Lifetime achievement award

Virginia (Ralls) and William (Bill) H. Darr

The Darrs’ private support has helped Missouri State in enormous ways. Bill and Virginia both grew up in the small town of Ellington, Mo. — in fact, Virginia’s father, a doctor, delivered Bill. They dated in high school and both attended Missouri State, but each married someone else. Years later, after Virginia had been a divorced parent and Bill’s first wife died of leukemia, they reconnected. “He called me for dinner, and that was it,” Virginia said — they just knew they were going to be together. They married in 1988. Between them the couple has four children and six grandchildren. Many of their family members — including parents, children, siblings, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews — have attended Missouri State. “The Darrs are just wonderful people,” said Julie Ebersold, executive director of alumni relations. “They care so much about the University — they even get to know many of their scholarship recipients.” Virginia says they simply want to give back: “We’re just a couple of country kids who got an education and benefited from it.”

How does it feel to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award?

Virginia: You know what my first thought was? You have to be really old to get this. (Both of them crack up laughing.) No, we’re very honored.

Bill: It is wonderful and I see it as something very special.

What are some of your favorite memories from your time on campus?

V: I was in a sorority (Pi Kappa Sigma, which is now Sigma Kappa) and I made lifelong friends. Homecoming was always hectic because we were making a float. I also remember there was a Christmas dance with a candlelight service afterwards. My mother moved to Springfield in 1949 and I entered college as a freshman the next year. My family lived in a big house on Normal Street. It was later torn down and is a parking area now.

B: When I graduated there were fewer than 3,000 students in the whole school and it was easy to get to know many of them. I mostly remember the friendships I established, which I still have today.

How did Missouri State help you succeed?

B: In my junior year, my advisor Dr. (Glenn) Karls told me a food-processing company in town needed someone to work in the quality-control department. I got that job with Henningsen Foods. They offered me a job in Nebraska when I graduated. I stayed with the company in various roles until 1974 when I got itchy feet. I started a company in Jackson, Miss., with a couple of partners and was there for four years as president. However, I had always had the desire to come back to Springfield. I sold my interest in the company and started ADF in 1978. Dr. Karls really helped me start my entire career path.

How do you stay connected to campus?

V: We go to a lot of events. We go to football and basketball games and we’re supporters of the Pride Band.

What do you do in your leisure time?

V: We spend some time in Florida during the winter. While we’re there we go shopping and eat – we know every good restaurant!

B: We go to Branson occasionally to see some of the shows. We especially like the Presleys, Shoji Tabuchi and Andy Williams.

What is the one message you would like to give to the Missouri State community?

B: When you have the opportunity, please give back. You should read some of the letters we get from our scholarship recipients.

V: These are top students in small schools but their parents might need help in sending them to school. I always think about what their lives would be like if they couldn’t get the education to go out and do what they are capable of doing. We have always had confidence in the administration and the faculty at Missouri State. It wasn’t hard to decide to give.

Outstanding alumni award

Arthur D. Hurtado

Art Hurtado is a scientist, engineer and decorated Army colonel who has dedicated a good portion of his career to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technologies. He now runs Invertix Corporation, which focuses on those three areas. The company has been repeatedly honored as a top government contractor. Hurtado is a former Cadet Corps Commander of Missouri State’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Brigade, and was a Most Outstanding Distinguished Military Graduate. He has supported the University’s ROTC as well as its chemistry department over the years because those programs led him to his current vocation. Hurtado was a charter member of Missouri State’s Chemistry Advisory Board and is still active on the board. In 2009, he and his wife, Dianna, established an endowed scholarship to benefit chemistry and ROTC students. In 2004, he also re-established the MSU alumni association in the greater Washington, D.C. area.

How does it feel to receive this award?

It was breathtaking, that was my first reaction — absolutely breathtaking. My second emotion was one of deep humility because I recognize what sterling accomplishments the people who have preceded me in receiving this award have had … it was just very humbling. I feel very honored.

