Saint Martin’s will honor five distinguished alumni at
Homecoming festivities
Friday, January 31, 2003
Lacey, Wash. - Saint Martin’s College will honor five men and
a woman with 2003 Distinguished Alumni Awards at the College’s
annual Homecoming dinner and program next Friday at Saint
Martin’s Pavilion.
The Distinguished Alumni Awards recognize the outstanding
achievements and contributions of alumni of Saint Martin’s
College, Saint Martin’s High School, which closed in 1974, and
Saint Martin’s Abbey, the Benedictine monastery that founded
Saint Martin’s College in 1895.
The evening program also will include presentation of the
Homecoming court, chosen by Saint Martin’s students, and the
Outstanding Student Leadership Award.
Homecoming Week activities get underway Monday with events
ranging from student Olympics and College Bowl competitions to
basketball. The Women Saints will play Central Washington
University at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at the pavilion. At 7
p.m., the Men Saints will take on the University of
Alaska-Anchorage.
Friday’s dinner and program begin with a social hour at 5
p.m. and will be followed by the Homecoming Formal at 8 p.m.
Distinguished Alumni Award recipients being honored are:
Abbot Lambert Burton, O.S.B. (1878-1943), Saint Martin’s
Abbey
Benedictine Service Award
Originally from Saint Benedict’s Abbey and College in
Atchison, Kansas, Abbot Lambert Burton, O.S.B., was second abbot
of Saint Martin’s Abbey and a respected national leader in
Catholic education. While his gifts as a priest and
administrator are notable, he is best remembered at Saint
Martin’s for establishing the college as a fully accredited
four-year institution in 1940. Under his leadership from 1928 to
his death in 1943, a record number of Saint Martin’s teaching
monks graduated from colleges, seminaries and graduate schools.
They provided a strong academic backbone and a reputation for
outstanding teaching at Saint Martin’s that is still intact
today.
Ray E. Corpuz Jr. (College graduate 1969), Tacoma
Professional Achievement Award
As Tacoma’s city manager since 1990, Ray Corpuz Jr.
has steered Washington’s third largest city and one of
its oldest into its rebirth as a municipality with a
national reputation for progressive, innovative and
effective programs. His impressive string of
accomplishments have already earned Corpuz the 1999
National Public Service Award from the American Society
of Public Administration and The National Academy of
Public Administration, as well as several awards from
the Washington City/County Management Association.
Tom Finch (High School graduate, 1949; College
graduate 1953), Olympia
Service to Saint Martin’s / Community Service
Award
Tom Finch might well be called the poster child of
the oft-quoted advice to practice random acts of
kindness. His small kindnesses, carried out with warmth,
willingness and quiet competence, have supported every
organization he’s associated with and served as an
inspiration to others. While he often volunteers at
Saint Martin’s, he is best known for helping the most
vulnerable and needy citizens of the area. He has
prepared meals at a soup kitchen, built wheelchair ramps
for those with disabilities, delivered furniture or
emergency firewood to families in need and driven
seniors to hospitals in Seattle, to name a few.
Mike (College attendee, 1957) and Jan (College
graduate, 1989) Halliday, Lacey
Service to Saint Martin’s Award
Mike and Jan Halliday are a team in every sense of the word,
and while they serve Saint Martin’s in different ways, together
they have given thousands of hours of service to the college.
They also have helped mold an alumni association with a deep
commitment to Saint Martin’s students and helped raise thousands
of scholarship dollars. As president of the Saint Martin’s
Alumni Association since 2000, Jan has provided strong
leadership in pursuing association goals of recruiting alumni
and strengthening relations between alumni and students. She
also has served as a model of volunteer service. Mike is the
chairman of the association’s concession trailer committee and
an association board member. In this role, he has been
responsible not only for the myriad details of concession
trailer events but also in building valued friendships and
support for Saint Martin’s among, alumni, volunteers and area
citizens.
Terry Massoth (High School graduate, 1960), Tumwater
Service to Saint Martin’s Award
Terry Massoth’s service to Saint Martin’s and the greater
community has long been noted for reflecting values emphasized
by the school: community service, leadership, dedication and
creativity. A past president of the Saint Martin’s Alumni
Association and its current secretary, Massoth has been
instrumental in broadening the association’s efforts to support
the college’s students and the greater community in many ways,
including reaching off-campus to aid such charities as the Lacey
Fire Department Christmas Fund and the Salvation Army. Since
1999, Massoth also has served as wine committee chairman for the
Capital Food Wine Festival, the association’s successful annual
scholarship fund-raiser for Saint Martin’s students.
For more information on Homecoming events, please contact
Kurt Kageler, the college’s director of alumni relations, (360)
438-4366; 1 (800) 220-7722;
kkageler@stmartin.edu.
For more information:
Jan. 31, 2003 Kurt Kageler
Director, alumni relations
360-438-4366 or
kkageler@stmartin.edu
Deanna Partlow
Senior editor, media specialist
360-438-4541 or
dpartlow@stmartin.edu