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In one of the most entertaining awards ceremonies in recent memory, the California Alumni Association saluted some notable Blues at the Claremont Hotel on October 29. KPIX-TV reporter Sherry Hu '74 was on hand to do and announce the honors: Excellence in Achievement Awards to four distinguished alumni--disabled rights activist Judith Heumann, MPH '75, basketball star Kevin Johnson '87, author Mary Pipher '69, and wine maker Henry Trione '41; Excellence in Service awards to a pair of True Blues--Margaret "Sis" Collins '34 and Joseph Willits '48; and a host of other special awards. The evening was punctuated by Cal spirit and laughter, much of it generated by a visit by the Men's Octet, who showed up dressed as a chain gang. The singers--a deputy sheriff leading a gang of prisoners in stripes--rocked the house with a half-dozen songs, including a stirring rendition of the Tennessee Ernie Ford standard, "Sixteen Tons." They also had some good-natured fun with two Octet co-founders in the audience, Willits and Howdy Brownson '48. As the students zipped through their choreography, Willits and Brownson gamely matched every move--half a beat late. The evening ended soon after the last awardee, Henry Trione, wrapped up his acceptance speech. Said Trione, perhaps noting the soporific power of his own rhetoric: "Your parking meters are expiring--as are some of my classmates." By far the evening's most mobile awardee was U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education Judith Heumann, who cruised up a ramp to the ballroom stage in her wheelchair to receive her award. "I've tried to open many doors for the disabled," she said, "and one of my goals is to have more accessible podiums." Heumann, whom health education professor Meredith Minkler called "a true visionary," is no stranger to the limelight. She overcame polio as a child, then fought to get into the New York public schools as a student and later, as a teacher. Heumann was poised to start a master's degree program at Columbia when Cal's famed disability-rights pioneer Ed Roberts '64 lured her to Berkeley instead. After earning her degree, she turned to national politics. Heumann helped draft the Americans With Disabilities Act, then joined the Clinton administration. Her staff of 350 oversees $7 billion in programs--some of which, she slyly noted, might be useful for "those of you who are yet to become disabled." Said Heumann: "I am here as a very supportive alumna, and I thank you for all the work you have done, and particularly for all the work you will do." Hoops star Kevin Johnson, who grew up in Sacramento, led the Bears in scoring, assists, and steals, and recently retired from a brilliant professional career with the Phoenix Suns. His extensive charity work includes founding the after-school St. HOPE Academy in his old Oak Park neighborhood and the Relevance Foundation scholarships. "I was raised with the value that it is more important to give than to receive," he said. Johnson told about working during the off-season to finish the work for his Cal degree, which he finally earned in 1997. "I only needed two more units to fulfill my foreign-language requirement," he said, "but I lobbied Cal to let me take medieval history instead--which turned out to be a lot harder than I thought." Johnson completed the reading and assignments by correspondence, but his teacher, historian Robert Brentano, insisted he attend some lectures and talk face to face, so K.J. did--during the professor's summer break in Italy. An admiring Brentano calls Johnson a man of "faith, hope, and charity." The only Excellence in Achievement award winner unable to attend was Mary Pipher, who sent thanks for the honor from her home in Lincoln, Nebraska. A psychotherapist and writer, Pipher is best known for her ground-breaking 1994 book, Reviving Ophelia. A compassionate view of how American mass culture wrecks teenage girls' self-esteem, it hit a national nerve: The paperback edition sold well over a million copies and spent 154 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. In her latest book, Another Country, she talks about caring for aging parents. After earning her B.A. in anthropology, Pipher earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Nebraska. She also is the author of two other books, Hunger Pains and The Shelter of Each Other, and writes commentary for National Public Radio. The final Excellence in Achievement award went to Sonoma County wine maker Henry Trione. After graduation, Trione became a mortgage banker and part owner of the Oakland Raiders (he has several Superbowl rings), and helped establish the Empire College of Business and its law school. Among many other activities, Trione bought Geyser Peak Winery in 1982 and stared making internationally recognized premium wines. He also hosts the popular "Cal Football Comes to the Wine Country," a spring scrimmage held on Trione's polo field. In accepting his award, Trione paid tribute to the CAA and the generosity of Cal