How do you think Missouri State helped you succeed?

It built character. You can’t be in a chemistry program and not learn character, and you can’t be in an ROTC program and not learn leadership. The chemistry program taught me I could take on any intellectual challenge that was put before me. It gave me a tremendous foundation.

Are you in the career you thought you would pursue when you were at Missouri State?

I wanted to be a soldier, and I did that. I wanted to start my own business, and I’ve done that. After I retired from the military, I went into industry and tried to figure out how running a business feels. Now, in starting my own business, I really feel like that old saying about work and play merging.

What do you think your future holds?

My dream is to translate theological reference books into Spanish. (Hurtado is a master linguist. His father is Bolivian; he can read and write Spanish and is also fluent in German and semi-fluent in French. He also studies Greek and Hebrew.) I also hope to spend a lot more time sailing and an awful lot more time with family.

How do you stay connected to Missouri State?

I was a charter member of the chemistry advisory board and remain on that board. I’ve also been active in the alumni organization in the Washington, D.C., area.

Tell me some of your fondest memories of Missouri State University.

I remember working in the chemistry labs late, late at night. I remember the crisp fall days and the beautiful colors and rooting the Bears teams on to victory. I remember sitting in the former student union building and working on physical chemistry problems while drinking too much coffee. I recall going fishing on the James River. Springfield to me is just a wonderful memory. Those were my formative years and Missourians are just true-blue, wonderful, wonderful people.

What do you consider your most important personal accomplishment?

Marrying Dianna. This woman is the wind beneath my wings. She’s my best counselor, every bit my soul mate and my humility-control officer. The next on the list was having a grandson.

What do you do in your leisure time?

I am an avid sailor. I am a racer; we race with a 41-foot Hunter (Hunter Marine is a brand of sailboats) on the Chesapeake Bay. I race with a crew and I also do long trips up and down the Chesapeake Bay. I really enjoy doing that. I learned to sail on Stockton Lake when I was a student at Missouri State.

Outstanding young alumni award

David E. Foley

David Foley has worked for the U.S. General Services Administration, which helps manage federal properties and support the procurement needs of federal agencies, since his graduation from Missouri State in 1997. Now, at 36, he is serving as the deputy commissioner of the Public Buildings Service. This makes him the chief operating officer for a $9 billion real estate business with more than 360 million square feet of space. Foley first began working at GSA as a result of a successful interview arranged through Missouri State’s Career Center. Since then he has worked at regional offices in Kansas City, Dallas and Atlanta doing portfolio and asset management. He has also served as the deputy assistant commissioner for portfolio management in Washington D.C. Currently, Foley is responsible for project delivery and real estate acquisition, as well as managing relationships with major customers. One of Foley’s former Missouri State professors, Dr. James Giglio, is not surprised Foley is doing well. “I remember him as an honors student in a U.S. history class; he was one of the top students,” Giglio said. “He was a gentleman and such a nice and mature person. That, in addition to his ability to do well in the classroom, is what made him so special.”

How does if feel to receive this award?

It’s a great honor; I’m still shocked that I was even nominated. To look at all the great people who have graduated from this University and to think I’ve won is such a great privilege. I hope I can live up to the honor.

Are you in the career you thought you would pursue when you were in University?

I would have had no clue that I’d be working for the government when I was at MSU. However, when I was in the job for less than I year I knew it was a great place to work and I’d want to keep working here. It lets me use my business background and serve my country at the same time.

Why did you choose to come to school at MSU?

I grew up in Warrensburg, Mo., so at the time I was looking for schools within Missouri. I looked at MSU and Mizzou, but it was the tour of campus and meeting all the people that made me decide on MSU. I was also interested in the band and the Honors College. Missouri State offered both academics and a social side. Plus, Springfield is a great town.

What are some of your fondest memories of Missouri State?

