The Alamo Joe Ski Club is a chapter of the National Brotherhood of Skiers (NBS), Inc. (www.nbs.org) and a member of the Texas Ski Council (https://texas-ski.org). As the newest Texas-based ski club, it serves the San Antonio and Austin metropolitan areas. The club's mission is to support the NBS and "Have Fun, Snow or Sun." The club's emblem depicts the Alamo and, above it, a skier breaking through chains.
Like many NBS chapters, The "Alamo Joes" derive their name from local history tied to African Americans. Much of what is known about the Battle of the Alamo comes from the only adult male defender to survive, a slave named Joe. Joe served the Alamo commander, Lieutenant Colonel William Travis. Joe fought not so much in defense of the Alamo, whose defenders were partly fighting to preserve slavery, but rather as a slave fighting for his own survival. Joe was wounded but later provided his account of the battle to Mexican and Texas authorities (Joe spoke Spanish). Although he would be taken back into slavery, Joe eventually escaped and lived out his days on a Travis family farm near Sparta, Alabama. Joe’s first-person account of the Alamo continues to give clarity to one of Texas' most notable historical events, and Joe’s life inspires us to persevere in the pursuit of freedom and the fight for human dignity.