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Trustee chairman Silva highlights list of winners of 2007 Fort Lewis College Alumni Awards
Published: Wednesday, August 8, 2007 by Office of Alumni Relations
Author: Office of Alumni Relations
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Board of Trustees Chairman Leonel Silva highlights the list of seven alumni award winners for 2007, the Fort Lewis College Alumni Association announced today. Recipients will be honored at an awards dinner at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20 during Homecoming.
Silva, who graduated from FLC in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and human services, was chosen to receive the Alumni Association’s highest honor, the Alumni Achievement Award.
Other honorees include trial lawyer Ray Boucher (’80), Distinguished Alumni Award for the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Carlton College Professor of Chemistry Marion Cass (’79), Distinguished Alumni Award for the School of Natural and Behavioral Sciences; U.S. Marines Capt. Matt Stiger (’01) and teacher, freelance writer and homemaker Rachelle Stiger (‘01), Distinguished Alumni Award for the School of Business Administration; Fort Lewis College Associate Professor of Teacher Education Jennifer Trujillo (‘93), Distinguished Alumni Award for the Teacher Education Department; realtor Don Ricedorff (’75), Alumni Award for Community Leadership; and Fort Lewis College Professor of Chemistry Ron Estler, Faculty/Staff Award for Supporting Fort Lewis College Alumni.
“The Homecoming theme for 2007 is ‘Everyday Heroes,’ which is particularly appropriate for this year’s alumni award winners,” said Director of Alumni Relations Chris Aaland (’91). “The common thread that binds these seven individuals together is their commitment to service — be it to their campus, their community or their nation.”
Originally appointed by then-Governor Bill Owens in July 2002, Silva is serving his second term on the Board of Trustees. He served as mayor of the City of Durango three times since 1986, and was a city councilor from 1985-97. He owned Sixth Street Liquors, Inc., from 1977-98.
Silva was chosen as Citizen of the Year by the Durango Area Chamber Resort Association in 1995 and received the Spirit of Santa Rita Award in 1999. He has also been recognized by the City of Durango, School District 9-R, and the Animas-La Plata Water District.
Boucher graduated from FLC in 1980 as a dual major in business administration and political science. He received the Pepperdine University School of Law Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2002.
Boucher is among the most decorated trial lawyers in California, receiving the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Award in 1994. He has been honored for his work representing victims of clergy abuse, environmental causes, and public health rights. Most recently, he won a record $660 million settlement for victims of sexual abuse by clergy.
Cass graduated from FLC in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. She has taught at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., since 1987 and served as Chemistry Department chair from 1998-2002. She has also served as visiting professor at Imperial College London and University of New South Wales, and as visiting research associate at California Institute of Technology and California University at Berkeley.
Cass’ current research interests are focused on the examination and animation of molecular processes that either scrambles atom positions and/or molecular handedness.
Matthew Stiger graduated from FLC with a bachelor’s degree in business in 1980. He has served three tours of duty in Iraq, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery and the Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal. He was recently promoted to captain.
While her husband was deployed, Rachelle Stiger worked with military wives and families at Marine Corps bases in California and Virginia. She has also worked as a substitute teacher, newspaper reporter and freelance writer while raising their young daughter, Amber. The couple recently moved to Elizabethtown, Ky.
Trujillo graduated from FLC in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in English, elementary teaching license, and bilingual education certification. She began teaching in the FLC Teacher Education Department in 1999 after working as an elementary and bilingual teacher at Park Elementary in Durango and the Southern Ute Head Start Program in Ignacio.
Trujillo was named Educator of the Year by the Durango Latino Education Coalition in 1997, the Durango School District 9-R Commitment to Excellence Award in 1998, and the Fort Lewis College Diversity Award in 2001.
Ricedorff graduated from FLC in 1975. Few individuals have volunteered as tirelessly and consistently for their alma mater as Ricedorff. He is a member of the Executive Board of the Fort Lewis College Foundation, a past president and member of the Board of Directors of the Fort Lewis College Alumni Association, and a past vice president and member of the Skyhawk Booster Club.
A realtor at The Wells Group in Durango, Ricedorff also serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the 1st Baptist Church of Durango.
Estler has served as Professor of Chemistry at FLC since 1982. By involving his students in his research and scholarly writing, he has directly enabled countless FLC chemistry alumni to pursue doctorates or launch successful careers in science, business, law and industry. Many attribute their own professional success to the research and publishing opportunities they had while learning from Estler. For this, he was chosen as FLC’s Featured Scholar for the fall 2000 semester.
He has also mailed FLC chemistry baby clothes to the newborns of hundreds of alumni. Whenever a chemistry alumnus completes a graduate program, starts a new job or gets married, Estler is the first to let his colleagues, the college and its alumni know.
For more information on the alumni awards, contact Director of Alumni Relations Chris Aaland at 970-247-7427 or aaland_c@fortlewis.edu.
The Fort Lewis College Office of Alumni Relations is located in 2201 Berndt Hall.
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