2008 Winter - University Of Southern Indiana

Varsity Club member Jack Burgdorfis USI Volunteer of the DecadeIn honor of Volunteer USI’s 10thanniversary, the Volunteer USIAdvisory Council and the Office ofVolunteer and Alumni Services namedJack Burgdorf the Volunteer of theDecade at the Volunteer RecognitionDinner in September.Burgdorf was nominated for theaward by Rick Herdes, men’s basketballcoach, and Sandy Hatfield, formerVarsity Club secretary.Hatfield said, “Any time I neededhelp, Jack was only a phone call awayand always available to do any job thatneeded to be done. He is mechanicallygifted, and happy to step in and volunteeron a project.”Burgdorf almost single-handedlyinstalled new bleachers at the USI baseballfield and crafted wooden tee boxesand tees for the Varsity Club GolfScramble. He chairs the committee thatmaintains and acquires sponsor signs forthe golf scramble, oversees the placementof the signs on the course, andremoves them at the end of the day.He also organizes the putting contest.He helped build the Varsity Club’sWest Side Nut Club Fall Festival foodbooth; transports it to and from WestFranklin Street each year; and volunteersas a “day chairman,” grilling steaksand chops during the festival. His totalreported volunteer hours since 1996 are1,169.Herdes said, “In addition to attendingmost basketball games both homeand away, Jack and his wife Bert are frequentlyat the PAC for volleyball games.They will be at baseball and softballenjoying the games or helping out inthe concession stands when asked.Cross country and tennis teams havealso been the beneficiary of Jack’s aidand talents. The Burgdorfs are greatfans of all our student athletes.”USI President H. Ray Hoops, center, congratulatesJack Burgdorf and his wife Bert.The Burgdorfs also support intramuralsports.Also honored at the ceremony wereLarry and Barbara Shelton, the 2007Volunteers of the Year, who contributeda combined 1,700 volunteer hours toAthletics. USI Habitat for Humanitywas recognized as the 2007 Student(Organization) Volunteer of the Year.Cross country teamsgo to national meetJellema, Hillyard earn top GLVC honorsThe men’s cross country team captureda league-record 15th conference title at theGLVC Championships. Both men’s andwomen’s cross country teams advanced tothe National Championships after themen’s team placed third and the women’steam fourth at the regional.USI men’s senior Paul Jellema wassecond at the regional as an individualJellemawhile women’s sophomore Mary Ballingerplaced third.The men’s team was ranked seventh nationally at press time.Jellema (Dyer, Indiana) earned GLVC Runner of the Yearhonors after capturing the individual title at the GLVCChampionships with an 8k time of 24 minutes, 48.90 seconds.He becomes the fourth men’s runner in school history and thefirst since Joey Byrne in 2002 to win the individual GLVCchampionship. Joining Jellema on the All-GLVC team werejunior Tim Sirbek (Hammond, Indiana) and senior TristanMannix (Crothersville, Indiana).USI Head Coach Mike Hillyard was named the GLVC Coachof the Year after directing the Screaming Eagles to their thirdstraight conference championship and fourth in the last five years.Athletes in community actionUSI athletes give back to the communityVisit www.usi.edu/sports to see student athletes inservice activities throughout the Evansville area.University of Southern Indiana21 December 2007