I really loved my time there; it was a great four years! I made a lot of close friends during that time. I lived in Freddy for two years and made a lot of friends there. I participated in the Missouri London program, which was a tremendous opportunity to spend some time overseas and learn about the business environment outside the United States. I also played the French horn in the Pride Marching Band for four years and made a lot of great memories through that.

Do you think Missouri State has helped you succeed?

Missouri State has absolutely contributed to my success. When I first started with the U.S. General Services Administration, one of the things I valued most was the broad background I had from the electives I took as part of the curriculum in the business college. Those classes gave me a wide range of knowledge, which helped me adapt to different environments in our agency and understand different components of the business.

Are there any individuals at Missouri State who had a special influence on you?

I would say Dr. Jerry Hoover and Dr. Belva Prather from the band. They gave me leadership opportunities and provided a great environment in which to learn and grow. I also learned a tremendous amount from several of my professors in the business college. I particularly enjoyed Dr. Kee Kim’s courses in finance. Many of the skills I learned have proven critical to the success I have had in asset and portfolio management.

How do you stay connected to Missouri State?

I keep up with the University and the Bears from afar. I like to watch the Bears basketball games on TV or listen to them over the Internet. When I make it back to Missouri, I’ve tried to make it to Springfield to catch a football game.

What do you like to do in your leisure time?

My family and I enjoy being involved in our local church. I like to play basketball, so I play in a league. My wife and I also spend much of our time with our 3-year-old son Brendan doing numerous kids’ activities.

What message would you most like to give other members of the Missouri State community?

Try and stay connected. I met a lot of great people during my time at Missouri State and they’re still good friends and play an important role in my personal and work life. There is a lot you can do to stay connected to the University, and it’s worthwhile to do so.

Alumni award for excellence in public affairs

Jason Hackmann

Hackmann is the first-ever recipient of Missouri State’s Alumni Award for Excellence in Public Affairs. The University’s public affairs mission is articulated through three themes: ethical leadership, cultural competence and community engagement — and Hackmann’s work embodies all three. He is the founder and owner of BryanMark Financial Group, a successful financial services company based in St. Louis. He and his wife Jennifer have three young children: Evan, 5, Alexis, 4 and Hadley, 2. Hackmann makes time to follow his passion as a devoted supporter of the Touch a Life Foundation, an organization dedicated to rescuing children sold into slavery in Vietnam, Cambodia and Ghana. The foundation works to give the rescued children an opportunity to live freely, attend school and learn to regain hope. Hackmann and his wife are directly involved with rescue work in Ghana, where children are sold by their parents and forced to labor in the fishing industry on Lake Volta. On a recent mission, the Hackmanns’ group was able to rescue six children.

How does it feel to be the first recipient of the Missouri State Alumni Award for Excellence in Public Affairs?

I am honored and humbled by this award. I graduated high school with about 70 kids in a town north of St. Louis; of my class only around 10 of us went on to college. I was motivated to get out of the small town I grew up in, and am thankful to Missouri State for my education and for giving me a chance.

Why did you choose to attend Missouri State?

Honestly, I grew up going to Table Rock Lake and just loved the area!

What do you consider to be your most important accomplishments?

Professionally, it’s probably our company, BryanMark Financial Group, growing to be one of the leaders within our niche industry in a short amount of time. Also, being named one of the top “40 under 40” by the St. Louis Business Journal. Personally, it’s the wonderful family that my wife and I have, and our work in Ghana helping save child slaves from a life of hopelessness and despair. Taking them from that life to a life of happiness and a bright future is what life is all about. The rescue missions on which my wife and I have gone have forever changed us, and brought us to realize that we are here to serve others.

What are some of your fondest memories of Missouri State?

Definitely meeting my wife Jennifer, whom I met in a class, and also the friends we made. Honestly, everything I’ve accomplished in the 12 years since graduating all points back to the relationships I made at Missouri State.

If you could have one wish granted, what would it be?

That the kids who are in enslaved in Ghana are saved and given the same opportunities any of us would want our children to have.

Our Homecoming theme is Rock this Town. What is your favorite rock band or song?

