Saint Martin's names distinguished alumni, hall of fame inductees

Wednesday, January 30, 2002

Lacey, Wash. - Saint Martin’s College will honor five distinguished alumni and two athletic hall of fame inductees in conjunction with the college’s Homecoming celebration.

The awards, established in 1995, recognize alumni of the college and now-closed high school for their professional achievement, community service or service to Saint Martin's. Each year a past or current member of Saint Martin's Abbey is honored for Benedictine service. The awards will be presented at the Homecoming banquet at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 at Worthington Conference Center.

Professional achievement awards will be given to alumni Joseph Lehman of Lakewood, Wash., and Joseph Hill of Pass Christian, Miss. Lehman, a 1962 high school graduate and a 1968 college graduate, is the secretary of the Washington state Department of Corrections. He was appointed in 1997 by Gov. Gary Locke and has also overseen the corrections departments for Pennsylvania and Maine. Hill, a 1958 high school graduate and a 1958-1960 college attendee, is the academic dean at the University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Coast. Hill has led the university’s transition from a two-year, upper-division school to a four-year university.

Brian Ziegler of Olympia will be honored for service to the community. Ziegler, a 1979 college graduate, co-founded the advisory committee for the engineering department and is still involved with the committee. He has served on the Olympia Planning Commission and the Eastside Neighborhood Association. He is also involved in his church, Saint Michael’s Parish in Olympia, and its youth group, where he has touched the lives of many teen-agers.

English Professor Les Bailey of Olympia will be honored for service to Saint Martin’s. Bailey, a 1964 College graduate, has been an integral part of Saint Martin’s community since he started teaching nearly 30 years ago. He has served on countless committees and has held many positions of leadership, including his current positions as chair of the English department and director of summer sessions. He helped rewrite the college’s mission statement in 1992 and has impacted the lives of innumerable students.

Father John Scott, O.S.B., is being honored for Benedictine service. The 1967 graduate has taught history classes at Saint Martin’s since 1972 and was college president from 1975 to 1980. Scott wrote a complete history of Saint Martin’s, which was published in 1996, to commemorate its centennial. He is active in the Saint Martin’s alumni association and serves as the group’s chaplain.

Two former standout athletes will be inducted to the Saint Martin’s College athletic hall of fame. Chuck Lindbergh, Olympia, a 1956 high school graduate and a 1964 College graduate, was named to the all-state football team as center and linebacker in 1955. In 1954 and 1955 he was named to the all-Catholic, all-Northwest and Central League All-Conference teams. Troy Whiteto, a 1992 College graduate, was team captain for the Saints basketball team. He was named to the 1991-92 NAIA all-American team, was twice named to the NAIA all-district team and was voted to the all-little Northwest team. Whiteto won the annual coaches award from Saint Martin’s and was voted most valuable player by his teammates.

Complete biographical profiles and thumbnails are available upon request from Saint Martin's Office of Communication.

For more information:
Kurt Kageler, director
Office of Alumni Relations
360-438-4583 or kkageler@stmartin.edu

Kara Klotz, media specialist
Saint Martin’s Office of Communication
360-438-4541 or kklotz@stmartin.edu