Alumnus of the Year

Baton Rouge native and All-American halfback at LSU in 1958 and 1959, Billy Cannon led the Tigers to their first national championship. He won the Heisman Trophy as a senior and remains LSU's only Heisman winner. Indeed, he received virtually every honor that could be bestowed on an individual, including All-America accolades in 1958 and 1959 and UPI Player of the Year in 1958 and 1959.

Cannon's 89-yard punt return on Halloween night 1959 against Ole Miss is ranked as one of the most dramatic plays in college football history. A three-year letter winner for the Tigers (1957-59), he was also a two-time first-team All-SEC selection (1958-59 and a two-year letter winner in track and field at LSU, excelling as both the 100-yard dash and the shot put.

Billy Cannon enjoyed a superb nine-year career in the American Football League – with the Houston Oilers and the Oakland Raiders and ended his pro-football career in 1970 with the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. He was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

After retiring from professional football, he earned his D.D.S. at the University of Tennessee and a master's at Loyola University in Chicago and today is dental director at Angola State Penitentiary

Dr. Cannon and his wife, Dorothy, reside in St. Francisville. They have four children, Terri, Gina, Billy Jr., and Bunnie

Collis B. Temple, Jr., graduated from LSU with bachelor's and master's degrees in education in 1974 and 1979, respectively. A three-year letterman on the Tiger Basketball team, he earned All-SEC and Academic All-SEC honors and was the University's first African-American basketball player. From 1974-76 he played professional basketball with the San Antonio spurs and the Seattle Supersonics.

A native of Kentwood, La., Temple is the owner and executive director of Harmony Center, Inc., a system of residential health and mental health facilities serving foster children, the developmentally disabled, and adjudicated youth and adults.

Temple has served on the board of directors of the LSU Alumni Association, Tiger Athletic Foundation, National L Club, and LSU Junior Division Advisory Board. He was one of fifteen basketball players voted by fans to the All-Century Team and named National Club Member of the Year. He has coached and mentored some of LSU's top athletes, including Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics, Tyrus Thomas of the Chicago Bulls, and Early Doucet of the Arizona Cardinals.

He served as chairman of the Baton Rouge Park and Recreation Commission when it received the prestigious National Gold Medal Award for Excellence and serves on the boards of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Greater Baton Rouge Port Commission, Baton Rouge Sports Foundation, East Baton Rouge Parish Planning and Zoning Commission, and was a founding board member of the Big Buddy Program and BREC Sports Academy, formerly known as the Baton Rouge Sports Academy. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Mount Zion First Baptist Church.

Temple is married to Baton Rouge City Court Judge Kelli Temple and the father of three sons, Collis III, Elliott, and Garrett, and a daughter, Colleen.

Dr. Eugene St. Martin earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from LSU in 1940 and an M.D. from Tulane University Medical School in 1944. He completed a urology resident program in 1946 and a preceptorship in urology in 1950.

A founding physician of the LSU Shreveport Medical School, a founding member of the LSU Health Sciences Foundation of Shreveport, and past president of Shumpert Medical Center, Dr. St. Martin has retired from his position as clinical professor in urology and family practice.

A Diplomat of the American Board of Urology and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, he is founder of the Ark-La-Tex Urological Society, founder and past president of the Louisiana State Urological Society, and past president of the Louisiana State Medical Society, Shreveport Medical Society, Society of Pediatric Urology, and Southeastern Section of American Urological Association.

Dr. St. Martin was an early member of the LSU Foundation, a past president and generous supporter of the LSU Alumni Association, and is a benefactor of the College of Basic Sciences. He was named to the college's Hall of Distinction in 2008 and received the prestigious American Urological Association Gold Crane Award in 2007.

Dr. St. Martin and his wife, the late Peggy Dean, had three children, Eugene Jr., Charlean Dickson, and Celeste Wedgeworth. He lists his hobbies as golf, hunting, travel, cooking – and eating!

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from LSU in 1977. An FBI-trained crime scene investigator, he worked in the district attorney's office while pursuing his Juris Doctorate from Southern University, from which he graduated magna cum laude in 1989. He was in private practice before he was elected district attorney.

Moore is a member and past president of the Baton Rouge Bar of Criminal Justice, a member and past board member of the Baton Rouge Bar Association, and a member of the Louisiana Bar Association.

Active in community affairs, he is president of the LSU Baseball Coaches Committee and Ecumenical House board of directors and serves on the boards of Sam's Helping Hands and Dellucci's Dream Foundation. He is a member of St. Aloysius Catholic Church Men's Club and Catholic High School Men's Club.

He also served on the boards of Bishop Sullivan High School and the Paula G. Manship Branch of the YMCA, coached Baton Rouge Tigers baseball, and was named YMCA Coach of the Year for basketball, soccer, and baseball.

Moore and his wife, Dawn, have three sons, Hayden, Hillar IV, and John Michael, who keep him busy coaching youth baseball.

Jeffrey Kleinpeter, president of Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from LSU in 1984 and set out on a career in the construction industry before joining the family business in 1987. He assumed presidency of the business in 2004.

Under his leadership – and with a team of 1,400 cows –the dairy expanded operations statewide and doubled the size of the staff. In 2008, the Kleinpeter Farms established the state's only ice cream plant, using Louisiana products in their flavors.

In 2008 Kleinpeter Farms Dairy was named 'Business of the Year' by the Baton Rouge Business Report and Junior Achievement; 'Best Place to Work' by Louisiana Life Magazine; received the 'Clean Business of the Year' award from Keep Baton Rouge Beautiful and the 'Legion of Honor' award from Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.

Kleinpter serves on the boards of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, Better Business Bureau, and American Gateway Bank and is a member of the LSU Department of Food Science Advisory Board. He was named one of '9 to Watch' in 2008 by 225 Magazine and a 'Power of 9' volunteer by WAFB-TV in 2009.

Kleinpeter and his wife, the former Debbie Cooper of Vidalia, have one daughter, Taylor, who attends Southeastern Louisiana University. His stepdaughters, Jennifer Barton and Heather Poole – each with four children – live in Alexandria and Baton Rouge. Like Kleinpeter Farms Dairy, he says, 'we're literally spreading out across the state.'

Since graduating from LSU in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in political science, Linda Thomas-Greenfield has lived in seven countries on three continents and is presently serving as U.S. Ambassador to Liberia. She was nominated for the post by President George Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2008.

Thomas-Greenfield, a native of Baker, graduated from LSU in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in political science and earned a master's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin. Prior to joining the Department of State, she taught political science at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., and she joined the Foreign Service in 1982.

Thomas-Greenfield is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the Minister Counselor Level with foreign assignments in Nigeria, The Gambia, Kenya, Jamaica, Pakistan, and Switzerland. Her domestic assignments were in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and in the Office of the Director General of the Foreign Service. Before assuming her ambassadorship, she was principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau for African Affairs and before that served as deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration

In 2007 she received the Presidential Meritorious Service Award and in 2000 was the recipient of the Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs. From 2003-04, she was a member of and president of the 46th and last Senior Seminar, the State Department's most prestigious senior development program.

Thomas-Greenfield and her husband, Lafayette, have two children, Lindsay and Lafayette II.

Young Alumnus of the Year

Marty Sixkiller, media tools supervisor at DreamWorks Animation, graduated from LSU in 1992 with a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design. While at LSU, he was a member of the Tiger Band drumline, the LSU Symphonic Band, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and the Graphic Design Student Association.

With more than eighteen years in the motion picture/film/computer graphics industry, he has worked on the production and post-production sides, as well as in management. While a student and after graduating, Sixkiller worked as a 3D animator at Video Park in Baton Rouge. He spent two years with EDEFX Group in Miami, Fla., as a CGI animator and joined DreamWorks in 1995. His film projects include, among numerous others, Shrek the Third, Shrek 2, Over the Hedge, Flushed Away, Madagascar, Antz, and Kung Fu Panda. Among his many commercial projects Shrek 2 promotional commercials, Spring: Angry, Louisiana Lottery: Straight, and Pillsbury Doughboy: Avalanche.

He also owns and operates a freelance graphic design/Web consulting firm, Killer Design & Consulting.

Sixkiller is a member of the Bay Area Alumni Association in San Francisco and an active member of the Association for Computer Machinery, Association International du Film d'Animation, and Cornerstone Fellowship Church.

He and his wife, Joan, have two children, Cole and Chloe. The family resides in San Ramon, Calif., where he pursues his hobbies – photography, percussion, golf, and scuba diving.

Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain attended undergraduate school at LSU and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine in 1983.

A large animal practitioner and owner of Claiborne Hill Veterinary Hospital in Covington, La., Strain committed himself to public service early in his career. He has served in a variety of capacities in the community and in professional organizations – as parish president and state board member of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation, president of the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association, a lieutenant in the Special Operations Division of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, and member and chair of numerous state agricultural and industry commissions.

Strain served as state representative for House District 74 from 1999-2007 and was sworn in as commissioner in 2008.

He is actively involved with the School of Veterinary Medicine and was instrumental in establishing the school's equine program while serving in the Legislature. He also participates in student Ph.D. projects, collaborates on publications, and works on policy and funding for the school.

He received the School of Veterinary Medicine Distinguished Award in 2003, the St. Tammany Parish Alliance for Good Government Legislator of the Year Award in 2001 and 2008, and the Future Farmers of America Honorary American Degree in 2009.

Dr. Strain and his wife, the former Susan Searcy, have two children, Michael and Melissa.

Major General Ron Richard, a decorated U.S. Marine Corps retiree, is chief executive officer of the Tiger Athletic Foundation, a private corporation dedicated to supporting LSU and its athletic programs. A native of Basile, La., he earned a bachelor's degree in history from LSU in August 1968 and immediately joined the Marine Corps, completing basic training in February 1969. He also earned a master's degree in international relations from Salve Regina College.

During his military career, he served in posts around the world, rising steadily in rank. Colonel Richard was Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations during the Persian Gulf War and was promoted to Brigadier General in 1993. He was assigned as Commanding General of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., in 1996, where he was promoted to his current rank. His final assignment was Commanding General of the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Among his military honors are the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with Combat 'V' and gold star in lieu of a second award, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal with combat 'V' and gold star, and Combat Action ribbon with gold star. He was inducted into the LSU military Hall of Honor at LSU Salutes in 2004.

Major General Richard and his wife, the former Dolores Bertrand of Basile, have four children – Rachel, Ryan, Anne Marie, and Katherine.

Trey Trahan, president of Trahan Architects, one of the fastest growing sports architecture firms in America, graduated from LSU in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in architecture.

An internationally recognized designer, Trahan's design for the renovation of the historic Gym-Armory to the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes won numerous national awards and resulted in a traveling exhibition. His firm's other LSU projects include the east and west side expansions of Tiger Stadium, the design of Tiger Park – which last year won the AIA Baton Rouge Rose Award for Design Excellence – and the LSU Golf Practice Facility, as well as the LSU Sports Complex master plan.

Trahan was lead architect on the Louisiana Superdome renovation project after Hurricane Katrina and stadium planning and work for Auburn University, University of Cincinnati, University of North Texas, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Southern Mississippi. He was recently chosen to design the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum.

His ecclesiastical projects, St. Jean Vianney Catholic Church in Baton Rouge and Holy Rosary Church complex in St. Amant, La., are among the most published sacred architecture projects in the world.

Trahan's work for LSU Athletics earned him the distinguished 'Purple Jacket,' and his support of the College of Art & Design has resulted in his sponsorship of a lecture series. He has received three National AIA Honor Awards in five years and won three international design competitions. In 2009, he was one of twenty-two American architects featured in Arquitectos Americanos recognizing the work of America's most outstanding architects. Focusing on professionalism in client service and excellence in design, he was honored with the Baton Rouge Company of the Year award on behalf of Trahan Architects.

Art E. Favre, owner and president of Baton Rouge-based Performance Contractors, Inc., a $660 million general industrial services company, graduated from LSU in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in construction.

An active supporter of LSU and the College of Engineering, Art serves as a member of the Dean's Advisory Council and the Board of Directors of the Construction Industry Advisory Council for Department of Construction Management and Industrial Technology. He has also served as past president of the LSU Construction Industry Advisory Council. He is a member of the LSU Alumni Association, the LSU Foundation, and TAF.

Art is active in numerous professional and civic organizations, among them, the American Association of Cost Engineers, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance, Louisiana Right to Work Committee, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Board, Blueprint Louisiana Board, and the City Club Foundation of Baton Rouge.

Among his many honors are the LSU Greek Excellence Award, the ABC Pelican Chapter Merit Shop Man of the Year Award, induction into the LSU Construction Management Hall of Fame, the LSU Department of Construction Management - Distinguished Patron, and Marketer of the Year Award by the SME of Greater Baton Rouge, and induction into the College of Engineering Hall of Distinction.

Prior to founding Performance Contractors in 1979, Art worked for Lurgi-Knost Engineers and Constructors, the Fluor Corporation, and Universal Corporation. Under his leadership, Performance Contractors has received four National Construction Safety Awards and numerous National Excellence in Construction Award. Louisiana Contractor Magazine has recognized Performance Contractors four times for having the Best Industrial/Manufacturing project in the state.

Favre has two children, Scott and Shelley, and three grandchildren, Brandon, Elizabeth, and Christian.

Dr. Gerald S. 'Jerry' George, professor emeritus of kinesiology at University of Louisiana-Lafayette, earned his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees at LSU in 1966 and 1970, respectively,and received his master’s degree from Springfield College in Massachusetts. While at LSU he was member of the gymnastics team and was LSU’s first varsity gymnastics coach, serving from 1968-1970. Prior to joining the ULL faculty, he taught at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.

An internationally recognized authority in the biomechanics of sport, Dr. George has served as author, contributor, and/or senior editor to more than ten textbooks, 120 articles, and nine funded grants, and his writing, research, and lectures are well-known in the gymnastics world. His most recent book, Championship Gymnastics, is currently the best-selling gymnastics textbook and is being used in thirty countries.

