Despite the chilly day, more than 500 retirees, guests, volunteers, and exhibitors attended this year’s TI Retiree Luncheon at the Mesquite Convention Center on November 13.
TI Alumni Association President Larry James kept the program moving. Prior to lunch, he introduced special guests from TI and recognized the Legend Sponsors of the recent TIAA Annual Charity Golf Tournament, and the Texins Credit Union and TI for their role as Underwriters for the tournament. He also thanked all the volunteers, both those from TI and from the TIAA for their work in preparing for the luncheon. Veterans were also recognized for their service to their country.
Following lunch, Larry highlighted the 50th Anniversary of the first building on the UT Dallas campus, the Founder’s Building. He introduced noted author, Darwin Payne, whose biography of Erik Jonsson, was published recently. Larry called Darwin to the stage and presented him with an Honorary Membership Certificate in the TIAA, citing his years of research on TI and the fine work he did in explaining how important Erik Jonsson was in laying the foundation for today’s TI, and his impact on the City of Dallas as Mayor.
Ann Pomykal, with the TI Foundation, presented some of the highlights in the 50-year history of the foundation. She noted that Erik Jonsson was the first chairman of the TI Foundation, which had its initial board meeting, December 16, 1964, with $290,000 in assets at the time. Since 1964, more than $182 million has been distributed through grants and matching gifts. The TI Foundation focuses its giving in three areas: Education, Community, and Arts & Culture. Ann concluded by thanking the retirees for their support and for taking advantage of the TI Foundation’s volunteer hours program.
Venu Menon, TI Vice President for Analog Technology Development, was the featured speaker. He traced the highlights of TI’s commercial development of the silicon transistor in 1954, years ahead of industry expectations. Other significant milestones were shown, both in 1954 and a decade later. Venu described TI’s financial progress in terms of cash flow and dividend growth; commenting that TI has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years, and the dividend has grown at an average rate of 23% over the past five years. He then highlighted some of the exciting areas of future growth for TI in automotive, industrial, communications, and health technology, and concluded by thanking retirees for their contributions in making TI the company it is today.
Marty Ruiz, local singer and entertainer, brought an upbeat program with some of the great songs from the decades of the anniversaries being recognized at the luncheon. He praised veterans, as well as the wives of vets, and those with relatives or friends currently serving the country and led the audience in singing “My County 'Tis of Thee”. He surprised the audience by bringing the Show Girls of the Spectacular Senior Follies on stage. They concluded with “New York, New York” in true Las Vegas style to the delight of the audience.
Click here to view a slideshow of photos taken at the TI Retiree Luncheon.