Still basking in the Thanksgiving glow

Austin native Emily Brouse '10 wrote to tell us that her Thanksgiving week was made perfect by TCU's 20-13 beatdown of Texas. "Every holiday season, Austinites decorate the little trees along Capital of Texas Highway and always have fun themes," she shared. "I picked the perfect tree right off the highway and decided this was the perfect year to spread some TCU holiday cheer. GO FROGS!"

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Make a difference

A holiday party on Dec. 7, hosted by the Maiden twins, will make a lot of kids smile, and you are invited to participate.

TCU alumni, football players and identical twin brothers Terrence '00 and Tim Maiden '00 grew up in south Dallas before they launched standout careers on an ultra-talented TCU football squad that included current NFL stars LaDainian Tomlinson and Aaron Schobel.

In 2005, they co-founded nonprofit Two-Wins Foundation (www.two-wins.org) to help the boys and girls living in their old neighborhood.

Now, Two-Wins Foundation has partnered with the Goss-Michael Foundation and Mayor Star Council to host a charity toy-drive, A SoulFul Christmas.

Terrence Maiden with kids at the 2011 Christmas party.

Two-Wins Foundation has committed to collecting more than 400 toys for underprivileged children in southern Dallas being served by Oak Cliff, Moorland, and Park South YMCA locations. Toys will be distributed on December 15th at the YMCA Holiday Sharing + Caring event.

In 2011, Christmas gifts were purchase for more than 80 families being served by Behind Every Door.

Fellow Frogs can get involved by providing unwrapped toys or submitting a monetary donation towards this worthy cause. Any contribution you or your company make would be greatly appreciated.

Click here to submit your donation.Two-Wins Foundation will provide a receipt for tax write-off.

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Spectacular TCU-themed art

Looking for a holiday gift for that TCU person in your life? TCU parent Jerry Bolfing of Scofield Images wrote us to say that Frog fans might consider buying a print from artist Shane Scofield. Based in Waco, Scofield has created both athletic and campus scenes. The Rose Bowl drawing is not available for sale, unfortunately, due to NCAA regulations, but there are other TCU-themed pieces to peruse. Prints are available in a 28 inch by 21 inch size ($129.99) and 17 inch by 11 inch size ($64.99). They're available in black and white or purple.

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Like father, like daughters

Ross Landman '87 wrote us to share this photo of him, wife Laurie and their two daughter who are currently Horned Frogs — Madelyn '13 and Whitney '16. They all watched the Frogs beat Virginia in September at the new Amon G. Carter Stadium. Ross is the president of The Landman Group LLC, established in January 1999, and resides in Northbrook, Ill. 

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Frog spirit in Afghanistan

Second Lieutenant Jason Bonds (right) is the platoon leader of the Blue Platoon in the Bonecrusher Troop in the 3rd Squadron of the 7th United States Calvary Regiment, deployed at Combat Outpost Khiliguy in northern Afghanistan. His unit is part of the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army.

Bonds and his Horned Frog spirit are alive and well seen here unfurling a TCU flag at the snowy Salang Pass at 12,723 feet in the Hindu Kush Mountains north of Kabul.

Bonds' spirit exceeds that of most Frog fans. He routinely stays up all night to watch the TCU football team play games. Last week's game against Kansas State kicked off at 4:30 a.m. Afghan time and Bonds was watching. In October, when the outpost experience a bombing attempt, Bonds told his family he was more concerned about the TCU-Texas Tech game.

Interestingly, Bonds is not a TCU alumnus. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2011, but he grew up a TCU fan from birth. His family lived on Greene Avenue, just east of campus, and took Bonds to football games before he could walk.

"I don't remember missing many up until I went to college, and even after that I would time my leave to coincide when TCU was playing at home," Bonds wrote us. "Long story, but I am a pretty massive fan, and to me home, TCU, and Fort Worth are indistinguishable. I am hoping to go to TCU for grad school depending on how my contract with the Army plays out over the next couple of years."

Friends and family follow Jason's service and experiences in the Lone Star Over Afghanistan blog set up by his father.

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TCU spirit at Half Ironman Triathlon

Michael Conway '91 of Houston and Mark Parry '90 of Branson, Mo., celebrated in TCU style after Conway completed the Ironman 70.3 Branson in September. 

The former Lambda Chi fraternity brothers have remained friends since their undergraduate days, so when Conway mentioned he was competing in Missouri, Parry and his family offered to host him. 

The event consists of a 1.2-mile swim in Table Rock Lake, followed by a 56-mile bike route through the Ozarks, and finishing with a 13.1-mile run. 

Conway, a triathlete, works at M.D. Anderson Hospital. Parry is the Payne Stewart Memorial Director at Kids Across America Kamps, a camp for inner-city youths.

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