| Alumni Recognized
for Outstanding Achievements |
| Among the
shimmering blue and gold of Homecoming 2003, several MSU alumni
received recognition for outstanding achievements. The honorees
include Norm Asbjornson, '60 Eng, Jacob Jabs,
'52 VoAg, Patricia Oriet, '69 Nurs, Jeannie Parson,
'82 BusFin, Robert Peccia, '65 CE, and Chrysti M.
Smith, '94 Anthro. |
| The MSU
Alumni Association honored six alumni with the prestigious Centennial
Alumni Achievement Award given in recognition of the association's
100th year. The alums distinguished themselves through significant
accomplishments in their professional careers, civic duties
and dedication to MSU. |
| "The Centennial
Achievement Award recipients exemplify what is best about MSU,
and they show our students and university community the powerful
results of an education from MSU," says Jaynee Drange Groseth,
'73, '91, executive director of the Alumni Association. |
| Norm
Asbjornson, of Tulsa, is founder, president and CEO of Oklahoma-based
AAON, Inc., an air conditioning and heating equipment manufacturer.
Under his leadership, AAON is now a $1.4 billion rooftop air
conditioning company. This international business leader and
philanthropist serves on the College of Engineering's External
Advisory Council and the MSU Foundation's board. In 2001, he
established the Asbjornson Scholar Award with a $1 million endowment.
As a Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association, he frequently
returns to the campus. In 2002, he gave the commencement address
for the College of Engineering. |
| Jacob
Jabs, of Highlands Ranch, Colo., is the president and CEO
of American Furniture Warehouse, one of the top furniture companies
in America and the 12th largest privately held company in Colorado.
In 25 years, the one-store furniture business grew to a nine-store
operation. |
| Some of
the many honors and awards Jabs received include the Presidential
Achievement Award, the Montana Small Business Person of the
Year Award, the Health and Human Services Award, the American
Legion Community Service Award and the Muscular Dystrophy Humanitarian
Award in honor of 25 years of dedication. Jabs serves as the
national vice president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
He actively supports community endeavors, giving personal time
to volunteer efforts and financial support and in-kind donations
to numerous organizations. |
| Jeannie
Parson, of Kalispell has been active in the world of finance
for more than 20 years. She is a major force in economic development
of the Flathead Valley. Parson is branch manager for Raymond
James Financial Services, with credentials as a Registered Securities
Principal and a Certified Financial Planner. She served on numerous
Kalispell Chamber of Commerce committees, ultimately becoming
chamber president. She founded JOBS NOW, an economic development
organization in Kalispell and served as president. As president
of the MSU Alumni Association, she guided the organization to
a robust position on campus and within the alumni community.
She currently serves on the MSU Foundation board of directors. |
| Patricia
Oriet, of Bozeman has spent 50 years making exemplary contributions
to health care in Montana. As a nationally certified Women's
Health Practitioner, she served on the board of directors of
the Bridger Clinic, the State Family Planning Advisory Board
and the MSU College of Nursing Foundation Committee that established
the Family Nurse Practitioner program. She currently works with
the MSU-Bozeman College of Nursing Woman to Woman research project
that provides Internet resources for rural women with chronic
illnesses. She frequently volunteers to give guest lectures
and has been involved in the production of a TV commercial for
the Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies program that assists uninsured
mothers with pregnancy care. |
| Robert
Peccia, of Helena, is referred to as "king of the cats"
since more than half of the staff at his engineering firm, Robert
Peccia and Associates, graduated from MSU. The Judith Gap native
seeks to hire MSU graduates--a visible sign of loyalty and dedication.
His firm offers comprehensive services in civil, transportation
and environmental engineering. Civil Engineering Magazine awarded
his firm as "Best Civil Engineering Company to work for the
Nation" in 2001 and 2002. The firm is consistently listed in
the publication Top 500 Engineering Firms in the Nation. He
established an endowed Civil Engineering Scholarship for Students
at MSU. |
| Chrysti
M. Smith, Belgrade, has a voice known to thousands of radio
listeners through her "Chrysti the Wordsmith" public-radio program.
Recorded in a SUB studio, the program airs daily on KGLT, Yellowstone
Public Radio and other stations. As program writer and host
for more than a decade, Smith has brought prestige and excellence
in communications to the show and to the university. Through
her word derivations, listeners around the region have become
aware of MSU. She carried her passion for inquiry from the classrooms
on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Poplar to MSU and on
to the airwaves of National Public Radio. Award winners (L to
R): Norm Asbjornson, Jacob Jabs, Patricia Oriet, Jeannie Parson,
Robert Peccia and Chrysti M. Smith. Photos by Jeannine Lintner.
|
|
|
|
|
