From Music City to Aggieland: How Melanie and Mark Pool ’77 Are Turning Their Real Estate Investment Into Aggie Opportunities

After her first year at Texas A&M University, Megan Stinson broke the news to her parents: She was moving to Nashville to pursue a career in the music business.

A break from their family’s Aggie tradition, Megan’s departure from Aggieland is something Melanie and Mark Pool ’77 never expected would lead to a significant contribution to Texas A&M. But now, their investment in a Nashville-area townhome is positioned to create future opportunities for Aggies.

A Legacy of Love and Learning

Investing in the future isn’t new for the Pools—in fact, it’s a recurring theme. The couple met in Melanie’s hometown of Hawkins, Texas, at the beginning of their careers as educators. At the time, Melanie’s dad was the Hawkins High School principal and was searching for a new vocational agriculture teacher.  

That’s when he called Texas A&M agricultural education professor Dr. Herman Brown ’53, who suggested Mark apply for the position. “Our friends always joke that Melanie’s dad had to hire me to be her husband,” Mark chuckled.

With both daughters back in Texas, the Pools decided it was time to sell the townhome. However, its value had greatly appreciated. While looking for ways to minimize capital gains taxes, their friend and Texas A&M Distinguished Alumnus Steve Cooper ’78 suggested, “Why don’t you consider gifting it to the Texas A&M Foundation?” 

They connected with the Foundation’s real estate team, who guided them through the giving process. After assessing multiple planned giving methods, they established a four-life charitable remainder unitrust and received an immediate charitable income tax deduction. In addition to avoiding capital gains taxes, the Pools and their daughters will receive annual payments from the trust for their lifetimes. Upon the trust’s termination, the remaining funds will establish two endowed scholarships in agriculture and education. “We chose to create these scholarships because they support our backgrounds,” Melanie explained. “There were plenty of options, but we wanted it to go directly to students.”
 

After establishing the trust, the Foundation’s team had the property cleaned along with touch-up painting to ensure it was ready for the market. “The process was seamless,” Mark shared. “The Foundation took care of everything, and the house was on the market for less than a week.” 

Still residing in El Campo, the Pools enjoy living close to their daughters and grandsons, who never miss a home Aggie football game with them. Believers in paying it forward, they encourage others to also include Texas A&M in their estate plans. “We’ve always wanted to give back to this university in a substantial way,” Mark said, “and the charitable remainder unitrust was the way that worked for us.”