St. Norbert College honors Alumni Award recipients

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From St. Norbert College, October 23, 2009
by Chelsey Gruetzmacher, chelsey.gruetzmacher@snc.edu, (920) 403-3089

The 2009 St. Norbert College Alumni Award recipients were honored at a banquet on Thursday, Oct. 22 by the St. Norbert College Board of Trustees, Alumni Board, and the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations.

The awards are given each year to honor those alumni and members of the St. Norbert College community who have demonstrated a spirit of personal growth and achievement.

Christopher Koszuta ('01) and Jenny Thief-Koszuta ('01) are the first couple to ever receive the Young Alumni Award for service by an alumnus that has graduated within the past ten years. In 2006 the couple spearheaded the creation of the Friends of Music organization at St. Norbert College, and received the Christmas Angel Award in 2008 from the St. Norbert College music department.

The Distinguished Achievement Award was presented to Jim Richie ('57) for education. Richie was a teacher for 36 years in the Pulaski school district where he earned "Teacher of the Year" and "Man of the Year" in 1967, and served 43 years as a high school wrestling coach, during which he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999. He is president of and presenter for the Rice Lake Brain Injury Support Group and is active with many local community service organizations.

Roger Skaletski earned the Distinguished Service Award for exemplifying the Norbertine tradition of self-emptying service. In 1983, Skaletski and his wife, Elsie, were recognized with the Citation Award by the Wisconsin Distributive Education Association. He earned the Ambassador Award at the 1997 President's Club Dinner, and in 2007 was recognized with the Friend of the Year Award from the Friends of the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary in Green Bay. Skaletski is a member of the Friends Corporate Board and serves on the board of directors and the executive committee of the Brown County Civic Music Association.

Michael Wisneski ('63) was honored with the Alma Mater Award for his outstanding contributions to St. Norbert College and significant humanitarian contributions to the community. Wisneski joined the President's Advisory Council at St. Norbert College, and he and his wife, Kay (who is an alumna of St. Norbert), established the Wisneski Family Scholarship Fund to assist needy students who desire a Christian Education.

For more information on the award recipients, contact the alumni office at (920) 403-3022 or alumni@snc.edu, or visit the alumni website at http://www.snc.edu/alumni/awards.