Membership Matters - OSU Alumni Association

membership matters46OSUAA, OSUF, athletics honor lives of serviceSeveral exemplary alumni and friends,of Oregon State received awards thisyear at the OSU Alumni Associationawards banquet at the alumni center inJanuary, and then in March at the DestinationOSU event hosted by the association,the OSU Foundation and OSUathletics in Rancho Mirage, Calif.Patrick Stone of Portland, a1974 graduate of the College of LiberalArts, received the E.B. LemonDistinguished Alumni Award, whichrecognizes alumni whose accomplishmentsand contributions to societyhave brought acclaim to OSU.He is president and principal of BrettonWoods Inc., a consulting firm for titleinsurance, mortgage lending and realestate technology companies. Prior tohis work with Bretton Woods, Stone wasCEO and director of Fidelity National InformationSolutions, a Fortune 500 company.Stone, an OSU Foundation trustee,co-chairs The Campaign for OSU.Johnnie and Carol Rice of Corvallisreceived the Jean and C.H. “Scram”Graham Leadership Award, whichhonors individuals who promote thealumni association. Johnnie Rice, a 1956graduate of the College of Pharmacy, isa former member of the OSUAA Boardof Directors, the 30 Stater Club and theOSU Athletic Roundtable. Carol FrischRice, a 1957 College of Business graduate,has been a key member of the planningcommittee for the Class of 1957reunions. Organizing events and projectsbegan during their campus days asstudent leaders, and they have plannednearly 20 class reunions since that time.Lifetime members of the alumni association,the Rices helped create a system ofcontacting classmates to encourage reunionattendance that is still used by theassociation today.W. Dean Frischknecht received theHonorary Alumni Award. An OSU livestockspecialist, Frischknecht worked tokeep Oregon ranchers at the forefront ofthe cattle and sheep industries. In 19542008-2009 honoreesPatrick Stone, ’74E.B. Lemon Distinguished AlumniKatherine Hunter-ZaworskiDistinguished Professor AwardJohnnie, ’56, and Carol Rice, ’57Jean and C.H. “Scram” Graham Leadership AwardRod Moore, ’53Dan Poling AwardW. Dean FrischknechtHonorary Alumni AwardKeith McKennonLifetime Trustee AwardDon Moore, ’47Dan Poling Awardhe began his tenure as livestock extensionspecialist, retiring after 30 yearsin the Department of Animal Sciences.Frischknecht organized producer meetingsaround the state that featured localand national animal research experts,and he helped develop a new methodof keeping records of cattle performance(the Computer Cow Game) with a focuson livestock improvement. A member ofthe College of Agricultural Sciences DiamondPioneer Registry, he lives in Corvalliswith his wife, Kathryn.Katherine Hunter-Zaworski, an associateprofessor in the College of Engineering,received the alumni associationDistinguished Professor Award. Theaward recognizes faculty members forsuperior academic performance, professionalrenown and service to the universityand society. Hunter-Zaworski directsthe National Center for AccessibleTransportation, where she has spent thepast 25 years developing safe and dignifiedmeans of access to public transportationfor people with disabilities. Sheearned her doctorate at OSU in 1988, andlives in Corvallis with her husband, JoeZaworski, ’72,’76,’94, an assistant professorin the School of Civil and ConstructionEngineering.Brothers Don and Rod Moore receivedthe Dan Poling Award at the DestinationOSU event. They have togethergiven more than 60 years of service toOSU. Both are former OSU FoundationTrustees and Dad’s Club presidents, inaddition to their other volunteer roles oncampus.Don Moore graduated in 1947 witha degree in agricultural and resourceeconomics. The retired owner of MooreLeasing chaired a successful fundraisingeffort for the university in the 1980s andchaired the President’s Club LeadershipCouncil. He and his wife, Jane, live inForest Grove.Rod Moore followed his brother toOSC, earning his food science degree in1953. He is director of Strand AtkinsonSTATER

