Ann Tillery
308.865.8131
The University of Nebraska at Kearney Alumni Association will present awards to five individuals during 2003 Homecoming activities the weekend of October 3-4.
Distinguished Alumni Awards will go to Dr. Kip Anderson of Columbus, Jack Garlock of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, Joe Higgins of Omaha and JoAn Scott of Fishers, Indiana. The Distinguished Alumni Service Award will go to Paul Wagner of Fort Collins, Colorado.
Dr. Kip Anderson of the Class of 1990 is a physician with Columbus Family Practice Associates P.C. in Columbus.
In 2002, Dr. Anderson was chosen ‘Young Physician of the Year’ by the Nebraska Medical Association for his involvement in the community. He is a volunteer and medical director at a low-income clinic with the East Central Nebraska Health Department.
Dr. Anderson has been youth group sponsor at Peace Lutheran Church in Columbus for five years and he is a volunteer teaching faculty member at UNMC.
After graduating from UNMC in 1994, Dr. Anderson did family practice residency in Waukesha, Wisconsin, before returning to his hometown of Columbus to begin practice.
As a student at UNK, Dr. Anderson was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity, an Ambassador, and a graduate of the Horizons Honors Program. He was named Greek Man of the Year in 1990.
Jack Garlock of the Class of 1976 is vice president of the Stanley Works and president of Stanley Fastening Division (Bostitch) in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
Bostitch is a $500 million division of the Stanley Works and the number one brand of Pneumatic tools and related fasteners in the world. Garlock oversees 12 facilities around the world with 2,400 employees.
Following graduation with a degree in industrial technology, the Omaha native and Westside graduate began working with Porter-Cable. He was in sales in Omaha, Des Moines, and San Francisco for seven years. He then served as western sales director, Midwest sales director and national sales director. In 1993, he was named vice president of sales and four years later was named president.
At Porter-Cable, he directed a $700 million manufacturer of portable and stationary power tools, overseeing its worldwide operations.
He was president of Stanley Doors in Charlotte, North Carolina, from 2000 to 2002 and has been in his current position since then.
Joe Higgins of the Class of 1964 is a career educator who has been actively involved in public school education at every level.
Currently, Higgins is a member of the Nebraska State Board of Education, elected to that position earlier this year. He served eight years on the Nebraska State Education Board of Directors and was NSEA president from 1982 to 1983. He served on the National Education Association’s Board of Directors from 1996 to 1999. In 1998, he was a delegate to Education International, Second World Congress.
After graduating from college, Higgins, a native of Coleridge, taught social studies for three years at Bloomfield High School. From 1968 to 2000, he was a teacher at Omaha Westside High School. At Westside, he received the School Bell Award twice, the only person to receive it more than once. He was named the Outstanding Social Studies Teacher in 2000 by the Nebraska State Council for Social Studies. He also was president of the Westside Education Association.
Higgins has been an active member of the Democratic Party, having served on the state’s central committee from 1984 to 2002.
JoAn Scott of the Class of 1986 is director of NCAA and Division I Conference relations for NIKE, Inc. in Indianapolis.
She serves as liaison between NIKE and the NCAA relative to marketing, licensing and advertising. She is also internal compliance officer for NIKE, relative to NCAA and high school/athlete eligibility issues.
Prior to her present position, Scott worked for NIKE Sports Entertainment (NSE) in Beaverton, Oregon, where she was responsible for management of world-wide events in a variety of sports. She also represented NSE in dealing with national governing bodies, leagues, teams, agents, venues and promoters.
Before joining NIKE, Scott spent 10 years with USA Basketball, including four years as director of basketball operations. Located in Colorado Springs, USA Basketball is the national governing body for basketball in the United States. Scott was a member of the project team that coordinated the 1995-96 Women’s National Team and the 1992, 1994 and 1996 Dream Team training camps, exhibition games and international competitions.
The Ansley native has played key management roles in the U.S. Olympic Festival on six occasions, the Goodwill Games, and events like the World Championship of Basketball, the Olympic Games, the World Soccer Tour, the Tiger Woods Japanese Invitational and the Melbourne/Sydney Track Tour. As a student she was a member of the volleyball and basketball teams and the Student Alumni Foundation board.
Paul Wagner of the Class of 1958, a real estate developer and businessman in Denver and Fort Collins, has been involved in two significant projects at UNK.
In appreciation for the educational support he received as a student, Wagner provided a major gift for the creation of a life-sized bronze statue in honor of emeriti professor Phyllis Roberts. A plaque at the base of the statue summarizes Wagner’s feeling for his former mentor – ‘Never ending are the influences of a caring teacher.’
Wagner, a Culbertson native, said Roberts helped him become more involved in college and be a part of the campus community. He was a member of Phi Tau Gamma fraternity, Student Council, Choraleers music group and the Antelope football team.
Wagner recently created a scholarship fund to provide a unique opportunity for a student to attain a college degree. The student must possess the qualities to attend college but who, without financial assistance, might not be able to attend. The student selected, who will receive a full-tuition scholarship, is one who does not qualify for other scholarships.
The program began this fall. The goal is to provide tuition each year while the student is in school. A second student will be selected next fall. If it works as proposed, there could be four students attending college on the program.
The 24th annual Homecoming awards banquet recognizing this year’s recipients will be held at the Nebraskan Student Union, Friday, October 3, with a reception beginning at 6 p.m. and the banquet at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults and $9 for children. They are available by contacting the Alumni Office at 308-865-8474 or email at jrundstrom@foundation.nebraska.edu Source: Jim Rundstrom, Alumni Association – 308-865-8474
