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56th Awards Dinner
Overview
The quality of a university, more than anything else, is measured by the quality of its graduates. The University of Houston Alumni Association's annual Awards Dinner honors the men and women whose professional success, volunteerism, and generous spirit bring honor to their alma mater. Now in its 56th year, the Awards Dinner has become a tradition for so many Cougars who make it a point to attend annually.
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2010 Honorees
We are very proud to announce ten exceptional Cougars as our 2010 honorees. Come meet them for yourself on April 23rd.
Distinguished Alumni Award
…recognizes and honors
alumni who have made significant contributions to society and whose
careers have brought credit to the university.
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Richard Coselli (’55, JD ’58) is recently retired as chairman
and CEO of Keystone Title Company and has been practicing real estate
law for over 25 years. He is past president of both the
Texas Land Title Association and Greater Houston Land Title
Association. As a UH student, he was chairman of Frontier Fiesta and
president of the student body. He has served as a consultant to the UH
System Board of Regents for the Cambridge Oaks student housing project,
a model that has been adopted by public and private universities across
the country. An incredible 14 of his family members of UH alumni!
Coselli is a Life Member of the alumni association and former chair of
it's Board of Directors.
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Elizabeth Ghrist (MEd ’67) is president of Elizabeth L. Ghrist
& Associates, Inc. and has been a pioneer in the politics,
community service, and business. In 1988 she served as Harris County
Commissioner, and would later serve as a member of the UH System Board
of Regents. She has received the Bronze Medal for Meritorious Service
from the International Red Cross, the Governor’s Humanitarian Award for
Volunteerism, and honored as Volunteer of the Year by the National
Society of Fund Raising Executives. The University of St. Thomas
awarded her with an honorary doctorate degree. Ghrist is a Life Member
of the alumni association and former chair of its Board of Directors. |
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Jim Perdue (’61, JD ’62), once described as the “King of Texas medical malpractice lawyers” by Forbes Magazine,
is a counsel with Perdue & Kidd, LLP. He has been practicing law
for over 40 years, earning admission to the Inner Circle of Advocates
(limited to the US' top 100 plaintiff attorney's) and the International
Society of Barristers (limited to the top 400 trial lawyers in North
America). The former captain on the 1960 UH debate team and
valedictorian of his law school class, he has written eight books, most
famously, Who Will Speak for the Victim?. Perdue has been a long-time adjunct faculty member on the law school faculty. He is a Life Member of the alumni association. |
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Distinguished Service Award
…recognizes the
exceptional loyalty and leadership of alumni volunteers and their
efforts to further the goals of the alumni association.
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Tommy (’80) and Elaine Ebner (’82) are synonymous with
service. Tommy is president and CEO of McGriff Siebels & Williams
of Texas, an insurance and brokerage firm. He is an All-Time Letterman
of the UH football team, while Elaine was a cheerleader on campus. The
couple has been critical components of both the Houston Athletic
Foundation and H-Association, and even helped with the development of
the Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology in the College of
Engineering. Their son, Jake, went on to play football at UH, and their
son, Clay, is a current UH student. The Ebners are both Life Members of
the alumni association. |
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George Leroy Hall (’56, ’77) spent forty years working as a
safety and reliability engineer for a number of contractors who
supported NASA’s Apollo and space shuttle programs. He’s volunteered
his time and talents to such organizations as the American Heart
Association, Parents Television Council, Bay Area YMCA, and of course,
the UH Alumni Association and UH Athletics Department. Perhaps most
impressive, at the age of 84, he is currently enrolled in the doctoral
industrial engineering program at UH, and earlier this year, went on a
skydiving trip. Of course, during the two-mile free-fall, Hall wore his
UH gear and flashed the Cougar paw. He is a Life Member of the alumni
association. |
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Robert Planck (’71) is president of Independent Marketing
Alliance LP. He is a Life Loyal Teke Charter Member and Past Grand
Prytanis of Tau Kappa Epsilon International Fraternity; as such, he's
in the position to be a particularly strong leader for the TKE UH
Alumni Network. He serves on the Hilton College of Hotel and
Restaurants Management’s Dean Advisory Board, on the UHAA Golf
Tournament Committee, and has pivotal in endowing a number of
scholarships. Planck is founding director of both John Lewis Food
Service and the Food Service Association, and international president
of the Society for the Advancement of Food Service Research. He is a
Life Member of the alumni association. |
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Chair’s Award
…recognizes non-alumni who have consistently and voluntarily offered extraordinary support to the university.