membership mattersWilliams & York. He chaired the OSUCouncil of Regents Advisory Committeeand the OSU Foundation Life IncomeAgreement Investment Subcommittee.He and his wife, Jean, live in Portland.Keith McKennon received a LifetimeTrustee Award, the OSU Foundation‘shighest honor. McKennon hasheld top positions for the Dow ChemicalCompany, Dow Corning Corporation,and PacifiCorp, and was a member ofthe OSU Foundation Board of Trusteesfor eight years, serving both as president(1996-97) and chair (1997-98). He andhis wife, Pat, were one of three coupleswho chaired the $47 million expansionand renovation of OSU’s Valley Library,which was dedicated in 1999.McKennon also has served on theOSU President’s Board of Advisors andCollege of Science Board of Visitors,among other volunteerleadership roles. The McKennonslive in Portland and ParadiseValley, Ariz.OSU athletics’ MartinChaves Lifetime AchievementAward went to Lenhart “Bud”Lenhart “Bud” GiengerMartin Chaves LifetimeAchievement AwardGienger of Bay City. Chaveswas a four-year letterman andcaptain of the 1942 Rose Bowlteam. He became an influential boosterin various fundraising activities andserved as president of the Beaver AthleticStudent Fund (BASF).Gienger wrestled on varsity teamsthat won the Pacific Coast Conferencechampionship for three consecutiveyears. He graduatedwith a degree in agriculturalbusiness management in 1957and went on to become presidentof Gienger Farms, oneof the largest dairy farms inTillamook. Gienger and hiswife, Helen, a 1957 OSU operationsmanagement graduate,have contributed to manyOSU athletic programs and constructionprojects. Their gift of $1 million helpedbuild the Truax Indoor Center. qPortland-area alumni turn out for eventsFrom a “Wicked” walk on Broadway toan after-hours peek at OMSI’s Leonardoda Vinci exhibit, Portland-area alumnienjoyed a diverse slate of activities thisspring.“The events were so well receivedthat we plan to schedule similar thingsin the future,” said Cathy Marshall, ’82,alumni association director for regionalprograms.More than 100 alumni and friendsenjoyed an after-hours tour of the daVinci exhibit at OMSI — the Oregon Museumof Science and Industry — and receivedadditional insight into the exhibitfrom OSU history professor Lisa Sarasohn.Marshall said that because of thesuccess of the event, the association plansto work with OMSI on other events.Alumni who booked an associationpackage to attend the Broadway play,“Wicked,” at Portland’s Keller Auditoriumwere treated to a pre-show dessert receptionwhere they competed in an OSU/Wicked trivia contest. The discountedtickets to “Wicked” sold out quickly, saidMarshall, and she hopes to continue tofocus on affordability by offering alumnigroup rates for popular events.When it was time for the baseballCivil War to resume, alumni and friendsfilled all of the 300 seats in the Widmersection of PGE Park, creating a strongorange and black presence at the MarchgameAnother athletic event that drewgreat response from families was a basketballclinic prior to the April 13 Trailblazergame. Children of alumni signedup to participate in a clinic on the RoseGarden court, followed by dinner and receptionwith OSU coach Craig Robinson.As the Stater’s press time approached,the alumni association’s third annual Orangeand Black Evening was set for TheGovernor Hotel. OSU basketball alumLamar Hurd, ’06, was to emcee the program,which featured a video tribute toachievements of faculty, students, athletesand alumni. Plans included tastingsof products from the fermentation science(wine and cheese) program and from theseafood program. Pacific Power was the“presenting sponsor” for the event.The OSU Business Roundtable andOSU Greater Portland Business Connectioncontinued to attract a following thiswinter and spring, with presentationsby Ed Ray on the state of the university;John Porter, ’83, president and CEO ofAAA Oregon/Idaho; volleyball coachTerry Liskevych; and Joth Ricci, ‘91, CEOof Jones Soda. One of the final businessrelatedevents this spring will be a 2009College of Business Alumni and BusinessPartner Awards Dinner, set for Thursday,May 7 at The Governor Hotel.Also upcoming and of interest toalumni is a free presentation, titled“What to Eat: An Aisle-by-Aisle Guide toSavvy Food Choices and Good Eating,”at the Diet and Optimum Health Conferenceon Saturday, May 16 at 9 a.m. at thePortland Hilton.Speaking will be Marion Nestle,Paulette Goddard Professor at New YorkUniversity and author of several bookson food politics and safety. OSU’s LinusPauling Institute sponsors the conference.OSU’s Community Day of Serviceon May 16 will include a Portland project.See story on page 10.Metro-area alums offered manytypes of service during winter and earlyspring, gathering volunteer drivers inPortland to deliver Valentine-A-Gramsas a benefit for Meals on Wheels, and donatingsuits and clothing to Career Makeover:Wardrobe Edition, an annual eventwhere OSU students buy low-priced interviewattire.To receive the latest information onPortland-area activities or to activateyour profile to receive e-mail updates,visit www.osualum.com.47Spring 2009