Dr. George is a charter member of the International Society of Biomechanics in Berne, Switzerland, and during his career was a member of and leader in numerous professional organizations and activities. Over the years, he has received dozens of professional awards for teaching, scholarship, and research and was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1996. He is a popular lecturer and clinician sought out by gymnastics professionals through the United States, Europe, Australia, and China.

Dr. George and his wife, Janet, live in Lafayette. They have five children, Tasha, James, Michael, Karen, and Lauren.

Young Alumnus of the Year

Graham Breedlove, a trumpet soloist with the Army Blues jazz ensemble, part of the U.S. Army Band, 'Pershing’s Own,' in Washington. D.C., earned a bachelor’s degree in music from LSU in 1993. He holds a Master of Music and Performer’s Certificate from Indiana University and is a member of the International Trumpet Guild, American Federation of Musicians, and Jazz Education Network.

A trumpet player since age twelve, Mr. Breedlove has performed in more than twenty countries on four continents, with headliners representing more than one hundred Grammy nominations, among them Ray Charles, Ramsey Lewis, Wynton Marsalis, and Doc Severinsen.

The GrahamBreedlove Quintet appears regularly at the Kennedy Center and was invited by the Obama administration to perform at the White House. He appeared as soloist, composer/arranger, or lead player on five CDs with Army Blues and was musical director, soloist, and composer/arranger of 'Voodoo Boogaloo,' the debut recording by Swamp Romp, a Louisiana-music group composed of Army Blues members. In 2008, he participated in a USO concert tour of Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

As a sideman, Mr. Breedlove has appeared on more than one hundred recordings, including back-to-back Grammy winning CDs in 2004 and 2005 with Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer. He won first prize in the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Solo competition in 1995 and appears in Trumpet Greats, a biographical dictionary of famous trumpet players since the 1700s.

Mr. Breedlove and his wife, Kelly, an 1994 LSU graduate, reside in Vienna, Va., with their children Lucy, Ryan, and Chloe.

Jeffrey 'Jeff' Carbo, founder and principal of Jeffrey Carbo Landscape Architects, earned a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from LSU in 1985.

With more than twenty-four years experience, he holds professional licensure as a Registered Landscape Architect in Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas. He also holds professional certification in the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards, earned in part through meeting or exceeding professional experience requirements. Mr. Carbo is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and served as president of the
Louisiana chapter in 2000. In 2005 he was elected to the Class of Fellows of ASLA.

His firm’s work has been featured in such publications as Landscape Architecture, House and Garden, Better Homes and Gardens, Garden Design, Southern Living, and Southern Accents and has received more than thirty-five awards for design excellence at both state and national levels.

Actively involved with his alma mater, Mr. Carbo is a member of the College of Art & Design Dean’s Circle, serves on the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture Alumni Advisory Council, the Naming Committee, and the Conrad Lecture Series Committee and is a board member of LSU Hilltop Arboretum. In 2007 he received the College of Art & Design Distinguished Alumni Award. He is a member of LSU Alumni Association, Tiger Athletic Foundation, and LSU Foundation and served on the Forever LSU Campaign Cabinet.

Mr. Carbo and his wife, Wendy, have a son, ten-year-old William. They reside in Alexandria, La.

Robert McGehee 'Mac' Wallace is a trustee and officer of the Clayton Foundation for Research and its supporting groups, which are engaged in medical research at eleven institutions in the United States and Switzerland. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from LSU in 1953 and graduated from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Advanced Management Program in 1972.

While at LSU, Mr. Wallace was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, was named to Who’s Who in American College and Universities, and was a Distinguished Military Graduate in Air Force ROTC. He retired from the U.S. Air Force at the rank of major.

In his professional career, Mr. Wallace worked as business manager for various TRW INC.divisions for eighteen years and was business manager of the law firm Fulbright & Jaworski, Houston, for four years. He was also on faculty of the LSU Paralegal Studies Institute and aninstructor in law office management at LSU.

Mr. Wallace and his wife, Anne, a 1954 LSU graduate, are major donors to the LSU Alumni Association and the Cook Hotel & Conference Center and have been honored with a Purple & Gold Award in 2009. Last November, he was named a 'Peoples Health Illustrious Alumnus' given to an LSU graduate who has 'emonstrated the value of an LSU education by a history of achievement.'

The Wallaces reside in Houston and have three children, Bruce, Bill, and Mary.

Alumnus of the Year

W. Henson Moore, Louisiana statesman, distinguished public servant, and major LSU supporter, holds three degrees from the University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in government in 1961, a Juris Doctorate in 1965, and a master’s degree in government in 1973. A Distinguished Military Graduate of LSU Army ROTC, he served on active duty with the U.S. Army Military Police Corps in Germany following graduation.

In 1967 Mr. Moore joined a Baton Rouge law firm and in 1975 was elected to serve as U.S.Representative, Sixth District of Louisiana. After an unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate in 1986, he practiced law with a Washington, D.C., law firm, leaving at the request of President George H.W. Bush to join his administration as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy then as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff. He returned to private practice in 1993 and in 1995 was named president and chief executive officer of the American Forest & Paper Association.

The University community was delighted when Mr. Moore accepted chairmanship of Forever LSU: The Campaign for Louisiana State University, the largest fundraising effort in the University’s history. His active involvement – as spokesman and fundraiser – and his dedication and contagious spirit of philanthropy made a difference – for his alma mater, future generations of students and faculty, and for Louisiana. Thanks to his leadership, the campaign reached and exceeded its $750 million goal.

Henson Moore’s public service and involvement with numerous for-profit and non-profits boards have earned him numerous honors and awards, among them the Secretary Gold Medal - U.S. Department of Energy, induction into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame, induction into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction, the LSU Greek Excellence Award, and Chancellor’s Sesquicentennial Service Award.

A member of the LSU Foundation and LSU Alumni Association, Mr. Moore is co-chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee, a board member of the Louisiana Flagship Coalition, and a member of Cadets of the Ole War Skule.

He and his wife, Carolyn, reside in Baton Rouge and have three children, William Henson IV, Jennifer McGehee, and Cherry Duckworth.

A recognized leader in the field of neurosurgery, Dr. Julian E. Bailes is professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at West Virginia University School of Medicine. He earned his bachelor’s degree from in general studies from LSU in 1978 and his M.D. from LSU School of Medicine in 1982.

With a special interest in neurological athletic injuries, Dr. Bailes has been a team physician at either the NFL or collegiate level for twenty-two years. Since 1992, he has been the neurological consultant to the NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA), which has sponsored his research on the effects of head injuries on professional athletes. He is medical director of the Center for Study of Retired Athletes and chair of sports medicine for the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He has had more than 100 publications concerning various aspects of neurological surgery, including three books on neurological sports medicine, and performs editorial duties for numerous medical journals.

Dr. Bailes has been honored as one of the U.S. best neurosurgeons for eight consecutive years in America’s Best Doctors, and U.S. Top Surgeons since 2006. He is the chairman of the Board West Virginia Health Information Network, serves as medical director of Pop Warner Football, and is a member of NFLPA Brain Injury Committee and director of its Second Opinion Network. He is also founder and director of the Brain Injury Research Institute, and is adviser to the National Collegiate Athletic Association for brain injury in collegiate sports.

Dr. Bailes and his wife, Colleen, have five children - Julian III, Megan, Billy Jack, Melanie, and Clint.

Young Alumnus of the Year

Bradie James has been an influential game changer for most of his life – academically, in sports, and in business. He grew up in Monroe, La., where he was an All-State linebacker for the West Monroe Rebels and attended LSU where he made his mark as a member of the football team and earned his degree in criminology. While playing for the Tigers, James was a two-time All-SEC selection, All-American his senior season, was chosen as a National Scholar Athlete, and was on the All-SEC Academic Honor Roll.

In 2003 James was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. In 2007 he was named defensive captain and quickly became one of the Cowboys' undisputed team leaders.

James established Foundation 56 in 2007 as a way to help fight breast cancer, the disease that took his mother. To date, Foundation 56 has donated nearly one million dollars to the cause, including contributions to fund breast cancer services at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and to buy mobile mammogram units for Woman's Hospital. In October 2011, the foundation unveiled the Bradie James Resource Center in the Women's Imaging Center at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. The resource center offers everything from fitted wigs and prosthesis to social therapy programs and support groups.

A major supporter of the Academic Center for Athletes and the Tiger Athletic Foundation scholarship program, James has teamed up with his alma mater to create the Etta James Memorial Meet, a gymnastics event for breast cancer awareness that attracts thousands of fans and donors to the Maravich Assembly Center annually. This year marks the fifth year of the event, which includes a charity tailgate party to raise funds for the foundation.

James resides in North Texas with his wife, Star, and their son, Ace.

Claude West, of Minden, La., graduated from LSU in 1949 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and immediately began working with West Brothers Department Stores. In 1956 he joined his father to create West & Company of Louisiana, Inc., and together they led the company as it grew to thirty-nine stores in five states. He retired as president of the company in 1988 and today is president of Westco Land, LLC, and of West Foundation, Inc.

West is active in civic and professional organizations and has served on the boards or as a member of the Minden Chamber of Commerce, Minden Lions Club, Louisiana Cattlemen's Association, American Legion Post 74, Masonic Lodge, and Pine Hills Country Club, among others. He was named Minden Young Man of the Year in 1961 and Minden Man of the Year in 1975.

He is a member of the First Baptist Church and serves as a life deacon, chairman of the Board of Deacons, Sunday school director, and chairman of several committees, including the church building and Family Life Center committees.

West is a member of the LSU Stadium Club and was a charter member of the Tiger Athletic Foundation and past member of the LSU Foundation. An active member of the Webster Parish Alumni Chapter, he received an LSU Alumni Association Chapter Service Award in 1988.

Claude West and his wife, Leatrice, have been married for sixty-five years. They have three daughters – Sandra Jackson, Peggy Waters, and Claudia Lee – and seven grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

David Means, of Gloster, La., graduated from LSU in 1972 with a degree in agriculture and earned a J.D. degree from the Hebert Law Center in 1974. Thereafter he served his country in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged at the rank of First Lieutenant.

Means has managed his home farm, Roseneath Plantation, for forty-three years, during which time he developed one of the most widely known herds of Purebred Angus cattle in Louisiana. He is active in the Louisiana Angus Association, serving on the board and as president.

Active in Gloster civic and church activities, he served as treasurer and was a member of the board of the DeSoto Parish Farm Bureau, served on the DeSoto Soil and Water Conservation Committee, and took a leadership role in the Community Bank of Louisiana, serving on the board of directors and the executive committee. He has served for many years on the executive committee of the State Fair of Louisiana and has served as president of the organization. He is a deacon of Gloster Baptist Church, a leader for FAITH Evangelism Program, and has served on numerous church committees.

There is no doubt that Means 'bleeds purple and gold.' An active member of the DeSoto Parish Alumni chapter, he was named DeSoto Parish Alumnus of the Year in 2004. He is a member of the College of Agriculture strategic planning committee and was named College of Agriculture Outstanding Alumnus in 2007. He also serves on the board of directors of the LSU Foundation.

David Means and his wife, Elizabeth, also a 1972 LSU graduate, have a son, Jeffrey, and a daughter, Anna.

Donald Welge, of Chester, Ill., has served as president and CEO of Gilster-Mary Lee Corporation since 1965. He joined Gilster Milling Company in 1957, immediately after earning a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics and helped build the organization into a $900 million dollar dry food private label manufacturing company. He is perhaps most locally recognized for his partnership in the Mary Lee Donut Shop franchise company in Baton Rouge.

 Welge is actively involved with numerous professional, community, and civic groups and has served on the boards of or as an officer of the Perryville, Mo., Chamber of Commerce, Chester Chamber of Commerce, the Okaw Valley Boy Scout Council, St. John's Lutheran School, and Buena Vista Bank, currently serving as president of the bank's holding company. He was named Southern Illinois Business Leader of the Year in 1988, the Chester Post Veterans of Foreign Wars Citizen of the Year in 1986 and 2001, and the Chester Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year in 1992.

A major benefactor of the Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness, Welge has contributed generously to the department's five scholarships and supports a professorship. He has maintained strong ties with LSU, the LSU AgCenter, and the College of Agriculture and served for many years on the college's alumni board. He received the College of Agriculture Outstanding Alumni Award in 2003 and served on the Dean's Strategic Planning committee in 2009-10.

Don and Mary Alice Welge will celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary in August of this year. They have two sons, Rob – an LSU graduate – and Tom, both of whom are in business with their father, and four grandchildren.

James Richards, national award-winning designer, writer, and educator, graduated from LSU in 1978 with a degree in landscape architecture. A co-founder and principal of TOWNSCAPE, Inc., a Fort Worth-based urban design firm, his career spans three decades and includes landscape architecture, town planning, and urban design projects in seventeen states.

Prior to 1994, Richards was a design principal and studio director for Johnson, Johnson and Roy, Inc. He has served as visiting lecturer and jury critic at numerous universities and as adjunct faculty at the University Of Texas School Of Architecture. His projects and teachings are informed by extensive travel, having studied and sketched hundreds of cities and projects in thirty-two countries across the globe.

A member of the Council of Fellows of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Richards received the 2008 ASLA Bradford Williams Medal for his writing on urban place-making and visual thinking. He serves on the board of the international non-profit Urban Sketchers and is founder of Urban Sketchers Texas. His book, Freehand Drawing Renaissance, will be released January 2013.

Richards serves on the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture Advisory Board and was among the core group of alumni who raised money to name the school and to endow the Max Z. Conrad Lecture Series. He also donates his time to lecture and conduct workshops for landscape architecture students.

James and Patti Richards, a 1978 LSU alumna, have two daughters, Jessica Paolini and Cassie Richards, both of whom also graduated from LSU.

Alumnus of the Year

A distinguished scholar, lecturer, author, international business consultant, and presidential adviser, John Sibley Butler is professor of management and sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds the Herb Kelleher Chair in Entrepreneurship and directs the Kelleher Center for entrepreneurship. He also holds the J. Marion West Chair for Constructive Capitalism. As director of ICē, Butler manages an institute that has, for more than thirty years, collaborated with the State of Texas, the United States, and investors to produce more than 280 companies and to generate more than a quarter of a billion dollars for business start-ups at home and abroad.