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Bruce Williams is senior vice president of Northville
Product Services, a petroleum products company, and co-owner of Irma’s
Southwest Grill in downtown Houston. He has donated much of his time
and money to several University of Houston departments and programs,
and Houston Baptist University's Husky Endowment for Athletic
Scholarships. He is a member of the Fellowship of Christian
Athletes national and Greater Houston board of trustees and board
member for the Star of Hope Mission, a ministry to the homeless in
downtown Houston. Williams is a member of the UH Athletics Department's
Corbin J. Robertson Society and is a Life Member of the alumni
association. |
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Outstanding Volunteer Award
…recognizes alumni who
exemplify the spirit of volunteerism, giving generously of their time
to advance the missions of the university and alumni association.
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Patty Godfrey (’89) is a familiar face to anyone who’s ever been
to any alumni association event. The former executive director of
academic service for UH’s Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant
Management is now a stay-at-home mom with two children, Catherine (14)
and Jack (10), both who “learned the Cougar hand sign before they could
walk.” Currently president of the Fort Bend Club, she is founder and
former president of the CampusCougars Alumni Association and has
chaired auctions for the Athletics Department’s Hall of Honor Gala,
UHAA’s Red and White Ball, and the Homecoming Golf Tournament. Godfrey
is a Life Member of the alumni association. |
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Rising Star Award for Service
…recognizes alumni age 37 or younger for demonstrated service above and beyond that of their peers.
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Katie Kalenda Daggett (’99, MA ’03), director of development at
Texas Children’s Hospital, credits her experience as a UH resident
assistant for preparing her for the real world. "I learned to resolve
conflicts, to communicate more effectively, to see others' points of
view, to think on my feet, to deal with really strange situations. And,
I learned the value of being encouraging and supportive to others." She
is past president of the Young Alumni League, a former Alumni Council
member, repeat Operation School Supplies volunteer, and organizer of a
dance marathon that benefits pediatric healthcare. She has worked also
for Cleveland-Ripley Community Center and United Way. Daggett is a Life
Member of the alumni association. |
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Rising Star Award for Achievement
…recognizes alumni age 37 or younger for demonstrated achievement in their field above and beyond that of their peers.
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Jim Parsons (’96) is an Emmy-nominated actor who stars on the hit CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory, now in its third season. He hosted the 2009 Emmy Awards Nomination Show and announced himself as nominee for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, later won by Alec Baldwin. He had a recurring role on the CBS show Judging Amy and has appeared in moves like Garden State (along side Natalie Portman) and 10 Items or Less (along side Morgan Freeman - see clip). He also has a master’s degree from the University of San Diego, where he recently gave the commencement address. Readers of UH Alumni Quarterly, the alumni association's membership magazine, can expect a story on Parsons in the fall issue. |
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The awards themselves have taken many forms: plaques, glass sculptures,
and most recently, medallions. Pictured below, the current version is a
gold-plated medallion with a relief of the Ezekial W. Cullen Building
on one side, and the award name and recipient name on the other side.
Browse a list of past award recipients.
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2010 Underwriting Committee
We would like to thank the following members for their service and dedication to making the annual Awards Dinner a success.
Judie Lilie (Chair), Nelda Luce Blair, Cheryl Creuzot, Charles Dorn, Preston Johnson, CF Kendall, Beth Madison, Mike Pede, Craig Rickard, Billie Schneider, Francie Willis
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