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William E. Evans Jr. ’73 to be honored with theSt. Ignatius of Loyola Alumni AwardFairfield Prep ispleased to recognizeBill Evans ’73 as thethird recipient of the St.Ignatius of Loyola AlumniAward. The award wasestablished in 2010 torecognize those alumni ofFairfield Prep who exemplifythe characteristics thatPrep seeks to instill in itsgraduates, specifically opento growth, intellectuallycompetent, religious, loving,and committed to doingjustice. Bill has demonstratedthese qualities through hisextensive volunteer effortsand programs to supportthe people of Nicaragua,and currently works as thepresident of CT Quest forPeace, leading an organizationwhich is actively providingrelief via humanitarian cargoaid, education, medicine andhealthcare to poverty strickenNicaraguan communities. Hewill receive his award at theschool-wide Mass of the HolySpirit on September 7.Bill was nominated byEric Wuchiski ’89, who metBill through business. Billowns William Evans Painting,and Eric is the presidentof Wuchiski Builders, Inc.Eric’s nomination includedthese excerpts about Bill’spassion for his work with theNicaraguan people and howhe is truly a Man for Others.Although I have onlyknown Bill for slightlyless than two years, it wouldbe hard to imagine anotherperson that is more qualifiedfor this award. I met Bill bychance on a professionallevel when we began workingon jobs together. I wasimmediately struck by his kindand gentle manner. Abouteight months ago, I found outwhat a truly amazing manhe is. I was at Bill’s shop inBridgeport and noticed thatbarely 25 percent of the spacewas dedicated to his paintingbusiness. The remainder wasan absolute heap that lookedlike hundreds of abandonedtag sales, everything fromfurniture to clothing tohousewares to even medicalequipment. Out of curiosity,I asked Bill, what the storywas behind all this junk. Overthe course of two hours, heproceeded to tell me, and I leftthat conversation profoundlyamazed.Back in the ’90s, Bill was ata Sunday church service wherevolunteers were requested tohelp move items from aroundthe state for charity. Having abox truck for his business, hevolunteered. In the followingmonths he spent a few similarweekends. and became moreinvolved. Eventually he wasinvited by one of the leadersto accompany them on theirnext trip to Nicaragua. Theexperience opened his eyesBill holds open a door of a CT Quest for Peace truck being loaded with supplies for missions in Nicaragua.and changed the course ofhis life.Now 15 years later, Billis the president of CT Questfor Peace. He heads andoversees an organization thatcontributes time, resources,and financial aid to a dozenmissions in Nicaragua (a fewof which he started on hisown), many of which are Jesuitbased,and which includeschools, a trade learning center,medical facilities, a maternityhospital, a burn center, andan orphanage. Throughmany of his own efforts, thisorganization sends tons ofneeded supplies, supportsnutrition programs, has startedscholarship programs, andcontributes to loan programs.Locally he is involvedwith many charitable actsthrough the Mercy LearningCenter in Bridgeport. ThereBill has encountered countlesspeople, in particular strugglingwomen, who need a helpinghand. He met one woman,a Somalian refugee, herein Bridgeport, who wasstruggling to help supporther family. Then one daywhile his organization wasspending a weekend packinga container being sent toNicaragua, a gentleman beganlingering around. Bill came tofind out this was the Somalianwoman’s husband, looking tohelp out (see bottom photoon page 37). He asked Billwhy the computers were notbeing packed. Bill explainedthat they needed to be testedbefore they were packed.The man then arranged forhis high school-aged son tocome the next day and usehis knowledge of computersto check them out. Sincethen, Bill has learned that this36 Prep Today