IUAA volunteers to be recognized at conference

Not only does June 7 mark the beginning of Cream and Crimson Alumni Weekend and the Alumni Leaders Conference, but five individuals will also be awarded that evening for their volunteer and service leadership to the IU Alumni Association.

Recipients of the 2013 IUAA President’s Award include Marjorie Smith Blewett, Bachelor of Arts ’48; Jerry W. Logan, Bachelor of Science ’67, Doctor of Optometry ’69; Leland E. Tanner, B.S. ‘55 and Shirley A. Manning, according to a press release.

Though the IUAA began recognizing alumni volunteers in 1990, the President’s Award was first established in 1993, and it is the highest award given to a volunteer leader, according to the press release.

The Gertrude Rich Award is given to the spouse or partner of an alumni leader who embodies qualities of the wife of Claude Rich, who served as director of the IUAA from 1948 to 1968.

More than 300 attendees from all over the country will gather in Alumni Hall, including IUAA volunteers and spouses, past chairpersons, past award recipients and University officials.

Rebecca Keith, director of talent management and operations for IUAA, is responsible for assisting in volunteer recognition and putting together programs and award ceremonies for these alumni leaders.

“We have a really rich class for the honorees of the President’s Award this year,” Keith said.

She said the number of recipients varies from year to year. While some years have seen as few as two, others have had as many as 14 at a time.

Smith Blewett is receiving recognition for her work with the IU School of Journalism, Keith said. She served as placement director from 1969 to 1990 and still provides services as the school’s historian. She established the Marjorie Smith Blewett Scholarship, and founded the Ernie Pyle Society for retired alumni of the school, according to the press release.

A member of the IUAA Executive Council, Logan has remained active in three distinct aspects of the IUAA proper. This includes his three-year term on the IU East board of advisors, his service to the School of Optometry alumni board, and his involvement with the Whitewater Valley Chapter of the IUAA since 1985, Keith said.

According to the press release, Manning has been influential as president of the Lakeshore Chapter of the IUAA in northwest Indiana. This has included diverse programming and the 2008 IU Cares book drive, when hundreds of books were donated to area charities.

As a member of the IUAA investment committee from 2004 to 2012, Tanner helped to decide how to spend funds the IUAA received for dues and how to invest that money efficiently. Keith said he is distinct due to his service in corporate office rather than with service to an IUAA chapter.

Additionally, Barbara Baker, wife of Central Carolina Chapter president Donald Kritsch, will be recognized as the recipient of the Gertrude Rich Award.

“Lots of people work really hard for the IU Alumni Association, and I was certainly awestruck for being singled out for an honor among that group,” Baker said.
Every year, only one woman receives the Gertrude Rich Award.

“She is such a perfect embodiment of the award,” Keith said of Baker. “She is the wife of a really strong leader in our Central Carolina Alumni Chapter, and exactly the type of awardee we look for for this particular honor.”

Baker, from Durham, N.C., did not attend IU, but said there are about 2700 IU alumni in central North Carolina.

“At a community service event, it is really interesting to see this group of people come together,” Baker said. “You have a diverse group that works at a lot of different jobs, and in the name of Indiana University they come together for service.”

Events that bring them together include working for projects for Habitat for Humanity and adopting a family from a social services agency during Christmas time.

“We are really a long way from Bloomington or another campus, and to still have that kind of loyalty in the name of that institution is inspiring,” Baker said.

After attending the banquet for the past several years, Baker said she admired the distinctiveness of recognizing the spouse of an alumnus, and said it would be nice to receive such an acknowledgment.

“I am honored to get it, but I don’t perceive I will reduce my participation at all,” Baker said. “I’ll continue to be involved.”