Butler, a fourth-generation college graduate, earned a bachelor's degree from LSU in 1969 and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., in 1974. The Franklinton, La., native is a Vietnam veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor in Combat.

He has been a distinguished visiting professor at Rutgers University, the University of Southern Maine, Beijing University, China, and Ayoma Gaukin University, Japan. His research in the areas of organizational behavior, entrepreneurship, and new ventures has resulted in the publication of numerous books and garnered appearances on more than thirty radio and television programs and coverage in dozens of prestigious newspapers and magazines across the country.

Among his many awards and honors are the Austin Business Journal Tech Innovation Legacy Award, the National Coalition for Capital Champion of Small Business Award, the Booker T. Washington Legacy Award, and the People's Health Illustrious Alumnus Award, and appointment to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholar Board.

A longtime former member of the LSU Alumni Association National Board of Directors, Butler was instrumental in the development and continued success of the Austin Alumni Chapter and is a major donor to The Cook Hotel.

Butler and his wife, Rosemary, have one son, John.

Joseph 'Jody' Fail, a 1961 electrical engineering graduate, is president and chairman of the board of the family owned Telephone Electronics Corporation, or TEC, a holding company for numerous telecommunications subsidiaries in the southeast United States. TEC employs more than 240 people and provides services to more than 60,000 customers.

Fail holds Professional Engineering licenses in four states and is active in both the telephone industry and electrical engineering professional organizations at the local, state, and national levels. He is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, Mississippi Engineering Society, and the Association of Communication Engineers. He is past president of the Eastern Borrowers Association and chairman of OmniBank. He recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from OPASTCO, a national telecom organization.

Active in community and education efforts in his hometown, Bay Springs, Miss., Fail is a member of the Bay Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Bay Springs Baptist Church where he teaches Sunday school and serves as a deacon. He established the D.L. Fail Memorial Scholarship, which offers high school students a chance to continue their educations. He is a member of the board of William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss., of GuideStone Financial Resources in Dallas, and of the National Advisory Board for Snowmass Chapel in Snowmass, Colo. He also is the founder of Jazz in the Grove, Mississippi's only outdoor jazz festival, held in Bay Springs.

A longtime, generous supporter of the LSU Alumni Association, the Joseph D. Fail Room in The Cook Hotel is named for him.

Jody Fail and his wife, Nancy, have two daughters – Brandi Callison, an LSU alumna, and Joey Garner – and four grandchildren.

Kurt Culbertson is chairman of Design Workshop, a landscape architecture and urban design firm based in Aspen, Colorado. In 2008, Design Workshop was named the Firm of the Year by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). He graduated from LSU in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture.

A Fellow of the ASLA and the Institute of Urban Design, Culbertson has received numerous awards for his work including ASLA National Honor awards for his design of Canyon Forest Village at Grand Canyon and South Grand Boulevard in St. Louis, Mo., and his master plans for Flathead County, Mont., and the Bow Valley of Alberta, Canada. Other awards include Colorado Chapter ASLA Honor Awards for the Red Butte Ranch Residence, Aspen, Colo., and Chalalan Ecolodge in Madidi National Park, Bolivia, and a North Carolina Chapter ASLA Honor Award for the Inn on Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. His Strategic Plan for Petra, Jordan, won the Pierre L'Enfant Award for International Planning from the American Planning Association in 2012.

A long-time supporter of the School of Landscape Architecture, Culbertson was one of the driving forces in the fundraising campaign to raise four million dollars to name the school for its founder, Robert 'Doc' Reich. He personally donated a quarter of a million to the Reich School. He also served as co-chair of the fundraising effort to endow the Max Z. Conrad Lecture Series in the Reich School, which held its inaugural lecture on March 1. A Fulbright Scholar, Culbertson was the Robert S. Reich Teaching Professor in the College of Art & Design in 2004. He also serves on the Sigma Chi House Corporation.

Culbertson and his wife, Gene Anne, a 1976 LSU graduate and interior designer, have two daughters, Erin, a fashion designer in New York, and Sarah, an attorney in Tallahassee.

Brigadier General Karlynn O’Shaughnessy, former commanding general, 2d Brigade, 75^th Division, Fort Dix, N.J., earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from LSU in 1979 and was commissioned as a Regular Army 2^nd Lieutenant through LSU Army ROTC. She also holds an accounting certificate from the University of Virginia, an M.B.A. from the University of Kansas, a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, and she completed the National Security Management Course at Syracuse University.

O’Shaughnessy began her military career in 1979 as a platoon leader in the 82d Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., serving in leadership and staff positions in the division for four years. Her Reserve assignments include deputy commanding general, 108^thTraining Command (Initial Entry Training), and assistant division commander-operations, chief of staff, and commander, 6^th Brigade (Professional Development) in the 108^thDivision (Institutional Training). Before assuming command of 6^th Brigade, she served as deputy chief of staff, Eighth U.S. Army in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Her other Eighth Army assignments include deputy chief of staff, G5, and Chief, G2 Plans and Readiness Division. She has held positions in the 322^nd Civil Affairs Brigade, Fort Shafter, Hawaii; U.S. Special Operations Command and Special Operations Command Central, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.; and U.S. Army Special Operations Command and the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C. She was promoted to brigadier general in 2008.

O’Shaughnessy was named the New York Area USO Woman of the Year in 2010. Among her military honors are the Master Parachutist Badge, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Meal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Citation, and Reserve Component Overseas Service Ribbon.

O’Shaughnessy is principal fiscal analyst and team leader for transportation and information technology for the Fiscal Research Division of the North Carolina General Assembly, Raleigh, N.C. She is a member of the Reserve Officers Association, Information Technology Financial Management Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, Alpha Delta Pi Alumnae Association, YMCA of the Triangle, Habitat for Humanity, and the U.S. Army War College Alumni Association.

She and her husband, retired Army Lieutenant Col. John F. O’Shaughnessy, Jr., have two daughters, Kelly and Jackie. The family resides in Holly Springs, N.C.

Keith Comeaux, flight director for Curiosity’s August 2012 entry, descent, and landing on Mars, graduated from LSU in 1989 with bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and physics. He joined the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2006 and has served as verification lead, test conductor, team chief, and mission manager in the seven years he has worked on the Curiosity rover.

Comeaux earned master’s and doctoral degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University, and he also holds an M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

He is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the Project Management Institute (PMI) and also serves on LSU’s Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Industrial Advisory Board.

Comeaux has been recognized with numerous awards and honors during his career, among them the Boeing Superior Performance Award, 2000; the George Washington Engineer of the Year Award from the Los Angeles Council of Engineering Societies, 2001; and the AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award, 2001, presented for a notable contribution by a young person, age 35 or under to the advancement of aeronautics or astronautics. Previous recipients of the Sperry Award include Sally Ride, Gene Kranz, Scott Crossfield, and Comeaux’s Ph.D. thesis adviser, Dean Chapman.

He completed the Boeing Engineering Leadership Program in 2005 and in 2013 delivered the LSU Mechanical Engineering Alumni Achievement Lecture.

Comeaux and his wife, Cecilia, live in Redondo Beach, Calif., with their children, Maxwell and Evangeline.

Kevin Mawae, 1993 LSU general studies graduate, is a former LSU and National Football League standout. He holds a master’s degree in sports management from Adelphi University and certificates of completion from the Stanford University NFL Business Executive Program and the Wharton School of Business Executive Program.

Mawae was a four-year starter for the LSU Tigers and as a senior was named second-team All-SEC by Associated Press and SEC coaches. He was selected for the Pro Bowl on six consecutive occasions and selected All-Pro eight times. He was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 1994, played for the New York Jets, and ended his pro career with the Tennessee Titans in 2009. He earned all-rookie honors in his first season with the Seahawks, and in his eight years with the Jets earned six Pro Bowls and six All-Pro selections with the Titans, Mawae earned two Pro  Bowls and was named All-Pro twice.

Among his career highlights and awards are the Kyle Clifton Good Guy Award for professionalism in working with team staff, the Marty Lyons Award for community service, and the Ed Block Courage Award. He was named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, the New York Jets All-Time Four Decade Team, and the Tennessee Titans 10^th Anniversary Team.

Mawae served as president of the National Football League Players Association from 2008 to 2012, volunteers for numerous community outreach programs, is vice-president of the board of directors of Healing Place Serve, and is a member of the Dunham School Advancement Committee.

He and his wife, Tracy, have two children, Kirkland and Abigail. The Mawaes support several outreach ministries and in 2008 joined a Children’s Cup International mission in Swaziland and Mozambique, Africa. The family resides in Baton Rouge.

Dr. Kevin Ward is currently professor of emergency medicine and director of the Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care at the University of Michigan Medical School. He graduated cum laude from LSU in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in zoology and physiology and earned his M.D. in 1989 from Tulane University School of Medicine. He did his residency in emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh followed by an Emergency Medicine Research Fellowship at Ohio State University. He is board certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.

Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Michigan, Dr. Ward was professor, associate chair, and director of research of Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Department of Emergency Medicine. While there he was a founding member and director of the VCU Reanimation Engineering Science Center (VCURES) and director of its combat casualty care research program, Operation Purple Heart. He has also held academic appointments at the Ohio State University and the Henry Ford Health System.

Dr. Ward’s research interests focus on care for the critically ill and injured ranging from children to adults and civilians to those wounded in war. He counts among his accomplishments the development and testing of technologies that save the lives of warriors wounded in combat and the privilege of overseeing the clinical training of more than a thousand Special Operation Combat Medics while at VCU. The latter program garnered recognition by the Department of the Army and the Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center, which presented him a 2012 Certificate of Appreciation for Patriotic Civilian Service. Among his numerous awards for research and education is also the 2010 Billie R. Martin Innovation Award – Inventor of the Year – presented by VCU as well as the Department of Defense’s Advanced Technologies Applications in Combat Casualty Care Award for his research in battlefield hemorrhage control.

Dr. Ward is a member and leader in many national and international professional medical organizations such as the Society for Critical Care Medicine, and Shock Society. He has also served as an adviser to the U.S. Army and Navy on combat casualty care-related matters. The Ward family supports a number of civic organizations including the Boy Scouts of America as well as several Christian charities. He is a generous donor to the LSU Alumni Association, College of Science, and Honors College.

Dr. Ward and his wife, Alyson, have two children, Abigail and Avery. They reside in Superior Township, Mich.

Alumnus of the Year

Larry Jones, chief fundraiser for the LSU Alumni Association, earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education from LSU in 1956 and 1961, respectively. He was commissioned through LSU Air Force ROTC, served his country three years on active duty, and was discharged at the rank of captain. In 1957, while stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., he was named to the All-Air Force football team.

A former Tigers center and linebacker, Jones joined Paul Dietzel's coaching staff for the 1958 season, the first year the Tigers won the national championship and followed Dietzel to Army and South Carolina. While at South Carolina he was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator and while at Tennessee was twice assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. He was also a defensive coordinator at Kansas. Jones was head coach at Florida State University for three years and led the Seminoles to the Fiesta Bowl in 1971, his first season. He returned to LSU in 1979 as associate athletics director. Before heeding the call of his alma mater, Jones turned down an opportunity to join the Dallas Cowboys scouting department.

Over the past twenty-three years, he has raised more than $35 million dollars in contributions for scholarships, professorships, and facilities. His fundraising accomplishments are evident in construction of the Lod Cook Alumni Center, The Cook Hotel and Conference Center, the Jack and Priscilla Andonie Museum, LSU War Memorial, Tiger Walk, and Tiger Plaza. Open heart surgery in 2003 did not slow him down, and even while dealing with current serious health issues, Jones' first concern is taking care of 'his donors.'

Jones was honored in 1983 as National L Club Man of the Year and in the mid-eighties received the LSU Foundation's Fundraiser Emeritus Award. In 2011, Jones was recognized by the Association as Most Valuable Player at the Accolades Banquet and a scholarship in his name was established.

Jones and his first wife, the late Judy Bianchi, adopted three children, David Bruce, Kevin, and Laura. He married Velma Thornton in 1989 and is stepfather to Dale Thornton and Allison Thornton. He has 13 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Michael Papajohn, a 1988 general studies graduate, first made a name for himself as the starting centerfielder for the Tigers baseball team when they made their inaugural trip to the College World Series in 1986.

A role as Dennis Quaid’s stunt double in Everybody’s All-American saw his career shift from the diamond to the silver screen though, launching a movie and television career that has seen him appear alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest stars in some of the biggest films in history.

Papajohn is best known for playing the carjacker who killed Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben in Spider-Man, and he is also known for doing Adam Sandler’s stunts as Bobby Boucher in The Waterboy, playing Kevin Costner’s nemesis in For the Love of the Game and Megan Fox’s recently incarcerated father in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. A truly good guy who makes a living playing bad guys, Papajohn incurred the wrath of Cameron Diaz in Charlie’s Angels, was shot by Moon Bloodgood in Terminator: Salvation, and was killed by Jeremy Renner in The Bourne Legacy.

In 2013 alone he can be seen in Gangster Squad, alongside Sean Penn and James Brolin, as well as The Tomb, with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Homefront with Jason Statham and James Franco. A natural storyteller, Papajohn is equally talented behind the camera, too, where he also produces films and is currently working on a pair of documentaries.

Papajohn and his wife, Paula, are heavily involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He served alongside Steven Spielberg and George Lucas on the committee for the Los Angeles chapter that organized the 2009 Alfred Hitchcock Legacy Gala at Universal Studios, raising awareness for CF. He is also the founder of the Action Actor Academy, bringing industry professionals together to help aspiring actors and stunt men and women launch their own careers.

A gifted and passionate orator, Papajohn is frequently invited to headline public speaking events, and in August 2012 he delivered the commencement address at LSU’s 278^th Commencement Ceremony.

The Papajohns reside in Baton Rouge with their son, Sean.

Young Alumnus of the Year

Michael Tipton, executive director of Teach For America-South Louisiana, graduated from LSU in 2005 with degrees in political science and history and earned a master’s degree from Pace University in 2007. A University Medalist, he received the Outstanding Senior, Outstanding Honors College Senior, and Arden O. French Leadership awards.

