Arnold Hayes

The first Tuesday of each month a group of Aggie grads convene for lunch at the Phillips Event Center, previously known as Bryan's Briarcrest Country Club. Invitation to the luncheon is restricted to members of the Classes of '50, '51 and '52, three of the four A&M classes that spent their freshman year living on the grounds of the old Bryan Army Air Field, which the A&M College of Texas renamed "The Annex."

Arnold Hayes is a member of the Class of '52 and a member of Chancellor John Sharp's "Century Council."

How would he describe his first-year college experience living at a military base?

Arnold Hayes was born and raised in San Saba, TX, and decided to attend Texas A&M College because his family “really couldn’t afford to send me anyplace else.” During his freshman year living at The Annex, Hayes worked in the mess hall and in later years worked at the campus exchange–or bookstore–to help pay his way through school. After spending two years in the Air Force, Hayes took advantage of his degree in Agricultural Engineering to land a job with the Kaiser Aluminum Company, specializing in irrigation systems. He ultimately retired as a regional general manager with Kaiser and moved back to College Station in 2006.