During Back to Bates on Sept. 23, Nathaniel Boone ’52 received the Alumni Community Service Award, given annually to an alumnus or alumna “who has demonstrated distinguished leadership and commitment to serving the community in which they live or work.”
In addition to his service to Bates and his community in Manchester, Vt., Boone and 419 fellow U.S. Marines, known as the Montford Point Marines, collectively received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2012 for their pioneering achievements as the nation’s first African American Marines.
Presented by Lisa Romeo ’88, president of the Alumni Association, the community-service award also recognizes “the values of service and civic responsibility that are fundamental to a Bates education.”
At his Manchester Center, Vt., home in September 2012, Nathaniel Boone ’52 displays his bronze replica of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded collectively to Boone and his fellow Montford Point Marines. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
Nathaniel Boone ’52, P’82: Alumni Community Service Award
The citation for Boone’s award read, in part:
“Nate persevered in the face of prejudice, heeding the call to service, and helped to break the color barrier for future generations serving in the U.S. military. Nate, thank you for your courage and heroism, as well as your long dedication to the Bates values of service and civic responsibility.”
Nathaniel Boone ’52 receives the Alumni Community Service Award on Sept. 23 from Alumni Association President Lisa Romeo ’88 as Vice President Larry Handerhan ’05 looks on. (Rene Roy for Bates College)
Bates’ Best Awards
Also during Back to Bates, the college presented Bates’ Best awards to these volunteers “who express a passion and commitment for advancing the mission of the college”:
Jeanmarie Hester Cooper ’85, P’19 and Colin Cooper P’19, for making Bates “a philanthropic priority and modeling the importance of volunteerism for other Bates parents and alumni.”
Michael F. Hogan ’85, for being one of the college’s “most active volunteers, coast to coast” and for taking time, during business travel, “to make yourself available to meet with Bates alumni across the country.”
Nominate a Batesie today — Here’s how to nominate a worthy Bates person for one of the Alumni Association’s signature awards.
Tracy O’Mara Peacock ’94, for being “instrumental in providing Chicago-area alumni and families with highly engaging programs” that “celebrate not only the venues and organizations that make Chicago special, but the contributions that alumni make to your community.”
Jeffrey D. Sturgis ’69, P’93, for volunteer service to Bates spanning half a century, “a remarkable record of service” that has brought honor to Bates and his Bates family, including his father, Dean Sturgis ’49; mother, Erma Rowe Sturgis ’46; and daughter, Jodi Sturgis Coppetta ’93.