 Selected from among 17,000 applicants to join the 2005 Teach for America corps in New York City,  Tipton was the founding humanities teacher, service learning coordinator and student council adviser at Mott Hall Bronx High School from 2005-2007. During his tenure the school achieved 75 percent and 82 percent passage rates on the American History Regents Exam compared with 2 percent and 5 percent likely passage rates predicted by initial student assessments.

Under Tipton’s leadership since 2007, Teach For America-South Louisiana has more than quadrupled fundraising, nearly tripled the corps of teachers, dramatically increased the number of Teach For America alumni in South Louisiana, and increased the number of alumni in senior state and community roles by more than 10 times.

Tipton was president of ODK Alpha Nu LSU Circle, served as student national board member from 2004-2006, as regional director from 2006-08, and was selected as a national at-large member of the board in 2012. He is a member, former trustee, and current deacon of University Baptist Church; a member of the Swine Palace Board of Directors; serves on the board and advisory council of Dreams Teachers; and is a member and director of the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge. 

He was named a Baton Rouge Business Report 40 Under 40 recipient in 2007; chosen to participate in the 2009 class of Leadership Greater Baton Rouge; took part in the Center for Creative Leadership Program in 2010; was selected for Leadership Louisiana in 2011; named to the Baton Rouge Business Report’s 2012 list of People of Influence in Baton Rouge; and received the Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s Barton Award for Excellence in Non-Profit Management in Baton Rouge in 2012. 

Dr. Ronald Marks graduated from LSU in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, received his dental training at Loyola University, and finished his oral and maxillofacial surgery residency in 1973 at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. A partner in Alexandria Oral Surgery Associates, he has held faculty appointments at Tulane School of Medicine, LSU Medical Center in New Orleans, LSU School of Dentistry in New Orleans and LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport, where he is a clinical professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery

A past and present member of numerous professional organizations, Dr. Marks has served as president of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), Southeastern Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Louisiana Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Louisiana State Board of Dentistry, Louisiana Dental Association, and the Central Louisiana Dental Association. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He counts among his proudest achievements his ascendency to the presidency of AAOMS, which allowed him to develop strong relationships with academic leaders around the world striving to forge a lasting place in medicine and dentistry for oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Dr. Marks also served as president of Temple Gemiluth Chassodim, is an alumnus of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, a member of the LSU Foundation and the LSU Alumni Association, and served on the board of directors of the Tiger Athletic Foundation. He was instrumental in the formation of the James Peltier Endowed Chair in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the first endowed chair at the LSU Medical Center in New Orleans and served on that body’s board as well as that of the Jack Gamble Endowed Chair in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the LSU Medical Center in Shreveport.

Dr. Marks and his wife, Nat, live in Alexandria, La. They have two sons, Alan and Spencer, both LSU graduates, and five grandchildren.

Adrian Mitchell earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from LSU in 1996 and received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 2000.

Mitchell joined Crate & Barrel in 2010 and today serves as chief financial officer and chief operating officer, leading a team of international associates as head of the international retail and e-commerce operations, global supply chain operations, architecture and construction, real estate, facilities, tax, treasury, and controller/accounting and finance departments.

Prior to joining Crate & Barrel, Mitchell spent four years with Target Corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He advanced from senior group manager to director of innovation and productivity during his first year with the organization and in 2009 was named Director of strategy and interactive design, reporting directly to the president. During his career with Target, Mitchell was appointed to the Diversity Action Committee and was an executive member of multiple steering committees.

During eight years with the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, Inc, in Dallas and Chicago, Mitchell served as a business analyst, associate, engagement manager, and associate principal/junior partner. Early in his career, he was an associate in corporate finance with the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs & Company, Inc., in New York City.

Mitchell excelled academically and as a student leader. At LSU, he was named the University and College of Engineering Most Outstanding Student three years in a row, U.S. Black Engineering Student of the Year, National Society of Black Engineers Member of the Year, and invited to join the Board of Directors of the Minority Engineering Program. He received the Bert King Foundation Fellow for Student Leadership at Harvard Business School.

Mitchell and his wife, Lily, a graduate of Southern University in Baton Rouge, have three children – Lydia, Abel, and Nathanael. The family resides in Winnetka, Illinois.

I am eternally grateful to LSU for the opportunities it provided me and for the many mentors among faculty who supported me every step of the way. LSU, thank you!

Bobby V. Page graduated from LSU in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in history and was commissioned through LSU Air Force ROTC. He earned a Master of Public Administration from Golden Gate University, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Chaplain (Brigadier General) Page is deputy chief of chaplains, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, Pentagon. A member of the special staff of the chief of staff, he assists the chief of chaplains in all matters pertaining to the religious and moral welfare of Air Force personnel and their dependents and directing a Chaplain Corps of more than 2,200 chaplains and chaplain assistants.

Page earned his wings in January 1975 and served as a navigator, instructor navigator, and senior navigator. He separated from the Air Force in 1980 to attend Southwestern Theological Seminary and after graduation served pastorates in Arkansas and North Carolina. During that time he also served as a chaplain in the Air National Guard in Arkansas and Georgia, then the Air Force Reserve in South Carolina. He returned to active duty in 1989 and has served a variety of chaplain assignments at the wing, two major commands, and Headquarters U.S. Air Force.

Page has significant deployed experience serving as wing chaplain at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia twice and leading the largest Air Force chapel team in the Central Command area of responsibility during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also established the first Air Force chaplain ministry at the Baghdad International Airport.

He has garnered numerous awards and decorations, among them the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor and five oak leaf clusters.

Page and his wife, Ruth Alewine, who reside in Washington, D.C., have two married daughters, Anne King and Allison Woodland.

LSU made possible the wonderful life I’ve been privileged to live – a life serving our great country as a chaplain with Ruth at my side.

Charles Kaufman graduated from LSU in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and earned his M.D. from the LSU Medical Center in 1975. He completed his residency in neurology at Charity Hospital in 1979 and was a Neurophysiology Fellow at Peter Brent Brigham Hospital at Harvard Medical School in 1979-80.

Prior to his appointment as chief of neurology at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in 1998, Kaufman held faculty positions at Peter Brent Brigham and Brown University and was on staff at St. Joseph Hospital and in private practice in Providence, Rhode Island. He opened a private practice in Baton Rouge in 1992 and the following year joined the Department of Neurology at the LSU Medical Center in New Orleans as assistant clinical professor of neurology. He has been a member of the Medicare Advisory Committee for Louisiana and Arkansas since 1993.

Kaufman and his wife, Elise, an LSU instructor in communication sciences and disorders, are generous contributors – both professional and financial – to LSU. Kaufman joined the New England chapter of the LSU Alumni Association and continued his involvement with his alma mater when the family relocated to Baton Rouge.

The Kaufmans are active members of the Greater Baton Rouge Alumni Chapter and Tower-level members of the Association, and he is a member of the LSU Foundation and Tiger Athletic Foundation, LSU Gridiron Club, Sixth Man Club, and Tip Off Club. The couple sponsored fundraising for the Welcome Mark Emmert gathering, established the Elise S. and Charles E. Kaufman Scholarship in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences (H&SS), were founding donors to the LSU Museum of Art, contributors to Mike the Tiger’s habitat, and donors at the Cice de Couchon level of Swine Palace. Kaufman is a founding member and contributor to the Committee of 100 at the LSU Medical School and a member of the H&SS Advisory Council. From 1993-2011, he was a neurologic consultant to LSU Athletics.

The Kaufmans have two sons. Bert, of Washington, D.C., is a senior adviser to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Mark is an attorney in the Greater New Orleans area.

LSU has given my life a purpose and along the way taught me the virtue of perseverance. I hold the deepest gratitude for my teachers, mentors, and lifelong friends.

Doyle Z. Williams earned master’s and doctoral degrees in accounting from LSU in 1962 and 1965, respectively, and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration from Northwestern State University of Louisiana in 1960.

During his distinguished career, Williams has served as an accounting educator, administrator, consultant, fundraiser, and volunteer to numerous academic, civic, and professional organizations. He served as member of the University of Arkansas Chancellor’s Advisory Board and Chancellor’s Capital Campaign Steering Committee. Williams is dean emeritus of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. He was the founding dean of the School of Accounting at the University of Southern California, accounting area coordinator at Texas Tech University, and former senior scholar in the School of Accountancy at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Williams has been recognized by numerous organizations and holds the highest awards bestowed by the American Accounting Association (AAA), the Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA), and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

He was the fifth educator to receive the AICPA Gold Medal and served as vice president of the AICPA, president of the AAA, chair of the board for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, president of the FSA, and president of the Accounting Programs Leadership Group. In 2012, the Journal of Accountancy recognized Williams as one of its '125 People of Impact in Accounting Since 1887.' Most recently he received the AAA’s Lifetime Service Award.

Williams was inducted into the E.J. Ourso College of Business Hall of Distinction in 2007 and has endowed the Doyle Z. Williams Professorship in Accounting in the college.

Williams and his wife, the former Maynette Derr, reside in Canton, Georgia. They have a son and daughter and three granddaughters.

I will always be grateful to LSU for providing me opportunities I never imagined. The faculty prepared me for a career I never thought possible, and I developed friendships that have lasted through the years.

Jay Dardenne graduated from LSU in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and earned a J.D. from the LSU Law Center in 1979. While at LSU, he was president of the student body, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Sigma Chi, as well as a student member of the LSU Board of Supervisors.

Dardenne has been Louisiana’s lieutenant governor since November 2010 when he was elected to fill an unexpired term. He was re-elected to a four-year term in 2011 after serving one year. Prior to his election, he served four years as secretary of state and fifteen years as a state senator.

As a legislator, Dardenne chaired the Senate Finance Committee, spearheading efforts to reduce government waste and to create a single State Board of Ethics. He also helped pass constitutional amendments on term limits, coastal erosion, and victims’ right. In 2003 he was named national Republican Legislator of the Year.

During his tenure as secretary of state, Dardenne pushed for election reform, expanded early voting, and established the Heroes and Heritage Trail.

As lieutenant governor, he created Pick your Passion, the state’s award-winning tourism brand. His popular presentation 'Why Louisiana Ain’t Mississippi' is a lively look at the state’s culture, history, music, and politics.

Active in social and civic endeavors throughout the state, Dardenne volunteers with numerous groups and has served as president of ten nonprofit organizations in Greater Baton Rouge. Among his many awards are the Americans for the Arts Leadership Award, the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association Louisiana Tourism Champion Award, and the Louisiana Public Broadcasting President’s Award.

Dardenne is married to the former Catherine 'Cathy' McDonald, an LSU alumna, and the couple has two grown sons, John and Matthew.

The opportunities afforded me at LSU shaped my entire career. The University has been center of my social, cultural, political, and family spheres for my entire life.

John Havens, who earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from LSU in 1978, has a passion for growing businesses.

It started with his leadership in growing SEI to the largest 2D seismic data owner (1,850,000 miles) and one of the largest 3D seismic data owners (50,000 miles) in North America.

After Havens graduated from LSU, his father, SEI founder P.C. Havens, sent his son to Houston to open SEI’s third office, which was soon to be its largest office and is currently SEI’s corporate headquarters. In 1998, Havens persuaded a skeptical executive management team that acquiring 2D seismic databases during a downturn market was a good strategic business move. His success with this and other ventures led to more than 100 acquisitions over fourteen years, resulting in a fifty-fold growth in SEI’s seismic inventory.

The passion continued with Havens and his wife, Terri, following a personal zeal for promoting a healthy lifestyle by growing Cal-a-Vie, a spa near San Diego, to be named the No. 1 destination health spa by Travel + Leisure magazine. The couple also own Vista Valley Country Club, a private club in California, and are part owners of Houston Oaks Golf Club in the greater Houston area.

Through the Young Presidents’ Organization and Cal-a-Vie, Havens became good friends with Jim and Franci Crane. When Jim Crane became the lead investor in the purchase of the Houston Astros he invited John to participate. The deal was finalized in November 2011, and Havens, as second largest investor, is the team’s vice-chairman.

One of Havens’ memorable LSU experiences was attending the six-week Geology Field Camp outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Membership in Kappa Sigma was also a defining experience; one that he says led him to mature as he became an active member and balanced high expectations and the trust of his fraternity brothers, especially through his role as rush chairman.

John and Terri Havens have three children, Prentiss 16, Davis 13, and Mallette, 11. The family puts its heart into causes dear to them, as evidenced by their many philanthropic endeavors, and they always find time for travel, collecting antiques, and restoring historic homes.

Pat Bodin graduated from LSU in 1972 with a degree in mathematics and did graduate work in finance and accounting at the University of Houston.

Bodin retired as chief information officer and vice president of information technology at ExxonMobil in 2008, after more than thirty-five years of service in the management of information technology and finance.

A former member and chair of the LSU Alumni Association National Board of Directors, Bodin serves on the LSU 2015 Transition Subcommittee on Technology, the College of Science Executive Committee, and the E.J. Ourso College of Business Advisory Council. She is a member of the Dean’s Circle of both colleges and has established numerous scholarships and fellowships in each. She also served on the Chancellor’s Advisory Council under Chancellor Mike Martin.

She is an executive committee member of the Board of Visitors at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and chairs the center’s cancer prevention and control advisory group.

Bodin volunteers and has worked with Kappa Delta Sorority national finance and investment committees, the University of West Florida Business Advisory Council, American University M.B.A. Advisory Board, Houston Downtown Management Corporation, and several other civic organizations.

She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, among them the 2007 Most Influential CIO Award presented by Baseline, CIO Insight, and eWeek magazines; the YWCA Academy of Young Women Achievers; and Gartner Group’s Best of the Best Award for information technology excellence. She has been featured in Computerword, CIO-Today, and The Lamp magazines and was commencement speaker for the College of Science in 2011. She received a Purple & Gold Award for philanthropy from the LSU Alumni Association in 2006, an LSU Foundation Laureate Society recognition in 2007, and was named to the Business Hall of Distinction in 2005 and the Science Hall of Distinction in 2013.

In retirement, Bodin has entered the world of competitive ballroom dancing and in 2013 was among the top twenty competitors in the country in her division.