Truly, I don’t have one! I’m one of those people who switch the radio station in the car every two minutes.

Award of appreciation

Karen L. Horny, dean emeritus of library services and professor of library sciences

When Karen Horny came to Missouri State in 1995 to lead the library services department, it was an exciting time: the Meyer Library was going to be refurbished and doubled in size. She and her co-workers helped the architects create a vision for the building. She looked toward the future, recognizing that electronic needs were growing. Her team’s work has proven to be a success, since the library has been flexible in meeting the changing needs of a growing campus. Neosha Mackey, current dean of library services, worked with Horny for 14 years. “Her input helped shape the design of Meyer Library. Another thing she was really involved in was development. Private giving to the library really grew under her leadership. She’s also just a wonderful person — no one had to worry if she would show up for a talk, presentation or fundraising event that involved a library employee.” Dean Karen, as she was known, also helped Missouri State grow its electronic resources, achieve the honor of being a depository for United Nations documents and enhance the libraries at Missouri State-Mountain Grove and Greenwood Laboratory School.

Talk about your career path.

My student job at Brown was in special collections in the library — that’s how I got really interested in this field. During college, I spent a summer working on bookmobiles for the Detroit public library. When I was just out of graduate school I went to work at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. I spent more than 20 years there. In 1995, I saw the ad for the dean of library services position at Missouri State. I have truly enjoyed the work and MSU has been such a wonderful institution.

How does it feel to receive the Award of Appreciation?

It was entirely unexpected but a complete thrill. I hope I have been able to do things that have made a positive difference for students, staff and faculty. It makes me feel happy that others think good things have been accomplished.

During your time on campus, the library worked to develop special collections and archives. Talk about those collections.

The library can monitor humidity, temperature and other climate factors, so we get to preserve a lot of great materials. Meyer now has the Ozarks Labor Union Archives, musician Gordon McCann’s fiddle-music collection, the Gillioz Theatre archive, late professor Katherine Lederer’s collection of historic photos of local African-American life and other wonderful things from around this area. We also make digital copies of some of these important things so researchers can share copies. From these types of resources, students really get an understanding of original materials and get encouragement to do their own research.

Talk about why you fostered a culture of private giving to the library.

I have seen that if you want to do extra things that will really benefit the students and enhance your services, the best ways are to either find a supporter who has a passion for what you do or write a grant proposal to the right agency. We had some generous support from people who helped us do pioneering things, such as digitize special materials. We were also able to attract endowments, which are contributions that earn interest that can be spent on things like rare and special-edition books. Also, the library was able to work with the annual student phone campaigns to have them call parents for donations. Parents have been wonderful — we have had remarkable success raising a lot of money through many fairly small gifts.

How do you stay connected to campus?

I go to sports and arts events — I love Tent Theatre shows, the President’s Concert and the carillon performances.

What do you love about Missouri State?

The great people I have been fortunate to know, from students to faculty to alumni to my co-workers. People are loyal to the University and are excited about it. I felt I was welcomed and encouraged and could give encouragement in return.

What do you do in your leisure time?

When I graduated from college, my parents gave me a choice for a present: They would give me a car or a summer in Europe before I started graduate school. I leapt at the summer in Europe! That started my love of travel — I have been to 62 countries. I love England and have gone there a number of times. The most memorable trip I took was to a place you can’t go anymore: The Vale of Kashmir. It is now a disputed border region between India and Pakistan. It is just beautiful — the Shalimar Garden, the incredible mountains, staying on a houseboat. It is a magical place and I feel so sorry that because of international conflicts travelers can’t go there anymore.

If you could have one wish granted, what would it be?

The library is obviously near and dear to my heart, so I think a really big endowment gift for materials would be wonderful. Let’s shoot for one in the multimillions!

Our Homecoming theme is Rock this Town. What is a rock song that has meaning to you?

The first 45-r.p.m. record I ever bought, in any genre, was “Rock around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets. That is still a fond memory for me.