit. She has been working hard to complete her requirements and has attended a number of events including drag paints, flash cards, weenie meeting, face painting, Band Jam tailgating, social events, other UT spirit events (like the Hex Rally) and has completed her required service hours.

Spirit of the Week:

Hannah Waitt

Hannah represented Spirits proudly by kicking (and making) the Chick-fil-A/jetBlue field goal attempt after the first quarter. IT'S GOOD! Check out previous blog for a link to the YouTube video of her epic moment. Hannah has been extremely involved in Spirits this semester having attended a number of social events, drag paints, flash cards, and has over 19 service hours for the semester.

Haunt Jaunt 2010, Let the Games Begin!

This year's Haunt Jaunt was a mess... literally. Essentially it involved maple syrup, barbeque sauce, flour, and getting extremely messy. Haunt Jaunt is a yearly "field-day" type of event that is a friendly, fun competition between Ghoulfamilies planned by the Hook 'Em Haunts.

Events included all kinds of games such as tug-o-war competitions on a ketchup tarp, a relay race across a tarp of slippery items after spinning in circles repeatedly, another relay where you had to stick an entire loaf of bread on a teammate using peanut butter, and finally a pie eating contest.
"My team only won two events, but we had an amazing time!" -Maysie Ocera

The competition was fierce, but the Ghoulfamily of Weenie Becca Moore ended up taking first prize. Members of this family include: Lauren Davis, Becky Holmes, Melanie Torre, Lindsey Mitchell, Gaby DeLeon, Amanda Chavira, and Alexa Hart.

Despite the cold weather, this year's Haunt Jaunt was a huge success. Way to go Caitlin Cash and Shannon Funke for planning such a fun event!

Fame is Upon Us

At Saturday's Flashcards, attending Texas Spirits were lucky enough to have the chance to meet famous country singer Jack Ingram who was warming up for his performance of the national anthem at the UT vs. OSU football game.

Kudos to Meagan Sanders for going up to him, introducing herself and inviting him over to meet the girls and take some photos.

And, the fame continues....

After the first quarter of the UT football game, Spring '10 Weenie and current J.I. Hannah Waitt was selected to do the Chick-fil-A Field Goal Challenge. Hannah did not let us down, and became the first person to make the field goal all year (even on her first try), all while sporting her Spirits scarf and name-tag. She even later received Facebook messages telling her to "join the Dallas Cowboys."

Click here to view the video, trust me, you will not be disappointed.

Way to go Hannah!

Open Mic Night Fundraiser

Last Thursday, Texas Spirits hosted an Open Mic Night at The Rooftop on Guadalupe. UT students and other local Austinites performed at the event which benefited Texas Spirits' main philanthropy, the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The event featured seven acts including the following:

Brandon Greenspan - Stand Up Comedy Act

Matt Hochman & Saumya from Ransom Notes

Tye

A late entry who played a harmonica set

Brooke Leal (a Texas Spirit Active) and Cameron

Ire Straits

StumbleDrunk

Each performed for about 15 minutes and donations were collected based off of the amount of drinks sold. The event raised a total of $217 for The Make-A-Wish Foundation, which will be combined with all of the other fundraising events' proceeds that have taken place throughout the semester.

A big thank you goes out to Nancy Tan for planning the event and ensuring everything ran smoothly, as well as to Rachel Hengst and Lauren Eason for getting in contact with the Rooftop, Brooke Leal for helping with event details, and finally to the members of StumbleDrunk and Ire Straits for helping set up.

(Pictured: StumbleDrunk band)

Here's how you can check out the amazing Brooke Leal if you missed the event.

Newest Members of Ghost Council

Congratulations to the first half of of Ghost Council 2011!

Chief Haunt: Katie Koehler

Vice Haunt: Sydney Fazende

Scribe Haunt: Courtney Davis

Banker Haunt: Kyndal Henicke

Service Haunts: Ana Hernandez & Nicole Dietze

Spirit Haunts: Christine Laramy & Megan McKinney

Contact Haunt: Katy Langford

Great work on your campaigns and speeches ladies, we are very excited and proud of you all and know you will do a great job leading our organization!

The second half of GC 2011 will be determined on Wednesday!

Spirits in the Spotlight!

The following Spirits were recognized for their hard work at meeting November 10, 2010.

Spirit of the Week...

Kelcey Bacon!

This Spring '10 Weenie was a huge help by hosting Weenie Roast at her parent's land/house for the second year in a row. Not only did the Bacons offer a place for the event, but they assisted by providing hot drinks, games, and kept the fire going. Kelcey has been extremely active all semester by attending games, social events, and by doing other Spirits requirements. Kelcey has also taken an active role on the Band Jam Committee this semester.

Weenie of the Week....

Tori Kazmierski!

Tori was a very involved Weenie this past week and attended Face Paint, Drag Paint, and Flashcards. Throughout the semester, Tori has also gone to Band Jam tailgating twice which has been an extremely successful way to raise money for The Make-A-Wish Foundation leading up to the event.

Good job Tori, keep up the good work!

Paint Princess.....

Taylor Francis

Last week, Taylor's artistic abilities during Drag Paint really shone through and helped her to gain the title as this week's Paint Princess. Congratulations Taylor and thank you for helping us show our support for the UT sports programs!