She and her husband, Dr. Eric Bodin, enjoy international travel and Colorado hiking. They reside in Houston.

LSU opened my eyes to a world of opportunities and I learned that it is possible to work hard and play hard – an important life lesson.

Peggy Scott graduated from LSU magna cum laude in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and earned an Executive M.B.A. from Tulane University in 1992.

As executive vice president, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and treasurer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Scott is responsible for operations and oversees all finance and treasury functions of the company. In addition, she is president of the Blue Cross Foundation, having chaired the foundation’s board for four years.

Scott began her career in public accounting with Deloitte and quickly advanced to partner and the firm’s first female office managing partner. Before joining Blue Cross, Scott served in senior leadership roles at General Health System in Baton Rouge, Novant Health of North Carolina, and Pan-American Life in New Orleans, where she led some of the nation’s largest acquisitions and managed operations in seven countries.

Her community involvement is extensive, including board service with the Louisiana Superdome, Baton Rouge Chamber, and Junior League, to name a few. She serves on the E.J. Ourso College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council, most recently as president, and is on the executive committee. Professionally, she has served on numerous corporate boards, in leadership roles with the American Institute of CPAs, and as an Adjunct Professor with Tulane University’s Medical School.

Among the numerous awards recognizing her achievements, Scott was named one of 10 Outstanding Young Women of America; featured in the Wall Street Journal as National Financial Executive of the year – the first woman and only Louisianian; and inducted into the American Institute of CPAs Hall of Fame – the first from Louisiana. Business Insurance Magazine selected her as one of the nation’s Women to Watch. She was inducted into the E.J. Ourso College of Business Hall of Distinction and named an Influential Woman in Business by Business Report and a Woman of the Year by New Orleans City Business.

Scott is married to LSU Professor Emeritus Loren C. Scott, and they have two daughters, Stacy and Kelly.

My education at LSU prepared me to be among the first females to enter the male-dominated field of national public accounting and consulting. I will forever Love Purple Live Gold.

David Moore Suarez, president and chief executive officer of The Atlantic Company of America, Inc., in Washington, D.C., graduated from LSU in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. While pursuing his degree, he attended LSU’s program at the University of London at Goldsmith where he studied architecture history throughout Great Britain and in Rome and Paris.

Suarez has more than thirty years of experience specializing in the stabilization, restoration, and preservation of historic buildings and structures. Before establishing The Atlantic Company in 1989, he was president of Landmark East, Inc., with offices in Dallas and Washington, D.C. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, Associated Builders and Contractors, International Concrete Repair Institute, and National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Atlantic Company of America is one of the nation's pre-eminent historic restoration firms, with a National Register portfolio of accomplishments including such notable projects as the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and National Gallery of Art, the U.S. Treasury Building and Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Constitution Hall, the National Archives Building, headquarters for the National Geographic Society, the U.S. Department of State Headquarters, Woodlawn Plantation at George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Suarez received ABC’s first place Eagle Award in national competition for Excellence in Construction for the Stabilization and Preservation of the Washington Monument. He credits his company’s success to a dedicated team of restoration specialists whose technical expertise and discipline is matched by their energy, enthusiasm, and vision.

He maintains close ties with LSU, acting as an ambassador for the University in his professional and social interactions, encouraging students to explore opportunities at the University, and highlighting the accomplishments of other LSU graduates with whom he is associated. He was chosen for the LSU 'Only One' 2009 alumni campaign.

David and his wife, Susan, have a son, sixteen-month-old Davidson Hays.

The spirit and culture of LSU runs deep in my family and has always been at the core of my heart and soul. My LSU upbringing, experience as an architecture student, and many successful years of a professional career are all reminders of just how much my life has been enriched by LSU. Quite simply, LSU is in my DNA.

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Herb Vincent, associate commissioner for communications for the Southeastern Conference, graduated from LSU with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1983.

Before joining the SEC, Vincent held the dual position of associate vice chancellor for communications and university relations and senior associate athletic director. He was, during his career at LSU, associate athletic director for external affairs, associate athletic director for communications, sports information director, and assistant sports information director. He left LSU for a brief time for a stint with College Sports Southeast in Birmingham, Ala.

After graduating from LSU, Vincent began his career in sports media with the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League and also worked for the Los Angeles Express of the USFL, the University of Southwestern Louisiana Athletic Department, and the SEC.

Vincent’s long association with LSU and LSU sports began in 1979, his freshman year, and over the years he worked with five athletic directors and seven football coaches. His knowledge and expertise – and his passion for his alma mater – is revealed in the book LSU Football Vault: The History of the Fighting Tigers (College Vault). He assisted in developing the movie Ole War Skule: Stories of LSU Football and was instrumental in bringing the highly successful and popular Bayou Country Superfest to Tiger Stadium. Under his direction the Office of Communications and University Relations originated the 'Love Purple, Live Gold' campaign, which resulted in the largest and most diverse recruiting class in LSU history.

Vincent is a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America, from which he has received a 25-Year Award and awards for numerous publications.

Vincent and his wife, Jamey, have a daughter, nine-year-old Kennedy – a future Tiger. The family resides in Vestavia, Ala.

LSU provided the foundation for everything that came after my college experience. LSU gave me a passion for my profession, an appreciation for friendship, a thirst for greater knowledge, and gratitude for life. To be an LSU graduate means something special and something deep that can only be understood by fellow alumni. 

J. Patrick Mulhearn, executive director of Celtic Studios in Baton Rouge, earned two degrees from LSU, a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1997 and a master’s degree in liberal arts in 2000. Originally from Natchez, Mississippi, Mulhearn started out in film studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder then transferred to LSU in 1994.

Mulhearn, founder and past president of the Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association, has headed the operations of the Celtic Media Centre since September 2009. He was previously assistant director of film and television for the state of Louisiana having joined Louisiana Economic Development (LED) in 2006. He began his career working as an advertising copywriter at the Weill Agency in Baton Rouge, then served as marketing producer at WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge and at WWL-TV in New Orleans. His work on WWL-TV’s 'Spirit of Louisiana' campaign earned him a Regional Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Today, Mulhearn runs the first and largest design-built studio facility operating in the Gulf South. Celtic Studios has hosted numerous productions including Sony’s Battle: Los Angeles, NBC Universal’s Battleship and Oblivion, Summit’s Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn, and 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four. 

Mulhearn was selected as one of the Baton Rouge Business Report’s 2009 'Forty Under 40,' one of '2010’s People to Watch,' and '2013’s Top 25 Local Twitter Accounts to Follow' by 225 Magazine. He was listed on the 'Silicon Bayou 100' in both 2012 and 2013, and in 2014 was appointed by Gov. Bobby Jindal to the Louisiana Workforce Investment Council. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross Capital Area Chapter.

Mulhearn and his wife, Sarah, have two children, Jack , nine, and Owen, five. The family resides in Brusly, La.

The decision to get my degrees from LSU literally defined my life. The degrees certainly prepared me for my career. But the University introduced me to the people and the culture of South Louisiana, and that has made all of the difference in my world. I met my future wife on an LSU Abroad trip to London. We made it a point to get married outside of LSU football season. I thanked the Good Lord that our kids were not born on a game day. My love for Baton Rouge and the Tigers compelled me to dedicate my life to creating jobs and new opportunities for everyone else who loves it here as much as I do. I am proud to know that when I leave this world, I will leave it as an LSU Tiger. Forever LSU!

J. Tinsley Oden, associate vice president for research at the University of Texas at Austin, earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from LSU in 1959. He earned a master’s degree in civil engineering and a Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from Oklahoma State University, and he has been awarded six honorary doctorates.

The founding director of the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, Oden holds the Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering #2 and the Peter O’Donnell, Jr. Chair in Computer Systems. He is a professor of aerospace engineering, engineering mechanics, mathematics, and computer science.

The author of more than 600 scientific publications – books, book chapters, conference papers, and monographs – he is on the editorial boards of twenty-nine journals, and serves on numerous organizational, scientific, and advisory committees for international conferences and symposiums.

Oden is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an Honorary Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is a Fellow of seven international scientific/technical societies: IACM, AAM, ASME, ASCE, SES, SIAM, and BMIA. He is a Fellow, founding member, and first president of the U.S. Association for Computational Mechanics and a Fellow, founding member, and past president of the International Association for Computational Mechanics. He is a Fellow and past president of both the American Academy of Mechanics and the Society of Engineering Science.

He has received numerous prestigious awards for his work. In 2012, the U.S. Association for Computational Mechanics established the J. Tinsley Oden Medal to recognize 'outstanding and sustained contribution to computational science, engineering, and mathematics.' Most recently, Oden was honored in Japan as the 2013 Laureate for The Honda Foundation Prize for his role in establishing the field of computational mechanics.

Oden is a member of the LSU Alumni Association and a generous supporter of the LSU College of Engineering, and he maintains an active research connection with University faculty. He was named to the College of Engineering Hall of Distinction in 1988.

Oden and his wife, Barbara Clare, have two children, Lee and Walker.

LSU holds a special warm place in my heart – when I began on a road to adulthood, scholarship, science, engineering, new friends, and new surroundings that forever changed my life.

Young Alumna of the Year

Lolo Jones, an American track-and-field and bobsled athlete, graduated from LSU in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, the three-time Olympian, three-time world champion, and American record holder overcame incredible odds, coming from a childhood of homelessness to competing as an Olympian on three separate occasions, with the fourth in mind around the corner in Summer 2016.

While at LSU, Jones won three NCAA titles and garnered eleven All-American honors. She specializes in the 60- and 100-meter hurdles and more recently competed as a brakeman on the U.S. national bobsled team. She won indoor national titles in 2007, 2008, and 2009 in the 60-meter hurdles, with gold medals at the World Indoor Championship in 2008 and 2010. She was favored to win the 100-meter hurdles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but tripped on the penultimate hurdle, finishing in seventh place. She went on to win silver at the 2008 World Athletics Final. 

Jones is the American record holder in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.72. She won a gold medal in the mixed team event at the 2013 World Championships, and she represented the U.S. at the 2014 Winter Olympics, making her one of the few athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

Through her organization, the Lolo Jones Foundation, the Olympian strives to empower and inspire individuals who face serious socio-economic hardships to realize their full potential through engaging community programs and initiatives. She focuses primarily on single mothers, families of incarcerated loved ones, poverty stricken communities, and youth. The Lolo Jones Foundation uses education as a tool against poverty to encourage others to live a life full of purpose despite hardships and/or setbacks

Lolo Jones is, indeed, a world-class athlete, as well as a world-class individual – one committed to giving back and inspiring those who are walking in the rough places she once walked to pursue their dreams and never give up. 

LSU provided a great foundation for my Olympic career. I wouldn’t be an Olympic athlete without the LSU track team. Coach Dennis Shaver encouraged me to dig in, and that’s exactly when my dreams started coming true. 

Alumnus of the Year

Newton B. Thomas graduated from University Lab School in 1962 and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from LSU in 1967. While a student, he played catcher for the LSU baseball team, was a cheerleader, and was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity.

Thomas began his career with Southern Instruments, an industrial controls contracting company, as an estimating engineer. From 1967 to 1971, he held the positions of chief estimator, vice president of estimating and construction, general manager, and he was promoted to president in 1971.

In 1973, with two fellow LSU electrical engineering graduates, Thomas formed what is now the Newtron Group (NGI), one of the country’s largest privately owned specialty industrial construction companies. Founded on 'Core Values and Beliefs' developed by Thomas, NGI has grown to a $300-$450 million company employing 1500-3000. This value system encouraged Thomas to foster a legacy by creating the Newton B. Thomas Support Foundation, which will ultimately own NGI, thus allowing the corporation’s profit sharing and charitable giving plans to be perpetuated.

NGI has garnered numerous awards including Business Report’s Large Private Company of the Year Award (twice, with the last given in 2012), the Louisiana Free Enterprise Company of the Year Award, and the first Baton Rouge Better Business Bureau Manship Ethics in Business Award. In 2012, ENR Magazine ranked NGI the seventh largest industrial electrical contractor in the country.

Thomas was founding chairman of the Dean’s Advisory Council of the College of Engineering and a member of the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering Advisory Board. He was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Distinction in 1994. He serves on the Board of Trustees and is past chairman of AMIkids of Baton Rouge, a non-profit rehabilitation program for adjudicated youth in the juvenile justice system, as well as past chairman of AMIkids National Board of Trustees and Executive Committee. For his work with youth, Thomas received President Bush's 1000 Points of Light award.

Thomas and his wife, the former Betsy Reich, have two daughters, Katherine and Lindsey. Katherine and husband Jim Inzer have three children, Harper, James, and Thomas. Lindsey and husband Tom Easterly and have three children, twins Benjamin and Sydney, and Madeline.

I credit LSU for the broad-based education that has enabled me to pursue my lifetime career goals and create lifelong friends. The varied life experiences at LSU have encouraged and enabled me to attain and have a diverse and fulfilling life.

Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson, one of the first African-American women to attend law school at LSU, received a juris doctorate degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law center in 1969. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Spelman College in 1964 and received an honorary doctorate in law from her alma mater in 2001.

Johnson began her judicial career in 1984 on the Civil District Court in New Orleans and was elected chief judge by her colleagues. She was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 1994, re-elected without opposition in 2000 and 2010, and sworn in as chief Justice in 2013. She is the court’s twenty-fifth chief justice, its second female chief justice, and its first African-American chief justice.

Long dedicated to public service, social justice, and civil rights, Johnson has worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense & Educational Fund and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and she was managing attorney of the New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation. She joined the staff of the New Orleans City Attorney in 1982 and later served as deputy city attorney.

Johnson is a member of the American, National, Louisiana, and New Orleans bar associations and is active with the Louisiana Judicial Council, A.P. Tureaud Chapter of the American Inns of Court, National Association of Women Judges, Women in Prison Project, Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church, Omicron Nu Zeta Chapter, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, and the New Orleans Chapter of Links, Inc., among other organizations.