director’s cutAnd now for some advice from a stuffed gorilla48By Jeff Todd, executive directorI have a rather fierce looking stuffedgorilla on the corner of the credenza inmy office at the CH2M HILL AlumniCenter across from Reser Stadium.I know, I know. Why not a fierceBenny Beaver? ABenny that singsthe fight song doesoccupy a place ofhonor on my bookshelf.The gorillawas a gift from aclose friend manyJeff Toddyears ago. It wearslarge buttons declaring,“No whining,” and “It’s NOTabout ME.”Considering these extraordinarytimes — with so many people, includingour alumni, suffering so much — my gorillaand his buttons have taken on newmeaning for me as I think about theuniversity and its students and alumni.If you read “Ed Said” on page 14,you will observe that President Ray isleading OSU by example. He isn’t whining— even though in my opinionhe has at least a few legitimatereasons to do so! Ed and ourcolleagues across the universityare rolling up theirsleeves and doing the heavylifting that the current financialsituation demandsof leaders.While doing so, OSUremains focused on studentprogress, retention of outstanding faculty,and maintaining focus on the university’sstrategic plan.Here at the alumni association wetoo are remaining focused on our strategicpriorities, which are:• Build esprit de corps within thecommunity of OSU alumni and friends.Create relevance through active andmeaningful engagement with currentand former students in the life of OSUand with one another. Grow membershipin the OSUAA through focused anddirected activities.• Motivate, facilitate and lead alumnisupport of OSU in all its forms throughstrong and committed collaboration, coordinationand strategic interactionswith OSU and the OSU Foundation.• Promote and advance OSUthrough OSUAA programs and communications.• Strengthen foundational elementscritical to the success of OSUAA.That first priority has taken on newmeaning because of the current economy.Never before has the role of connectingalumni to one another and toother career-oriented services been socritical.We know some alumni are findingthemselves out of work — many forthe first time — and many of our youngalumni-to-be are finding it difficult toland that first big job on their way to establishinga career.To that end we are rolling out somenew services for alumni on the association’sWeb site, www.osualum.com/career.A special career page on our site willlink you to a variety of career services,including the university’s own careerservices office and other resources theassociation has contracted to offer.One of the aims of this site is to givealumni business owners and managerswho have position openings the opportunityto share that information withother alumni.If you have openings at your organizationor business, why not make sureyour fellow Beavers have an opportunityto learn about them? We also want tohelp alumni network with one anotherthrough this page and through activitiesthat occur throughout the year. Youcan read more about the new services onpage 36.Finally, in an effort to promote anddemonstrate the value Oregon State Universityplaces on service, the alumni associationwill host — with the leadership ofalumni volunteers in six communities inthe West — a day of service on Saturday,May 16th.Alumni will gather in Seattle, Portland,Bend, Corvallis, and the Bay area tohelp support their communities throughvolunteer service. You can learn moreabout this effort on page 10.Of course, we know alumni are alreadyactively engaged in communityservice as leaders and volunteers,but we wanted to visually demonstratethis attribute of OSUalumni by bringing BeaverNation together on the sameday, working side by side inorange to make a difference.Don’t worry — if youdon’t see your community onthe list — we plan to expand this projectin years two and three and eventuallyhave projects occurring in many moreregions of the country and involvingmany more alumni.For now, we hope to reinforce theOSU values of service and helping oneanother in this time of uncertainty andgreat need.Meanwhile, let’s all remember:No whining!And — it’s about Beavers everywhere!qSTATER