Kathy Coleman 2009 Alumni Award Winner

Alumni Weekend is fast approaching and boasts a schedule to interest everyone – and one of the premier events is the celebration of this year’s alumni award winners. All of the award winners plan to be present on Hiram’s campus, where they will accept their awards during Saturday’s reception. The Alumni Executive Board awards these honors. We welcome you to join us in recognizing and celebrating these deserving alumni.

Mandy Mehlman ’02 is the winner of the Recent Graduate Service to Humanity Award. Menlman, who was nominated by Amber Pasternak ’01, is a Homework Help Coordinator at the Worthington Public Libraries, and is also a volunteer with Court Appointed Special Advocates of Franklin County.

Pasternak tells us of Mehlman’s accomplishments. Mehlman participated in Teach for America and spent two years teaching fifth grade in an underserved school in New York City while earning her master’s degree. Her commitment to humanitarian service continued, says Paternak, noting that Mehlman “joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to a site in Guatemala. There she worked with local schools to help solve hygiene issues. She stayed several months beyond her two year commitment so she could see a project through to completion.” Mehlman’s background in education, fluency in Spanish and familiarity with Latin American culture have served her well in her missions.
For her extraordinary service to humanity, Mehlman had earned this award.

Alumni Achievement Award is presented to Thomas Reuschling ’64. Reuschling, who was nominated by David Majick ’65, is professor of business and president emeritus, Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Fla. In fact, for the better part of the last 40 years, Reuschling has been successfully serving higher education as a professor, director and dean of several colleges and universities. He has received numerous awards, fellowships and honoraria for teaching and leadership.

Majick noted in his nomination of Reuschling that, “As Tom’s teammate [at Hiram], I came to realize that Tom would live a life that, at its core, would center on the leadership of people.” As professor, president or president emeritus of Florida Southern College, Reucheling has, since the mid ’90s, indeed been a leader. “I came to notice an interplay,” explained Majick, “between Tom and the people of Florida Southern College. He sincerely enjoyed all segments of the college, especially the students. … Students always felt free to approach Tom with a smile and say ‘hello.’ As we moved about the campus maintenance people would acknowledge Tom; and faculty would greet him warmly. People just seemed to gravitate to him and he to them.”

Hiram College therefore awards the Alumni Achievement Award to Tom Reuschling, and congratulates on this well-deserved recognition.

Jonathan Estrin ’69 is also receiving the Alumni Achievement Award, as well as the 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Considering Estrin’s varied career path, it is not surprising that his roots stem from a college once called the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute. Estrin’s journey included positions as a television producer, writer, director and college dean. He has won awards and nominations for work on projects as disparate as “Cagney & Lacey” and Danielle Steele’s “Jewels.” He has been an active volunteer, writing material for political campaigns (including Clinton/ Gore) and chairing the board of the international relief agency Operation U.S.A. His notable career included a 2006 visit to Hiram for the world premiere screening of “The Water is Wide” for which he wrote the teleplay.

Today, Estrin is the president of the Constitutional Rights Foundation, an organization devoted to our nation’s youth, instilling in them a deeper understanding of citizenship and the importance of their active participation as responsible members of society (not unlike Hiram’s Garfield Institute for Public Leadership).

Congratulations on these well-deserved awards.

Kathy Coleman ’87 is the 2009 recipient of the Alumni Volunteer Award. In addition to Coleman’s generous philanthropy, she contributes a tremendous amount of service to College. As a graduate of the Weekend College, Coleman lends a hand to them whenever they need it—whether to endorse a letter or be listed in a publication. Coleman is a member of the board of trustees and co-chairs the institutional advancement committee. She has also taken on multiple fundraising efforts on the College’s behalf, traveling both locally as well as to New England and the Southeast. When alumni make gifts, Coleman will often come into the development office and make calls of thanks or to write notes to alumni, writing personal notes of thanks when she knew the person.

Coleman makes it her job to re-introduce alumni back to the College; she researches what may interest individuals, and then follows up. She participated in Hiram’s alumni trip to Greece. She made sure that she was meeting with each person individually, sharing information on the latest happenings at Hiram, and making sure they were forming a relationship with the College while they were in Greece.

Coleman noted that she – and her late husband Les – love places that built a sense of community – and that is what Hiram is all about.

Thank you to Coleman for her volunteerism, and congratulations on this deserved recognition.

Put this Alumni Weekend on your calendar, and see people from you class year – maybe one of this year’s award winners is from your class! All of them have been notified, accepted and will be in attendance, so plan on joining us!

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