Widely recognized as a trailblazer, Johnson has received numerous awards for her outstanding service to her profession, the public, and the community, among them, the Joan Dempsey Klein Award from the National Association of Women Judges, the American Bar Association’s Spirit of Excellence Award, the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, the LSU Martin Luther King Unsung Hero Award, the National Urban League President’s Award, the first-ever Ernest N. Morial Award from the New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation, and the NAACP Louisiana State Conference A.P. Tureaud Citizenship Award. She is a member of the National Bar Association Hall of Fame and the LSU Law Center’s Hall of Fame, and she was named an honorary inductee into the LSU Order of the Coif.

Johnson has two children, David, an accountant, who lives in Atlanta with his family; and Rachael, an attorney licensed to practice in Florida and Louisiana.

I attribute my professional success to the excellent training that I received at LSU Law School.

Frank P. Simoneaux, lawyer, legislator, military officer, and public servant, graduated from LSU in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and earned a juris doctorate from LSU Law School in 1961. Yet he is of a humble origin.

Simoneaux entered LSU in 1954 after attending Nicholls Junior College. Excelling in academics, as a student leader, and in ROTC, he was inducted into Pi Gamma Mu academic fraternity and named an LSU Distinguished Military Graduate. After graduating, he served on active duty for two years. He was discharged as a first lieutenant in 1958 but served in the Army Reserve and entered law school. Once again, he excelled in the classroom and as a student leader, serving as president of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity, being inducted into ODK, an honorary student leadership fraternity, and winning, with fellow student Charles Ware, the prestigious Robert Lee Tullis Moot Court competition in 1961. After law school, he returned to active duty during the Berlin Crisis, was promoted to captain, and transferred to the Judge Advocate General Corps. He completed thirty years of Reserve and National Guard service in 1986, retiring with the rank of colonel and as state judge advocate general.

Simoneaux served with several prominent firms and remains active as a sole practitioner. He has served on the boards of the Baton Rouge and Louisiana State bar associations, the Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute and the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute, American Arbitration Association, and American Judicature Society. He served on the Campaign Oversight Committee for election of judges and as president of the Louisiana Organization for Judicial Excellence.

Simoneaux was thrice elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives (1972, 1976-1982) and unanimously elected House Speaker pro tem in 1980. He served on the House and Governmental Affairs, Civil Law and Procedure, and Natural Resources committees and as Louisiana Secretary of Natural Resources (1982-84). In 2008, he was elected by the House to the Louisiana Board of Ethics and elected chair by its members.

Among the civic organizations Simoneaux has served are the Lakeshore Lions Club and Inter-Civic Council. He was a founder of the Bocage Racquet Club and founded the Greater Baton Rouge Hope Academy, which serves children with a wide array of disabilities. He is a member of U.S. National Guard Association, Cadets of the Ole War Skule, and LSU Alumni Association and was inducted into LSU Law School Hall of Fame.

Simoneaux and his wife, Marcy, married fifty-four years, have five children and four grandchildren.

LSU has meant learning principles of government, military life, and law, which enabled me to reach far beyond Brusly St. Vincent where I was born.

Young Alumnus of the Year

Mario Julien Garner is the inaugural senior vice president and chief executive officer at Memorial Hermann Pearland Hospital in Pearland, Texas. Garner served as LSU Student Body Vice President 2001-2002 and graduated from LSU in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology. He earned a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Tulane University and a doctor of education degree in administration and supervision from the University of Houston.

Before joining Memorial Hermann in 2015, Garner served for two years as the inaugural president and chief executive officer of New Orleans East Hospital, overseeing the re-establishment of a full-service inpatient hospital to serve the communities that were severely damaged during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Prior to that, he was chief operations officer at Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin, Georgia; chief operating officer/ethics and compliance officer at The Regional Medical Center of Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana; and associate administrator at West Houston Medical Center.

Garner is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and the National Association of Health Service Executives. He is a member of the LSU Department of Equity, Diversity, and Community Outreach National Advisory Board; a guest lecturer for the LSU College of Science 'Careers in Life Sciences' course; and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He was an anchor/host of 'Meet the Doctor' segments on WDIG TV in Dublin and hosted a radio talk show on WBOK radio in New Orleans. Garner has served the community as a Rotarian since 2011 .He was selected for the Georgia Hospital Association’s 2012 Leadership Cohort. He currently attends Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston.

Garner was recently named the University of Houston College of Education’s Outstanding Alumnus for 2015, listed among 25 Rising Stars in Healthcare under age 40 by Becker’s Hospital Review, and received the American College of Healthcare Executives’ Robert S. Hudgens Award for '2015 Young Healthcare Executive of the Year.' Other recognitions include the WittKieffer’s Modern Healthcare '2014 Up & Comer' Award; 2014 City of New Orleans Outstanding Millennial in Healthcare; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity New Orleans Chapter 2014 Citizen of the Year; and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Dublin, Georgia, Chapter Omega Man of the Year for 2013 and 2014. He was inducted into Tulane’s Delta Omega National Public Health Honorary Society in 2010 and in 2006 was named an Ebony magazine’s Top 30 Leaders under age 30.

I will forever cherish my years at LSU. It is the place where my road to adulthood began, my interest for servant leadership was heightened, my appreciation for the essentiality of friendship was strengthened, the trajectory for my career was established, and the zeal to 'Live Gold' became paramount. Yes! Love purple. Live gold. Forever LSU.

Alumnus of the Year

Roger W. Jenkins, president and chief executive officer of Murphy Oil Corporation, graduated from LSU in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering. He also holds an M.B.A. from the Tulane University A.B. Freeman School of Business, and he completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

Jenkins joined Murphy Oil in 2001 as drilling manager in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and held increasingly responsible positions – general manager/vice president of Sabah Operations; senior vice president, North America; president, Murphy Exploration & Production Company; and chief operating officer, Murphy Oil Corporation – until assuming the president and CEO role in 2013. He is also a member of the executive committee and a member of the board. Prior to joining Murphy, Jenkins was a drilling engineer and ultimately drilling manager for the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Texaco USA where he worked for eighteen years.

In addition to Murphy Oil, Jenkins serves on the boards of the American Petroleum Institute, the Arkansas Research Alliance, and the Well Control Institute. He was former national president of the American Association of Drilling Engineers and is a thirty-plus year member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

His leadership, work ethic, and business successes are reflected in numerous accomplishments, among them the publication of five Society of Petroleum Engineers technical articles; establishment of safety management systems; participation in various Deepwater operational records; implementation of the Kikeh Deepwater Development in Malaysia – one of the largest-ever developments in southeast Asia –  with seven industry firsts and considered the fastest major field Deepwater execution effort in the world. He oversaw the entry into two successful, major shale plays in North America.

As in business, Jenkins is passionate about his community and his alma mater. He spearheads Murphy Oil’s involvement in civic outreach through philanthropy and actively supports United Way, his parish church, and the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He serves on the LSU Foundation Board of Directors and the Dean’s Advisory Council of the E.J. Ourso College of Business and, as a major supporter of the Tiger Athletic Foundation, is a Purple Blazer recipient.

Jenkins and his wife, Jill, have two children, William, an LSU freshman, and Rosalind who has a career in communications.

LSU means flagship – the flagship university of the state. The success of the state requires a solid university system, and we have one. LSU is especially strong in engineering, placing key employees into the businesses of oil and gas production, refining, construction, and chemical – the key drivers of the state. LSU also means success on the playing field where we field top teams across all men’s and women’s sports. I am proud to be an LSU alumnus.

Sidney E. Fuchs, president and chief executive officer of MacAulay-Brown, Inc. (MacB), a leading national security engineering company, earned bachelor’s (1984) and master’s (1987) degrees in mechanical engineering from LSU. While a student, he was a member of the LSU Tiger Marching Band and several student and honor societies. He completed executive programs at the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, and the University of Chicago and is a graduate of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Special Operations and Training School and the CIA Intelligence Analysis School.

An accomplished and innovative leader and business executive, Fuchs has more than twenty-five years of experience in government, industry, and academia. Prior to MacB, he held CEO positions with ATS Corporation, OAO Technology Solutions, and Northrop Grumman/TASC, and senior executive positions with various high tech companies. He has led public and private corporations ranging in size from $100M to over $1.5B in annual revenue.

Upon graduation from LSU, Fuchs was recruited by the CIA and served in a variety of foreign and domestic field operations and management positions. A highly decorated intelligence officer, he received commendations from the Central Intelligence Director, the U.S. Defense and Intelligence Community, and other government organizations in the U.S. and abroad.

He received federal appointments to the National Defense University Board of Visitors in 2002 and the Defense Science Board in 2008 and in 2010 was granted a commission by the Governor of Virginia to the Global Strategies Council. Fuchs continues to be an advisor to several government and industry officials and corporate boards on a variety of industry and national security topics.

Fuchs is a guest lecturer and serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council in the College of Engineering and in 2013 was appointed Executive in Residence. He is chair of the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Board of Advisors, is a Senior Fellow of the Stephenson Disaster Management Institute, is a major donor to the College of Engineering, and a member of the LSU Foundation. He was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Distinction in 2012. While a student, he was a member of the LSU Tiger Marching Band and several student and honor societies.

Fuchs is the author of the book Get off the Bench: Unleashing the Power of Strategic Networking through Relationships. He is also an internationally published author, speaker, and acknowledged thought leader on intelligence and national security, business strategy, and operations, board governance, leadership development, professional networking, and organizational change.

Fuchs and his wife, Susan, a 1986 LSU business graduate, reside in Oak Hill, Va., They have three children, William, Robert, and James.

Even though my life and career have taken me to the four corners of the world, LSU has given me deep roots and a set of values that remind me of where I came from, what’s important, and that I can make a difference.

Brandon P. Landry, founder, co-owner, and CEO of Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar, earned a bachelor’s degree in management in 2001. His story began in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as a walk-on for the Tigers, and Walk-On’s traces its roots to a sketch on a napkin and a vision created by Landry and his teammate and founding partner as an entrepreneurship class project. The plan earned them a 'C' grade.

Turned down by six banks for financing, bank number seven gave him the opportunity to open the first Walk-On’s in the shadows of Tiger Stadium in 2003. Today, the restaurant is one of the hottest casual dining concepts around. As CEO, Landry provides leadership for thirteen restaurants in Louisiana and Texas, and fifty more locations in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, and Tennessee are on the drawing board.  In 2015 Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees bought into the company as Landry’s partner, and annual revenues are estimated to exceed $70 million in 2017.

Passionate about creating a memorable, fun experience with true Louisiana cuisine in a sports atmosphere, Landry’s vision for the company is authentic and simple – WIN! He strives to ensure that everyone on the Walk-On’s team knows they are just as important as everyone else, that the 'walk-on mentality' is the backbone of the company, and that the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back.

Landry’s entrepreneurial spirit has been recognized by Nations Restaurant News, Entrepreneur Magazine, Franchise Times, Headline News, and ESPN. He has been named Louisiana Restaurant Association’s Restaurateur of the Year, Baton Rouge Young Businessperson of the Year, and Louisiana Marketer of the Year, and was recognized a Baton Rouge Business Report 40 Under 40. Walk-On’s was named ESPN’s #1 Sports Bar in America 2012, and the concept has earned 'best new restaurant' and 'best sports bar' honors in every city in which it has opened. 

A four-year letterman in basketball, Landry is a member of the L Club and Tiger Athletic Foundation. He belongs to the Young Presidents Organization and serves on various nonprofit boards, among them the BREC Foundation, Kidney Foundation, and Make-A-Wish Foundation, and gives generously to his local communities both personally and through the restaurants. 

He and his wife, Mackenzie, have one daughter, four-month-old Jett. 

I grew up at LSU . . . I went to LSU . . .  I played for LSU . . .  I cheer for LSU . . . I am Forever LSU!

Dr. Charles Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from LSU in 1951 and a medical degree from LSU Medical School New Orleans in 1955. He practiced medicine in Sulphur, Louisiana, for thirty-five years and served as Calcasieu Parish coroner for more than twenty years.

Smith served in the U.S. Air Force from 1955 to 1957 as a flight surgeon in Europe before opening his family medical practice, which he later expanded to include industrial medicine and chemical dependency. Throughout his career, he was considered by his colleagues and patients to be one of the best doctors in the region, respected not only for his skill as a practitioner but also but for the kindness and care he gave his patients during office visits and on house calls. 

In retirement, Smith underwent cancer treatment that saved his life and in response established the Dr. Charles M. Smith Chair of Medical Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The $1 million chair, created in partnership with Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and matching funds from the Louisiana Board of Regents Support Fund, played a major role in the program achieving accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs, Inc. 

Following the creation of the chair, the program became one of only eleven accredited graduate medical physics programs of its kind and resulted in the creation of a state-of-the-art facility that benefits the community, the state, and the region through cancer research initiatives.

Smith is known as a 'quiet philanthropist,' one who impacts individuals and organizations through acts of kindness and generosity without recognition. His philanthropic spirit is evidenced by his numerous volunteer commitments over the years. He serves on the College of Science Development Council and Executive Committee and is a charter member of the Dean’s Circle. He is a member of the LSU Foundation Laureate Society and LSU 1860 Society. He is a benefactor of the Methodist Home for Children in Sulphur, and he has served on the board of the Imperial Calcasieu Museum. 

LSU was available for me to prepare and study medicine in the finest of facilities and the finest faculty. The tuition was affordable – very fortunate for a Louisiana native.

Jake L. Netterville, Chairman of the Board Emeritus of Postlethwaite & Netterville, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from LSU in 1960. He was commissioned through LSU ROTC and served eight years in the U.S. Army on active and reserve duty.  

Netterville was managing partner of P&N for more than twenty years, during which time the firm became one of the top 100 leading accounting firms in the country. He has held leadership roles in numerous professional organizations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants, and the Baton Rouge Chapter of CPA. He served as Chairman of the Board of the AICPA, the highest office that can be attained in the accounting profession. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times and authored articles in many accounting journals and magazines.

He has served as president of the following organizations: the Louisiana Arts & Science Center, Downtown Kiwanis Club of Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Council for a Better Louisiana, Baton Rouge Area Chamber, CHAMPAC, The City Club of Baton Rouge, and the Baton Rouge Country Club. He currently serves on the Board of Baton Rouge Water Company and Amedisys.

