Contact: Jennifer Hollingshead
Office: (573) 882-0601
E-mail: hollingsheadj@umsystem.edu
The University of Missouri Alliance of Alumni Associations and Extension honored six individuals for outstanding service to the University at its 2007 Outstanding Alumni Service Awards Dinner at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City on Tuesday, March 13, 2007. Awardees this year include Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, Jefferson City; Rep. Jeff Harris, Columbia; Angela Bennett, Kansas City; Larry Hendren, Columbia; Rep. Clint Zweifel, Florissant; and Jo Turner, Columbia.
Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder
Outstanding Alumni Service to the University of Missouri
Peter Kinder was elected Missouri’s 46th Lieutenant Governor in 2004. Kinder studied at Southeast Missouri State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia. He received a law degree from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.
Prior to his election as lieutenant governor, Kinder served as a member of the Missouri Senate. He was first elected in 1992 to represent the 27th District, which includes the counties of Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry and Scott. In 2001, Kinder was elected President Pro Tem of the Senate.
Throughout his public service career, Kinder has received many honors, including the Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout Award; the Southeast Missouri State University Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award; the Missouri Farm Bureau Outstanding Service to Agriculture Award; and the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association Lewis and Clark Statesman Award for Outstanding Leadership.
Rep. Jeff Harris
Outstanding Alumni Service to UM-Columbia
Rep. Jeff Harris was first elected in 2002 to represent the 23rd District, part of the City of Columbia, in the Missouri House of Representatives. Harris is serving his second term as the Minority Leader of the House and is an ex officio member of all committees. He is a co-founder of the University of Missouri Caucus, established to bring legislators together on behalf of the University.
Harris graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Vanderbilt University and received his juris doctor from Cornell Law School. He attended the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive Program as a Fannie Mae Foundation Fellow.
Harris was selected by the American Council of Young Political Leaders to be part of an eight-person delegation to the People’s Republic of China, and was chosen by the same group as a delegate to the East Asia-Pacific Alumni Summit in Japan. He was appointed to the Governor’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education by Gov. Bob Holden.
Angela Bennett
Outstanding Alumni Service to UM-Kansas City
Angela Bennett was appointed to the University of Missouri Board of Curators in 2001 by Gov. Bob Holden and served until her term expired at the end of 2006. During her tenure, she served as both vice chair and as chair of the board.
Bennett received a bachelor’s degree in political science, a bachelor’s degree in radio, TV and film, and a juris doctor degree, all from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is the regional director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights in Kansas City, which enforces civil rights statutes in a six-state region.
Bennett has served as president of the UMKC Alumni Association and the UMKC Law Alumni Association, and has been an active leader with the UMKC Women’s Council, the UMKC Alumni Minority Affairs Committee, and the KCUR-FM Advisory Committee. She also has served as a UMKC trustee. She is a recipient of the Missouri Bar Foundation President’s Award, the UMKC Bill French Alumni Service Award, the UMKC Law Foundation Public Service Award, and the UMKC Law School Alumni Achievement Award.
Larry Hendren
Larry Hendren received a bachelor of science degree in mining engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. A registered professional engineer, he is president and CEO of Engineering Surveys and Services, a firm headquartered in Columbia, Mo., that specializes in civil, mining, environmental and geotechnical engineering; all types of surveying; and laboratory services.
Hendren is a former member of the UMR Board of Trustees and a former president of the MSM-UMR Alumni Association. He also has served as chair of the Public Resource Ambassadors, which acts as the alumni association’s legislative affairs branch. Hendren was honored by UMR in 2005 as an Honorary Knight of St. Patrick.
Along with his wife, Polly, also a UMR graduate, he is a member of the Order of the Golden Shillelagh, an organization of major donors to the campus. The Hendrens also are members of the alumni association’s Platinum Century Club.
Rep. Clint Zweifel
Outstanding Alumni Service to UM-St. Louisl
Rep. Clint Zweifel was first elected to the House in 2002 to represent District 78, part of North St. Louis County. In his first term, Zweifel served as an Executive Board member of the 2003 freshmen class, the largest group of new legislators in a hundred years due to term limits. He also serves as the research and education director for Teamsters Local 688.
Zweifel received a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has served as vice chair of the University of Missouri Caucus.
Zweifel also serves on the Multi-State Tax Commission and is a member of the Florissant Chamber of Commerce and North County, Inc. Among other honors, he has received the Spirit of Enterprise Award from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Distinguished Alumni Awards from UMSL and its Political Science Department.
Jo Turner
Outstanding Alumni Service to University of Missouri Extension
Jo Turner served as the interim vice provost and director of Cooperative Extension at the University of Missouri-Columbia from December 2005 to December 2006. She received a bachelor of science degree in elementary education, a master of science degree in recreation and park administration, and a doctorate in human development and family studies, all from MU.
Turner served as the director of the Missouri 4-H Youth Development Programs for nearly ten years, providing leadership for all aspects of the volunteer-based organization that serves more than 100,000 young people and 11,000 volunteers annually. Her efforts led to support from the Corporation for National and Community Service to establish the AmeriCorps*VISTA/4-H Community Youth Development Program, resulting in $1.1 million leveraged value of 20 VISTA volunteers working in Missouri communities.
She has served as the national chair of the State 4-H Program Leaders and as a representative to the National 4-H Leadership Trust. Among her honors are the Child Advocate of the Year Award from Citizens for Missouri’s Children; the Citation of Merit, College of Human Environmental Sciences, MU; and the Director’s Outstanding Service Award, Missouri 4-H Youth Development Programs.
Reviewed 2010-06-15