Outstanding alumni, supporters honoured by LSSU

NEWS RELEASE

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY

************************* Two alumni, Hudson Foundation to be recognized by LSSU

SAULT STE. MARIE, MICH. - The Lake Superior State University Alumni Association will pay tribute to two of its alumni, as well as the Sault's Hudson Foundation, a longtime community benefactor, during a program on Friday, October19, on campus.

Open to the public, the program is part of Great Lake State Weekend festivities, which includes family weekend and Fall Fling, an LSSU admissions event for prospective students.

Several hundred alumni, family and friends will be on campus for the weekend.

The alumni association will honor University of Michigan women's basketball coach Kevin Borseth, a 1976 graduate, with the Kenneth Shouldice Achievement Award; retired engineer and longtime Laker supporter James Knight, a 1957 graduate, with the Outstanding Alumnus Award; and the Hudson Foundation, a community benefactor for many years, with the Donald and Katherine Finlayson Award.

A reception begins at 4:30 p.m. on Friday in the Cisler Center, followed by a program at 5 p.m.

Tickets, $10 each, will be available at the door and may be purchased in advance through the alumni office, 906-635-2831.

Hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar will be available.

"We invite everyone in the community to help us celebrate the award recipients," said Susan Fitzpatrick, director of LSSU alumni relations and one of the GLSW organizers.

Shouldice Award recipient Borseth, who graduated from LSSU with a business administration degree, is being honored for his lifetime ofsuccess with coaching young people.

A native of Bessemer, Mich., Borseth played college basketball at LSSU from 1974-76, helping the Lakers to a 27-3 record and an NAIA championship berth in his final season.

"I am extremely honored to receive the Kenneth Shouldice Award," Borseth said. "I have never coached with the intention of attaining any particular level of competition or achievement. I truly love what I do and I am very fortunate to have worked with so many gifted athletes over the years. My days at Lake State taught me the commitment needed to be successful, both off and on the court."

Borseth, 52, has compiled a 441-159 career record in 20 years as a head coach at the NCAA Division I and II levels.

He has produced 19 straight winning seasons and 15 20-win campaigns, and his teams have won or shared 13 regular-season conference championships in addition to capturing eight league tournament titles.

Borseth has guided his teams to a post-season appearance in all but five of his 20 years as a head coach - 13 NCAA and two WNIT.

From 1987-98, Borseth was named GLIAC coach of the year on five occasions in addition to being honored as the Great Lakes region coach of the year twice.

As the former Michigan Tech coach with the most wins in MTU history, Borseth was named to the Huskies Hall of Fame in 1999.

LSSU Outstanding Alumnus Knight, the driving force behind the fundraising committee for the C. Ernest Kemp Mineral Resources Museum, is receiving the highest honor given by the LSSU Alumni Association.

It is presented annually during Great Lake State Weekend.

A native of Lansing who grew up in the U.P., Knight attended the Sault Branch of MTU in 1955-1957 before finishing a bachelor's degree in geological engineering at Michigan Tech in 1959.

He received a master's degree from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology before entering a career as a professional engineer and geologist.

At his retirement in 1997, Knight was executive vice president of Gannett Fleming Inc. in Harrisburg, Penn., one of the nation's leading engineering firms.

He was head of two divisions that employed more than 500 engineers, scientists, technicians and support personnel.

He has been involved with geotechnical studies, explorations, testing, design and construction of facilities such as water and wastewater treatment plants, bridges, dams, tunnels and more, at locations around the world.

"I am humbled to have been selected for this recognition that will be at the very top of my life's honors," Knight said of his LSSU award. "LSSU is where my collegiate heart has been for many years, and where it will remain for as long as I live."

Of Ernie Kemp and the Kemp Museum, Knight said, "Ernie remains the very best teacher in my entire life. Next to my parents, he is the individual who most influenced the man that I became. I trust that the museum will add another outstanding attraction to what is already the fine institution that LSSU has become."

Recognizing the Sault's Roberts P. and Ella B. Hudson Foundation with the LSSU Finlayson Award marks the first time that the honor, formerly the LSSU Distinguished Citizen Award, will be presented to an organization instead of an individual.

The Hudson Foundation was established in the 1950s through the estate of Roberts P. and Ella B. Hudson, Sault Ste. Marie residents who were known for their charitable giving.

Roberts Hudson was a prominent Sault lawyer, senior member of the Hudson, Coates and Kline law firm, and the first president of the State Bar of Michigan.

The Hudsons valued education and community involvement, and their foundation reflects those ideals.

Since 1986, the Hudson Foundation has donated thousands to a number of Lake State causes, with nearly a third of its donations going to the Hudson, Coates and Kline Scholarship that was established in 1989 and provides a minimum award of $2,500 annually to each of four Sault High graduates enrolling at LSSU.

Other areas of campus that have been the beneficiaries of the generosity of the Hudson Foundation include the Cisler Center Phase II campaign, the Arts Center, the Health Care Center, the Norris Center Athletic Training Room and the Cooper Gym floor campaign.

"Too often local people and organizations are taken for granted and not given the recognition that they deserve," said Fitzpatrick. "The Hudson Foundation has been behind LSSU for many years and the alumni association wants to recognize that support and express our appreciation with this award."

Hudson Foundation president Don Wilson will accept the award on behalf of the foundation's board of directors, who include: Roger Paris, Bill Oberman, Bob Arfstrom and Jim Halvorsen.

The program will also recognize longtime Hudson Foundation president Frank Fazi, who died in November 2005.

Fazi, an LSSU alumnus, was an adamant supporter of the university and the Sault Ste. Marie community.

He served on a number of organizational boards, including the LSSU Foundation, and is listed with the LSSU Athletic Hall of Fame for his career as a standout LSSC basketball player.

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