Our Co-Chairs
Laura Conniff - NMSU Aggies Tough Enough To Wear Pink Co-Chair
Laura Mathers Conniff was born in Illinois, but she's a New Mexico woman through and through. She moved to Cruces in 1965, but anyone who knows her knows she's really a Las Cruces native at heart.
Laura is a REALTOR®, qualifying broker, and owner of Mathers Realty. She is member of the Board of Regents of NMSU, a member of the First American Bank Board of Directors, founding member of the board of directors for the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, and a member of the Hospice board. Her awards from NMSU are numerous: NMSU College of Business Hall of Fame Inductee, Distinguished Alumna of NMSU College of Business Administration and Economics, Branding Iron Award, and the James Cole Memorial Award for Service. Laura's husband John is a pediatric dentist. She has two children and one granddaughter and a grandson. Family and service has always been at the forefront of what Laura does. And as honorary co-chair of Aggies ARE Tough Enough to Wear Pink, she may have found her most impassioned role. Her dedication to NMSU and her own experience with breast cancer make Laura a perfect fit for this wonderful event. Laura was diagnosed with Cancer in January 1997. Laura already had a role model in whose steps she would follow. Laura's mother, Mary Mathers Welch, had been diagnosed with cancer several years before. Both strong women, Mary and Laura survived their cancer, and their survival brings open to all those who may face this same disease at some point in their own lives. With its strong genetic characteristic, both Laura and Mary know that Laura's daughter, Sarah, may be especially vulnerable to the disease also. So they, like many others in the Aggie community, give of their time and experience in this fight against breast cancer. Will you join them at the Aggies ARE Tough Enough to Wear Pink event?
Pat Sisbarro - NMSU Aggies Tough Enough To Wear Pink Co-Chair
Pat Sisbarro moved to Las Cruces in 1981. Our town has not been the same since. Married to Lou Sisbarro, Pat has raised their three children Louis, (Chip), Daniel, and daughter Nicole Ikard and played an active part in the life of their seven grandchildren. Pat is vice president and director of marketing for the Sisbarro car dealerships, and she has long been an active community member and Aggie supporter. Now Pat brings her energy and expertise to an event close to her heart. As a breast cancer survivor herself, Pat understands the importance of education, fund-raising and awareness when it comes to fighting this disease. She says that "No one is prepared to hear their own name in the same sentence as the words 'breast cancer,' and when you do the fear is overwhelming."
With the support of her husband, her family, her friends, and even strangers, Pat says she has learned to overcome that feeling of being overwhelmed and she has learned what it means to be a survivor. As honorary co-chair of the "Aggies ARE Tough Enough to Wear Pink" event, you can be sure that you will see the earmarks of Pat's work.
Sisbarro said she decided to be co-chair, not just because it supported breast cancer research, but because of the scope and potential of the entire initiative. "There are a lot of benefits, and we're all volunteers so all the money goes to the cause."
You've seen Pat and Lou at hundreds of NMSU events. Now come and see them dressed in pink as they help lead the battle against breast cancer in Las Cruces and Aggieland.
Magellia Boston - NMSU Aggies Tough Enough To Wear Pink Co-Chair
Magellia McIntyre Boston is a dynamic self-avowed optimist who believes we can always face whatever comes at us with courage and grace. So, in 1998, when faced with the knowledge that she had breast cancer, Magellia gathered her friends for a party - one where she could educate them about this disease. Magellia's husband, McKinley Boston, the athletic director for NMSU, stood by her side as she reached out to others so they could learn from her experience.
"I told them it was important for them to check themselves," she said. "You can't catch it any earlier than they caught mine."
It was also important for her to maintain a sense of humor.
"If I can't laugh or find something inspirational, I'll be kind of in the dumps," she said. "That's not even my thing."
She brings that sense of humor and optimism to the board as honorary co-chair for the Aggies ARE Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign.
"Breast cancer awareness will be out there for real now that athletes are involved," she said. "If only one out of 100,000 people take the initiative, then I would be very pleased."
Magellia's involvement seems a natural outgrowth for this strong woman who learned about breast cancer in the most personal way. Just ask any of her two children, her five grandchildren, or her husband how strong she is, and they'll tell you she's definitely tough enough to wear pink. Here grandchildren call her "Sugie." You'll just call her "tough."
Mary Henson - NMSU Aggies Tough Enough To Wear Pink Co-Chair
Even in retirement, Mary Henson is very active in the Las Cruces and Champaign, Ill., communities. As the wife of Hall of Fame basketball coach Lou Henson, she has been fixture on the New Mexico State University, University of Illinois and Hardin-Simmons University campus.
At the University level, Henson was a member of the New Mexico State, Illinois and Hardin-Simmons women's clubs. She has held various offices in many organizations and was a board member for the Myrna's Children's Village and President's Associates. Henson was also involved in basketball clubs including the Orange Krush Student Support Group at Illinois that evolved into one of the top student fundraising groups in the nation. Additionally, Henson was an active volunteer at many public schools.
Henson has spent time volunteering for the March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, Cerebral Palsy, Lymphoma and Leukemia Association, Tough Enough to Wear Pink Cancer Fundraising Campaign and co-sponsoring a Laotian immigrant family in Champaign. Her philanthropic interests include New Mexico State, Cunningham Children's Home in Urbana, Ill., Las Cruces Boys and Girls Club, Crisis Nurseries of Las Cruces and Champaign.
For her work in the community, Henson has been honored with many awards such as the Mayor's Service Award in Las Cruces in 2009, an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from New Mexico State in 2005, the Branding Iron Service Award from New Mexico State University in 2004 and the Outstanding Young Woman of America in 1971.
The Hensons have four children, Louis Ray Henson, Jr., deceased, Lori Jo Henson, Lisa Henson Rutter and Leigh Ann Henson Edison, and 12 grandchildren.