Netterville, the current chair of Tiger Athletic Foundation, is a member of the LSU Accounting Advisory Board, the E.J. Ourso College of Business Administration Dean’s Advisory Council, and the LSU Alumni Association.

Among the many professional and civic honors Netterville has received during his career are the Society of Louisiana CPAs Establishment of Free Enterprise Award, Baton Rouge Volunteer Activist Award, Louisiana CPA Distinguished Service Award, AICPA Gold Medal Award – the organization’s highest award, and the Association of Government Accountants National Private Sector Financial Excellence Award. He was inducted into the Ourso College of Business Hall of Distinction in 2000. 

Netterville and his wife, May Nell, have been married for fifty-five years. They have two children and five grandchildren.

As a sophomore at Baton Rouge High School, I completed a Kudder preference test and was told it showed I should be a CPA. I asked, 'What’s a CPA?' LSU provided me the opportunity to compete at the highest level with professionals who graduated from 'more prestigious' universities. 

Glenn H. Curtis, Adjutant General of the Louisiana National Guard, graduated from LSU in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business and holds a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. While at LSU, he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho, and the Alpha Epsilon Chapter named him Alumnus of the Decade for 2010-2020.

Curtis has commanded the 11,000-member Louisiana National Guard since 2011 with unparalleled integrity and has provided leadership though numerous natural disasters, most recently the Great Flood of 2016. Curtis was commissioned in 1984 through the LNG Officer Candidate School after serving as an enlisted member of the Guard since 1982. 

From July 1986 to September 1997, he served in various positions of increasing responsibility from Platoon Leader, Construction Officer, S-4, Company Commander, Plans Officer, S-3, and Executive Officer. He served as Battalion Commander of the 1088th Engineer Battalion in Plaquemine, Louisiana, from September 1997 to April 2000 and 3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry in Lake Charles, Louisiana, from April 2000 to August 2001. 

He was assigned as the Commander of the 225th Engineer Group from September 2001 to October 2004, and he also served as the J-4, Director of Logistics, Joint Force Headquarters-Louisiana. He was mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in December 2004 and served as the Chief of Staff, Purchasing and Contracting Officer in Baghdad, Iraq. In November 2005, following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, General Curtis was assigned as the Chief of the Joint Staff, Joint Force Headquarters-Louisiana. He was Director of the Joint Staff from April 2007 until November 2011, when he was appointed Adjutant General.

Recognized with numerous military awards, decorations, and honors during his career, he was inducted into the LSU Military Hall of Honor in 2009; received the General Douglas MacArthur Award in 1989; was named Battalion Commander of the Year in 1999; and received a Business & Industry Top 40 Under 40 award in 2002. In 2015, he was elected by his peers President of the Adjutants General Association of the United States.

Curtis and his wife, Jill, reside in Pineville, Louisiana. They have three children, Meagan, Nicholas, and Jacob.

I am an LSU fan through and through. LSU’s focus on commitment to community prepared me for a life of service to our nation. I can never repay LSU for the rich diversity of experience that is now an integral part of my life as a husband, father, and soldier.

Mary Landrieu, a Senior Policy Advisor with the Van Ness Feldman Law Firm in Washington, D.C., and a former United States Senator, earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from LSU in 1977. Landrieu is the daughter of former Mayor Moon Landrieu and Verna Satterlee Landrieu, of New Orleans. Her leadership skills, honed at an early age, were first noticed as a student at Ursuline Academy when she was elected student body president. At LSU she was active in and held leadership positions in several campus organizations, most notably, Delta Gamma Sorority and Campus Crusade for Christ.

Landrieu’s public service began in 1979, when she was elected to the Louisiana State Legislature at the age of twenty-three, the youngest woman ever elected. She championed the rights of women and children and became a standout leader in the fight against child abuse and domestic violence. After two terms she was elected state treasurer. Among her noteworthy accomplishments as a two-term treasurer were pension fund diversification, constitutional debt limitation, and the creation of the first-ever municipal investment fund, now valued at over $2 billion.

After a race for governor, which she narrowly lost, she was elected to the U.S. Senate – the first woman to in Louisiana to be elected to a full term – and served for eighteen years. A proud 'centrist,' Landrieu helped negotiate many major policy initiatives for the state and nation and was known as a tireless advocate for Louisiana, particularly as a leader in the fight for coastal restoration.

Among Landrieu’s major accomplishments were securing billions of dollars to rebuild the state in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, including $14 billion for flood control in Southeast Louisiana and over $500 million in loan forgiveness for local school districts and parishes. She led the successful effort to designate Barksdale Air Force Base as the nuclear strike command for America and was lead sponsor on the RESTORE Act, which directed over $18 billion over the next fifteen years to Louisiana and Gulf Coast States and the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, the first mandatory coastal revenue sharing law in the nation.

Landrieu is a member of the U.S. Energy Security Council, a board member of the National Alliance for Public Charter School, honorary board member and former national co-chair of the National Guard Youth Challenge Foundation, national board member for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), and founder and honorary national board member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.

Landrieu and her husband, Frank Snellings, of Monroe, Louisiana, have two children – Connor and Mary Shannon, and one grandson, Maddox Parker Snellings. 

LSU opened up a whole new world for me. Meeting friends from Lake Providence to Delcambre was an experience that helped me truly appreciate the unique beauty of Louisiana.

William Shelby McKenzie, former managing partner and "of counsel” with Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips in Baton Rouge, graduated from University High School in 1957 and earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University before graduating from LSU Law School in 1964. During law school, he was editor-in-chief of Louisiana Law Review and a member of Order of the Coif, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi. He received the ODK-Mortar Board Outstanding Law School Senior Award, Dean of Academic Affairs Outstanding Law School Senior Student Award, an LSU Alumni Federation Certificate of Merit, and was named Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity Martin Inn and Province VI Outstanding Graduate. 

Upon graduation, McKenzie joined Taylor Porter and has worked at the firm for more than fifty years, concentrating in insurance law, university law, and litigation. He served as lead counsel for the LSU Board of Supervisor for twenty years, and after retiring from active practice, returned as interim general counsel to the board and to President Emeritus William Jenkins and President F. King Alexander. He was an adjunct LSU law professor for more than thirty years, offering insurance law courses to more than 3,500 law students.

A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, McKenzie has held leadership positions in numerous professional, educational, and service organizations, among them, the Baton Rouge Bar Association, Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, LSU Law School Alumni Association and Board of Trustees, Forever LSU Campaign Cabinet, Louisiana Bar Foundation Board, Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Capital Area Legal Services Corporation, First United Methodist Church, Friends of the LSU Libraries, Louisiana Arts and Science Center, Baton Rouge Sheltered Workshop, and Bank One Advisory Board.  

For his leadership and contributions to LSU and to his profession, McKenzie was named the Paul M. Hebert Law Center’s 2005 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year, the Louisiana Bar Foundation’s 2011 Distinguished Louisiana Attorney, and was inducted into the University High School Alumni Hall of Distinction in 2003. 

McKenzie and his wife, Molly, an LSU alumna, have two surviving children and five grandchildren. Their son Charles McKenzie and his wife, Elissa, have three sons, McVea, Scot, and Charlie; daughter Leslie Porter and her husband, Lance, an LSU professor, have two daughters, Jan Shelby and Kate. Their son Douglas passed away in 2014. 

The LSU Law School provided excellent preparation for my professional career. I was extremely fortunate  . . .  to work with dedicated LSU board members, administrators, and faculty on many interesting, important, and challenging issues.

Art E. Favre, owner and president of Baton Rouge-based Performance Contractors, Inc., a billion dollar plus, 9,000-employee general industrial services company, graduated from LSU in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in construction, a member of the school’s first graduating class. 

Prior to founding Performance Contractors in 1973, Favre worked for Lurgi-Knost Engineers and Contractors, Fluor Corporation, and Universal Corporation. Under his leadership, Performance has received four National Construction Safety awards and numerous National Excellence in Construction awards. Louisiana Contractor Magazine has recognized Performance Contractors four times for having the Best Industrial/Manufacturing project in Louisiana.  

An ardent supporter of LSU and the College of Engineering, Favre is heavily involved in the expansion and realignment of Patrick Taylor Hall. He is a member of the Dean's Advisory Council, the Board of Directors of the Construction Industry Advisory Council for the Bert S. Turner Department of Construction Management, and a past president of the LSU Construction Industry Advisory Council. He is a member of the LSU Alumni Association, the LSU Foundation, and Tiger Athletic Foundation.  

Favre is active and holds leadership positions in numerous professional and civic organizations, among them the American Association of Cost Engineers, Associated Builders and Contractors, Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance, Louisiana Right To Work Committee, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Blue Print Louisiana, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, ABC ICC, New Orleans Branch of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, and Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation. 

His many honors include induction into the LSU College of Engineering Hall of Distinction, the LSU Construction Management Hall of Fame, and the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction. He received the LSU Greek Excellence Award, the ABC Pelican Chapter Merit Shop Man of the Year Award, the Sales and marketing Executives of Greater Baton Rouge Marketer of the Year Award, the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity Alumni Achievement Award, and was named a Distinguished Patron of the LSU Department of Construction Management. 

Favre has two children, Scott and Shelley, and five grandchildren and is married to Yilena Favre.

'When reflecting upon my adult life, I quickly realize the important decisions I have made along the path of life all had basis in the foundations of life instilled within me during my educational years at LSU, not just academics, but core values, communication skills, relationship building, and lifelong friendships.'

Young Alumnus of the Year

Walt Leger is Speaker Pro Tempore of the Louisiana House of Representatives and a graduate of LSU, having earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2000. He received a Juris Doctor from Tulane University in 2003. 

Leger, an attorney with Leger & Shaw in New Orleans, was elected Speaker Pro Tempore by acclamation in 2012 and again in 2016, and is the youngest member ever to serve in the second highest-ranking position in the Louisiana House. He was first elected state representative for District 91 with sixty-five percent of the vote in 2007 and re-elected without opposition in 2011 and 2015.  

Leger is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and the House Education Committee and serves ex-officio on all other House committees. He has led many important state initiatives, including the Criminal Justice Reform and Reinvestment and Tax and Budget Reform. Among other leadership roles, he serves nationally on the Executive Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference and the Council of State Governments Governing Board. 

Known in Louisiana as a strategic thinker, fierce advocate, problem solver, and consensus builder, Leger has received numerous honors recognizing his commitment to the citizens of Louisiana. His most recent awards include the Louisiana Family Forum 2017 Life and Liberty Award for Achievement in Criminal Justice Reform and the Childcare Association of Louisiana 2017 Champion for Children Award. In 2016 he received nationwide recognition when he was awarded the Tax Foundation’s Outstanding Achievement in State Tax Reform Award, and in 2015 he was named Outstanding Legislator by the LSU Health Sciences Center Foundation and was awarded a Rodel Fellowship of Public Leadership at the Aspen Institute. 

Leger is a founding board member and vice-president of the Louisiana Institute for Children in Families and serves on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Judicial College. He is an adjunct professor of law at Loyola University College of Law in New Orleans. He has lectured at Tulane University School of Law and LSU Law School and speaks regularly at educational programs through the Louisiana State Bar Association and New Orleans Bar Association and at conferences such as the National Conference of State Legislators, Southern Legislative Conference, and Council of State Governments. 

Leger is married to the former Danielle Doiron, a 2005 graduate of LSU. They have one daughter, Cate, and are expecting a second daughter in May.

'I am proud that everyone in my immediate family is an LSU graduate – my wife, Danielle; my mother, Catherine Buras Vidos; my father, Walter J. Leger, Jr.; my brother, Rhett Leger, and his wife, Dana Lampard Leger; and my sister, Elizabeth Leger Fick, and her husband, Jeffrey Fick.'

The late Mel Didier, Sr., longtime high school and college baseball coach and major league baseball executive and scout, played football and baseball at LSU in the mid-1940s before earning a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi Southern in 1949. He received a master’s degree in education from LSU in 1967.  

Didier was a winner. He excelled at every level – in college football and baseball, as a high school football and baseball coach, as a college football and baseball coach, and as a scout and administrator in major league baseball for more than sixty years.  

He lettered in football for two years, was an LSU football All-American in 1945, lettered in baseball for three years, and was a star pitcher for LSU’s 1946 SEC championship baseball team. He signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1948, retiring at the end of the 1949 season with an injured pitching shoulder and taking on coaching responsibilities at Catholic High and Glen Oaks High in Baton Rouge and at Opelousas High. During this time, he remained a full-time scout with the major leagues.  

Didier coached freshman football at LSU under Charlie McClendon in the late 1960s and was head baseball coach at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (then USL) from 1980 to 1982. Over the years, he was affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays.  

Didier was the only person in professional baseball to spearhead three major league expansion teams – the Montreal Expos, Seattle Mariners, and Arizona Diamondbacks. He was an immediate hit in scouting and player development. He was the first farm and scouting director of the Expos, the team for which he created the School of Thieves, which focused on base running and base stealing. The Expos farm system stole more bases than anyone in baseball. 

He was recognized for his achievements by scores of baseball executives – some of the giants of the game – John McHale, Walter O’Malley, Fred Claire, Tommy Lasorda, Jerry Colangelo, Buck Showalter, Mike Scioscia, Joe Garigiola, Jr., and John Hart.

Highlighting the many honors accorded Didier during his career were induction into the Louisiana High School Coaches Hall of Fame, being named the LSU Baseball Alumnus of the Year, and induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Mel Didier and his wife, Elena Arcaro Didier, celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary in 2017. He went to “baseball heaven” on September 10, 2017, at the age of ninety-one.

'Mel always carried with him the spirit of LSU and was a positive voice at all times for the University. –Fred Claire, former general manager, Los Angeles Dodgers'

Jim Engster, president of Kingfish Communications, earned a degree in broadcast journalism from LSU in 1981. He has been the owner and president of Louisiana Radio Network and Tiger Rag, “The Bible of LSU Sports,” for the past eight years. His career as journalist, broadcaster and business executive spans more than three decades.  