alumni. "This association is the very lifeblood of the University," he said, stressing the vital role of volunteerism and philanthropy. He also candidly pointed out the importance of giving before you go: "I remember something Armand Hammer once said at a fundraiser: 'There are no luggage racks on a hearse.'" The first of the two awards for Excellence in Service went to "Sis" Collins. A legendary figure in University and alumni affairs, Collins has served on the UC Foundation board of trustees and the CAA council and board, and was co-chair of her 50th, 60th, and most recently her 65th class reunion. (When the reunion treasurer recently got sick in Scotland, she took on that job on as well.) A past president of the Rossmoor Cal alumni club, she also served as a trustee of Holy Names College. For her outstanding devotion, Collins received the California Alumni Citation and the UC Berkeley Foundation Outstanding Service and Wheeler Oak Awards. Collins said she was "a very frightened freshman" when she started at Cal, but eventually settled in. "I don't know anybody who had more fun at this University than I did," she said. Collins, who has three children, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, added, "My own family and my Cal family have now merged." Many Bears think Joe Willits deserves a medal just for launching the Octet, but he won an Excellence in Service award for his many other alumni leadership roles. While working as vice president of finance for such Fortune 500 companies as Varian Associates and National Semiconductor, he served on the CAA council from 1957 through 1968 and became a vice president in 1972. Willits also led CAA's Octet Alumni Club from 1988 to 1996. Most recently, he has spearheaded development of Homecoming and Reunion Weekend at Cal, and chaired his 45th and 50th Class reunions. "If you want alumni to contribute to Cal, it's extremely important for them to have a good feeling about the place," said Willits, who wants grads to have more contact with current students. "Bringing alumni back to campus is the best way to get them involved." The Robert Gordon & Ida W. Sproul Award recognizes excellence of achievement in the student community and is given to two juniors, one male and one female. One went to Fadia Rafeedie '00, an activist for Palestinian rights who is majoring in history and minoring in Spanish and Arabic. "Being interviewed for the award was wonderful," she said. "I talked about everything I cared about--Palestine, the peace process, Kosovo. It just all came out." Rafeedie, who has worked at several Cal dorms and volunteers as a writing tutor at the Foothill Housing Complex and at Berkeley High School, plans to become a lawyer. Ramin Saketkhoo '00, who wants to go to medical school, is writing an honors thesis in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology on the role of the immune system in neurological disease. Among other things, he said he was pleased by the growth and accomplishments of his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Mu, during his presidency. "I'm proud to be a Cal student," he said, "and 20 years from now I'll stick out my chest and be very proud to be a Cal alumnus." The Bradford S. King award recognizes young alumni volunteers for the University and the Alumni Association. The 1999 recipient was Mike Wondolowski '86, who has served on more committees and helped with more Cal projects than he can count. For the past decade, he has been an officer of the Santa Barbara alumni club, and has served on the Young Alumni Council and the CAA board of directors. "The purpose of these awards," he said, "is to show how much the CAA values the participation of its members." That would certainly include Wondolowski. In the ten years after he graduated, he said, he commuted between UC and Santa Barbara so often that he has driven the equivalent of a trip around the world. The Barbara Rosenthal Israel Prize is given to a continuing member of the Daily Californian editorial staff who has contributed significantly to the newspaper and to student journalism. While 1999 winner May Chow '00 was the paper's managing editor, the Daily Cal won 18 awards from the California Intercollegiate Press Association, including first place awards in General Excellence and Sweepstakes. "If one word sums up my Cal life," said Chow, "it would be 'all-nighter.' Like a true Cal Bear, I hibernated at the Daily Cal, and not only during the winter months." Finally, three alumni clubs were cited for their programs and energy. The Cal Alumni Club of Orange County won its second Outstanding Club award of the decade for attracting many new young alumni members and their families. From a period of inactivity four years ago, the Pilipino American Alumni Club has rebounded to become one of the Alumni Association's most vibrant and growing groups. And since becoming an official CAA club in 1996, the University Students' Cooperative Alumni Association has become the largest club in the Association. |
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