1987…Longhorn Country…
How could our streak of Conference successes continue? Enter the lively cry of “Hook ‘em Horns, Texas!” The University of Texas at Austin wrote the 1987 annals in true Texan fashion. Chairperson Terri Williams presented a masterful two-day program which explored “Innovating for Entrepreneurial Success: Linking Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial Management”. The delegates were treated to an outstanding keynote speech by Mr. Tom Fatjo, a self-made millionaire and entrepreneur extroadinaire. With a style all his own, Fatjo presented his “ten components of entrepreneurial success” and mapped their implementation via personal experiences.
The remainder of the 1987 Conference was as enjoyable as the keynote. Evening hours were complete with Fajitas, Dos Equis and “Heir Lan Gor”. Perhaps the best rendition of our song was performed during a Saturday night prowl of Austin’s famous Sixth Street. Imagine the look on those Texans faces when serenaded with Swedish song!
GBC matchmaking?
Not to be outdone in tradition, Texas hit the record books with style. Conference Chairperson Terri Williams and Wharton Delegate Chip Sakakeeny (who met at the 1986 Wharton Conference) announced their engagement at the closing reception! After their marriage, Terri and Chip continued their association with the Graduate Business Conferences as volunteers with the soon-to-be-formed Graduate Business Foundation, until they had children and moved from Washington, DC to Atlanta in 1994. A second “merger agreement” between former Stanford delegate Randy Hart and Berkeley delegate Kate Johnson was also announced that same year. It’s comforting to know that school-to-school cooperation has been optimized in such grand style. Through the 2003 GBC at the Darden School, there have been over six marriages and 20 children as result of delegates meeting at the GBCs!