Engster has hosted daily radio programs since 1998, sharing the microphone with luminaries from politics, sports, business, entertainment and the arts. He has interviewed ten Louisiana governors, reported on every gubernatorial election since 1979, and currently hosts Gov. John Bel Edwards call-in show, “Ask the Governor.”  

Engster has had memorable conversations with the likes of President Bill Clinton, Vice President Dick Cheney, California Gov. Jerry Brown, and celebrated journalists Carl Bernstein, Dan Rather, and Ted Koppel. So far, Ann Coulter is the only guest to walk out on Engster in more than ten thousand interviews. 

Every LSU Chancellor since Jim Wharton as well as the last seven Tiger athletic directors have been Engster guests. Engster has also been the political analyst for WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge since 2002.  

His weekday program on Public Radio started in 2004 and continues today as “Talk Louisiana” on WRKF-FM in Baton Rouge. Engster was a correspondent for National Public Radio from 1989 to 2004 and served as Louisiana Radio Network news and sports director from 1983 to 1998. He was general manager of WRKF from 2003 to 2006 and of LRN from 2006 to 2010. 

Active in civic affairs, Engster is a member of the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, is a five-time president of the Press Club of Baton Rouge, and is a board member and former president of the National Association of State Radio Networks. At his alma mater, he serves on the LSU Media Board and moderates interviews for the LSU Alumni Association’s Talking Sports series. He is the Voice of the LSU Foundation and the emcee of Manship School Hall of Fame ceremonies. He is a member of the Tiger Athletic Foundation.

Engster was named Communicator of the Year in 2008 by the Public Relations Association of Louisiana. He received the YWCA Racial Justice Award in 2011, was inducted in the Manship School Hall of Fame in 2012, received the Louisiana Federation of Teachers School Bell Award in 2015 for education journalism, and was honored in 2017 by the Sales and Marketing Executives of Greater Baton Rouge as Marketer of the Year.

'LSU is the foundation for all successful endeavors in my career. The four most productive, vivid, and memorable years of my life were those as an undergraduate at the Ole War Skule. Notably my print and broadcast debuts were at Tiger Stadium—former home of both KLSU and The Daily Reveille.'

Kelly Spears, a speech language pathologist and board certified behavior analyst, earned a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from LSU in 1994 and a master’s degree in speech, language, and hearing from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1997. She completed her year-long clinical fellowship in Yakima, Washington. 

Spears practiced professionally and held leadership and management positions in a variety of settings including hospitals, schools, homes, and long-term care facilities in New York, Canada, North Carolina, and California before establishing Spears Learning Center, a pediatric speech and language therapy and ABA therapy clinic, with locations in Metairie and Covington, Louisiana. With a staff of seventy, the clinic services clients in the office and in school settings in St. Tammany, Orleans, and Jefferson Parish school districts. 

Her professional memberships include the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), Corporate Speech Pathology Network (CORSPAN), Louisiana Speech Language Hearing Association, Autism Society of America, and Association of Behavior Analysts, and she is a Louisiana Applied Behavior Analyst. 

Spears and her family support LSU student-athletes through donations to the Tiger Athletic Foundation, and the Jones-Spears Family Scholarship represents the fifth endowment committed to the gymnastics program. She generously funds academic programs through the LSU Alumni Association and LSU Foundation and sponsors several fundraising events, among them, Our Lady of the Lake School Taste of Tammany Gala, Families Helping Families, Touch a Truck, Autism Society of Greater New Orleans Wall and, with the Association, LSU Alumni Night at the Baby Cakes game. 

She is a cofounder and board member of Gain Behavior, a telehealth and ABA software program business, and serves on the boards of the Tiger Athletic Foundation, Louisiana Coalition for Access to Autism Services, Take Paws Rescue, and the Greater New Orleans Autism Group. She is a member of the Krewe of Orpheus and a member of the First Baptist Church of New Orleans. 

Spears her daughter, Harper, adopted from Siberia, Russia, in 2012, reside in New Orleans. Harper attends first grade at Hynes Charter School in New Orleans, and she loves gymnastics and dance.

'LSU means home to me. Some of my first memories are of my parents and their friends taking us to LSU football games. We had the spot under the big oak tree in front of the bell tower. I have loved LSU since.'

Jerry Stovall, longtime president and chief executive officer of the Baton Rouge Area Sports Foundation – now SportsBR – is a consultant with the organization. He attended LSU from 1959 to 1962 and during his Tiger football career was named an All-SEC and All-American running back and was runner-up for the 1962 Heisman Trophy.  

In 1963, Stovall was the No. 1 draft choice of the St. Louis Cardinals and during his nine-year career in the NFL was named All-Pro twice and earned three All-Pro berths. He continued his education while playing professional football, earning an undergraduate degree from Missouri Baptist College in 1972.  

After retiring from pro ball, Stovall joined Paul Dietzel at the University of South Carolina. He returned to LSU in 1974 as assistant coach to Charles McClendon and was promoted to head coach of the Tigers in 1980. He was named SEC Coach of the Year and Walter Camp National Coach of the Year in 1983, the same year he led the Tigers to the Orange Bowl. 

During a six-year hiatus from football, Stovall served as senior vice president of business development at Premier Bank. In 1990 he was named athletic director at Louisiana Tech University, leading the program to a Top 25 national ranking in graduation rate during his three-year stint. He returned to Baton Rouge in 1993 and with the assistance of then-Mayor-President Tom Ed McHugh started the Baton Rouge Area Sports Foundation to promote state, regional, national, and international sporting events in the area. 

Stovall was a member of and held leadership roles in numerous civic organizations over the years, among them Capital Area United Way (Chair), Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, Association of Retarded Citizens, General Health System, and Hospice Foundation of Greater Baton Rouge. He is a popular public speaker and mediator, a member of BREC’s public relations committee, and is active in First Presbyterian Church. 

Stovall was named to the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sportswriters Hall of Fame and was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 2010 and enshrined in 2011. He was named a Louisiana Legend in 2011, honored in 2007 with the Brotherhood/Sisterhood Award for his work in the community, named to the LSU Modern Day Team of the Century in 1993, and received the 1990 Volunteer Activist of the Year award.

Stovall and his wife of fifty-six years, Judy, have two children, Jay Stovall and Jodi Stovall, and five grandchildren.

'LSU came to me at a point in life when I had no Plan A and gave me hope and opportunity with an athletic scholarship that allowed me to go to college. Without that, I’m not sure what direction my life would have taken.'

H. Dale Hall, Chief Executive Officer of Ducks Unlimited – America’s leading wetlands and grassland habitat conservation group – received a master’s degree in fisheries from LSU in 1979 after receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Ky. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1968-1972, with overseas assignments in Italy and the Philippines.  

Hall joined Ducks Unlimited in 2010 after three decades of service with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). Widely respected as a visionary conservationist and one of the country's most effective wildlife professionals, Hall served in numerous field, regional, and national-level roles and was appointed USFWS director by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2005.  

As CEO of Ducks Unlimited, Hall oversaw the largest conservation campaign in history, a $2 billion capital campaign for wetlands conservation. These funds allowed millions of acres of habitat to be conserved, with more than 500,000 acres placed under conservation in the United States in 2018.  

Hall holds leadership positions in numerous conservation organizations. He serves on the boards of America’s Wetland Foundation, the Johnny Morris Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium, and the Peregrine Fund; is a commissioner on the Louisiana Governor’s Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration, and Conservation; a Professional Member of the Boone and Crockett Club; and a Visiting Fellow on the LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio External Advisory Board.  

Among his many honors, Hall received the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies Lifetime Achievement Award, the USWFS Ira Gabrielson Award for Leadership, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Range Public Service Award, U.S. Department of the Interior Meritorious Service Award, and Department of the Army Commander’s Award for Public Service; was named Conservationist of the Year by both America’s Wetland Foundation and Bass Pro Shops; and was inducted into the LSU School of Renewable Resources Hall of Fame as the 2018 Alumnus of the Year.  

Hall and his wife, Sarah Reed Hall, an LSU alumnus with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education, reside in Collierville, Tenn. They have three children and three grandchildren.

‘LSU changed my life on both personal and professional levels. It is truly challenging to adequately articulate the deep impact LSU had on my life. I will be forever grateful.’

Wendy McMahon, President of ABC Owned Television Stations, graduated from LSU summa cum laude in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication. Active in numerous organizations during her years on campus, she served as commander of Scotch Guard, was elected to Student Government, and was an LSU Ambassador.  

The youngest person ever named president of the Disney ABC Owned Television Station Group, McMahon has chief management responsibility for eight television stations across the country, as well as the 1,400-member Disney/ABC local team. She previously served as senior vice president of the digital component of the company and was responsible for the digital content, product/technology, and audience development strategies for the Walt Disney Company’s eight ABC Owned Television Stations.  

Before being named president of ABC Owned Television Stations, McMahon was vice president of programming and creative services at KABC-TV, the ABC-owned television station in Los Angeles, Calif., and prior to that was director of creative services at CBS Owned Television Stations in Boston, Mass., and Minneapolis, Minn.McMahon has been recognized with numerous Emmys and Promax Awards for advertising campaigns, including a Broadcast Design “Best in Show” award and the recipient of numerous marketing awards from Disney/ABC and CBS. She was named “One to Watch” by the Boston Business Journal. She serves on the Broadcasters Foundation Board of Directors, supporting broadcasters who through injury, illness, or crisis find themselves in need of support and assistance, and is actively involved in Disney VoluntEARS efforts and outreach.  

McMahon and her husband, William N. “Bill” Burton, have one son, seven-year-old Chase. The family resides in Encino, Calif.  

‘In a world of constant change, LSU remains as steadfast and stately as always. Forever LSU – that line of the alma mater – is a promise, a pact between me and the University I love, to be here for one another and for Louisiana through thick and thin. I couldn’t be more grateful for the experience I had at LSU that led me to the Walt Disney Company – the continued pull of LSU that keeps me grounded and somehow, regardless of where I am, always home.’

Gregory Mark Bowser, President of the Louisiana Chemical Association (LCA), Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance (LCIA), and Louisiana Foundation for Excellence in Science, Technology and Education (LaFESTE), graduated from LSU in 1983 with a degree in broadcast journalism. A four-year letterman for the LSU Tigers under Jerry Stovall, he served as a graduate assistant coach under Bill Arnsparger and was a football analyst for LSU Tigervision.  

Bowser joined LCA/LCIA in 1991 as director of governmental affairs for LCA and vice president of LCIA. He was promoted to vice president of LCA, then executive vice president of LCA, LCIA, and LaFESTE in 2011. In 2015 Bowser was named as president of LCA/LCIA, the first African American to lead one of Louisiana's major statewide business trade associations.  

Bowser joined the staff of Congressman James A. Hayes in 1987 as his press secretary. Wanting to return to his home state of Louisiana, he joined Governor-Elect Buddy Roemer’s transition team as deputy assistant coordinator and later served as special assistant to the governor. He held several positions under Governor Roemer until 1989 when he became the coordinator of the Louisiana Health Care Authority. In this position he established and implemented the new Governance and Fund Recapitalization Plan for the Louisiana Charity Hospitals System.  

Longtime active in the community, Bowser is currently an associate member of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Committee and serves on the boards of Our Lady of the Lake Hospital System, Baton Rouge City Club, and is vice president of LSU National L Club. He was the first African American to serve on the Baton Rouge General Board of Directors and the Bocage Racquet Club and was a founding member of Forum 35. He was named by Baton Rouge Business Report to the 1995 Class of 40 Under 40 and was for many years an analyst for Cox Sports TV and LSU Radio Network.  

Greg and his wife, Adrienne, have two sons, Gregory II and Myles.  

‘LSU opened a whole new world for me – meeting people from different walks of life and learning things about other parts of the world. While it was football at LSU that helped me develop the competitive fire within myself, it was the overall diversity of experiences away from the football field that truly helped me understand more about life. I grew up while at LSU, and it gave me a deeper understanding of where I came from and what’s important.’

Hays Town, Founder/Owner of Town Construction, earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1958 and a master’s degree in geography in 2013. A member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, his philanthropic endeavors began at LSU when he chaired a function for needy children.  

Town helped establish the Baton Rouge Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors and served as its first president. He received the first Man of the Year Award from the national chapter for his work promoting ethical practices and establishing training classes in the industry. He served on the Construction Board of Appeals for East Baton Rouge Parish for twenty years and the State Licensing Board for Contractors for eighteen years, including a term as president.  

A highlight of Town’s life is establishing St. Elizabeth Foundation, a nonprofit adoption agency, which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2018. As board chair, Town is involved in helping provide young pregnant women without resources options or for adoption in Baton Rouge, placing more than 600 babies in loving families. St. Elizabeth works with the LSU School of Social Work to employ and educate student interns in a real-world setting. He served on the LSU School of Social Work Advisory Board and as chairman of Louisiana State Child Care Committee.  

He received the inaugural Angel in Adoption Award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute in 1999 and in 2018 received the Leadership for Life Award from Louisiana Right to Life. In 2016 he received the Quality of Life Award from the Baton Rouge Growth Coalition, and in 2018 was named the Salvation Army Volunteer of the Year. Town and his sister, Blanche Town Gladney, established the A. Hays Town Professorship in the School of Architecture in honor of their late father, and he supports the LSU Museum of Art, School of Music, Manship School of Mass Communication, and College of Humanities & Social Sciences, specifically the Department of Geography and Anthropology.  

Town returned to campus at age seventy-five to pursue a master’s degree, and his studies spurred a new passion. He formed the advocacy group Baton Rouge Citizens to Save Our Water, Inc., in 2012 and was appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards in 2018 to the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation Commission. He serves on the board of the Green Army, a statewide alliance of civic, community, and environmental organizations committed to social, political, and environmental change.  

Town and his wife, Gay, have six children, including two LSU graduates; twenty grandchildren, including nine LSU grads and three current students; and eighteen great-grandchildren.

‘My years at LSU profoundly influenced my life. First and foremost, it is where my wife and I met and fell in love, became engaged, and married, all while studying at the University. Secondly, through my fraternity I planned several charitable functions to benefit those less fortunate. This led me to a lifelong desire to help other people. Also, my studies in engineering gave me the tools to be successful in my chosen profession of engineering and contracting.’