Nov. 10, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kim Gannon
Cal Poly Alumni Relations
(805) 756-2586
Seven Honored By Cal Poly Alumni Association at Homecoming 2005
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly named seven alumni as recipients of the university's annual Honored Alumni Award during Homecoming 2005, and an eighth as the Cal Poly Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award winner.
Each of Cal Poly's seven colleges nominates an alumnus annually for the award, which is presented during Homecoming. In addition to the seven honored alumni, the university also names one alumnus annually to receive the Cal Poly Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award.
The 2005 Distinguished Service Award recipient is Jack Spaulding, a 1949 mechanical engineering graduate. The 2005 Honored Alumni are:
Cal Poly's 2005 Honored Alumni (left to right): William Frost, Ken Stone, Jaime Cuello, Jack Spaulding (with statue), Stephen Giusto, Fran Durekas, Alfonso Rodriguez, Bonnie Rosser. Click Here for a high-resolution version of the photo. Photo by Patric Swadener
The 2005 Cal Poly Honored Alumni
College of Agriculture: Bonnie Rosser B.S., Home Economics, '77. Rosser was a member of the Rodeo Team and chose a concentration in fashion merchandising while at Cal Poly. She is now vice president of Lee & Bonnie Rosser Inc.; a partner in Mojas Enterprise; and co-owner of the first franchise of the Buck Home Center, a fireplace and fireplace insert franchise founded by her father. She is also chair of the Twin City Slickers Cattle Drive in Marysville. She is a member of the Rodeo Historical Society, the Farm Bureau, Friends of Rodeo, California Women for Agriculture and the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Alumni Association. She also holds a Gold Card with the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association. Rosser and her husband, Lee, a 1976 Cal Poly graduate, live in Wheatland.
College of Architecture and Environmental Design: Ken Stone, B.S., Architecture, '80. Stone is vice-president and general manager for The Austin Company's Irvine office. Austin is an international architecture, engineering and construction services firm. Stone's clients include NBC, Disneyland Resort, Southern California Edison, and the UC National Laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico. He has been involved with the Alumni Association for more than 20 years, serving twice as president. He and his wife, Jeanne, a 1978 Cal Poly graduate, live in Irvine with their three sons.
Orfalea College of Business: Stephen Giusto, B.S., Business Administration, '85. Giusto is chief financial officer and executive vice president of corporate development for the professional services firm Resources Global Professionals. As CFO, he leads financial planning and corporate development and is principally engaged in corporate finance, investor relations and operations for the company's 60-plus offices in the United States and abroad. He is a member of the Cal Poly Accounting Advisory Board, serves on the board of the American Cancer Society in Orange County, and is a trustee on the board of Cate School in Carpinteria. Giusto and his wife, Susan, live in Orange County with their three children.
College of Education: Jaime Cuello, B.S., Liberal Studies, '93, M.A., Education, '98, teaching credential, '98. Cuello was born and raised in Santa Maria. He now teaches fourth grade at Mary Buren school in Guadalupe. He teaches reading in both English and Spanish, is a mentor to students outside of school, has created an algebra program for his school and uses rap and poetry in his teaching. He has been named in "Who's Who Among America's Teachers" and was the 1997 Guadalupe Union School District Teacher of the year. In addition to his elementary teaching, Cuello is also a part-time faculty member at Allan Hancock College. Cuello and his wife, Yvonne, a Cal Poly graduate, live in Santa Maria with their two children.
College of Engineering: Alfonso Rodriguez, B.S., Civil Engineering, '84. Rodriguez is vice president and operations manager at the URS Corporation's office in Los Angeles. URS is a planning, design, program and construction management firm which has been ranked No. 1 for the past five years on Engineering News Record's list of the top 500 design firms. Prior to joining the firm, Rodriguez also served as executive officer and project manager for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority, where he directed two heavy-rail subway projects totaling $3 billion. He is the metro Los Angeles branch vice president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. He and his wife, Dee Dee, live in Fullerton and have three children.
College of Liberal Arts: Fran Durekas, Human Development, '90. Durekas is the founder and chief executive officer of Childrens' Creative Learning Centers, a child care company that has provided early childhood education and quality child care since 1992, and is now the 14th largest for-profit child care organization in the nation. Durekas' clients include Yahoo, Oracle, Electronic Arts, Sybase, Stanford University and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. She is a member of Cal Poly's Psychology and Child Development Advisory Board and the organization Stand for Children. She and her husband, Ty, live in Sunnyvale and have three daughters.
College of Science and Mathematics: William Frost, B.S., Biochemistry, '72. Bill Frost founded his own business in 1977; it would later become known as Chemron Corp., a leading producer of specialty chemicals and surfactants. In 2002, Frost sold Chemron, and created a new company, Chemlogics Group. Headquartered in Paso Robles, Chemlogics manufactures specialty chemicals and polymers used for products in the personal care and energy sectors. The company has production facilities in Long Beach and Chicago and research labs in Paso Robles, Long Beach, and Pittsburgh, Penn. He and his wife, Linda, live in San Luis Obispo and have two daughters.
CPAA Distinguished Service Award: Jack Spaulding, B.S., Mechanical Engineering, '49. Spaulding served in the Army Air Corps before coming to Cal Poly to earn his degree. He went on to a 30-year career with Unocal Corp. before retiring. He has served on the Cal Poly Alumni Association Board of Directors since 1959 and is an emeritus member of the Mustang Athletics Board of Directors. In partnership with his wife, Alice, he created an endowment for the Mechanical Engineering Department at the university. The couple still host end-of-season barbecues at their home for the mens' and womens' basketball teams. Alice and Jack Spaulding have been married for 62 years and live in San Luis Obispo. They have four children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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